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  • Youtube video of my coffee process

    Hi Guys,

    Recently I had to have the boiler in my Silvia replaced after only 14 months and this was due to me leaving it empty for hours after brewing, eventually causing it to fail.  I have a new boiler in it now and would love if you had the time to look over this video and see if I am on the right track!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtSGAifdMB8

    Hopefully, I am on the right track and this new boiler might last a LOT longer!

    Thanks guys!

    Cammo

  • #2
    Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

    Cammo:

    Process generally looks reasonably OK, but heres a few things I picked up:

    1) Tamp: Probably dont need to tamp with that much force, looks like youre almost doing a handstand on the basket! Have you ever measured the pressure on a set of bathroom scales? Apart from that, the first tamp looks good, as does the last polish, but the stuff in between isnt really necessary. You dont need to polish with pressure (scrub?) as this is more likely to rip the surface, when the purpose of polishing is to seal the surface and prevent any coffee sticking to the tamper surface. BTW Id love to know what was happening off-camera!

    Also be careful putting that much force on the basket when youre pushing on the spouts which are sitting on a glass chopping board. You could chip the board and get bits of glass in the coffee. I rest the edge of the portafilter on the corner of the bench with the spouts hanging over the edge. This is stronger, safer, and prevents any muck getting on the spouts and into the cup.

    2) Preparation: Some top operators have apparently detected differences in taste between lock, insert cup, brew switch, espresso out, and lock, brew switch immediately, insert cup, espresso out - more chance of the coffee getting burnt sitting there next to the scalding showerscreen for several seconds. Just something to try; you normally have several seconds between when you hit the brew switch and when the espresso comes out which is enough; if its less than that the shot will probably be overextracted anyway. Also are your cups pre-heated?

    3) Extraction: The shot looked too quick to me, in terms of its quantity, viscosity, colour (which is a little hard to pick admittedly), the speed of delivery and the resultant volume - when youre stirring it the cup looks close to half full and looks quite watery and after removing the spoon it just keeps spinning and spinning. Have you ever measured the volume youre getting? As a starting point it should be 60ml in 25-30 seconds. I timed about 3 seconds from the brew commencing to when the espresso started pouring, and on my Silvia that gives too fast a shot. About 5 seconds is about right from my recollection, so I normally know within 7 seconds of the brew switch going on whether Im likely to get a good shot or not. Try grinding a bit finer (Id suggest a firmer tamp but I dont think this is possible! ). I imagine the espresso as it was would have tasted quite thin and on the bitter side, possibly leading to the requirement for...

    4) Two sugars! Try the above and see if you still need sugar!

    5) I start steaming with a full boiler rather than leaving the valve open for the first 30 seconds of the steam switch being on but either will work.

    6) Milk volume looks about right, and a cold jug is good! Technique was a bit hard to see but after a while a good whirlpool seemed to develop. Not sure why you switched the steam switch off half way through though. Also, everything you did after pouring the milk, do before pouring the milk, i.e. turn the steam switch off, run the hot water switch with the steam valve open until you get water running out, close the steam valve, turn off the hot water switch and wipe the milk off the wand with a wet cloth. This cools the element from 135 degrees, refills the boiler and gets any milk off the inside and outside of the steam wand before its too dry. Your method will leave the super-heated element sitting there for up to a minute, which isnt as disastrous as not refilling the boiler at all, but the sooner you get the temp down the better.

    7) Im no latte art expert but you can get better results holding the cup at an angle and getting the spout right down into the cup rather than pouring from up higher as youre doing.

    Greg

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

      Greg,

      I cant begin to tell you how much I appreciate your reply!!! Thanks so much and I will put that into place and when it is all rocking I will shoot another video and give you a cooee.

      I did a bit of experimenting with turning off the steam switch at 120 rather than leaving it on until the end. I found that leaving it on until the end meant that when I was trying to purge the steam after finishing with the milk that the kitchen turned into a steam room and water spray went everywhere. Switching off at 120 seems to bleed a lot of the steam off, resulting in less pore cleansing steam when I am finished.

      I tried doing all the cleaning up before pouring milk but I was finding that the milk was starting to seperate from the foam and I was losing the velvety richness that I got from an immediate pour. Any ideas or tips there?

      Will give a finer grind a shot and report back.

      Thanks again!

      Cammo

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

        No worries, been there done that and been helped by others I can assure you! Thats fine re the early turn-off if you prefer that, I dont think its going to overly affect what small amount of waters in the boiler by then.

