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  • How much to dose

    I just put some Cosmorex decaffeinated beans through my Silivia grinder / machien combo - they seem much more dry than the previous beans (Ethiopian Fair Trade organic sun dried coffee I got off eBay) which seem much more oily.

    With the Ethiopian beans I find if I put too much in the (double dose Australian) basket it is very difficult to latch the group head to the machine and it leaves a dimple from the bolt - i.e. it seems too full - and the resulting coffee is quite bitter after it drips very slowly through. It is a very fine line between tapping the group head a few times to fit more grind in, and too much and getting too much grind in that seems to overdose it and is hard to press down and latch in.

    Yet it is fine line to under-dosing with the tell tale signs of a wet puck with pooling water, and bitter rapidly blonding pour.

    However the de-caf bean grind I am now trying seem more light brown in colour and more dry - and the resulting coffee is very water and quite bitter as it blondes almost immediately with little crema.

    I can try overdosing it and tamping it right down, or going for a finer grind. Any thoughts?

  • #2
    Re: How much to dose

    Dont overdose
    You will squeeze coffee in the filter screen and choke it or worse if you forget to clean it it will harden hard as concrete
    (I hope I got the message across)

    All machines have a depth level that you should tamp to

    Use a coin like a 5 cent piece on top of the puck
    Do it repeatedly until it just touches the screen you will know this by the indentation is leaves behind

    Now you have found the unique tamp depth level inside your filter basket for your machine

    Note it down physically and mentally and use it for future reference

    KK

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    • #3
      Re: How much to dose

      Originally posted by 06222B2B28281206223E20224D0 link=1249183412/1#1 date=1249184757
      Dont overdose
      You will squeeze coffee in the filter screen and choke it or worse if you forget to clean it it will harden hard as concrete
      (I hope I got the message across)

      All machines have a depth level that you should tamp to

      Use a coin like a 5 cent piece on top of the puck
      Do it repeatedly until it just touches the screen you will know this by the indentation is leaves behind  

      Now you have found the unique tamp depth level inside your filter basket for your machine

      Note it down physically and mentally and use it for future reference

      KK
      What he said above..

      The trick is then knowing what your going to use... Single or double basket..


      Then you just change the Grind OR tamp to ensure you get the right flow..

      Up dosing is different to Overdosing and Underdosing will leave you with a soggy mess.

      If you OVERDOSE.. The in addition to you tamp, you actually having the head forced hard down onto teh puck.. Thus it is just like tamping again.. BUT while you pouring..

      Not good for the equipment... And you usually end up with lots of grinds getting into the shower screen and forced around teh seal...

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: How much to dose

        Yes that is true if you want to have the exact same dosage for every coffee/age of coffee. Some coffees taste much better at certain doses. For example the coffee we use at work really doesnt like lower doses but I could name a couple of blends from the same roaster that IMHO taste much better if the dose is lower.

        This is just a little bit off topic but is food for thought.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: How much to dose

          Originally posted by 012D3E38252D20130123222729354C0 link=1249183412/3#3 date=1249188998
          Yes that is true if you want to have the exact same dosage for every coffee/age of coffee. Some coffees taste much better at certain doses. For example the coffee we use at work really doesnt like lower doses but I could name a couple of blends from the same roaster that IMHO taste much better if the dose is lower.

          This is just a little bit off topic but is food for thought.
          NOT (Not Off Topic) at all..  Relevant points and comment...

          I guess in the first instance, many need a place to start from...  After that.... Well we know what happens..

          We roast
          We experiment
          We share
          We Learn
          We get Upgraditus

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: How much to dose

            so many variables.. It just seems so hard to know how how much grind to put in. If I just grind away until it starts flowing over and then run something across the top to smooth it out and then tamp it seems to under dose, but if I tap too much and then grind and then tap, etc it seems to get too much grind in and over dose as indicated by being so hard to tamp down and the group head doesnt lock in.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: How much to dose

              Originally posted by 2E29222235242520204C0 link=1249183412/5#5 date=1249190173
              so many variables..  It just seems so hard to know how how much grind to put in.  If I just grind away until it starts flowing over and then run something across the top to smooth it out  and then tamp it seems to under dose, but if I tap too much and then grind and then tap, etc it seems to get too much grind in and over dose as indicated by being so hard to tamp down and the group head doesnt lock in.
              You answered your own question benny.
              Find the middle ground between tapping too much and not tapping at all.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: How much to dose

