Hello Coffee PPL.

Equipment, technique, or just drinking the stuff

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Hello Coffee PPL.

Postby Danny » Fri Nov 21, 2003 5:12 pm

This is my first post to this board.
Feels kinda weird since it's a closed board and I guess some of you at least knew I was comming.

Any way, here is my 20 word intro.

I am an Aussie (go the wallabies tomorrow!) living in Amsterdam.
I love my coffee and have recently started at home with an Isomac Tea and a Mazzer Mini. (Hefty entry you might say but I have had cheap espresso machines before, and now I am serious about learning).
I know little, but am learning and I am looking for very consistent espresso although I do not really desire to find the God Shot... If it happens then so be it.

Ok more than 20 words but what the hey...

So, back to my learning (and the reason for the post).
I've done some adjusting of the tea already as it was running WAY hot for me when it arrived, for those that are familiar with the HX machines, I was pulling boiling water for at least 45 seconds.

I adjusted the pstat and now my steam pressure sits between about 1.05-1.2 and my brew pressure (also adjusted) is a little over 10 bar after preinfusion.

I'm using fresh coffee, tamping on a scale religously(until I see some results) to 15kg and always pull from the doubleshot PF.

In about 1 in 5 I can taste other flavours, nuts, spices maybe... But the other 4 are either too bitter or taste like burnt rubber.

I am using fresh coffee (3-6 days after roasting).

When I pour the shot, I see nothing for 10 secs (normal)
Then the guage shoots to 10.
Then I see black for 1 sec, and brown/stripy for about 5-8 secs.
After that it goes really light and finally a little watery.

By the time it gets to the watery stage I think it is way gone.
But if I were to stop it before the crema lightened then I would be looking at maybe an 18 second shot.

Does anyone see any blindingly obvious mistakes I am making?

Well, that is enough of an essay, thanks for reading if you are still with me.... ;)

Oh yeah, and if anyone (Michel maybe?) knows of a place that would teach me how to get to where I want to be here in NL then I'd be much obliged. I say that with a little shudder because my opinion of Barista's here in NL is that I have yet to find one that knows more than me. (Now, that is saying something). Not that I am dissing the horeca people in NL, it's just that there is a different focus when it comes to Coffee in NL.

-Danny

p.s. I had hoped that my first post would not be a cry for help, but there you go... That is where I am right now.
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Postby michel » Fri Nov 21, 2003 7:56 pm

Welcome Danny!

That's a lot of questions... let me see...

First of all I have had only one great shot in the Netherlands and that was at Schiphol... I returned to the place (located at a corner) a couple of times to have that same haleluja experience, but no... I guess it was a lucky shot of a barista who did all the things right by accident... All the other horeca sucks (imnsho)

You have your pressure set to 1.05-1.2 which is (imho) the best 'temp' to pull a shot... So if you don't have problems with steaming I should not turn it higher or lower (I have mine set between: 1.05-1.25)

You say you use fresh roasted beans (are you roasting yourselve so you are really sure..? If not, and you happen to buy from Levelt or Brandmeester, I can tell you those beans are only fresh when you are lucky. I know 'from a salesmen at Levelt' that the beans can be as old as 10/14 day's or more...). In my experience coffee roasted not more than 4/5 day's ago gives the best results, although I really love to try my roastings after a 12 hour rest (In those cases I set the grinder to a courser grind and allow shot's that only take 8 sec. WOW, what a flavours...) So the fact that you can enjoy the full flavour espresso's only 1 out of 5 can be solved perhaps by using other beans (really fresh-roasted is so much easier...).

Another method to make a cup less bitter (besides lowering the temp... as your temp should be just fine) is grinding coarser... and maybe even tamping less hard (since I have used Electra for a while - although I'm glad I have the Giotto now.. - I started tamping less and less hard. In fact my tamp is about 2 kg at the most at the moment. It's more a sort of leveling tamp - for more info see also 'another' Danny's experiment on tamping at: http://www.danny.mcnulty.btinternet.co.uk/tamp.html
And don't make a big deal on extraction times. I found I pull the best shots in about 15 seconds... and with really fresh-roasted beans 8 sec. and with old beans 19 sec.

