Fixing my espresso machine

Tap, level, tap and then draw the shots.
Could you explain the "Tap" part? Like, what that does to the basket / grind which results in a better pour. I dont have a fancy metal tamper, but I'll tap with something if it makes the grind more "reluctant" to allow the water to channel and then stream right through.

Maybe it help the grind particles pack more tightly? I wouldnt know; all I can do is speculate on what that does.
 
When I grind the coffee, I place a metal ring around the portafilter, That holds it on the cradle so the grinder and scale can issue the desired weight of coffee. The ring keeps the coffee grounds falling into the basket not all over the place. This is my grinder and it shows how the ring fits in place:

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I take it out, and with the ring in place, I tap the portafilter on a towel over the counter, then put a little bit of pressure on the coffee with the tamper. This sets up the initial phase.

Then I take out the ring and I use one of them tools my daughter gifted me to do the Weiss Distribution Technique.

https://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtos/weiss-distribution-technique-wdt-how-to/

Then I tap again and use the leveler with yet another tool. I have it adjusted for the 19.6 gm depth in the dual shot basket.

I finish by coming back with the tamper, which is spring loaded and set for 30psi ( I think that's it ) to do the final set up.

So, by now, my portafilter is ready... perfect grind, perfect weight, perfect distribution of grounds, perfectly level and with the correct pressure.

Then I make the coffee. 25 to 27 secs.... with the manual low/high/low water flow profile.

The water went through an osmosis filter and with a softener made specifically for espresso.

The coffee is really good.

I always look at the puck after the shot, to ensure I get no channeling at all. Typically, I get very good solid pucks.

There.

This is beginning to sound like DIYCoffee. 😉

If you more detail info, PM me and I'll send you the parts. Mind you, they are crazily pricey but my daughter has been keeping me happy at Christmas and birthday for a few years. ;-D
 
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^ "Look at South Indian Filter Coffee....rather less complex than this."

So what?

We're talking here about people who are passionate about making good espresso coffee.

Just like we're passionate about good audio.

Otherwise, you got Bose.

BTW... note I didn't bring up my other grinder which is dedicated for drip, french and turkish... I only use the espresso grinder for the moka and the E61 grouphead machine.

Seriuously Naresh... I'm sure the South Indian Filter Coffee is awesome, but we were discussing how to make IMPECCABLE Euro Espresso here.

I don't claim to be an expert on that... but we take our espresso VERY seriously.... nowadays my daughter is the general manager in a specialist place.. I guess I taught her well since we always had a very good machine at home as she grew up.
 
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I thought your description was very detailed, but I missed out (or you did) about the actual coffee beans, their origin, their roast level, and how much later you use the coffee after roasting and grinding.
That is also important.

When I lived in Bangalore, the local ladies would pan roast their coffee beans daily in the morning, grind them and make the decoction, and it would be used up by the evening.
They all had fixed sources, no experiments, same shop every time...
South India is a very big source for coffee, Arabica and Robusta are the main varieties available.
I still remember the aroma.

Basically, boiling water is allowed to pass through a bed of coffee powder, which is over a perforated sheet (called filter) and the liquid collects below, that is used to make coffee. That is referred to as decoction.

About 10% decoction in the glass, the glass is topped up with a boiling hot mix of diluted milk (about 25% milk with 8% or so fat), sugar is added (stir to achieve sweetness level), then served.
Some people used to boil and strain the coffee powder to get decoction.

In most food places, there are three vessels on the heat, one is diluted milk, the others are decoction and stewed (almost) black tea, and if you ask for tea, the server will dip a strainer shaped like an ice cream cone in that black tea, drip a little in the glass, and add the same hot diluted milk to the glass, and serve

There is also a choice of 'badam' (almond) milk, that is a powder, a spoon full or so is added, same dilute hot milk is poured in the glass and served.

Same daughter is a trained chef, or another one in the specialist place as general manager?
 
Both. only one daughter. She runs the place.. they got a kitchen and an espresso bar. She knows how to cook and make coffee so she's a darn good manager as she can teach the crew.

