Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[Raymond Lin]

I've wondered this before and still don't have an answer:

If a grinder has retention every time it's used then where does it go?

Most* of it is replaced and pushed through with new, not every single particle of course. They call it the "exchange".

If you are brewing lots and lots of cups, like in a cafe, retention is not an issue. But if you are brewing 1 cup a day and if the retention is like 1g, then that's 1g out of 18g, that's 5.5% of your espresso ground is 1 day old coffee (assuming it all gets exchanged).

* depends on the grinder, the amount that is exchange can't be 100% consistent so there's always a chance there are some just get stuck in a corner that won't get nudged off for ages and then one day it does.

 

[Kainz]

Yes, with my Sette 270 I have about 0.1-0.2g of retention everytime I grind. It is a superb grinder with noise being its only negative really. When I change the grind settings I just throw in a few g's of sacrificial beans in order to purge out any older grounds.

I remove the burrs once a month and clean them with a nylon bristle brush and a can of compressed air for the insides of the machine.

 

[starmanwarz]

After 3 months of waiting, my first proper espresso machine (Profitec GO) arrived and I dialed my first shots yesterday. It is replacing a Nespresso pod machine.

I was very overwhelmed at first, trying to figure out the GO, grinder (Timemore Sculptor 078s), scale, tamper, puck screen and a myriad of accessories at the same time was a bit too much.

I think I must have thrown away my first 8-10 shots as I was trying to dial my grinder and getting either too fast or too slow extractions.

I think I found an ok spot for now, I am aiming for 18g in ~40g out in 25-30 sec.

I woke up this morning and pulled just one shot which was quite a success, so I am very happy! Currently using some Lavazza Super Crema beans (which were roasted on December....) but once I feel more confident I'll try fresh specialty coffees from local roasters.

 

[manic111]

:

If a grinder has retention every time it's used then where does it go?

Isn't this a Billie Eilish song?

 

[LuckyBenski]

Isn't this a Billie Eilish song?

I'm thinking of Haddaway now

 

[Raymond Lin]

After 3 months of waiting, my first proper espresso machine (Profitec GO) arrived and I dialed my first shots yesterday. It is replacing a Nespresso pod machine.

I was very overwhelmed at first, trying to figure out the GO, grinder (Timemore Sculptor 078s), scale, tamper, puck screen and a myriad of accessories at the same time was a bit too much.

I think I must have thrown away my first 8-10 shots as I was trying to dial my grinder and getting either too fast or too slow extractions.

I think I found an ok spot for now, I am aiming for 18g in ~40g out in 25-30 sec.

I woke up this morning and pulled just one shot which was quite a success, so I am very happy! Currently using some Lavazza Super Crema beans (which were roasted on December....) but once I feel more confident I'll try fresh specialty coffees from local roasters.

Oh yeah, any new bag of beans basically resets the equation all over again. It takes practice to learn the gear and where around in the settings gives the ideal results.

Change only 1 variable at a time, otherwise you will end up chasing your own tail.

Ps that’s the machine I want to upgrade to, where did you order it from?

 

[starmanwarz]

Oh yeah, any new bag of beans basically resets the equation all over again. It takes practice to learn the gear and where around in the settings gives the ideal results.

Change only 1 variable at a time, otherwise you will end up chasing your own tail.

Ps that’s the machine I want to upgrade to, where did you order it from?

I am in Greece and I ordered from a Greek shop (KUDU), the waiting time was 3 months but I got it for a good price (got the Yellow version for 865 euros)

 

[jpaul]

yes looks very nice with pastel colours (like for eureka grinders) especially ability to experiment with brew pressure easily and quick heat up
[ rancilio Audrey(sister of silvia) I'd had was only bare bones no pid/gauge/pressure - which newer bezzera HX doesn't either ]

 

[Raymond Lin]

Roasted my first batch of Geisha

Hermanos Aguilera Yellow Honey Geisha

Grown at 1,550 metres in the hills of Los Robles de Naranjo, this Geisha M2 comes from Finca Licho – one of several farms managed by the Aguilera brothers. With over 60 years of coffee farming behind them and more than 15 years focused on speciality, the Aguileras have become one of the most...

greencoffeecollective.com

I am so glad I didn't do this as my first attempt because this batch took a little longer than before. The altitude of this is lower than before, so I started with 180c for about 3mins before rising it. The first time I went straight in at 200c as those were higher altitude beans.

I put the same amount of green beans (250g) in as before and it took 10mins vs 8min25 than the last one. It took much longer in the drying phase before the colour change and it also expanded a lot more than before. I had to shake the machine towards the end to minimise burnt ends. Which there was still quiet a few, about 15-20 or so beans.

I induded them in the weighing and it came to 14.3% dehydration, which is a medium roast.

Look at the amount of size increase though in the bowl.

 

[glitch]

How many roasts is that now and have you tested them out on anyone else for their comments?

Geisha looks interesting, were you aiming for a particular roast profile or do you go by eye?

PS. Love the bowl - where is that from?!

 

[Raymond Lin]

How many roasts is that now and have you tested them out on anyone else for their comments?

Geisha looks interesting, were you aiming for a particular roast profile or do you go by eye?

PS. Love the bowl - where is that from?!

I think this is my 7th roast now. 1st bag (3 roast, at 150/150/200g), 2nd bag (3 Roast 125/125/250), on my 3rd bag which is this one at 250g, half a bag.