Question: Does your pour channel? If the pour is not like syrup/honey (hanging havy from the spouts), your tamping is not even... As you probably know coffee takes the road of less resistance... So if there is one weak spot in your coffee-puck, you get overextracted (=bitter) coffee as some coffee won't get 'wet' at all while another part has to do everything...
When I used Rancilio Silvia I found a big upgrade with the La Marzocco filterbaskets (I have ordered them now again for Giotto) as these baskets seem to have better holes, better evening the grounds options and can contain more coffee (so a single shot from a Marzocco basket is a piece of cake...).
The fact that your pulls turn brown/stripy is a pointer in the direction of the not even tamp... thus chanelling.

You say you see nothing for 10 sec when you pull a shot... Grind coarser, definately! Keep tamping with 15 kg though (as you don't want to handle more than one variable...) Or leave the grind the same and tamp with only 2 kg....

Concluding: I think you have a too fine grind and a too heavy tamp (and even when your tamp is evening the grinds, as your grinds are definately to fine... it drills a hole. so you get overextracted coffee!)

Michel
(still waiting for his Marzocco baskets...)
A kitchen without espresso-gear is like a body without a soul.
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Postby michel » Fri Nov 21, 2003 8:05 pm

Forgot one thing... As I have had the same problem you have (and I have had it with all the new machines I got, I have one more tip:
If a shot is bitter, but you really need some coffee: add a lot of sugar.

It helps for me... :wink:

Michel
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Postby Danny » Fri Nov 21, 2003 9:08 pm

michel wrote:First of all I have had only one great shot in the Netherlands and that was at Schiphol... I returned to the place (located at a corner) a couple of times to have that same haleluja experience, but no... I guess it was a lucky shot of a barista who did all the things right by accident... All the other horeca sucks (imnsho)
You said it... I was just being polite before, but I have to say that I think it is a crime to see nice Wega, Faema even LM machines sitting in a cafe or restaurant and not fulfilling 1/10th of their potential. It's sad.

You have your pressure set to 1.05-1.2 which is (imho) the best 'temp' to pull a shot... So if you don't have problems with steaming I should not turn it higher or lower (I have mine set between: 1.05-1.25)
Yeah I did a lot of research on this one... The machine came with the boiler pressure set at 1.5-1.6 and it would take me over a minute of flushing to cool it down. I still get about 10-15 seconds of steam but since my machine is going to be plumbed-in in a months time I am not so worried... I might even have to turn it up a bit (tap water is MUCH cooler than the resovoir).

You say you use fresh roasted beans (are you roasting yourselve so you are really sure..? If not, and you happen to buy from Levelt or Brandmeester, I can tell you those beans are only fresh when you are lucky. I know 'from a salesmen at Levelt' that the beans can be as old as 10/14 day's or more...).
I only ever bought one pack from Levelt... It was ok, but even I could tell it was old. I now have 3 sources of beans. One is an independant coffee house on the Neiuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam called "The Coffee Connection". They do a good job (The owner is from Seattle). The also have a Kiwi on board who came second in last years national Barista comp (Not sure if that says much, but since he is a Kiwi I will give him the benefit of the doubt). Anyway I spent some time speaking to Leigh, the owner, and she is obviously dedicated to fine coffee. She said that I could ask anyone in the shop at any time when the bean was delivered (the have one blend only) and I should add three days for delivery and degassing. I try and get the bean either the day it comes in or the next.

I also went to Brandmeesters and I was skeptical when I saw where they keep the beans, BUT they assured me that if I bought one of the fast movers then it was 99% sure to be under 7 days... They roast in haarlem.

The third source I have is my own. I bought a couple of kg's of Malabar Gold and an ait popper from Danny McNulty, but since I know nothing about roasting, and would hate to spoil what most agree as a decent blend, I have not tried this yet. I'm trying to source some cheap garbage to practice roasting on (listening & watching).... Any ideas?