Sister is a big shot at Starbucks in Seattle HQ... seriously, so we get fancy coffees.... Fine for drip and french roast.

Yes, the coffee selection is indeed extremely important., I should have noted this.

For espresso I get two types... Lavazza Espresso Barista Gran Crema or Illy Intenso Ground Espresso. Both are very consistent, reasonably fresh and make some really good coffee. We've tried all other types but, in our humble opinion, they tend to lack oils or are way too acidic.

I used to get freshly roasted coffee from an old coworker, but to be honest, I find Lavazza and Illy pretty good and the amount of work to roast your own beans is truly over the top.

When we travel, we take our Moka pot and French press. For that I found out that Illy's pre ground coffees are excellent and Amazon delivers very quickly.

Heck, in Spain, we lived on our Moka pot and Illy. Plus of course, my cousin and a miriad of very fine coffee houses... even Starbucks makes a really good espresso in Spain.

In the mornings we start with Costco's Green Label drip, a nice mid body taste, not acidic, very smooth.. then, around noon, we move to the espresso. Wife may have a double shot... cappuccino in winter, iced in the summer. I do a double shot at noon and another at 4PM.
 
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The coffee is really good.
Appreciate you writing all that out. I read the link; interesting - never knew distributing the grounds within the portafilter was a thing.

Looks like I'm pretty much "Bose" all the way when it comes to espresso based coffee consumption. Otherwise known as "Starbucks". Still maybe some essential bits missing from my prep, which is what drives my curiosity about tapping and what that might do, besides appear as a cute barista trick in a shop.

I do two pours a day, breakfast and lunch, so there's ample opportunity to experiment! Like try giving the grounds a stir with some pointy object - but only after DIYing one of those basket rings. I agree it could make a substantial mess otherwise and its a messy enough process as is.

The weight idea would be a step up for my consistency. Usually I just cram whatever I can into the portafilter, scrape off some if I cant mechanically engage closure onto the machine. I have seen a Starbucks home machine where someone busted the portafilter handle clean off. Mines next. I have spares - of course!
 
South India is a very big source for coffee, Arabica and Robusta are the main varieties available.
I still remember the aroma.

And a very good source at that. I actually prefer indian coffees over anything else. 100% robusta is what I use the most. When it comes to arabica, I prefer monsooned malabar. Occasionally I roast some beans myself, and then I like to blend both varieties together for a ''malabusta''.
 
Appreciate you writing all that out. I read the link; interesting - never knew distributing the grounds within the portafilter was a thing.

Looks like I'm pretty much "Bose" all the way when it comes to espresso based coffee consumption. Otherwise known as "Starbucks". Still maybe some essential bits missing from my prep, which is what drives my curiosity about tapping and what that might do, besides appear as a cute barista trick in a shop.

I do two pours a day, breakfast and lunch, so there's ample opportunity to experiment! Like try giving the grounds a stir with some pointy object - but only after DIYing one of those basket rings. I agree it could make a substantial mess otherwise and its a messy enough process as is.

The weight idea would be a step up for my consistency. Usually I just cram whatever I can into the portafilter, scrape off some if I cant mechanically engage closure onto the machine. I have seen a Starbucks home machine where someone busted the portafilter handle clean off. Mines next. I have spares - of course!

Get a scale, they're not expensive.

I got a "calibrated Starbucks spoon". Supposedly 20 grams per... but there's inconsistency.

Once the get the grind set ( extremely important ) the weight is next. A simple scale will do great. A toothpick will do. You only need the ring if you grind into the portafilter. IF you grind separately and then use a spoon to pour into the portafilter you shouldn't need the ring. Just be careful, that's all.

A good tamper will do as well. The leveller is a luxury but it works really well as it ensure the water pressure is even across the entire puck.

Consistency is the main thing. Grinding becomes the hardest as it changes with bag after bag, different coffees, even the humidity and the weather...

Oddly enough, the machine is one of the least important items. I mean, an E61 group head is fundamental, but you don't need some of those uber fancy Italian jobs.

