Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

No Crema from San Merino

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • No Crema from San Merino

    We have a San Marino at the school I work at.
    It seems to make no crema. We have tried several different blends and grinds. Even had a rep from a bean company come and visit. The pour seems ok, but no crema.
    Any ideas?
    I have seen a couple of views saying that the San Marino is not a very good machine.
    The machine is part of the catering training section.
    Look forward to your help
    Regards
    Andrew

  • #2
    Re: No Crema from San Merino

    Hmm, just sounds like a case of beans unfresh beans. You definitely should be able to get a good shot out of that machine. I used a San Marino a while back now and with fresh beans I was able to get good shots with crema that tasted good.

    What type of routine are you using, dosage, tamp etc.

    Has the machine been regularly serviced, ie, a good backflush, descale etc, etc

    What recommendations did the bean rep give?

    Yeeza

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: No Crema from San Merino

      Second YeeZas comments.

      You need freshly roasted beans (ie 1-4weeks post roast)
      and freshly ground (ie up to 3 minutes before brewing)
      to get good crema,
      and it should be relatively easy to get if you stay within those parameters.

      After that, blends with some monsoon malabar or 15-20% robusta will generally give better/more crema than most other blends.

      The grinder is actually the most important piece of equipment in the production of good espresso.

      You dont mention what type of grinder the school has, if there isnt one, and you have been using pre-ground coffee then that is the main problem.

      Bullitt

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: No Crema from San Merino

        the San Marino is italian made and well built.

        sounds like a service issue cause if set properly it will give a good coffee even using preground coffee from the supermarket.

        when last serviced

        does machine get backflushed regularly

        some training machines only get cleaned properly when they get serviced

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: No Crema from San Merino

          Makes you wonder if theres not a temperature/brew pressure issue too.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: No Crema from San Merino

            Thanks for the imput.
            The school doesnt have a grinder and I have suggested that they get one real quick. I have got them onto a local provider of beans. The rep came to the school and brought with a couple of different grinds. they had been done that day.
            He then ran the machine and felt as if the grind/time was correct. A back flush was done and it was a bit dirty.
            He was very puzzled by it and felt that it may be a pressure issue.
            The usual filling of PF, tamp and pour.
            I have not been involved with the process, but had been told of the problem and suggested that they contact the bean rep. this they did and he came out.
            As they didnt have a grinder it would be hard for me to test. I was unwilling to bring in my Mazzer.
            Will let you know if they get anywhere.
            Regards
            Andrew

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: No Crema from San Merino

              If youre keen to see if the grinder makes a difference Im surprised you dont want to try yours out on site, though obviously thats your decision. Certainly any decent grinder such as the Mazzer properly configured will tell you pretty soon if thats the problem, and bringing in a personal one is probably the quickest way to arrange that. :-?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: No Crema from San Merino

                Preground, even same day can have no crema.
                Before I took my grinder to work I preground at home in the morning and it was acceptable.
                One day I had enough for one more double shot by the end of the day and decided to use it when I got home (on a better machine) and it was rubbish.

                How can they call it training without a grinder?

                Thats like trying to learn karate from a book.

                Comment

                Working...
                X