# Learn Coffee With Gwilym



## Mrboots2u

Nice looking site too .....

http://europeancoffeetrip.com/blog/


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## Mrboots2u

First tips clip is up dosing and distribution






Having a myths one helps i suspect......


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## jeebsy

Yep easy to get a lovely distribution with that no doubt


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## Phil104

And a little bit of practice....unless it's luck (okay...and the more he practises the luckier he gets).


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## funinacup

Good distribution from that grinder. He gets right on my nipple-ends tho.


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## jeebsy

Looking forward to the 'inserting the portafilter into the machine' episode


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## bronc

jeebsy hit it right in the spot. I expected quite a bit more from a barista his level but it was 3 minutes talking about how important distribution is and then he just tapped the portafilter to settle the grounds. I guess the 'no free lunch' rule applies here as well.


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## jeebsy

There is actually an episode on locking the pf in coming up.


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## Mrboots2u

bronc said:


> jeebsy hit it right in the spot. I expected quite a bit more from a barista his level but it was 3 minutes talking about how important distribution is and then he just tapped the portafilter to settle the grounds. I guess the 'no free lunch' rule applies here as well.


Sometimes simple is best...

A complicated solution a problem isn't always the best one ( for anything ) and i suspect these clips are aimed at baristas in a coffee shop , with a certain level of equipment , that need simple quick and easy solution that work...


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## funinacup

Fair play to him or whoever commissioned the series for trying to be clear & simple about coffee prep. As we all know, you do whatever works for you as long as you get good results. Personally if there is a big central mound of coffee in the basket straight off the grinder, I will tap the sides of the pf to settle, then redistribute with my finger to fill in gaps at the edges & avoid channelling round the sides.

He explained his method is also to avoid channelling, but still had gaps at the side of the basket...each to their own.


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## jeebsy

The point about simplicity is valid - look at some of the hoops people on here jump through stirring with paperclips, stockfleth, WDT, tapping, doing a raindance etc to distribute the grinds properly. Even some of Gwilym's old videos advocated tapping and doing various funky things but prevailing opinion now seems to be the less messing about the better. Maybe baristas who've developed complicated routines might benefit from going back to basics but how many of them are going to be watching videos about grinding into a PF or putting a PF into a machine? They'll have better things to do with their time, like growing their beards.

(but it is easy for him to say this with his Mythos one)


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## funinacup

Maybe we need more equipment to help us achieve these simple goals (not)

Heated tamper?


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## Mrboots2u

jeebsy said:


> The point about simplicity is valid - look at some of the hoops people on here jump through stirring with paperclips, stockfleth, WDT, tapping, doing a raindance etc to distribute the grinds properly. Even some of Gwilym's old videos advocated tapping and doing various funky things but prevailing opinion now seems to be the less messing about the better. Maybe baristas who've developed complicated routines might benefit from going back to basics but how many of them are going to be watching videos about grinding into a PF or putting a PF into a machine? They'll have better things to do with their time, like growing their beards.
> 
> (but it is easy for him to say this with his Mythos one)


You forgot my special coffee hat in your list btw......increases extraction by 0.005


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## fatboyslim

Mrboots2u said:


> You forgot my special coffee hat in your list btw......increases extraction by 0.005


+6 Barista points with 20% less chance of a splurter


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## stevogums

Im presuming a Mythos one is pretty decent then.?

Whats the cost of one of those in the UK?


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## coffeechap

stevogums said:


> Im presuming a Mythos one is pretty decent then.?
> 
> Whats the cost of one of those in the UK?


a LOT


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## jeebsy

£2200ish?


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## stevogums

coffeechap said:


> a LOT


Ouch ,said that about the L1 though.

Not that I'm getting up gradis already (hope not anyway)

By the way Dave got the torr 58.55 works a treat with the vsts.


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## Spazbarista

So.....looks like Gwilym is finally coming round to my way of thinking. The Ego of self-styled 'superstar' baristas dicatated that they needed a bit of magic, and impressive techniques to hide the fact that all they are doing in reality is putting some ground coffee in a filter, squashing it with a metal disc, and plugging it into a machine.


