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Originally posted by willsy01 link=1204791437/15#17 date=1204886477
the shot is rich and black then blondes out after 6 or 7 seconds.
Whoa!
Thats a mighty quick shot there willys01.... Ideally, you should be adjusting your Dose/Grind size until you achieve a shot of the desired 30/60ml volume for a Single/Double in approx. 30 seconds after hitting the Brew Switch. Translated into practical terms, you need to pull the shot either before Blonding starts or just as it starts otherwise you wont be experiencing the best your coffee has to offer. Lots of info about this and more to be found here....
Coffeenovice: yeah I got a shock at how loud this CM was when i first starting using it,.. but its funny how you get used to things,..I dont even notice the noise anymore,.. must be all the excitement of watching the wonderful extractions.
willsy01: Pull out your single basket and pack it away forever. Use the double basket.. it is an awesome basket!! and the perfect pour is easy with this basket. The single basket is very difficult to work with.. I have tried many times and no matter what I do,.. I cannot get a nice pour. This is the experience of many other 6910 users too
Also,..despite what the manual says,.. many of us go for the brown zone,.. next zone up from the good zone and I am able to easily get extractions of 35+ seconds before any sign of blonding.
If you are getting blonding after just 6 or 7 seconds,..(and using pre-ground),.. first try the dbl basket, pack firmly and watch the pressure dial. If pressure still low and blonding too soon,.. pack more next time and tamp well, but not pacl so much that it is hard to lock in the PF. If all this still results in low pressure on the dial and short extraction(blonding too early) and you still want to use the pre-ground you have,.. then it looks like you might need to go to the pressurised basket,.. it creates an artificial crema as the pressure forces the extraction through the dual floor,..and you will get higher reading on the pressure dial and longer extraction. Its not ideal using the pressurised basket tho(which is meant for supermarket purchased pre-ground..ie stale coffee and therefore apart from the obvious taste difference,..it needs the pressurised basket to get an acceptable crema. Unpressurized is better, but only works well with fine freshly ground beans. It is possible your pre-ground might not be fine enough if you have packed and tamped well and extraction is still short.
Well, the new coffee has made a world of difference........good pressure with less tamping force, the shot is rich and black then blondes out after 6 or 7 seconds. The crema isnt quite as thick as id like, but its better than before. Ive upped the thermoblock temp to 96 as well.
It will be better once ive got a decent grinder to experiment with different densities, im happy to buy pre-ground for now though
I rang Sunbeam when I was having trouble "calibrating" (as they call it) my new EM0480 grinder. They sent me a pack of this coffee to show me what the "correct" grind for the EM6910 should look and feel like. This should work fine for you.
I ducked up to Belaroma at lunchtime and picked up 225g espresso grind......as I said, they roast on site and theres a label on the front saying its recommended by Sunbeam for espresso machines. Lets hope the label doesnt lie.
If using pre-ground, try and get it from a local roaster, and buy only in small quantities (say 200g), and then keep it in an airtight container. You will probably find that for the first day or 3, you will get some reasonable extractions, after that, it will deteriorate (thats what I found before I got my own grinder anyways).
Once you get your own grinder, then you can really experiment with the machine, different dosing techniques (less coffee and finer vs more coffee and courser grind - which this machine prefers BTW).
Im almost embarrassed at the "cappuccions" I used to make on my old machine - blade grinder similar to yours and an old "Melita" espresso machine. "Fill up" a small cup with the extraction and add on top the steamed (large bubbles and generally scalded) milk, hey, just like a cafe? They bear absolutely no resemblance to what I can make nowl and I am only really at the beginning of my experience with the 6910, still perfecting the milk
Originally posted by 2muchcoffeeman link=1204791437/0#10 date=1204842697
Welcome willsy01,
Therein lies the problem. You have quite a good machine but your grinder is really only suitable for plunger grind (if that).
Even moreso that with machines, ya gets what ya pays for with grinders.
To get something suitable, you will really need to find a bare minimum of $300 behind the couch cushions and put it towards something better. Your coffee will then improve in leaps and bounds.
Good luck!
Chris
I figured as much.......ive had the grinder for a few years. Those spinning blades are only going to break down the beans so far.......which is not far enough.
Its a shame I didnt get the machine when they were doing the grinder deal. I might pick up pre-ground coffee in the interim.
Therein lies the problem. You have quite a good machine but your grinder is really only suitable for plunger grind (if that).
Even moreso that with machines, ya gets what ya pays for with grinders.
To get something suitable, you will really need to find a bare minimum of $300 behind the couch cushions and put it towards something better. Your coffee will then improve in leaps and bounds.
Originally posted by Thundergod link=1204791437/0#5 date=1204802461
Welcome to Coffee Snobs willsy01.
Describe whats happening and we may be able to help you improve those shots.
I dont think my grinder can get the coffee fine enough.....its not a conical burr type grinder, just a little benchtop Russell Hobbs thing:
If I give it a really serious tamping, the pressure guage gets up into the upper half of the "good zone" described in the manual.....but the shot is quite weak and watery. This is using the single shot basket.....not the dual floor one, and ive removed the plastic thing from the PF.
Im using fresh beans from Belaroma (they roast on site) and theyre actually recommended by Sunbeam for their machines. I might pick up a bag thats been ground for espresso and see if it makes any difference.
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