        If the milks done properly and you give it a swirl after texturing, itll normally be quite happy to sit there for up to 30 seconds or so. Give it another swirl or two before pouring and a bang if any bubbles appear. If this doesnt work it probably means youve got too much foam, in which case adjust your technique to produce less foam.

        Also I was going to comment on a settling knock of the portafilter before tamping, but I presume you may have done this off camera? I did hear a few noises which may have suggested this.

        Greg

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

          Also, I noticed that there appeared to be no attempt made to temp-surf. The shot was pulled at the peak temp, just after the light went out, and I think you will find that to be at too high a temp. Youll get a lot of steam coming out the grouphead at that temp. 1:30-2:00min after the light goes out gives a better temp on my machine.


          Bill

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

            Originally posted by Greg Pullman link=1189689605/0#1 date=1189726962
            I timed about 3 seconds from the brew commencing to when the espresso started pouring, and on my Silvia that gives too fast a shot. About 5 seconds is about right from my recollection, so I normally know within 7 seconds of the brew switch going on whether Im likely to get a good shot or not.
            Ive recently been playing with the idea of bleading the pressure off the boiler (by opening the steam wand) before pulling the shot (closing the steam valve as I hit the brew switch). By doing this I get a dwell time of 6-7sec instead of the usual 4-5sec. So in effect itd be slowing the pressure ramp-up slightly. Any comments on using this approach?


            Bill

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

              Originally posted by Bill link=1189689605/0#5 date=1189738973
              Originally posted by Greg Pullman link=1189689605/0#1 date=1189726962
              I timed about 3 seconds from the brew commencing to when the espresso started pouring, and on my Silvia that gives too fast a shot. About 5 seconds is about right from my recollection, so I normally know within 7 seconds of the brew switch going on whether Im likely to get a good shot or not.
              Ive recently been playing with the idea of bleading the pressure off the boiler (by opening the steam wand) before pulling the shot (closing the steam valve as I hit the brew switch). By doing this I get a dwell time of 6-7sec instead of the usual 4-5sec. So in effect itd be slowing the pressure ramp-up slightly. Any comments on using this approach?

              Bill
              Hmm Bill....Its been a long time since my science degree, however I would have thought that if you bleed pressure you must also lose temperature as a result....leading to a tendency to produce a cooler shot which may taste sour.

              I guess only experimentation will tell...A few shots should provide you with an answer but my instinct is that the gains may be outweighed by the losses.

              Chris

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                Originally posted by 2muchcoffeeman link=1189689605/0#6 date=1189739633
                Originally posted by Bill link=1189689605/0#5 date=1189738973
                Originally posted by Greg Pullman link=1189689605/0#1 date=1189726962
                I timed about 3 seconds from the brew commencing to when the espresso started pouring, and on my Silvia that gives too fast a shot. About 5 seconds is about right from my recollection, so I normally know within 7 seconds of the brew switch going on whether Im likely to get a good shot or not.
                Ive recently been playing with the idea of bleading the pressure off the boiler (by opening the steam wand) before pulling the shot (closing the steam valve as I hit the brew switch). By doing this I get a dwell time of 6-7sec instead of the usual 4-5sec. So in effect itd be slowing the pressure ramp-up slightly. Any comments on using this approach?

                Bill
                Hmm Bill....Its been a long time since my science degree, however I would have thought that if you bleed pressure you must also lose temperature as a result....leading to a tendency to produce a cooler shot which may taste sour.

                I guess only experimentation will tell...A few shots should provide you with an answer but my instinct is that the gains may be outweighed by the losses.

                Chris

                Hmmm, ok I see what you’re saying - that the temp of the water in the boiler is above boiling point because it’s under pressure, and that if the pressure was removed the temp would drop back to 100C. I was forgetting that the water would be above boiling point. In practice though the pressure is probably only reduced slightly (as there is still plenty of steam pressure coming out through the wand), and I dont think that the high thermal mass of the machine is suddenly going to drop by a significant amount by just having the steam valve open for a few secs, but I should check the group temp just to be sure....

                I had read somewhere about different ways to create a pre-infusion like feature on the Silvia. One way people were using was to crack open the steam valve, then hit the brew switch, then slowly close the steam valve over a few sec to slow the pressure ramp-up from the pump (similar idea to what I’ve been trying). Another way they used was to install a delay-relay to the pump. The affect of this is that when you hit the brew switch the 3-way opens to allow water to flow to the group (just under the boiler pressure) which saturates the coffee grounds, and then the pump kicks in 3 sec or so later. This is quite an interesting idea which might be worth a try.