This one I am aiming for a little over medium because I wanted both floral and chocolatety notes, which I think I hit, it was a 14.3% dehydration. Since there is no probe inside the machine, I do it basically all by eye/guess work, which I must admit....without sounding too cocky, been quite successful so far. Mostly because I can see what is happening and when I press stop, it immediately cuts the heat and blow cold air for 5 mins so it stops the process much more efficiently than simply dropping it on a large cold surface and moving it around.

Next batch I will try for a lighter note, perhaps 13% dehydration to see what it taste like.

I've given some of my 1st batch to my friend and his wife to try, they said it has lots of flavour. I also bought my 1zpresso grinder into work today and gave a colleage a try and he too says it has lots of flavour too. He is drinking my 2nd bag which IMO isn't as floral and more subtle in flavour. But the person at work is a regular Nescafe drinker so anything is better than that!

i also gave some to someone at work to take home to try.

I picked up the bowl from Kyoto, it is actually a Matcha tea cup. I first came across this shop just walking around one trip, didn't buy anything but on my last trip I made a conscious decision to revisit and bought it. You can see it on the shelve on the 2nd photo, left hand side, 2nd from bottom. In the first photo you can see the space where my bowl was too if you zoom in.

They do a mix of 1 off and also factory stuff, you can kinda see in the photo which is which.

p.s. I ordered some more beans last night, and more Geisha but different ones.

Spent £38 for 1.5kg of green beans....not really saving much money in roasting my own lol

 

[glitch]

That would be a very hard place to come away from without buying a lot of new pieces. Very envious of you having that selection to pick from and well done on not buying all the things.

Back to the coffee for a moment... are you roasting for filter/V60 or are any of your efforts destined for espresso?

PS. If you need a tester, I'd be happy to oblige!

 

[Kelt]

You can single dose in the Sage, and honestly single dose is the 1 thing that will bring better consistency because you control the WEIGHT (amount) of coffee into your espresso, and that has a huge impact on your puck. As opposed to measure by volume or worse....a timer in a grinder.

If you do go down this route, you will need a scale, Aliexpress sell one that I love, I got it like 2 years ago now, I love it. Less than £15. It does accuracy to 0.1g, it has USB charging, and it even has a rubber cap for the USB port to stop water getting in, it's pretty water resistence otherwise.

Mini Electronic Coffee Scale Smart Powder Water Ratio USB Silicone Pad High Quality Precision Professional Kitchen Coffee Tools

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I love these scales.

 

[Raymond Lin]

That would be a very hard place to come away from without buying a lot of new pieces. Very envious of you having that selection to pick from and well done on not buying all the things.

Back to the coffee for a moment... are you roasting for filter/V60 or are any of your efforts destined for espresso?

PS. If you need a tester, I'd be happy to oblige!

Ha yeah, the only thing stopped me was my luggage allowance (and bank balance, some of the 1 off pieces are in the 3 figures! I think mine was about £20? I forgot exactly, but you can see some of them have prices on them ranging from 1500 yen to 2000 yen) You should have seen inside the shop lol, like that photo of the outside but 10x inside.

I am only brewing V60/Hario Switch at the moment, not used my Espresso machine in quite a while but I might do it this weekend for the Geisha. It will be well rested by then.

p.s. pm me your address and I will be happy to send some over for you to test.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Got some new beansssss, you can definitely see the beans gets smaller as the altitude rises. Each are 500g bags.

 

[Raymond Lin]

So I tried the Geisha this morning, a little early but it has been 2 days since roasting. I just couldn't wait!

Overall, these are the 3 beans I bought.

Ngila Estate - £10.95 for 500g

Ngila Estate Kent AB

Grown on the edge of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area, this washed Kent AB lot comes from Ngila Estate—a farm nestled between cloud forest and the wildlife corridors that cross northern Arusha. At 1,600 metres above sea level, cool temperatures and rich volcanic soils provide the...

greencoffeecollective.com

Musaza Lot - £13.95 for 500g

Musaza Lot 1

At Rwamatamu, quality starts with careful selection. Cherries are hand-sorted at the washing station to remove underripes and defects, then pulped in small batches, with the equipment washed between each grade to keep lots clean and distinct. After a controlled fermentation of 8 to 12 hours, the...

greencoffeecollective.com

Yellow Honey Geisha - £15.95 for 500g

Hermanos Aguilera Yellow Honey Geisha

Grown at 1,550 metres in the hills of Los Robles de Naranjo, this Geisha M2 comes from Finca Licho – one of several farms managed by the Aguilera brothers. With over 60 years of coffee farming behind them and more than 15 years focused on speciality, the Aguileras have become one of the most...

greencoffeecollective.com

I will put it in spoliers so @glitch can read it after he has tried it.

Spoiler

First, they are all good, there are no bad coffee here but actually the most stand out one that hits you is the cheapest one - Ngila Estate. The website says Green Grape/honey/black tea. I am not sure about the black tea part but one of the notes I can definitely taste is the grape, or the sharpness of it. Not sourness but almost a citrus note. It is very distinctive and the flavour really hits you.

The one that is easiest forgettable but I suppose most suitable for most people is the Musaza Lot 1 (not sure why I thought it was call Muscat), anyway. The smoothest of the 3, nothing really stands out. Subtle flavours all round, my colleague at work says "strong" coffee taste.

The Geisha, this one certainly taste sdifferent to other coffee I have tried recently, it has a woody taste to it, lingering on the tongue for a while, perhaps that is the Lemongrass that is on the website was referring to. Or perhaps a few burnt beans have slipped through and that's what i am tasting lol It's not unpleasant but also something I don't think I have had before. It has a hint of floral notes and easily drunk black with nothing added.

[/spolier]