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  • FNQ
    replied
    Longrass how are you progressing?

    Leave a comment:


  • mathiar
    commented on 's reply
    So beans are stored in an air scape and kept in a cupboard
    They get portioned out into glass containers (commandante glass jars from alternativebrewing) with a screw on lid that are also kept in said cupboard (which is pitch black inside). The time between portioning our beans and using them is 1 day at most because we portion out 2-3 shots (20g of beans) at a time. They come in some kind of foil-sequel bag with a valve - typical 250g bags I’ve seen at tons of shops

    The machine comes on at 5:30 via smart plug and the first shot is pulled around 6:15. I almost always run a few seconds of water through before I start to warm the PF but also in case my wife last used it as she has a habit of “missing” a few spots on the PF for cleaning

  • FilthySudo
    commented on 's reply
    Prep looks fine, but my only gripe with your prep is how you are tamping. You look to be just pressing with your palm on top of the tamper rather than actually gripping the tamper with your fingers pushing on the top part of the base. I do this as I can feel my consistent pressure each time and also when I press down my fingers usually touch the sides or almost touch the sides of the basket so it’s even each and every time.

    My next Q is, how long do you leave your machine on prior to pulling a shot? Do you have the portafilter in the group head when the machine is warming up. To keep up with consistency, you should half lock your portafilter in the group head and let it warm up for 20-30mind prior to pulling a shot. Once I do my puck prep, I pull the lever for 1-2 seconds just as a quick flush, and then I pull my shot. If I use the same bean from day to day, my timing of each shot is within 2-3 seconds of the previous day usually, with the exception being the beans are getting older so usually you have to adjust from one shot to adjust finer for the following day to keep up with the ageing process. Hope anything I’ve mentioned can help. But like others said, sometimes a change in roastery or different beans might help to work out if it’s a particular bean issue or particular roaster issue

  • tompoland
    commented on 's reply
    As Barry said, ignore the numbers. 6-8 is really immaterial. And there is a reason that there is a 0 and 1 on the Niche dial. You have plenty to play with and a darker bean will have you moving the dial coarser again to achieve the same ratio of grams in and grams out. (Light beans need a finer grind).

  • tompoland
    commented on 's reply
    So with the tamper, keep using it if you prefer and just check and make sure that the height of the puck is level all around. If it looks level (a basket with a ridge makes it easier to see) then your second check point is the pour. I think it's just great that you are not settling for something you are not satisfied with. You will get where you want to go because you have great equipment and a progressive attitude.

  • Barry O'Speedwagon
    commented on 's reply
    You seem a little hung up on the specific numbers that use on the Niche scale. Don't worry about them. If you need to go finer, go finer. If that's 5-6, so what?

    I'm guessing that there's no chance that a stone went through the grinder?

  • Javaphile
    commented on 's reply
    @mathiar

    What do your beans come in from the roaster/cafe?
    How are they stored at the roaster/cafe?
    Once in the containers at home where are they kept?
    Are they in a cool dark location?
    Does the sun hit them at any time?
    Is the glass container sealed airtight?
    How large is the glass container?
    Do you notice a difference from the 1st shot out of the glass container compared to the last one?


    Java "Lots of variables" phile

  • mathiar
    commented on 's reply
    That’ll put me down to 6-8 at this stage if that’s the case but I’ll try all these things over the next few days and report back

  • mathiar
    commented on 's reply
    Thanks I’ll try not tapping post. I have tried that in the past and not noticed an appreciable difference
    I’ve been looking at the self leveling tampers and interested in trying them.
    Probably the easiest (and cheapest) purchase change will be beans first. I’m keen to not continue buying too many additional things (I really like my tamper, it was a parting gift from Reg Barber when I finished up at my old cafe over a decade ago now…I’ve just never had a machine worthy of using it till now!

  • mathiar
    commented on 's reply
    I use a large stainless steel air scape container. We buy between 250-500g a week (depending on the roast date) and I pre-measure up to 4 doses in a glass container - these usually lst 2 days as I have two shots a day and wife has one a day

  • tompoland
    replied
    And I would also grinder just a little finer. A couple of notches on the Niche.

    Leave a comment:


  • tompoland
    replied
    mathiar thanks for the videos and pic of the beans.

    In your puck prep video you tapped the portafilter on the bench after you raked the puck. That normally shifts the puck away from one part of the wall. If you want to tap/bump you are better to do it before you rake. That will drop any grinds clinging onto the walls of the funnel into the basket. I don't know of any upside to tapping the portafilter on the bench after your have distributed the grinds with the puck rake. I'm only aware of potential downside in that you have carefully distributed the grinds with the rake and the tap then redistributes them in an uneven manner. It's counter productive.

    You are best to get a self levelling tamper. it's very easy to unevenly tamp without one.

    In the video of your pour, there is evidence of an uneven tamp or uneven distribution of the grinds, or both. The pour starts faster on your side of the basket and slower on the machine's side. Also, note the hole in the pour that appears initially on the machine side of the basket and the darker color on the same siide during the latter half of the pour. That means you are going to have a slightly "uneven" taste in the cup. It's not a sinker, but it's not going to be ideal either.

    The beans you are using may also be contributing to a flavor that you're not entirely happy with. Try a slightly darker roast. Look for beans that have just a tiny bit of oil on the outside of some beans (not all beans). It's hard to determine the roast depth from a photo but my guess would be Medium or possibly even "City" (medium/light) and that makes it a little tricker to get an even pour. (I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the beans or the roast other than the lighter the roast the trickier it can be to prevent channelling.)

    In summary, darker roasted beans e.g. Full City (Medium/Dark) and a self levelling tamper and you should taste improvements. You kit is top notch and so the big improvement is to be found in the tool holding the portafilter ?

    Leave a comment:


  • Javaphile
    replied
    Freshness of roasted beans isn't only a matter of how long since they were roasted. Another huge factor is how the beans have been/are being stored.

    Have you taken a look at the Roasted Bean Storage forum? If not it's worth a good look.


    Java "Freshness depends on many things" phile

    Leave a comment:


  • mathiar
    replied
    Yeah I’m not too sure how to proceed here

    I’ll try going finer, that’ll take me into the 8-9 setting

    I started with a roaster around the corner but all their beans on sale started having older roast dates
    Then I changed to another that was from Melbourne but I wanted to stay local (Adelaide) so found a small community roaster

    This batch of beans was roasted 22/8 and it’s only 31/8 so I’m not sure how much fresher I can get…

    Niche weight is pretty consistent, usually 0.3g difference when I’ve weighed pre and post

    Leave a comment:


  • roosterben
    commented on 's reply
    I have pretty much the same setup Synch/Niche. Your puck prep looks fine, as mentioned above equipment is solid, unless you have a poorly aligned Niche which is pretty much unheard of then it comes back to your beans.

    With the current beans the shot loses colour quickly which likely means they are a light roast or stale. You need to reduce the grind and keep in mind the first 4-5 seconds of the shot are the mechanical pre-infusion from the E61 group. Adjust your grind finder and maybe shoot for 35-40 seconds total shot time. Visually the shot is flowing too fast.

    As annoying as it sounds I would try a different roaster and to make things easier if you are making milk coffee stick with blends (not single origin) to get started. Single origins will probably be roasted lighter to highlight the flavours and are harder to dial in and make consistent shots with.

    Also as much as the Niche is close to zero retention, if you are having consistency issues weigh your ground coffee and market sure it is exactly 20 grams, if not grind a couple more beans through and top up the ground coffee to exactly 20 grams.
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