Coffee - do you and how do you consume it?

[ryanosaur]

I was sticking up for you against @mansr
I don't care if you eat the beans before even grinding them, ...but I may recommend that you brush your teeth after it!

I like being just a lever 'yanker'!

I was being a little tongue in cheek there, referencing back to our differences in style.

I’m guessing you would need some serious chops to pull one of my shots! do you alternate arms so one side doesn’t overdevelop?

*bro hug

 

[ryanosaur]

3 shots today...
14.5g in 38s
13.8g in 32s
13.2g in 30s

Pics... 'Cos ever'body loves pics.

A: Fresh Grinds in the Filter ( @pseudoid : the white flakes you see here is the Chaff or Skin )
B: Groomed and lightly Settled
C: Tamped
D: The Pull
E: The Shot

Happy Friday, All!

 

[ryanosaur]

Agree 100%. These recipes I see pulling 40+ grams are just tiny cups of coffee. No thank you.

Curious if you've experimented with this variable: I sent a message to a shop asking how they were pulling these creamy, rich syrupy shots (after the fact, so this wasn't confirmed by the barista responsible) - the technique was (apparently) cramming 19g of coffee into a 14g basket. Didn't add up to me but might be an interesting experiment.

One last pic... just to show the "infamous" Sylvia Screw:

That's a 20g dose in a 22g basket. Compared to the above pics, you can see the amount of swelling the puck goes through during extraction. You can even see some of the pattern of the Shower Screen itself in the concentric rings where the surface of the puck looks a little roughed up.

 

[Timmeon]

I had my doubts which is why I never bothered, not to mention the mess of attempting to cram 4 to 5 extra grams in there.

I would like to experiment with pre-infusion but don't really have that option without the rotary pump and my being plumbed in. Otherwise playing with pressure and flow rates just seems like overcomplicating an already complex and finicky process. Too many variables. Looks like your prep is simple and solid. Probably the most important thing.

 

[ryanosaur]

I had my doubts which is why I never bothered, not to mention the mess of attempting to cram 4 to 5 extra grams in there.

I would like to experiment with pre-infusion but don't really have that option without the rotary pump and my being plumbed in. Otherwise playing with pressure and flow rates just seems like overcomplicating an already complex and finicky process. Too many variables. Looks like your prep is simple and solid. Probably the most important thing.

I think the biggest part is a good grinder followed by a capable machine. I do this on a Vibe Pump in my Sylvia. The Baristas I learned my basics from were doing everything very straightforward. No tricks. And that was confirmed largely when I did my Barista training many years later.
A rotary pump is nice, but not necessary. Neither is flow control and pressure profiling. Certainly you can do some nice things that way, but just working on the basic techniques of a good consistent Tamp gets you much further.

I could go on a personal rant/crusade about how we have completely destroyed the meanings of words and their definitions in the coffee world. But I will spare everyone that. What I learned as a Double Ristretto was loosely a Double Ristretto by proper definition. Ultimately, I loved the flavor and qualities of what those baristas were doing and so I adopted it for myself.

 

[Timmeon]

Nah dude I'm here for your crusade. Let it flow.

And you have inspired me to tighten up my grind and experiment with a 1:1 ratio in the coming weeks

 

[pseudoid]

Please, no one get insulted but we should go back to Espresso101 and get the semantics correct.
There are three (3) parts to an espresso shot:

1. "Body"
2. "Heart"
3. "Crema"

Some believe that the "crema" contains most of the bitterness.
[I am not one of those people; although; I do like the taste of 'Ristretto' shots.]
"Foam" is what you suppose to get when you froth/steam milk/cream.
Foam and Crema are not interchangeable words!

 

[Xulonn]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=633083405123225

 

[Doodski]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=633083405123225

Hehe... I've watched dozens of those videos that this guy makes and they are cool.

 

[punosion]

...to answer the question posed by the thread title...

 

[ryanosaur]

...to answer the question posed by the thread title...

View attachment 240512

But wrap it in bacon!... and we'll talk!