                If you can think like a mechanical engineer

                The tamped puck creates a resistance against the water pressure of the pump

                Correct mix of
                Grind (about the size of table salt) and tamp pressure should give you a result of 30 ml per 25 seconds

                Research has shown and confirmed by billions of taste-buds, that all the coffee oils are extracted in this time

                KK

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: How much to dose

                  my method works like this... with my doser Rocky
                  1. 3 level scoops of beans (the scoop that comes with the Rocky)
                  2. Grind
                  3. dose into GH until full tap a couples with tamper
                  4. fill again and level off and everso gently smooth with finger leaving it slightly domed in the center
                  5. Tamp and lock in place.
                  6. pull shot

                  see if that helps

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: How much to dose

                    Am gonna revive this thread so i dont make a new one if thats cool :P. Im still a bit lost as to the correct way to dose... i guess what id like to know is relating the weight of ground coffee in the basket.

                    When i grind up beans (i grind roughly 20grams up), i simply dose into the basket but dont collapse at all, i just keep dosing until it has mounted up over the basket, level until holes are covered, sweep, tamp and go. But just BEFORE i tamp, i like to weigh it, and im finding a general consistency of about 16grams (sometimes 17 or 18grams).

                    My question is... is there a certain weight that needs to be in the basket?
                    (i know ive brought this up before, but with the golden rule/guideline, its about 14grams, and extracting 25-30ml in 25-30seconds). But i find that 14grams is never really enough in the basket... Yet when people collapse/tap the basket then re-dose, even more grounds are put into the basket...

                    Any thoughts?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: How much to dose

                      Originally posted by 677D797B7A677F2C66140 link=1249183412/9#9 date=1263913206

                      My question is... is there a certain weight that needs to be in the basket?
                      yes the correct amount will allow you to make a great shot every time..... lol

                      imo weighing it is not going to help that much as your going to get variances between roasts / days / blends / grinding that might go 1 gram on the scale.

                      many say (and i agree) focus on your dose and tamp.
                      When you dose and sweep do you also "chop" prior to sweeping to ensure the grind has filled the basket fairly evenly all over. I dose 3/4, tap, dose again, chop , sweep, tamp, polish. mine is a "light" chop as i know my machine likes what i sometimes think looks like a underdose.

                      i sometimes use my finger or the back of scoop i use for the beans

                      this gets me (i feel) a more consistent shot, the chop helps with any channeling in my underdose looking dose.

                      what machine have you got

                      Leeham

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: How much to dose

                        Originally posted by 62787C7E7F627A2963110 link=1249183412/9#9 date=1263913206
                        My question is... is there a certain weight that needs to be in the basket?
                        I think you will find volume becomes more important than weight?

                        However, in the end being able to stick to a repeatable process (dose, distribution, tamp) and then play with one variable at a time to perfect what is in the cup is the only thing that is important.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: How much to dose

                          I do agree that whatever produces a great shot is what matters lol, and that the extraction volume, time and colouring are the things to watch, whilst changing variables one at a time...

                          Im not sure what you mean by chopping sorry? Do you mean sweeping the coffee over the basket but not sweeping it off, and sweeping back the other way etc to fill the basket thoroughly?

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                          • #14
                            Re: How much to dose

                            Is this why some filterbaskets are ridged - to give a visual guide of what level to tamp to?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: How much to dose

                              Originally posted by 352F2B2928352D7E34460 link=1249183412/12#12 date=1263950810
                              Im not sure what you mean by chopping sorry?
                              i think it means when you break up the clumps whilst the basket is overfilled, by a chopping action, with the back of a knife or flat blade of some description, like scottie calahans dosing and distribution action........prior to sweeping off....


                              Originally posted by 3536232825273434460 link=1249183412/13#13 date=1263956049
                              Is this why some filterbaskets are ridged
                              i was under the impression that the ridge was to help keep the basket in the PF, thats why a stronger spring is required for a ridgeless.

                              cheers
                              warren

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