So the fact that you can enjoy the full flavour espresso's only 1 out of 5 can be solved perhaps by using other beans (really fresh-roasted is so much easier...).
Maybe I mislead you... 1 out of 5 is OK, but I would definatly not say Full Flavour... This is further complicated by the fact that I *never* get to have good coffee (unless I go to CoffeeConnection which is 9-5 and difficult for me to get to). I would say even the ones that taste ok to me are still too bitter and leave a nasty after taste... But at least they are drinkable...

Another method to make a cup less bitter (besides lowering the temp... as your temp should be just fine) is grinding coarser... and maybe even tamping less hard (since I have used SNIP!!
That's an interesting paragraph... Since I am a complete newb, I dont even know if my grind is dialed in right.. I will go way off center (towards coarse) tomorrow and see where it goes... I seem to remember going coarse enough that the coffee actually gushed out... Way to fast...

Question: Does your pour channel?
By Channeling you mean a non-smooth top after? This is hard to answer...

When I used older stuff it seemed I could do nothing to stop the coffee turning into wet mud, but now it's dry at least. Sometimes the surface looks to me like it has not extracted evenly, sometimes it looks good.

It looks *best* to me when it's smooth and comes out in one piece. Is this right? Also, I fill to the top of the double basket, level off with a beer leveller (don't laugh, it was 50cents :) and tamp... The grounds do not touch the screen, when the PF goes in but the do expand enough to *just* touch during brewing (there is no screw in the screen). I have tried using less, but then it does not extract well at all.

You say you see nothing for 10 sec when you pull a shot... Grind coarser, definately! Keep tamping with 15 kg though (as you don't want to handle more than one variable...) Or leave the grind the same and tamp with only 2 kg....
I have not thought to try this as everything I have read about the ISOMAC e61 machines is that 10 secs is normal... I'll try it...

Concluding: I think you have a too fine grind and a too heavy tamp (and even when your tamp is evening the grinds, as your grinds are definately to fine... it drills a hole. so you get overextracted coffee!)

Michel
(still waiting for his Marzocco baskets...)
It never drills a hole, but sometimes I get channels...
How are the LM backets different to the normal ECM ones?

-D
p.s. Sorry for the essay,.... Wife is away so I have a lot of time on my hands to respond :)
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Postby michel » Fri Nov 21, 2003 11:26 pm

You say you use fresh roasted beans (are you roasting yourselve so you are really sure..? If not, and you happen to buy from Levelt or Brandmeester, I can tell you those beans are only fresh when you are lucky. I know 'from a salesmen at Levelt' that the beans can be as old as 10/14 day's or more...).
I only ever bought one pack from Levelt... It was ok, but even I could tell it was old. I now have 3 sources of beans. One is an independant coffee house on the Neiuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam called "The Coffee Connection". They do a good job (The owner is from Seattle). The also have a Kiwi on board who came second in last years national Barista comp (Not sure if that says much, but since he is a Kiwi I will give him the benefit of the doubt). Anyway I spent some time speaking to Leigh, the owner, and she is obviously dedicated to fine coffee. She said that I could ask anyone in the shop at any time when the bean was delivered (the have one blend only) and I should add three days for delivery and degassing. I try and get the bean either the day it comes in or the next.

You have fresh roasted beans for sure! (thanks for the tip about the coffee Connection (I am not familiar with them...). A friend of mine who is living in Amsterdam can bring me some of their beans... I'm curious about their blend... So thanks.).

I also went to Brandmeesters and I was skeptical when I saw where they keep the beans, BUT they assured me that if I bought one of the fast movers then it was 99% sure to be under 7 days... They roast in haarlem.

Brandmeesters is better than Levelt... but still: nothing beats home-roast... And 7 days..: If I have any leftovers after 5 day's (which happened only two times... I throw it in the trash...- but this has something to do with me wanting a new taste/flavour to experience - more than the beans itselve I guess...)

