Originally posted by 6557555843653A0 link=1252029303/20#20 date=1252204921
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Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Thats correct the finer the grind the longer you will need to grind. Personally I wouldnt use the timer to measure my coffee volume, I would use it more as a convenience thing. The most consistent way to dose is by leveling off.
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
I think that is right, but the issue (at least the one I was referring to) with a grinder like the MD4 is that it doses for a consistent time, not a consistent amount. So therefore you sometimes need to adjust the dosage time to keep the amount constant as the beans change or age.Originally posted by 465E5B5B4E5F74464A451D1C2B0 link=1252029303/8#8 date=1252059737IMO dosing and tamping should not be used to adjust pour times. Thats why grinders are adjustable.
Keep adjusting your grind finer till you get the pour you want.
In fact I find that grind and dose are not independent which makes things tricky sometimes. I can’t remember which way it goes off the top of my head, but I think that as I adjust the grind finer it actually doses less coffee in the same time. So at some stage I might need to adjust the time to get the dose up to the same amount.
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Hi
I have changed the way I make my coffee. So I share this....
Hope it helps (Works with Silvia as well as Giotto)
1. I use a Rancillio Grinder (not the best but will do) and 5 Senses beans (WA)
2. I grind for 21 seconds into the portafillter with a cut down plastic cup insert that stops grinds falling over the edge.
3. I tap the group handle to settle the grinds and I tamp lightly all over with a 20mm dowel to sort of level it, even it and break up balled grinds - yes complicated but makes the difference.
4 Then tamp with full size Tamper. Check that the center grinds are firm.
5. Then use a home made perspex scraper guage set to the correct depth of grinds then tamp again (about 1mm clear of the screen)
6. Then express a short double shot of 20mls max into a single cup. There should be no blonding at all. (Expensive but - wow)
7. The result is sweet with no bitterness.
Several of the local coffee shops use a similar set up though without all the mini tamping and scraping - they have commercial machines equipment.
WE love this but it uses twice as much coffee. After a while it does not take long to make. (Beware dont over dose - as it will become bitter and far to strong)
David
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
In general the more water you push through the grounds, the more caffeine youll extract--and caffeine is very bitter. Once the pull starts to pale off, the taste has been extracted but the caffeine keeps on coming! >
I suggest you try a doppio ristretto and taste how that is for you.
Greg
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
To Query 1
Try what Barrel advises on the above post
To query 2
See this link
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/science/bittermain.htm
You can also discard the first part of the pour (let it go down the drip tray) and catch the rest by quickly placing the cup under the PF
KK
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
You can try putting a 5 cent piece on the top of the puck and loading it up and then taking it straight out again without pulling a shot.
If the 5 cent coin has imprinted on the puck, you are on the shower screen, no 5 cent impression means you can dose a bit higher.
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
1) Hey Koffee Kosmo,
How do you tell how far the puck is lying from the shower screen? I mean once you insert the group handle into position you loose sight of the puck and screen?
2) Oh and the issue Im having with the espresso at the moment is that I cant seem to extract the sweet notes. By this I mean that when I go to a good cafe I usually never add sugar but at home I invariably have to add half a teaspoon. So far experimentation with different beans and different grind settings hasnt fixed that.
Is there one main variable which affects sweetness?
3) Thanks Chris/Talk Coffee. I do appreciate the offer of assistance. Its tough when Im out of town but when Im back in the smoke Ill try organise to meet up ...
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
I will go back to my standard answerOriginally posted by 164951474C474B4242414149454A240 link=1252029302/13#13 date=1252069418Nope KK- just goes to prove that a number means nothing...Its specific to each grinder- even within a brand and model.Originally posted by 02262F2F2C2C1602263A2426490 link=1252029302/5#5 date=1252035339Dr Coffees grinder collar setting is on 8
My grinder setting is on 2
Big difference in that number and resulting grind
2mcm
1) Grind to the consistency of table salt as a starting point, and adjust fine or course as required
2) Tamp to the correct depth in the basket. That depth is that the tamped puck is just touching or a hairs whisker from the shower screen in the group head when the Porta Filter is locked on
This depth could be 8mm to 10mm on any size basket
Use that depth level for future reference when tamping
DrCoffee
I hope my answer is more of what you and others were looking for
KK
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Nope KK- just goes to prove that a number means nothing...Its specific to each grinder- even within a brand and model.Originally posted by 02262F2F2C2C1602263A2426490 link=1252029302/5#5 date=1252035339Dr Coffees grinder collar setting is on 8
My grinder setting is on 2
Big difference in that number and resulting grind
2mcm
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
I have a Macap M4D and found that a mid-way tamp or too much settling affected the flavour of the pull negatively.