 

[Sukram]

DeLonghi espresso machine and Lavazza beans

 

[ryanosaur]

Sylvia Maintenance Report

I did the Pump this morning. Took me about an hour total though I was looking for tools and playing around inside the machine a little.
First, opening it up involves removing 3 different Panels. New Pump is in front.

Removing the inlet tube was pretty easy but the barbs fought me all the way. The Braided Outlet Hose was a 13mm wrench for the Nut, and a 10mm wrench to hold the Elbow steady. Once those were off, pulling the pump from the rubber supports and undoing the Quick Connects was simple.

But now let's talk about that Elbow...

Same 10mm wrench on the Elbow and a 12mm wrench to hold the plastic nipple (it spins)... and some elbow grease to break the Locktite holding it in...
Once out, I had to clean up the old Locktite... that wasn't too bad, but then while I was doing that I decided to swab out the elbow...
Ummm...
Ick?!
Burnt two Q-Tips on that including a dip in some Rubbing Alcohol just to make certain. A good rinse and dry... back to it. Applied a few drops of fresh Locktite and put it into the new pump with the Brass Nipple, just reversing the process to remove. Same Wrench to hold the Nipple and keep it from spinning.

Once that was installed, everything else was pretty quick for reassembly.

After hooking back up, I ran half the reservoir through just to make certain fresh water was in the system.

Will see how it does in the morning. Pressure check will be a part of that, and then I will open the top back up and adjust the Pressure downwards from 12PSI.

I think I will run some Flow Tests also, per conversation with @dfuller , and confirm that I'm getting consistent throughput.

I would say if you know how to take all the panels off and have ready access to the tools, this is more likely a straight 10 minute job.

Cheers!

 

[ryanosaur]

With the new Pump, system pressure dropped slightly to 11.5 Bars (from 12).

Flow Test per @dfuller ... running 3 times and measuring the 30-second output by weight and dividing by 30 to get the flow per second.
1: 290/30 = 9.666
2: 272.4/30 = 9.08
3: 271.3/30 = 9.043

It looks like at this flow rate I am technically fine. I will test again after adjusting the OPV just to see if there is any change. While I wouldn't expect there to be, I did see some chatter online that lower pressure may in fact raise flow rate. We'll see.

For now, I'm overdue on my first pull!

Cheers!

 

[ryanosaur]

Alright!

Caffeinated, check.

Monthly Grinder cleaning, check.

Monthly Detergent Backlush, check.

OPV pressure adjustment, check.

OPV is center with the elbow coming from the Boiler (black and white insulation, far left). (Steam and Hot Water Valve is far right.)
Pressure valve reading just a hair over 9 Bars.

Procedure was pretty simple. Loosen the top Nut which locks the valve setting, adjust the bottom Nut which regulates the pressure: inward raises pressure, outward lowers pressure.

Performed one more Flow Rate check after adjusting pressure:
269g at 30 sec = 8.967ml/s, which is right in the sweet spot for flow rate.

(Also opened up the back panel just to confirm that there were no leaks from the Pump replacement. *thumbs up)

We'll see what tomorrow brings in the continuing saga of Espresso Adventures!

Thanks again to @dfuller for tuning me into checking the Flow Rate!

Cheers!

 

[ryanosaur]

Follow up on the OPV adjustment and resetting machine pressure to 9 Bars.

OMFG!

It is like a new machine.
I was surprised that I had to fine the grind fairly significantly as I was expecting the opposite. I had even opened the grinder up a bit, coarsening it by 1 full turn and ended up with a 50 gram shot in about 25 seconds. (Dumped it.) Reset to what I used yesterday morning before the adjustments and landed about 35g in 25 seconds. (Dumped that as well.) Cranked down on the grinder by another roughly 2-1/2 turns and landed on my mark pretty much, roughly 14g in 30s.
Shots are much sweeter with the 9 Bar pressure than with the 12 Bars it was previously. Still very nice Crema.