The third source I have is my own. I bought a couple of kg's of Malabar Gold and an ait popper from Danny McNulty, but since I know nothing about roasting, and would hate to spoil what most agree as a decent blend, I have not tried this yet. I'm trying to source some cheap garbage to practice roasting on (listening & watching).... Any ideas?

I'm not familiar with the air popper from McNulty, but I would try anyway... Buy some greens at Brandmeesters (their Cuba is excellent btw (although not more than 20% in a blend)... in fact I receive (if everything goes as planned) 2 kg tomorrow again from a friend visiting tomorrow... Roast it to just before second crack though, otherwise it loses the taste of chocolate...) and they (at Brandmeesters) can advise you on which beans are good for espresso (out of my memory: their Ethiopia Harrar, India Mysore, Sumatra mandheling and Papua Sigri can have a dark roast... (if you want to know more about home-roasting... are you familiar with sweetmaria's info pages at: http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.html ?)

Another method to make a cup less bitter (besides lowering the temp... as your temp should be just fine) is grinding coarser... and maybe even tamping less hard (since I have used SNIP!!
That's an interesting paragraph... Since I am a complete newb, I dont even know if my grind is dialed in right.. I will go way off center (towards coarse) tomorrow and see where it goes... I seem to remember going coarse enough that the coffee actually gushed out... Way to fast...

Not 'way' of center... Bit off center will be enough...(the Mazzer is a stepless grinder, isnt'it? So you have to dial a bit rougher than on a grinder with 'steady-points...'. And besides the gushing out is good... (what is way to fast..? 10/15 sec is perfect for a fresh-roast...) Gushing without chanelling (when the stream is turning like a twister...) though, is always good! Gushing/quivering/wobbly is what I'm looking for in a perfect cup!

It looks *best* to me when it's smooth and comes out in one piece. Is this right? Also, I fill to the top of the double basket, level off with a beer leveller (don't laugh, it was 50cents :) and tamp...

I did laught at your leveller... although I think it's probably the best (why didn't I think of it...)
And yes, it's best when it comes out in one piece... (see also: http://www.lucidcafe.com/cafeforum/schomer1.html) and the stream of coffee is like syrup! without lightening up or chanelling...
On the other hand: why do you use the double-basket all the time... Give your wife a rest... You can have great espresso with the single basket of your Isomac (presuming it's about the same as my Giotto-basket) and in that way you don't have to disturbe your wife (my wife has frothed milk for her own cappa yesterday... and you know what? Since Giotto, she is also into the coffee... and made her own second cappa today!) who does like one, two, maybe three drinks... but not more...I make (with new Giotto in the house) about 17 shots a day... most of them are single shots and most of them are very good (although I think - as my experience on Silvia pointed out - that with the Marzocco baskets they will be even better...)

The grounds do not touch the screen, when the PF goes in but the do expand enough to *just* touch during brewing (there is no screw in the screen). I have tried using less, but then it does not extract well at all.
(have you cleaned already behind the screen..?)

It's normal to me when the grounds touch the screen while expanding... so I wouldn't use less grounds...

You say you see nothing for 10 sec when you pull a shot... Grind coarser, definately! Keep tamping with 15 kg though (as you don't want to handle more than one variable...) Or leave the grind the same and tamp with only 2 kg....
I have not thought to try this as everything I have read about the ISOMAC e61 machines is that 10 secs is normal... I'll try it...
10 sec seems a lot to me... (Giotto delivers in 5 sec. but when you adjust the grind coarser... you may end up less than 10 too I guess...)

How are the LM baskets different to the normal ECM ones?