The best solution for me was the 1.5 inch ring cut from a yoghurt carton used as a sort of funnel to allow one-go filling of the basket without overflow, a brief level with finger, one tap to settle, lift off funnel, tamp, polish, go.
Greg
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Humour me....how old is the coffee?Originally posted by 3D2B3A363F3F3C3C590 link=1252029302/0#0 date=12520293021) Good quality coffee stored properly - I really dont think the error is there
If you want to slow down the pour you have to either add more coffee or grind finer.
Change only one of those variables at a time though.
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Hi Doc,
The offer made when you collected your gear (a complimentary run through how to get the best from your machine) is still open to you
Sounds like it may help a heap...
Apols, but a visit is impossible as I have programmed my sat nav to have amnesia on Ballarat and a few other towns :P
Youre welcome to drop me a line next time youre heading towards the big smoke and we can arrange a time..
Chris
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Thanks for posting Doc. I have a similar set up to yours and so Im interested in the responses you get...Originally posted by 7167767A73737070150 link=1252029302/0#0 date=1252029302Im making a decent coffee with my new setup but not blowing myself away with delight .
But Im also wondering what in particular you think is lacking at the moment. How are your expectations unfulfilled?
FWIW my overall procedure is similar to yours though my timer is set to 5.1 and the grind setting on my micrometric version of the Macap is about halfway between 6 and 7. I find that I need to vary these settings slightly according to weather conditions or when I change to a different bean. At the moment its set a little finer than my normal setting.
Best wishes, Russell
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Dont get caught up in settings. coffee is best made with feel.
A favorite catch cry on these forums is "Keep it simple."
My advice is to eliminate the half way tamp. Grind till the baskets full then bang the group handle on something to settle them before topping up. Level off with your finger or knife etc and tamp once. (I doubt this will help much but what your doing at the moment is just making life harder)
IMO dosing and tamping should not be used to adjust pour times. Thats why grinders are adjustable.
Keep adjusting your grind finer till you get the pour you want.
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Re: Decent but not great - help me tweak my setup (Rocket Giotto with Macap MD4)
Hi, I have exactly the same setup and am getting what i consider good results, not perfect yet as i have had it under a week, but certainly good. SO I will be very interested in how this thread plays out.
My responses are below yours...
Ok so here goes:
1) Good quality coffee stored properly - I really dont think the error is there
I suggest you at least try a different bean just to eliminate this as a possible cause, unless you know it to be a quality bean.
2) Macap D4 grinder set to just under 8 on the coarseness/fineness setting.
Same
3) Grinder set to "4.5" seconds which approximately half fills the group handle
4.4 for me
4) After handle half filled I shake it gently to level the grind and then tamp very gently just to get it level.
Same
5) I then add another 4.5 seconds worth.
6) I then level the grind and tamp fairly hard, then twist, tamp again, then polish.
Same
7) Actual expression of coffee (into preheated cup) seems a bit quick - volume gets there in about 21 seconds. Not sure how to improve this as I already have the grind set to very fine, and filling the basket and tamping quite hard
IMHO 21 seconds is fine, its about the taste.
8) Milk microfrothing in the jug seems good but Im not getting it right enough to do latte art yet.
I do get quite good microfoam from mine. Theres plenty of posts on this in the froth and bubbles milk texturing sub-forum...FWIW, I use UHT semi-skim milk - very cold. Fill 600ml jug to just below spout, purge the wand, place the tip under the surface and turn on. quickly bring tip to just below the surface at the side of the jug and create a whirlpool. I have the jug and wand slightly angled to assist in this. I just let in a slow hiss of air over 2-3 seconds and then dip the tip just below the surface so no more air gets in (milk is now about 30ish degrees), but the tip can still draw down the "foam" from the top of the milk into the whirlpool. I lower the tip a bit more as the milk expands (about 50 degrees now) and then finish heating the milk to 63-65 degrees. Done.
Hope that helps at least we are doing some things the same so i can adapt and learn with you too
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