Re: Tamper and coffee freshness
Bitterness is often related to overextraction, i.e. too much water going through the coffee, but Im sure stale beans wouldnt help (get some fresh beans and try again). How long do you run the machine for when brewing?
As youve suggested, the tamper could be an issue - if your tamper is undersized then youll have to tamp numerous times to pack it relatively evenly, but even then there will be pressure variations with some areas being packed harder (and therefore underextracted) and some looser (an easy path for the water, leading to overextraction). Most people seem to be able to get acceptable results with fresh beans, correct grind and correct brew time, so start with these, but you may want to look at getting a proper tamper at some stage to help with even extraction and therefore consistent results.
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Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have?
Hi DD,Originally posted by Derkdigler link=1078801550/45#51 date=1108957096Hey,
The coffee freshness i am not sure on as these are the beans i got from Mocopan...so they could well have been roasted awhile ago. Bean type is Pasquale Blend. Not normally what i use..most of the time i go with Kenya AA or East Timor Organic. The taste is slightly bitter.... the grind setting i have at 13 or 14 is this too fine??
DD
Its a bit difficult to estimate what one grinders setting is equivalent to on another grinder even of the same make. However, if you "zero" your Rocky (rotate setting until burrs touch with grinder turned OFF), note the position, it is then possible to compare settings within the ballpark at least.
Doing this with my Rocky the zero ends up at -3 on the scale, where the standard setting for my Mokita with a 57mm PF is 11 +/- 1 notch. This is with freshly roasted high quality coffee and a tamp of approx 10Kg. So, this equates to 14 notches from where the burrs touch.
Since a Silvia has a commercial style 58mm PF, I would expect it to require a setting that is some units below that of 11. What "Fatboy" refers to as hovering between 8-10 sounds pretty right for 58mm PF machine. If I was you, Id start with some freshly roasted beans that you know and then take it from there. Trying to get everything set up with unknown beans is really just shooting in the dark.
A Silvia is a great machine and if everything is being done properly then Silvia will certainly pay dividends. All the best,
Mal.
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Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have?
Well... I would suggest you play a bit with the grind (my Rocky usually hovers between 8 and 10).
Bitterness is not usually a good sign.
Dont know much about the beans you have, but you would hope that Mocopan are selling fairly fresh stuff (and of course you have had them for less than 7 days)
The pour rate is another indicator on whether the grind and pack is correct. Even with the plastic tamper, I suggest filling the PF, tapping on the bench to level off. Scrape any obvious excess grounds off the top. Tamp, load and draw shot.
The flow should be consistent but not too fast.
The figure bandied around a lot is 30ml in 30 seconds.
EG: http://www.coffeeuniverse.com/tips.html
See how you go.
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Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have?
Hey,
The coffee freshness i am not sure on as these are the beans i got from Mocopan...so they could well have been roasted awhile ago. Bean type is Pasquale Blend. Not normally what i use..most of the time i go with Kenya AA or East Timor Organic. The taste is slightly bitter.... the grind setting i have at 13 or 14 is this too fine??
DD
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Tamper and coffee freshness
Tamper could be a contributor.Originally posted by Derkdigler link=1078801550/45#49 date=1108953444I just got my Silvia and D/L Rocky last week ...very happy...
but i can’t seem to get decent crema on my shots....any ideas as to why this might be??? I think my grind is correct …could the useless plastic Tampa have something to do with it???
How fresh is the coffee?
What type of bean (some just produce more crema).
How is the taste?Tags: None
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