I can't really explain, they just are. They have straight walls, so you can tamp all the way to the bottom (this is especially important with the single-basket, as this basket sometimes seduce you to an unbalance-tamp. Furthermore there is some sort of basket hanging under the basket itselve... So all the water has to pass these grounds...). They contain more coffee (especially important with the single again). The holes are better... don't know why though... It's just the perfect basket imho!
(You can buy them at www.ongebrand.nl, Ivo vd Putten is a coffee-trader who sells also green beans and HWP and Alpenrost roasters...; or at the Dutch importer of La Marzocco: www.coffeetogo.nl)

-D
p.s. Sorry for the essay,.... Wife is away so I have a lot of time on my hands to respond :)[/quote]Danny,

My wife is asleep already as the children will be early up tomorrow... (Sinterklaas is in the country...) and I have to work tomorrow (but still sleeping longer than she is...) So I have time to write too and there are no excuses necessary...

Michel
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Postby DrZeus » Fri Nov 21, 2003 11:43 pm

Greetings and welcome! I haven't visited The Netherlands, but as my dad is from there, you can bet I'll make the most of my time in Europe and visit. :) Glad you can join us.

Michel...Sinterklaas is in the country? You mean Santa's real in Amsterdam?! We used to celebrate Sinterklaas Day when I was growing up. :)
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Postby Danny » Sat Nov 22, 2003 4:04 pm

DrZeus wrote:Greetings and welcome! I haven't visited The Netherlands, but as my dad is from there, you can bet I'll make the most of my time in Europe and visit. :) Glad you can join us.

Michel...Sinterklaas is in the country? You mean Santa's real in Amsterdam?! We used to celebrate Sinterklaas Day when I was growing up. :)


Hiya Doc.
Umm Sintaklaas is not really Santa... He's based on the same historical figure although the legend is much different to the Anglo one...

He looks like a tall thin santa crossed with a roman catholic bishop (think big pointy hat).

Sintaklaas lives in spain as opposed to the north pole and he comes to NL via steamship. He has lots of servents whom I can only describe as flamboyant umpaloompas who are all called Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) and (Michel, correct me if I am wrong here) take naughty children away from their parents to spain...

It's a nice version of the legend, although a little disruptive to the inner city traffic as they have parades in almost every city for the arrival of Sintaklaas.

-D
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Postby Danny » Sat Nov 22, 2003 4:26 pm

michel wrote:Brandmeesters is better than Levelt... but still: nothing beats home-roast... And 7 days..: If I have any leftovers after 5 day's (which happened only two times... I throw it in the trash...- but this has something to do with me wanting a new taste/flavour to experience - more than the beans itselve I guess...)

I'm not familiar with the air popper from McNulty, but I would try anyway... Buy some greens at Brandmeesters (their Cuba is excellent btw (although not more than 20% in a blend)... in fact I receive (if everything goes as planned) 2 kg tomorrow again from a friend visiting tomorrow... Roast it to just before second crack though, otherwise it loses the taste of chocolate...) and they (at Brandmeesters) can advise you on which beans are good for espresso (out of my memory: their Ethiopia Harrar, India Mysore, Sumatra mandheling and Papua Sigri can have a dark roast... (if you want to know more about home-roasting... are you familiar with sweetmaria's info pages at: http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.html ?)


Well, I'd definatly not be prepared to start blending, but if Brandmeesters have a pre-packed green blend then I'd give it a go... Damm I was there only yesterday, which I had known that they had green beans.

The air popper looks like those that spew popcorn from the front (almost like a doserless rocky with the hopper chopped off.

Not 'way' of center... Bit off center will be enough...(the Mazzer is a stepless grinder, isnt'it? So you have to dial a bit rougher than on a grinder with 'steady-points...'. And besides the gushing out is good... (what is way to fast..? 10/15 sec is perfect for a fresh-roast...) Gushing without chanelling (when the stream is turning like a twister...) though, is always good! Gushing/quivering/wobbly is what I'm looking for in a perfect cup!


This is so different to what I have heard before... I've been at the rugby this morning in Den Haag, (could have cried, we lost in the last 20 secs of extra time) so I have just turned my machine on... I will spend some time tonight experimenting.

The mazzer is a stepless yes, but you confuse me. At one time you liken the flow to honey or syrup, but then you say gushing is ok... To me the two a mutually exclusive... Or are you only talking about the colour when you say honey or syrup? I have been aiming for a thin stream that is dark brown (not black) in colour and looks like if it was any thinner it would change into droplets.... That is is picture I have in my head.. Am I close?