                Bill

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                  Originally posted by Bill link=1189689605/0#7 date=1189748459
                  Hmmm, ok I see what you’re saying - that the temp of the water in the boiler is above boiling point because it’s under pressure, and that if the pressure was removed the temp would drop back to 100C. I was forgetting that the water would be above boiling point. In practice though the pressure is probably only reduced slightly (as there is still plenty of steam pressure coming out through the wand), and I dont think that the high thermal mass of the machine is suddenly going to drop by a significant amount by just having the steam valve open for a few secs, but I should check the group temp just to be sure....
                  Too hard to think about when you can just stick a thermometer under neath your shower head.

                  The water is not above boiling point. Boiling point changes as you change pressure.

                  And you dont necessarily lose temp if you reduce pressure.
                  Ignoring constants and assuming an ideal gass
                  p=nT or
                  pressure=amount of stuff * Temperature

                  When we bleed we are definitely causing p to drop by reducing n (let out steam). T may be (fairly) constant. Just measure it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                    Originally posted by recurve boy link=1189689605/0#8 date=1189992434
                    The water is not above boiling point. Boiling point changes as you change pressure.
                    Yes, I know. Thats what I meant. I meant boiling point at normal atmospheric pressure, as in 100C. Obviously the boiling point is higher under pressure - thats what I was getting at. Water (as in the liquid form) can never be heated above its boiling point, otherwise it would be steam, not water.


                    Bill

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                      Bit of a thread revival I know...but I thought Id bring this back instead of creating another thread...

                      Short story...recently added a PID, reconditioned the steam wand, verified brew pressure etc etc etc.

                      As long as Im using fresh beans Im quite happy with the taste of both the espresso and flat whites I usually have...

                      Was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions / feedback for improvements based observing a vid of a pour of mine. I only ask as Im self (+ youtube and coffeesnobs) taught.
                      The naked portafilter has made a HUGE difference. So so messy when I first started...

                      Apologies for the bad quality - this is the only video camera I have access to (shaky hand held Ideos 8150)

                      [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhXAkvZlQ2Y[/media]

                      Thanks in advance

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                        Looks OK... For what your using but I would have stopped it a touch shorter.

                        Then again all that is just the numbers. Volume over Time etc.

                        What does teh cup taste like ?

                        Is it better or worse if you drop it shorter ?

                        It is about whats in teh cup and if your also not getting lots of fine splatter from your naked; then your doing WELL.

                        Enjoy the journey.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                          As long as I get fresh beans Im pretty happy with the taste so I realise thats the main thing.

                          Now the PID is in and Im confident in the brew pressure Ill experiment a bit more I think.

                          Yeah the first few weeks using the naked portafilter was embarrassing and messy - taken a while to get used to it, but when I get it right I can notice the difference.

                          Cheers for the feedback.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                            I recently have PIDd my silvia with the Auber, I have it set on 104 as well, I have Greg sending the guage to me so I can adjust the brew pressure, I assume its a fairly simple process on the opv valve?

                            my shots arent awesome yet but hopefully they will be when the brew pressure is set right!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Youtube video of my coffee process

                              Originally posted by 3C333429353E5B0 link=1189689605/13#13 date=1302442585
                              I recently have PIDd my silvia with the Auber, I have it set on 104 as well, I have Greg sending the guage to me so I can adjust the brew pressure, I assume its a fairly simple process on the opv valve?

                              my shots arent awesome yet but hopefully they will be when the brew pressure is set right!
                              If you have the adjustable OPV I think its pretty simple if you have a couple of tools
                              1 - the brew pressure gauge
                              2 - a 20mm open ended spanner

                              I initially tried testing the pressure by measuring the volume out of the return pipe, however that indicated my pressure was at 5-6 bar...which I didnt think was likely. The pressure gauge sorted that out.
                              The open ended spanner just makes it easier to get in there, however I was able to do it with a shifting spanner as well.
                              It goes without saying that you should unplug the machine from the wall yada yada.

                              Theres a pic linked on this thread:
                              http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1143622054
                              which shows you what to adjust etc. Basically you turn that lock nut anti clockwise to loosen, then adjust the OPV clockwise to increase pressure, anti clockwise to decrease.
                              Tighten the locking nut when youre done without moving the OPV valve and test again

                              If you have the old OPV, this vid
                              [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlElxFaCbXQ[/media]
                              shows you what you need to do

                              I think there are some threads on here which discuss the topic as well

                              Comment

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