Caporegime
Mine is a Mozzafiato, essentially an appartamento but with the addition of a PID, shot timer and pressure gauge.
I think I am looking for a machine with PID and pressure gauge and E60 group head but not at the Mozz price...
Mine is a Mozzafiato, essentially an appartamento but with the addition of a PID, shot timer and pressure gauge.
I think I am looking for a machine with PID and pressure gauge and E60 group head but not at the Mozz price...
Tempted to mod the gaggia?
I think I am looking for a machine with PID and pressure gauge and E60 group head but not at the Mozz price...
As a result, when working out how much energy electric kettles use, many people reference electric kettle maximum ratings or simply use Npower’s statement that notes: it takes 3 minutes to boil 1.5 litres of water (i.e. what an average kettle holds), which results in approximately 0.1 kWh of electricity consumed.
OK, so I've had a Barista Express for about a month now. I've faffed and faffed with grind settings, tamp pressure etc but the shot always seems to sputter out of the portafilter, not the steady 'honey' like stream the instructions indicate. I'm using 18g of beans per double shot and the resulting espresso is around 60ml in around 20 to 24 seconds from button push. Pressure gauge rises into the correct zone for espresso after about 3 to 4 seconds.
I need to use a mug to ensure I catch all of the shot - if I used and espresso sized cup I'm sure a lot of the espresso would miss the cup.
Any ideas? I'm thinking of a bottomless portafilter to see what happening during extraction. Is this worth a go?
How long does it take before it starts flowing (tbh I don't know for sure but think that time should be included ??? for me yes) 18g is quite a lot of coffee and I suspect it could be channeling after having to build up pressure for a long time ?
I'd try 14/15g.
other news - PRICES
There's not much you can do to hedge against this upcoming price hike if the the May stories on Brasil harvest , reiterated recently in news >$4/kg source - a subscription ?
I typically do 17-18g and I have the same machine and it's never really caused an issue in the double shot basket
May try a lower weight and see if it's any better
Do you get a nice steady pour?
I can believe pressurized maybe less tolerant of new beans, which need a tighter grind,
and higher pressure causes channelling on imperfectly packed pucks, which we all make, faster.
edit see pics here https://www.homegrounds.co/breville-barista-express-review/
You get 4 filter baskets when with the Barista Express – pressurized and non-pressurized versions of a single and double filter. You could also call them single or double walled baskets.
OK - first things first,
1.What makes the Sage/Breville different, why do some of the regular rules not apply?
Because it has a thermocoil/jet instead of a boiler. I don't know how common this is or isn't in the coffee world. But by comparison the gaggia (which many will have started with) has a small boiler instead.
The coil is, as the name suggest a set of small pipes. Water is shot through and heated as it passes through.
I think of this as like an electric shower, in that flow can change the rate at which the water is heated. This is important for later!
Now, don't get me wrong, the sage stuff seems to be well advanced compared to the old crappy thermoblock stuff. But it's still got issues you need to know about.
This means that you are not going to get the Sages warmed up by just switching them on. You are going to need to run a few cycles of hot water through it first.
My pro pulls it's best shot on the 4th cycle and so on.
2. The sages are technical in their control. This means
- The temp is very stable
- If you play by it's rules (keep reading)
3. Why you must use fresh beans in a sage..... 1-5weeks old MAX!
This is probably the most important point so I've made it bold!
Anytime you call sage they will ask you if you've used fresh beans.
Why?
Have you noticed when you use older beans you have to grind finer and finer? Changes in the bean from the environment (oxidation, moisture etc.) not only make the bean become stale and lifeless, but make it far quicker and easier to extract what flavour is left, the puck doesn't present much resistance (also no Co2 release) so it runs through fast.
If you want to see this in action grind a FRESH bean and leave overnight, then use the next day. No crema, fast tasteless extraction.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER SO MUCH IN THE SAGE?
Because the sage relies on the flow being slowed down in the group head, to generate the right pressure and temp.
This is why if you measure the temp of the water just falling out of the group it will not be accurate, as the flow has increased through the thermocoil/jet and it might not be able to keep up with supplying fresh energy fast enough for heating.
Is this starting to make sense?
So your plan is
1. Buy a sage
2. Buy some decent beans from Black cat, Rave, James Gourmet whoever,
JUST DON'T PUT SUPERMARKET BEANS IN IT!
IF YOU ONLY HAVE CRAPPY BEANS GRIND THEM A LITTLE COARSER AND USE THE PRESSURISED BASKET (OR A FRENCH PRESS!)
This is why so many people are asking why their extraction is so short.
4. The volumetric measure is WRONG!
Don't rely on it. measure it manually.
5. The grinder is inconsistent in it's grind time. Every time you change the grind setting or bean the amount you get is different. It's even different day to day with exactly the same setting! So get a set of scales.
BUY A SET OF SCALES - YOU NEED IT!
6. The grinder top burr is set for fresh coffee, medium roast (mostly)
You can adjust the grinder with the side knob, but this is only a set of steps WITHIN a set of steps.
In my experience the stock upper burr position (5?) is good for medium through to medium dark.
I have had to adjust it (down to 4) with anything lighter than that, such as a Guatemalan hard bean or weirdly a medium roast Monsooned Malabar.
This is also why your supermarket beans won't work with the standard settings, you may be able to get them to work with adjusting this burr
So if you're on number 1 on the grind setting and still getting a fast extraction you will need to adjust that burr.
But like bike gear there is crossover, so you may be able to keep it at number 4.
Can you see where this is going?
To get the sage to work optimally, both providing the right pressure and temp for a great extraction (or even a half decent one) you have to create the right amount of resistance in the puck.
Deviate from this even a small amount and the machine won't like it.
This is even more important in the new thermojet, the DTP and older models have more leeway.
Final point.
Weigh everything and ignore the pressure gauge!
Final final point
The thermocoil/jet design has small pipes so the sage is EXTREMELY prone to scale. So if your machine is more than a few months old or a refurb think scale first and use the right water in it!
I popped into the algerian coffee shop in london the other week, not my favourite place but the wife (usually) likes their seasonal blends, almost bought some skyberry from them for nostalgias sake but it was £20 for 250g!!!