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My fears and parameters, do they sound right?

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  • LeroyC
    replied
    Tamping pressure shouldn’t really come into it. There’s not really any such thing as too hard or too soft when it comes to tamping, but what is important is to make sure that you tamp with the same technique and pressure every time. Making it consistent removes it as a variable that you need to consider.

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  • sakkath
    replied
    Is your tamping pressure consistent? That has been my most major issue. Sometimes I tamp too hard and it chokes, sometimes I don't tamp hard enough and get watery coffee. I also occasionally was overdosing until I started using the dosing tool that comes with the BDB.

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  • LeroyC
    replied
    The results you get from a BES 920 are very much up to you. If you’re into drinking light roasted single origin espresso then the Smart Grinder would probably not be up to it, but it sounds like you’re mostly drinking cappuccinos so the grinder should be fine for your typical espresso blend. Don’t forget that everything on the BES 920 is adjustable. So yes a 7sec pre infusion is normal as that is what it’s set at in the factory, but you can adjust it if you want. I don’t think a longer preinfusion will make much difference to you though, I think getting the basics of ‘dose, tamp, yield and time’ right is what you need to concentrate on and you’re on the right track. I’d say that this coffee that you made is what you need to use as your starting point - 8s grind level 3, 34s extraction, 18g input, 9 bars, 29g output Try to replicate it a few times and see how it tastes. If you’re happy with it then stick with it. If anything I’d lean towards a slightly faster shot so that you can get around a 35g yield (output) in 30-32secs. A ratio of 1:2 (dose:yield) is a good starting point, but don’t stress too much about hitting these exact numbers. If you’ve traditionally found your coffee a bit weak then the 18g in, 29g out in 34secs could be spot on for you. Try to get to a point where you get a result you like that you can repeat. The only other points I’d make are to confirm that pre infusion time is included in your total time. Also have you given your grinder a good clean lately? All grinders clog up and should be cleaned fairly regularly, but these small appliance grinders seem to be especially prone to getting gunked up. Hopefully this all helps. Keep trying, you’re on the right track.

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  • crazyhakins
    replied
    Originally posted by Cody View Post
    I've had my Breville Dual Boiler and Smart Grinder Pro for a few years now and gave up end of last year feeling I wasn't getting the right results. I made cappuccinos and some of the problems were: -- Q1. I felt the coffee was often weak and that not much liquid was coming out. I always used the single wall "double shot" basket so it felt there should be more. But amazingly today after reading it seems "double shot" really means "1/4 extra coffee, and output = 2x input". So these are still relatively small and you'd use one pull for a small cappuccino and two pulls for a larger 250/300g cup right? Q2. I often tried different brands of freshly roasted local coffee, but no matter what I did the pressure would drop during extraction from 9 bars to 7 bars; but if I ground any finer then I would choke up the machine. But today I read it's fine and even common during extraction for the pressure to drop. It doesn't happen on every kind of bean but it does on some. Is that right? Or is my grinder not up to par? Q3. Also my pre-infusion seems to only stop between 7-10s so the 9 bar pressure is definitely only built up by 10s, so my shots often took 34s-40s to complete. I felt this was wrong because I kept reading "30s, it should always take 30s". But I don't know if when people say this it includes Breville's pre-infusion time. Do I need to worry about that? -- Anyway today I cleaned up the machine and gave it another shot (pun intended) on my most consistent local beans roasted 13 days ago. This time I took some measurements. 17.8s grind level 3, 34s extraction, 18g input, 9 bars, 29g output 18.8s grind level 3, 34s extraction, 20g input, 9 bars,15g output (so I've packed in too much) 17.8s grind level 3, 40s extraction, 18g input, 9 bars, 39g output (came out a little watery - this is where I often went before) 17.8s grind level 4, 40s extraction, 19g input, 9 bars dropping to 7.5/8 bars at the end, 39g output (this one looked very creamy on top and tasted the best) Does this sound reasonable? I felt I was a failure at making coffee and was on the boarder of going back to a Nespresso machine. Thanks
    You’re far from a failure. A drop in pressure is absolutely normal because the resistance in the coffee puck changes as extraction occurs. The general quantity ratio you are going for is 1:2 or 2.5, so if you put 17gms in the basket, 34 or so grams of liquid in around 30 seconds. But really it’s about what’s in the cup. Taste your shots, even if their for a milk-based drink and see if you like it. Is it sweet? Balanced? Full flavoured? Bitter? Hollow? See what your taste buds like and follow that. If anything your shots might be a bit slow and you could loosen up your grind a bit or dose a bit less. James Hoffman has a few good videos on dialling in espresso. It would be worth checking him out on YouTube for a bit more information and reference.

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  • Cody
    started a topic My fears and parameters, do they sound right?

    My fears and parameters, do they sound right?

    I've had my Breville Dual Boiler and Smart Grinder Pro for a few years now and gave up end of last year feeling I wasn't getting the right results. I made cappuccinos and some of the problems were:

    --

    Q1. I felt the coffee was often weak and that not much liquid was coming out. I always used the single wall "double shot" basket so it felt there should be more.

    But amazingly today after reading it seems "double shot" really means "1/4 extra coffee, and output = 2x input". So these are still relatively small and you'd use one pull for a small cappuccino and two pulls for a larger 250/300g cup right?

    Q2. I often tried different brands of freshly roasted local coffee, but no matter what I did the pressure would drop during extraction from 9 bars to 7 bars; but if I ground any finer then I would choke up the machine.

    But today I read it's fine and even common during extraction for the pressure to drop. It doesn't happen on every kind of bean but it does on some. Is that right? Or is my grinder not up to par?

    Q3. Also my pre-infusion seems to only stop between 7-10s so the 9 bar pressure is definitely only built up by 10s, so my shots often took 34s-40s to complete. I felt this was wrong because I kept reading "30s, it should always take 30s". But I don't know if when people say this it includes Breville's pre-infusion time. Do I need to worry about that?

    --

    Anyway today I cleaned up the machine and gave it another shot (pun intended) on my most consistent local beans roasted 13 days ago. This time I took some measurements.

    17.8s grind level 3, 34s extraction, 18g input, 9 bars, 29g output
    18.8s grind level 3, 34s extraction, 20g input, 9 bars,15g output (so I've packed in too much)
    17.8s grind level 3, 40s extraction, 18g input, 9 bars, 39g output (came out a little watery - this is where I often went before)
    17.8s grind level 4, 40s extraction, 19g input, 9 bars dropping to 7.5/8 bars at the end, 39g output (this one looked very creamy on top and tasted the best)

    Does this sound reasonable? I felt I was a failure at making coffee and was on the boarder of going back to a Nespresso machine.

    Thanks
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