Gonna watch how the machine performs over the next week to see if I'm still getting the weird inconsistencies that I had commented on previously.

For now... I guess I need to stop fantasizing about a new machine and be grateful to have the Sylvia performing at its best ever! No expensive service fees with the local shop either.
All told, I was in about $150 for the new Burrs, Pump, Pressure Gauge, Group Gasket, Shower Screen and Basket. I had to buy a 20mm Wrench, too. I'm guessing if I had somebody else do this I'd be down close to $500.

Next up is installing the PID I bought back when I bought the machine. (Ya. Been sitting in a box for four years!) (Trying to decide if I want to just stick it on the bottom next to the Group Head or cut a hole in the Chassis in between the Rancilio Badge and Steam Valve Knob.)
Maybe a project for December or January.

Again, my thanks to all who have contributed on my journey!

Cheers!

 

[dfuller]

Follow up on the OPV adjustment and resetting machine pressure to 9 Bars.

OMFG!

It is like a new machine.
I was surprised that I had to fine the grind fairly significantly as I was expecting the opposite. I had even opened the grinder up a bit, coarsening it by 1 full turn and ended up with a 50 gram shot in about 25 seconds. (Dumped it.) Reset to what I used yesterday morning before the adjustments and landed about 35g in 25 seconds. (Dumped that as well.) Cranked down on the grinder by another roughly 2-1/2 turns and landed on my mark pretty much, roughly 14g in 30s.
Shots are much sweeter with the 9 Bar pressure than with the 12 Bars it was previously. Still very nice Crema.

Yeah so this is because the ultra-high pressure was actually compacting the puck more - not helped by your choice in ultra-ristretto shots.

20:35 in 25 is technically still a ristretto, and a 20:50 is a normale - just on the longer end of things. I've been pulling this coffee I've had recently at 18:40 in 28. Pretty good!

 

[ryanosaur]

Yeah so this is because the ultra-high pressure was actually compacting the puck more - not helped by your choice in ultra-ristretto shots.

20:35 in 25 is technically still a ristretto, and a 20:50 is a normale - just on the longer end of things. I've been pulling this coffee I've had recently at 18:40 in 28. Pretty good!

Once I learned what the pressure really was... I clearly just didn't understand the full ramifications of that, even though I knew what was the "spec." Sadly, for me, I've seen so many instances of how Rancilio "fixed" the pressure setting after the V2 or V3 machines. Mine should not be so high if that were the case. Ignorance is no excuse. I should have known better as I suspected something was amiss.

I'm excited to see how the machine behaves going forward. I've never been trained in taking care of a machine before, other than daily maintenance. While trite, to say this is a revelation for me is fairly accurate.

Regardless, with the work put into this, I'm resetting my standard. Whether it is an "ultra ristretto" or something else... it is what it is. End of the day, I didn't make this formula up on my own. Suffice it to say, I am enjoying it anew.

And please don't think I can't appreciate something more traditional. I do. But it is not the Espresso I fell in love with...

...in an alley in San Francisco... sometime back in 2009.
I can tell you the names of the folk to blame... Alex, John, Sarah, Ashley, Jo Ellen, Ryan, Rose, A.J, and Charli.
A.J. used to pull me these ridiculous single origin Sidamo shots on a semi-automatic lever machine. Charli and Alex are responsible for some of the most memorable pulls I've ever had. (I may still be a little in "love" with Charli... she was impressive. Alex had a beard; wasn't my type.)

FWIW, when the coffee shop I was at sold and the new owner was trying to fix the fully automated Linea we had, I was lost. I was watching him attempt to reprogram it, and it was a trip. It really helped open my eyes to what was possible with a fully automated machine.
Its just a shame that you can't automate the variables away. A bad Barista is still a bad Barista.

Thanks again, D.

 

[Holmz]

IV drip.

 

[mansr]

Its just a shame that you can't automate the variables away.

I don't know how it does it, but my rather modest Jura machine gives very consistent results, much better than the DeLonghi it replaced.