On the other hand: why do you use the double-basket all the time... Give your wife a rest...

Umm she likes espresso too, but I don't always make it for her... If I drink an espresso, I usually have a double... This may change when I get it right, but for now I wanted to keep it to the double basket.. Especically since, as you also say, the single is harder to keep level.

(have you cleaned already behind the screen..?)

Only via a chemical flush... I dont want to risk taking out the gasket till I at least have a spare to replace it with (comming in a month or so).

10 sec seems a lot to me... (Giotto delivers in 5 sec. but when you adjust the grind coarser... you may end up less than 10 too I guess...)
Hmm Ok...

BTW where did you get the Giotto... I was shopping around the same time as you in Amsterdam and I thought I went to all the places that had decent gear... I probably would have snapped that one up before you if I had seen it... :) If I had to guess I would say you got it from that Illy place just up the road from Bouman BV? It's a small shop but they have some deals. I saw a Silvia/Rocky(RVS) both one month old for 550 euros... It did not last long.

I guess you know duikelman... They do a really impressive looking plumb mod for the Isomac machines... Complete with external commercial filter... I think I'll get this as I am having my kitchen redone and to install a second tap is easy....
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Postby DrZeus » Sat Nov 22, 2003 5:07 pm

MrFollies wrote:Hiya Doc.
Umm Sintaklaas is not really Santa... He's based on the same historical figure although the legend is much different to the Anglo one...


Sorry, I was being facetious when I called him "Santa." I know of the differences. :)
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Postby Danny » Sat Nov 22, 2003 7:28 pm

DrZeus wrote:
MrFollies wrote:Hiya Doc.
Umm Sintaklaas is not really Santa... He's based on the same historical figure although the legend is much different to the Anglo one...


Sorry, I was being facetious when I called him "Santa." I know of the differences. :)


Oh, missed that :)

-D
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Postby Danny » Sat Nov 22, 2003 7:41 pm

Michel, something I forgot to tell you...
The blend at CoffeeConnection is designed for milk based drinks... As such it's a little sharp for regular espresso.
Leigh said this was intentional as most people are in there for lattes capps etc. But she did say she wanted to branch out and develop a dedicated shot blend.

Also, they are good, I've said it and I'll stand by it, but one of the reasons that I bought a machine was because I wanted *better* coffee than I could get in most cafe's. I can't see how a commercial venture can really approach the effort that I would be willing to put in for a good shot. If it takes me 10 minutes to make one (perfect) drink, I would not care....

That's what I am aspiring to here.
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Postby michel » Sat Nov 22, 2003 10:32 pm

About Sinterklaas:
Both my daughters have put one shoe in front of the frontdoor and sang some Sinterklaas-songs tonight... (It was really sweet..!) Tomorrow, when they will wake up, there is a little present in the shoe (from Sinterklaas of course... :wink: ) They want to set their shoe every-night... but we only agree 1, and the last week before 5 december (big presents/gifts night...) 2 times in a week...

Danny,
Hope making the grind coarser worked..! If not... I will be with my hands in my hair crying to the moon...

About the gushing. I looked up the word 'gushing' in my dictonary and I have to apologize, as gushing is indeed not good! (I thought gushing was another word for quivering/wobbly) What you need is a steady stream of 'syrup' although it does not have to be a small stream. Big stream with even bigger parts in it who are wobbly is good too! (BTW do you fill the basket to the maximum... without touching the 'shower-screen' when loading..? If so, and the pour is still dark, and right after it very light... there is definately something wrong with your tamp (do you have a 58mm tamper?) or the machine... but that's something I don't know much about...) (BTW again: coffee tastes very different on different machine's... The blend I prefered with Elektra Micro Casa a Leva is not what I prefer with Giotto... So if the blend you are using is different at home than it is at the place you buy the stuff... that's normal...) (BTW another again: you write their blend is especially composed for Cappa... No wonder it's more bitter in a straight espresso - as you mention yourselve already -. Buy a can of Illy beans... they are a good pointer (at least for the 10 hours after opening the can as they stale so fast). If even the Illy beans are bitter... then there is definately something wrong with your machine (and not with your taste-buds... :wink: , as Illy is roasted light and a bitter shot is hard to get from those beans...)

