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From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!! :)

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  • GregWormald
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Youve done it all right--good machine, grinder, and lessons. Just add good fresh beans and practice with a bit of variation--one thing at a time--and youll find the sweet spot and the mods needed for different beans and weather conditions. Yes, the weather affects the coffee process.

    I really like the videos of Scottie Callaghan on a VBM, which should serve as a reminder of your lessons. Here: http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1226534950

    Enjoy the coffee.

    Greg

    ps--on the Macap--"coarser is clockwise"!

    Leave a comment:


  • twistiebrinkley
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Ive done it - I upgraded to the Macap M4d and have had some private lessons. Ive still a long way to go, but getting better. any advice on either the Giotto or Macap would be appreciated.

    Leave a comment:


  • charoli
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    I teamed up my Giotto PP with a Compak K3 touch, cheaper than Ks & MM, results with the Giotto are very consistent.

    Leave a comment:


  • anthonyd
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    twistiebrinkley,

    I am surprised non one has pickup up on your comment about your shoulder being sore from tamping. I think you may be making the same mistake i made at first. You only need to tamp to about 15kg which sounds a lot but really is not. Get youself a bathroom scale and place your portafilter on that then tamp. This will give you an idea what force you are exerting - you will be surprised how little you need to push to get to 15kg.

    Leave a comment:


  • twistiebrinkley
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Youre absolutely right Dumiya, without the regular repeating, making the perfect espresso is difficultn and this process is made more difficult as I hate the thought of wasting good coffee just practising.

    I have realised that I need to equip myself with the right tools for the job and that a little knowledge can be dangerous!!!!

    I am looking forward to my one on one session and trialling the Mazzer mini and Ks grinders. I have also checked out the Pullman tamper website and am most excited about a purchase there too.

    Thanks for all of your support, I love it and appreciate all your tidbits and advice. TB

    Leave a comment:


  • dumiya
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    TB
    There is a steep learning curve for the Giotto.  It is because it can make coffee equal to the very best commercial machines. One problem is that for the home brewer is that we are making cups sort of a few here and a few there where as the shops are brewing continually so they can fine turn what they are doing and repeat it.  Their commercial machines are infinitely adjustable and serious cafes can afford to have them set up and checked regularly.  ----- Even so some of the people behind these machines still manage to make frightful coffee.

    I am just coming out of a steep curve (again)  my coffee today was superb.  I think the grinder and the grinds evenly spread before the tamp are critical.

    Giotto is a great machine - be patient.
    Dumiya

    Leave a comment:


  • cuppacoffee
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    The mazzer mini doser is a great match for your giotto TB. Not only will it look right, it will perform well. One ofthe main advantages of doser grinders is that they break up clumping that can occur.

    Like all grinders though, it has its quirks, and can be a bit messy as it throws grinds to the left as you dose. You can however prevent this with either fast thwacking of the lever, a relatively easy mod to the grinder, or a combination of both.

    Hope that helps!

    Leave a comment:


  • twistiebrinkley
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Ok I hear you...the Sunbeam grinder has to go if I hope to do justice to my new baby, but has anyone got some spare cash???

    I have also booked myself in for a home course, so someone will come to me and see the error of my ways. I am looking forward to it.

    My next question would be on WHICH grinder. I only make a few coffees per day, and currently with the EM0480 which is doserless, I seem to have coffee flying everywhere when filling the portafiller and the mess is driving me crazy. Ive read your posts about doser vs doserless, but still dont know which way to go. Does it really come down to personal preference or does practicality weigh in?

    TB

    Leave a comment:


  • cuppacoffee
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Sleep easy Steve - your mini was a great choice. "Entry level" would mean different things to different people and discussion would be better in an alternative thread. Id recommend that members review the info at the top of the grinders section then make their own decision on what this means.

    Leave a comment:


  • flynnaus
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Originally posted by cuppacoffee link=1222850696/0#10 date=1222913206
    Agree Steve - Of course there are many more factors.  I was just intending to correct a perception that may have been created about even particle size being desirable.  If you google "Titan Grinder Project" theres some interesting reading there.
    Thanks. You mentioned this to me on Saturday and it made sense at the time (well, still does) until I remembered my crappy old Gaggia.

    I cant help thinking what is the entry level to achieve this degree of consistent fine + coarse grinds. The grinders in the review are mostly conical burrs and over $1000.

    Leave a comment:


  • james74
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    I too upgraded a week ago to the Giotto, from a breville 800. I also got a Mazzer with my new toy, in for a penny in for a pound i thought. The grinder is definately one of your major problems. I did a few tests, using the em 0480 to grind a few shots worth to compare them to the mazzers performance. At the finest grind settings on the sunbeam, i could not get shots to run over about 17 secs, even with 20 kg plus of tamp pressure. I have got my tamping technique consistent now at about 15 kg, so i dont want to use it to control the pour. The grinder upgrade was more than worth it, im sure i could even choke the giotto with it if i wanted to. I found that the fill/tap/fill/level and then tamp as stated above works well and consistantly for me (2 taps lightly, not 1, not 3-4, but 2, as long as its the same every time). The grinder allows me to keep every part of my routine the same and adjust the pour by grind setting alone. It would be a shame to not get the best out of a machine like the giotto, just because the grinder is letting you down.
    It may be worth doing a course also, I am waiting until i have a break in work to do one (although im not sure at this stage if i would now benefit). Any good course should let you take your own machine to it, thus getting instruction and help on the exact machine you intend to use.
    Anyway, enjoy your new toy, I know i am.
    James

    Leave a comment:


  • cuppacoffee
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Agree Steve - Of course there are many more factors. I was just intending to correct a perception that may have been created about even particle size being desirable.

    If you google "Titan Grinder Project" theres some interesting reading there.

    Leave a comment:


  • Koffee_Kosmo
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Originally posted by cuppacoffee link=1222850696/0#6 date=1222911796
    Originally posted by Koffee Kosmo link=1222850696/0#5 date=1222909637

    I define a good grinder as giving a consistent and equal particle size of the ground beans
    KK
    Consistent, yes; equal, no.

    A good grinder will produce coarse and fine grinds - a desirable attribute when making espresso.  

    Maybe I should have said within a set or close paramater
    Yes not all grounds will be identical twins or clones of each other  :

    KK

    Leave a comment:


  • Martial_Monkey
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    It needs to be consistently unequal. Meaning their will be the same ratio of coarser/medium/fine grinds every time it grinds.

    Leave a comment:


  • flynnaus
    replied
    Re: From Sunbeam to Giotto - I need help!!

    Surely its more than that Den. My old Gaggia MM grinder produced grounds of uneven size but I couldnt call it superior to my Mini.

    Steve

    Leave a comment:

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