I am having a CoffeeSnob get together at my place in Woodvale Perth Sunday 24th October 11AM for those of who want to and can attend. I thought the topic posted here might be a relevant backdrop to the meet up.
I resisted buying one of these until I didn't which was yesterday...
I figured it might help me to refine my tamping and distribution technique. It didn't quite turn out as I thought.
I think that my technique was reasonable already but the mere fact of being watched by my naked portafilter companion made me self-conscious. I did one refinement which may have helped although my first pour was fine before making any changes...just in case I thought.
What I didn't expect was the influence the naked portafilter would have on the brew ratio I was using. I was using 15g in a 15g VST basket and the lovely pour would literally tail off into an untidy spectacle after 15 seconds or so as the whole thing thinned out too much...think bleached blonde. I was aiming for about 45g weighed over 25 seconds which is a brew ratio of 1:3.
I tried similar with my IMS 18g basket and discovered similar which is a brew ratio of 1:2 is fine, a ratio of 1:3 means the tail end lacks viscosity and the nice tornado shape breaks down viewed naked from below the waistline.
It brings me to the point...does it matter? My opinion at this point is that it probably does matter and once the viscosity reduces to not much greater than water that is a step too far. As usual, opinions vary but one thing you can't argue with, being naked reveals all the imperfections that are normally hidden. It requires trust in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
I resisted buying one of these until I didn't which was yesterday...
I figured it might help me to refine my tamping and distribution technique. It didn't quite turn out as I thought.
I think that my technique was reasonable already but the mere fact of being watched by my naked portafilter companion made me self-conscious. I did one refinement which may have helped although my first pour was fine before making any changes...just in case I thought.
What I didn't expect was the influence the naked portafilter would have on the brew ratio I was using. I was using 15g in a 15g VST basket and the lovely pour would literally tail off into an untidy spectacle after 15 seconds or so as the whole thing thinned out too much...think bleached blonde. I was aiming for about 45g weighed over 25 seconds which is a brew ratio of 1:3.
I tried similar with my IMS 18g basket and discovered similar which is a brew ratio of 1:2 is fine, a ratio of 1:3 means the tail end lacks viscosity and the nice tornado shape breaks down viewed naked from below the waistline.
It brings me to the point...does it matter? My opinion at this point is that it probably does matter and once the viscosity reduces to not much greater than water that is a step too far. As usual, opinions vary but one thing you can't argue with, being naked reveals all the imperfections that are normally hidden. It requires trust in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

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