I'm not familiar with Bouwman BV (I have lived in Amsterdam for 7 years...(must have been in pubs/café's to much I guess...)) but I bought it from the Illy shop at the Centuurbaan... so thats probably the same shop you've just mentioned.
(have you read btw my post about the dead mouse I found in the machine... and the bad (=unclean) conditions the machine was in when I opened it up and flushed it at home..? I would not recomment drinking any coffee in that place... I know for sure I dont...)

Sorry to hear the Rugby game ended different than hoped... But hey! there is always coffee (or whisky... in my situation at this present moment in time and space) for comfort... for relaxing... enjoyment... some peace (in the brains)...

Popcorn poppers I have no experience with, but from what I know they should be very capable of making a good roast.
And you don't have to blend. Buy some Sumatra Mandheling at Brandmeesters... It is good on itselve (although as it is a single origin it is not as balanced at you probably want... but tasting some coffee pure can be a great joy (for me it is at least...). And don't buy a KG (just 250 gram would be more than enough to start with...)
You can also buy some green beans at www.ongebrand.nl (although you have to buy a KG... and as you are not ready for roasting yet, this is maybe too much...) The Sumatra Mandheling is very good at ongebrand, as is the Ethiopia Yrgacheffe... (a coffee which is very good on it's own too... in fact it's almost a sinn to blend this Yrgacheffe... (you have to like African coffee though...)
But, as mentioned before: Tom's section at www.sweetmarias.com can give you much advice/direction on which coffee you would probably like best).

A friend of mine (Peter, the one who bought Silvia from me) purchases his beans at Brandmeesters... And I have to admit... His shots are great, crema laden... (although my own home-roast is even better... So Peter will be roasting soon too... As the beans I give him everytime I pay him a visit are haleluja'd from here to Istambul...) So nothing beats home-roast (you can make the beans just to your own preference...) but getting a good shot from 'old' beans (Brandmeesters) should be possible too...

Hope to here from you soon if the coarser grind really works... If not I step in my car and come over to 'fix' this problem... (although the problem might be in the hardware, and I'm not educated to replace parts... if you let me anyway... :wink: ).

Michel
(Sinterklaas is in the country... but so is Harry Potter (Dutch version of the book - 1.060.000 copy's are printed, which is a record in the Netherlands for a 'novel' -)... We have sold a lot... so our pockets are laden with money again (and we can pay some bills too which are waiting and screaming to be paid...).
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Postby Raf » Sun Nov 23, 2003 11:13 am

I remember Eward complained about white streams in his espresso shots, and there was nothing obviously wrong with either the machine or his beans. I think that the really beautifully dark, thick shots usually have some robusta in them - even a tiny bit is enough to ensure that your shot looks beautiful. I know that I sometimes get a lighter stream as well, but as long as the taste is good, I wouldn't worry about it. If you want to test the consistency of your crema, pour some granulated sugar on it and see if it stays on top of the crema. If it does, consider you crema fine.

I'm surprised at what Michel says about 15 sec. shots. If you really have 15 sec shots (counting from the moment you press the button/switch the lever), I would advise you to grind finer and - if necessary - use a little less coffee. You will get a lot of flavours that a 15 sec shot can't offer.

I agree with Michel on the tamping, thouhg, I usually only tap my PF on the counter and do a tamp that is only a tad heavier than a levelling tamp. Works fine. Good luck.
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
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Postby phil » Sun Nov 23, 2003 1:53 pm

Grind finer - sure.

Less coffee?????

Nahhh

(from a commited over-filling fan)
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Postby Raf » Sun Nov 23, 2003 1:57 pm

I said "if necessary" ;)

(another commited over-filling fan!)
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
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