Two double shots a day at a coffee shop is six bucks per day. Do it 365 days and it's 2190. Go figure... the coffee is likely 80 cents per day.. so that's $1900 that you could be putting into the equipment. In your first year. After that, it's sort of free ( some maintenance ). A good grinder and machine will run at least 2500. Get them on sale.
 
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Re-read your post... I think you have a problem with the weight ( huh! ) in that you put too much coffee into the portafilter.. FIRST you need to put less and then be consistent with how much you put in.

You should NOT overfill the porta filter. There needs to be a little bit of space between the "screen" above (like a shower head) and the coffee. The portafilter should go in without force.

That way you get an even flow through the coffee grounds.

Think of it as taking a shower. You don't hold the shower head against your body, you hold it a bit away so the water distributes nicely over you. It's exactly the same way the group head works.

And done right, it is not a messy affair at all. The coffee puck dries out nicely and it pops easily when you're done with it.

Get a knock box ( ~$35). And a scale (~20).. Sure, you can spend a lot more... but pretty much for your usage that's what it runs in Amazon. It will really make your coffee much better and easier and cleaner.,..


...After this we can move onto frothing the milk.


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From the point of view of New Zealand, Illy, Lavazza and Starbucks would be in the filth category.

We have so many specialty roasters and the standard of beans coming into New Zealand is so high that we are downright snobbish.

Different standard of course. Our coffee is based around the latte and the flat white.

One often hears statements of the like "I couldn't find a decent coffee anywhere in europe".

Illy used to have a decent presence in NZ when I was a youngin'.
Lavazza made a good go at the NZ market a decade back but couldn't get any traction against the local competition.

Starbucks is for teenagers wanting coffee that does look or taste like coffee. I used to go to Starbucks with my friends as a teenager to order mocha Frappuccinos. I thought I was VERY sophisticated....

Starbucks does ok but they don't have as many stores around as 20 years ago.
We have a couple of Aussie outfits that have some decent market share. Vittoria does ok as well. Otherwise the market here is dominant by local companies.

At home I don't get to be so snobbish with my coffee. I often have to make my shots one handed while holding the baby. There is a knack to one handed shot dosing, packing and tamping and it is not a precision enterprise.

At work however I don't mind spending the company time and coffee to get a perfect latte. I'm usually the one dialing the grind on a daily basis.
 
To each his own I guess.

I had some wonderful espresso at Starbucks and some terrible espresso at them boutique places.

But then, I don't drink latte or cappuccino. I drink black coffee.

I prefer non acid finishes with just a dash of bitterness and lots of crema. For that, the coffees that I use work great and offer a very consistent end product.

My sister got me some fancy coffees for my birthday... some of those 12 oz bags were selling for 60 bucks. They were nice, very nice, but we ended up using them strictly for drip. For espresso I need a darker roast... something like 7 out of 10 as Lavazza counts. The oiliness adds crema and the darker roast removes some of the acidity.
 
Tony,

I am still laughing out loud, yes, I can spell. You had me at Bose. They didn't make a coffee machine of any kind because Mr. Koffee beat them to it. Reminds of that scene in Spaceballs.

Ok, so I couldn't agree more with what you are doing when getting this all right- consistently. And yes, we could go on about methods and madness, but I am with you. Sometimes I get an idea of what might make my coffee better, like maybe some sort of compression lever that pops at 30 psi for compressing the grounds. NO? I am just trying to get the idea across about different details in this process if it matters or not. This thread is one of my favorite reads. Nobody in my village gets it.
 
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Of course here in the PNW we have some pretty good local roasters with a pretty good product.

Like bagged snacks, they've reduced the bag content weight to help pull the price back down from the sky. A marketing trick I find insulting, like still calling it "grande" but you only get a 12 oz cup instead of 16. I want a full pound like it's always been; just tell me what it costs today and I'll pay it if your product quality is what I really want.

Otherwise I'll just drink the "filth" from the Grocery Outlet. Where I can sometimes pick a 40 oz bag of Starbucks whole bean for $20. That doesnt all fly off the shelf in a day either, as I assume most customers are too pressured by life to grind at home. It still gets me off and my worry about portafilter "channeling" mostly because that wastes my coffee. Working down a 40 bag of Starbucks French Roast right now.

