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Newbie Needs Help With Breville BES870

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  • coffeeprince
    replied
    Originally posted by WhatEverBeansNecessary View Post
    Most likely because the basket is over filled. There is a 5c test you can do whereby you basically load up the basket and place a 5c coin on top of the puck and put it into the group head. Then take it out and if you see the imprint of a 5c piece you have over dosed your basket. Basically there should be enough room between the puck and the screen for the puck to swell when it gets wet. If it swells and there isn't enough room you will get a dirty screen and the puck can stick. Also make sure you take out the spent puck after pouring the shot and don't leave it to dry out etc.
    I think you are correct, I was getting the puck stuck after every coffee since I bought and been using a coffee distributor and tamper tool, I just made the tamper end deeper which in turn pushes the coffee grind deeper into the basket and for the last 4 cups the puck has not been stuck. thanks

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  • WhatEverBeansNecessary
    replied
    Originally posted by coffeeprince View Post
    A lot of times the puck is getting stuck to the machine instead of staying in the portafilter when I remove it, any idea why and is the a solution ?

    thanks
    Most likely because the basket is over filled. There is a 5c test you can do whereby you basically load up the basket and place a 5c coin on top of the puck and put it into the group head. Then take it out and if you see the imprint of a 5c piece you have over dosed your basket. Basically there should be enough room between the puck and the screen for the puck to swell when it gets wet. If it swells and there isn't enough room you will get a dirty screen and the puck can stick. Also make sure you take out the spent puck after pouring the shot and don't leave it to dry out etc.

    Leave a comment:


  • coffeeprince
    replied
    A lot of times the puck is getting stuck to the machine instead of staying in the portafilter when I remove it, any idea why and is the a solution ?

    thanks

    Leave a comment:


  • Thegangmaster
    replied
    Hi, I have the BES 840 which is same machine without the grinder. Like you I had initially tried to use the pressure gauge to judge espresso shots but I've found now that its better to just follow brew recipes with timings because the gauge may not be accurate. Its helpful for consistency but I don't think its actual position is important. When I pull shots it is always at the higher end of the range as well and if I grind coarser or underdose to get it at 12 o clock it runs too quickly and tastes very sour. I typically single dose my breville smart grinder between 17-18 grams depending on the bean and aim to get out 34-40 g of espresso in 25-35 seconds from button press. You will need to cut the shot off early or reprogram the buttons as the presents are for 60 ml output with the default double shot button. The annoying thing about the breville smart grinder is the steps can be quite large so even a one level change will lead to several second differences in brew times.

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  • JayRad
    replied
    Originally posted by level3ninja View Post
    There might be two different "doubles" being referred to here by you and JayRad. I think JayRad is referring to the larger basket called a "double shot" basket, they tend to have straighter sides, more up and down. The single shot basket tends to have more sloped sides.

    I think the done you are referring to is the "double wall" baskets or pressurised baskets. These have two layers of metal at the bottom and as you say are designed for preground coffee. These baskets should not be used if you care about good coffee. As you rightly say use the machine and grind fresh.
    Correct... sorry i assumed everybody knows to just throw out the double wall baskets. I was referring to the double shot basket.

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  • level3ninja
    replied
    Originally posted by coffeeprince View Post
    Thanks for the info, great tip on the double basket, but isn't the double basket for pre-ground coffee ?, did you use it for coffee that you grounded via the machine also and what was the advantage over the single basket? thanks.
    There might be two different "doubles" being referred to here by you and JayRad. I think JayRad is referring to the larger basket called a "double shot" basket, they tend to have straighter sides, more up and down. The single shot basket tends to have more sloped sides.

    I think the done you are referring to is the "double wall" baskets or pressurised baskets. These have two layers of metal at the bottom and as you say are designed for preground coffee. These baskets should not be used if you care about good coffee. As you rightly say use the machine and grind fresh.

    Leave a comment:


  • WarrenK
    replied
    With fresh beans I would start about 12 and gradually come down to about 5 over 2-3 weeks as the beans age. Use the gauge to keep in the sweet spot. Try to buy only enough beans for 2-3 weeks.

    The grind size numbers are unique to each machine, eg 5 on one machine might be 7 on another. If the fresh beans don't fix it, consider a one unit adjustment of the conical burrs, page 19 of manual. This adjustment did not exist on the early machines.

    Have fun.

    Leave a comment:


  • coffeeprince
    replied
    Originally posted by JayRad View Post
    I've had two of these machines and always found the grind size setting between 3-5 is a good starting point. If you're using the double basket I've found grinding a single, tamping then grinding another single and then tamping again works most consistently. If you overfill the basket the pressure will always run high so use the silver part of the tamper as a gauge, if that is level with the top of the basket that's a good amount. Yes the water tray fills up quickly.
    Thanks for the info, great tip on the double basket, but isn't the double basket for pre-ground coffee ?, did you use it for coffee that you grounded via the machine also and what was the advantage over the single basket? thanks.

    Leave a comment:


  • JayRad
    replied
    I've had two of these machines and always found the grind size setting between 3-5 is a good starting point. If you're using the double basket I've found grinding a single, tamping then grinding another single and then tamping again works most consistently. If you overfill the basket the pressure will always run high so use the silver part of the tamper as a gauge, if that is level with the top of the basket that's a good amount. Yes the water tray fills up quickly.

    Leave a comment:


  • WhatEverBeansNecessary
    replied
    Originally posted by level3ninja View Post
    Haven't used one of these in a year or so, but from memory that's normal. I think it's too bring the thermocoil back down to brew temperature so if you make another shot straight away it doesn't burn the coffee.

    Where abouts are you located?
    Also haven't used one of these in a long time, but I do recall a lot of water in the tray. Ninja what you say makes a lot of sense.

    Leave a comment:


  • coffeeprince
    replied
    Originally posted by level3ninja View Post
    Haven't used one of these in a year or so, but from memory that's normal. I think it's too bring the thermocoil back down to brew temperature so if you make another shot straight away it doesn't burn the coffee.

    Where abouts are you located?
    Hopefully it is normal. thanks.

    I live in Adelaide.

    Leave a comment:


  • level3ninja
    replied
    Haven't used one of these in a year or so, but from memory that's normal. I think it's to bring the thermocoil back down to brew temperature so if you make another shot straight away it doesn't burn the coffee.

    Where abouts are you located?
    Last edited by level3ninja; 22 January 2020, 08:21 AM. Reason: Autocucumber

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  • coffeeprince
    replied
    Thanks for the replies, I am ordering some freshly roasted beans today, so hopefully that will make a difference.

    Also training is definitely what I need, but I don't know anyone who owns this machine that can teach me, so it looks like trial and error for me.

    I have found out why the water tray keeps filling up quickly, after each steam process is finished water is released into the water tray, I have made a video showing the problem. My question is is this normal procedure or is there something wrong with my machine or the way I use it ?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqsNEN4m-Gg


    thanks

    Leave a comment:


  • Caffeinator
    replied
    Welcome cp.

    What you need more than anything is some training so that you know what to look for.

    Spend a couple of hours with a good trainer and you'll have answers to your questions and you'll also waste a whole heap less time trying to get an acceptable cup.
    Last edited by Caffeinator; 21 January 2020, 09:35 AM.

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  • WhatEverBeansNecessary
    replied
    I think a quick search will show you a multitude of answers to this very question on the forum.
    However the no 1 mistake 'newbies' make is buying supermarket beans. You need fresh roasted beans within 1 month of roast date. Get to your local roaster and pick some up. Give that a go.

    Leave a comment:

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