Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

So after much fun/frustration/experimenting with my bottomless portafilter I am getting closer to having a consistent experience with my setup.

I am still getting some channelling happening and although not as bad as it has been when I first started using this it is now just one stream rather than half a dozen.

I have been reducing the amount of coffee in the filter as that has made some improvements as I think I was probably overfilling the basket. I probably should be weighing the amount I am dosing. I am guessing the line round the middle of the basket is probably where I should be aiming for when tampered.

One thing I have noticed is that after pulling a shot I am getting two depressions (like someone is trying to drill into it) on the puck on the left hand side as if the water pressure there is much higher than elsewhere. (is this anything I can resolve?)

Oh well the experimenting continues. :D
 
Inverted, fine-ish grind (about table salt), 14g coffee to 230g water. 30s bloom with 50g water, add rest and wait until 1m30s, plunge slowly to finish at about 2m15s.

Top up mug with water, add splash o milk if you like. Always done well by me :)
 
nst68 said:
With the Aeropress and grinder I've invested about £70, so don't want to give up.
Plus lots of other people get good results from the Aeropress and I'm cheesed off that I can't :p
Click to expand...

Have you been to any coffee shops where you've had coffee you liked more than the pod coffee? It could simply be that your tastes are more dialled in to the kind of flavours you're getting from the pods right now.
 
Barry McFungus Pants said:
I'm using the standard double filter that came with the machine. The speed is the same if using the standard portafilter 14g ground coffee = 50g finished product ~25 seconds, more or less.
Click to expand...

davetherave2 said:
So after much fun/frustration/experimenting with my bottomless portafilter I am getting closer to having a consistent experience with my setup.

I am still getting some channelling happening and although not as bad as it has been when I first started using this it is now just one stream rather than half a dozen.

I have been reducing the amount of coffee in the filter as that has made some improvements as I think I was probably overfilling the basket. I probably should be weighing the amount I am dosing. I am guessing the line round the middle of the basket is probably where I should be aiming for when tampered.

One thing I have noticed is that after pulling a shot I am getting two depressions (like someone is trying to drill into it) on the puck on the left hand side as if the water pressure there is much higher than elsewhere. (is this anything I can resolve?)

Oh well the experimenting continues. :D
Click to expand...

This was with the standard double basket, and 14g of coffee. I didn't weigh the output, but was around 40g@30secs. You can see some of the splatter on the machine, but this is as good as I've got it so far having had the bottomless around a month now. Best thing I did to improve it was make sure the tamping was level and grounds stirred a little and also had to grind finer.

Apparently ridge-less baskets are better, but I'm ok with the results so far.

xQyJz57.jpg
ZzfGBLn.jpg
JpemIx5.jpg
 
FrenchTart said:
Have you been to any coffee shops where you've had coffee you liked more than the pod coffee? It could simply be that your tastes are more dialled in to the kind of flavours you're getting from the pods right now.
Click to expand...

I had a flat white from Taylor Street near Liverpool Street, easily the best coffee I've tasted.
It was complex if that makes any sense, could taste cherries but also nutty, it was almost chewable!
 
Siliconslave said:
You will get a different flavour profile from an espresso machine to an AP to pour over, but the AP shouldn't be so bad a illy pod beats it...

The three things to adjust for flavour are the amount of coffee, the brew time and the grind of the coffee - more coffee, longer steeping or finer grind will give you more flavour.

Try upping your brew time to 2 min or making the grind a notch finer.

& enjoy the redbrick :)
Click to expand...

I had the Redbrick this morning, WOW!!!

So much more taste than the Hasbean beans I've been having, the beans in the bag don't have a massive coffee smell, but once they'd been ground the smell is amazing.

I tightened up the grinder, 5 clicks on the Porlex instead of 7, used less water (I think I was definitely using too much before) and brewed for about 2 mins.
Probably the best coffee I've made at home :)

What's the Square Mile Sweet Shop like?
 
Sweet Shop is my favourite espresso blend.

HasBean do really good beans, btw. I wouldn't write them off on that experience alone. :) Which beans were you using from them?

Also 2 mins is quite quick, IMO. My usual AP brew is about 5-6mins.
 
Dj_Jestar said:
Sweet Shop is my favourite espresso blend.

HasBean do really good beans, btw. I wouldn't write them off on that experience alone. :) Which beans were you using from them?

Also 2 mins is quite quick, IMO. My usual AP brew is about 5-6mins.
Click to expand...

My last purchase from Hasbean was Nicaragua Finca Limoncillo Pulped Natural Longberry

I've been using the Hasbean Aeropress brewing guide, it says brew for 30secs :confused:
 
I do love Rave's Signature using the basic inverted Hasbean Aeropress method. Best black coffee I've had.

I find that it's already sip-able temperature straight after the 40 seconds contact time. I find the Aeropress fairly fuss free though. You don't have to be spot on with timings or water temps to get a decent mug :)
 
Longer brew times = sweeter extraction. I don't rate the hasbean method though, tried it when I first bought an AP.

If anyone's looking for a bean to try, I higly recommend froundry's rocko mountain. My batch should be here today, their old batch was excellent and have heard even better things re. the new one.

They also have an AP method for each of their beans on the shop page :)
 
Ducky89 said:
Longer brew times = sweeter extraction. I don't rate the hasbean method though, tried it when I first bought an AP.

If anyone's looking for a bean to try, I higly recommend froundry's rocko mountain. My batch should be here today, their old batch was excellent and have heard even better things re. the new one.

They also have an AP method for each of their beans on the shop page :)
Click to expand...

That's good.

They are very pricey beans though.
 
Something more of comparable quality (for want of a better word, perhaps a more fair test) would be something like:

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collection...cts/ethiopia-yirgacheffe-kebel-aricha-natural

Works out at £8.40 for 350g, compared to the £9 for Rocko. I buy 1kg for £23, at that rate it's £8.05 for 350g, so actually cheaper than HasBeans equivalent, thus far it's my favourite coffee... just blowing it's trumpet a wee bit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom