Ceado E6P and Supermarket Lavazza

[splashalot]

There's a thread on Home Barista for tips on the E6P (link provided below, but unsure if it will be removed). Not sure if you have seen it, or if it contains any info which may help you, but just thought I'd mention it on the off chance it helps.

https://www.home-barista.com/grinder...ps-t47247.html

[YeastNCaffeine]

Just out of curiosity - is there a fixed reference point on the grinder's body against which you measure the grind scale? I can't see one in that photo ^

Edit: This video on coffee freshness was posted in a different thread by another member. Very interesting. Mentions the nitrogen flush technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGUbCGxQsHs

If you look in the shadows there's an arrow in relief on the black plastic above the letter "a" in Ceado pointing at the scale. It's not exactly the easiest dial to read precisely I guess they bank on people mostly doing it by feel.

[splashalot]

Just out of curiosity - is there a fixed reference point on the grinder's body against which you measure the grind scale? I can't see one in that photo ^

Edit: This video on coffee freshness was posted in a different thread by another member. Very interesting. Mentions the nitrogen flush technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGUbCGxQsHs

[YeastNCaffeine]

OK I tried the grinder with beans that had a grind date placing them at 1 week old...
Went through the following settings on the dial:

0.5 - ran through way too fast and gushed out…
0.35 - shot was 59 grams from a 19g dose
0.25 - shot was 38 grams from a 19g dose

So assuming future shots behave the same way I have dialled it in at 0.25. The zero point of the grinder (where it just barely began to sing) is at about the “D” on the word CEADO and the “A” is the limit of where it will turn gently with no beans once the zero point was found and the motor switched off.

I'll do a few more shots over the next few days and see if it stays consistent. So the new beans allowed me to reach do a shot but I'm not sure if the how fine it's set should surprise me or if that's normal.

[YeastNCaffeine]

Yeah I get that ;-)

[saeco_user]

Wasn't wondering about old beans - just cheap beans. Lavazza is like having supermarket white bread when you could be eating Dench Sourdough.

[YeastNCaffeine]

>>but it still worries me that I can't get the grinder to grind them fine enough

(But I have to ask - why buy a $1500 grinder though, and use it with cheap beans?)

Why... because by buying a machine and nice grinder but saving on the coffee cost I recoup the investment quicker through cheaper coffees. As for Lavazza being cheap - I'm not sure but I think it's that's cheap really - normally $35/kg and I got it on special at $20/kg. There are Cafe's that use Lavazza. I'm kind of annoyed that people wondering why I use old beans. I would bet that they didn't sit on the shelf at woolworths for long at all and they have enormous turnover at a supermarket. The use by is Jan 2022 - now I know people say that's terrible but I didn't know any better and they shouldn't be allowed to print it if it's not true. When I rang Lavazza they told me they have a special process and assured me that they are fresh and any beans they could replace them with would have about the same expiry. I understand what people are saying here about roast dates but not everyone knows any better and indeed Lavazza are sticking to their story. So should I report Lavazza to Fair Trading for telling pork pies? Anyway is expensive a guarantee of quality when it comes to beans when they are on special - who knows - you are always guessing right...

All I know is my expensive h/w won't work with the bloody beans I bought (like the peasant I am at the supermarket) and I have cleared the grinder of beans and am waiting on some "boutiquey" cork sniffing beans to make the bloody POS work. What a joke. lol

[YeastNCaffeine]

>>but it still worries me that I can't get the grinder to grind them fine enough

I have to agree that your grinder should be able to choke your machine even with very old beans. When you said you last tried very close to zero, was this zero on the scale or zero, as in burrs were almost touching? As other have mentioned the zero on the scale is fairly arbitrary. If your burrs are almost touching and you still can't choke the machine then it's possible the pressure on your machine is set too high. (But I have to ask - why buy a $1500 grinder though, and use it with cheap beans?)

The zero point is about 0.25 of the scale further counterclockwise - so it would be approximately negative 0.25 (except that's approximate because the scale runs out and there's just a word "Ceado" in that region of the scale). I'm at zero on the physical dial at the moment though. I checked where the zero point was last night - no I'm not quite there but surely I have to leave a tiny gap for safety like I am now.

[saeco_user]

>>but it still worries me that I can't get the grinder to grind them fine enough

I have to agree that your grinder should be able to choke your machine even with very old beans. When you said you last tried very close to zero, was this zero on the scale or zero, as in burrs were almost touching? As other have mentioned the zero on the scale is fairly arbitrary. If your burrs are almost touching and you still can't choke the machine then it's possible the pressure on your machine is set too high. (But I have to ask - why buy a $1500 grinder though, and use it with cheap beans?)

[YeastNCaffeine]

Yeah I know I wasn't drinking that shot it was just for timing and to spit the video out.... Normally the portafilter warms up with machine.

[flynnaus]

On a side note, in your video you picked up the portafilter by the head rather than the handle suggesting that the portafilter isn't hot. This will lower the temperature of the shot and affect the taste. Keep the empty portafilter inserted into your machine until you are ready to dose.

[YeastNCaffeine]

I am going to use it for percolated coffee at lunchtimes and use it up that way. I will get some better beans and try them but it still worries me that I can't get the grinder to grind them fine enough - I would have thought a good grinder should handle it too - I might have learnt a few things here but I have to say I'm shocked.

[roosterben]

Sounds like you are getting close. A quality grinder should still be able to choke a coffee machine with stale beans. As others have mentioned now you are getting close I would grab at least 500 grams / 1kg of some quality fresh beans from a local cafe/roaster (grab a bag within 2 weeks of roasting, preferably 5 days post roast). Even though you have invested $80 in Aldi beans I reckon you are better off using it for filter coffee.

Also I think a bunch of people are forgetting "Nitrogen Wash" which is quite common packing process in supermarket beans which can extend the lifetime. Not recommending people buy supermarket beans, I always grab beans from local roasters/cafes.

[YeastNCaffeine]

Thank you for the kind words re: my guitar playing :-) Re: the grind scale I don't think so - although I worked the zero point out last night after making sure there no beans in it and it starting making that characteristic zero point noise at about -0.25 and with the beans gone and the machine off I can't rotate beyond -0.5. Both of those are guesses because they don't actually have scale markings beyond zero on this model.

[splashalot]

Is the grind scale on the Ceado fixed in place? I remember reading elsewhere that it is magnetic and therefor detachable (or was that on a Ceado E37s?). If so, you could position the zero point wherever you want it.

PS: Nice guitar videos, BTW. You can really play.