Admittedly, GO has sold me strange brand product that even I couldnt tolerate the taste of. Like speakers, it's amazing how bad some beans can be - and they're still for sale.
 
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You know, they actually make such preset tampers... they are called Automatic Expresso Tampers.

My current tamper has a built in spring. it's preset and CLICKS at 30 PSI.

Daughter bought it for me.

I almost bought one of these... daughter was laughing, wife thinks ( heck, tells me ) I'm nuts. It was on sale and I delayed... At 550 bucks I was about to click for two days... trying to figure out where to put this thing.... by the time I had decided to buy it was no longer on sale and I'm fundamentally cheap. So sanity won the day...

( Hence DIYAudio.com not MadeOutOfMoneyPassLabsCustomer.com )

...and I got another audio amplifier instead.

Maybe next Black Friday?

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https://www.webstaurantstore.com/tamper-automatic-mini-58mm-black/69AMINI58B.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Equipment | Shopping MP | Non Purchaser&utm_term=4583383005163499&utm_content=Beverage Equipment
 
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My sister was going to help me reduce my caffeine intake by buying 2 lbs. of unroasted/barely roasted beans? It was ground and kind of tan. Really good stuff for when you need to sop up a small oil spill in the shop.
Woah! Tony! Watch me try and make my own. It will weight 20 lbs.
 
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We say a lot of puq presses in nicer cafes these days. Or the giant LA Marzocco grinders with the integrated press.

We roast something in the realm of medium dark. There is quite a range available in Auckland. Some so dark it's like chewing tobacco. Some so light it's barely changed from green and tastes mostly like grass. I used to like that grassy flavor

I don't judge people's flavour preferences. There's a lot to be said for not being to snobbish. It makes it easier to find a decent coffee.

I did once try some $100 per kg Panama geisha beans. The tasting notes said "honeysuckle and candied mandarin".
I thought BS. But, it actually did. Not mandarin, but candied mandarin.

I agree wholeheartedly. Whatever you're aiming at, consistency is the key.
 
The family restaurant back in the Old Country has one of them integrated grinder/doser/press.... but they make a thousand shots a day, at least.

I might buy the Puq... just another toy.

Consistency is something my daughter really taught me. The last few years she's run three different commercial high end espresso bars. For them, consistency and volume is paramount...Every morning, once in the midday and whenever they open a new coffee bag, they calibrate their grinders. And they got the multi group head machine. Push buttons, naturally. That's important for their workload. The lever machine, with its manual overhead is OK in a residential installation and it teaches you some skill, it's good to be consistent.

The push button machines do remove a lot of variables but they're just not as fun to use.

I mean, the maintenance of the grinder is a PITA because of the dark, oily beans I use.... but at least we got a good baseline to work from.

My end machine is something like the Profitec 800.... plumbed... We'll see about my wife. I might have to drill a hole in the very nice quartz counter to let the water go through.

BTW, the Eureka Disco is on sale... my grinder is an Eureka... hmm.

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/p...automatic-tamper?variant=50089975087411&gQT=1
 
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That machine is a stunner. Maybe one day I win lotto...
I especially appreciate the leaver taps.
From a casual inspection they appear to use the same cam mechanism as the vbm lollo taps. Which I love. Robust, a nice snap and very common which means parts availability.

For that money I would like to see cool touch steamwands however.

That looks like the steam wand from a nuova simonelli appia.
 
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I have been curious about something for a while. If you were to add the grind to the porta filter to 1/3 level, then press it, and then repeat 2 mores times, meaning the total being the filter being 'full' do you think that this would improve the consistency of flow through the grind?
Also, I wash the puck out in the sink and I do not get a very tight pack like you would expect, requiring knocking the puck out by hitting it on a knock box.
Lastly, we had a couple move here to Wyoming from NZ, and then opening a small coffee shop with baked goods. It was some of the best coffee ever. I was very happy. Sit outside and enjoy the morning with a great cup in your hand, all while reading some audio rag.