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## Mrboots2u

Spazbarista said:


> So.....looks like Gwilym is finally coming round to my way of thinking. The Ego of self-styled 'superstar' baristas dicatated that they needed a bit of magic, and impressive techniques to hide the fact that all they are doing in reality is putting some ground coffee in a filter, squashing it with a metal disc, and plugging it into a machine.


Yes its all your own work ... well done

Bet it wasn't man coffee tho


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## michaelg

funinacup said:


> Maybe we need more equipment to help us achieve these simple goals (not)
> 
> Heated tamper?


I think the answer is a portafilter which works like the waste compactor in Star Wars when you put your tamper in. The only way to avoid any stray grinds. Plus a showerscreen with millions of tiny holes so every tiny bit of coffee is wetted simultaneously.


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## StuartS

I watched the video and decided to grind straight into the portafilter. Believe it or not, I've never done this before, fearing a mess and inability to dose a precise amount. I normally grind into a plastic pot and then drop the contents into the portafilter. I WDT then tamp. I always ended up with coffee sitting around 5mm below the filter edge, before tamping.

Over the past few days i was grinding to the timer (MC2) and weighing the output - it was quite consistently 16g so i decided to try the method in the video, weighing the portafilter to check the dose. Amazingly it worked fine. The coffee was roughly level with the top of the filter and i didn't need to touch it - my previous method had clearly been compressing the coffee as it was transferred from pot to filter and probably giving me poor distribution.

My question is, if i find i have overdosed (no doubt the grinder output will change a bit) what is the best way to remove coffee without disturbing the filter contents too much?

thanks

stuart


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## Mrboots2u

Use a spoon ?


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## garydyke1

To to be fair, he is right, The 'keep it consistent and simple' is right.. That grinder does an amazing job of distributing the coffee (£2,180.00 lol), a couple of taps and the mound settles down flat and the edges seal. Once you start to touch, excessively shake or prod the coffee bed faults get introduced.


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## El carajillo

StuartS said:


> I watched the video and decided to grind straight into the portafilter. Believe it or not, I've never done this before, fearing a mess and inability to dose a precise amount. I normally grind into a plastic pot and then drop the contents into the portafilter. I WDT then tamp. I always ended up with coffee sitting around 5mm below the filter edge, before tamping.
> 
> Over the past few days i was grinding to the timer (MC2) and weighing the output - it was quite consistently 16g so i decided to try the method in the video, weighing the portafilter to check the dose. Amazingly it worked fine. The coffee was roughly level with the top of the filter and i didn't need to touch it - my previous method had clearly been compressing the coffee as it was transferred from pot to filter and probably giving me poor distribution.
> 
> My question is, if i find i have overdosed (no doubt the grinder output will change a bit) what is the best way to remove coffee without disturbing the filter contents too much?
> 
> thanks
> 
> stuart


Strike it off with the back of a knife or a piece of flat plastic on edge


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## StuartS

Maybe it was a daft question but i was just conscious of trying not to disturb what the grinder had produced. Maybe i can just level off and use the top of the basket as a guide. It looks like this method will give a 16g dose whereas when i grind 16g into a cup and tip this into the basket the level is lower and i've probably got poor distribution. I think straight into the basket gives me better distribution. I'll work on my grinder into basket technique.


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## stevogums

I struggle to get an even amount of coffee out of the grinder always seem to end up with a small mound in the middle,no matter how i rotate the basket or move it when the coffee is coming out.

I try not to tap or move the finished grind around too much which,just tamp onto whats been distributed .

Maybe practice or as you say a 2K grinder helps.


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## jeebsy

It's finally here! How to put the PF into the machine!


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## Spazbarista

Its all very well saying 'press the button quickly', but how quickly?

Should we be timing it?


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## hotmetal

From what I can see the time appears to be 'hit go and get the cup under before the spro hits the tray!'

I don't think I'd taste the difference between locking the PF in ten seconds too early. But it looks to me as if this guy is really looking to provide a streamlined best practice workflow example for baristas working in busy shops. My initial thought before watching the video was 'how can you make a video about locking a pf in?' but I see what he's doing and realise that maybe half of what he talks about relates to a domestic situation.

I'm by a long chalk no expert and will probably watch the others to see if there's useful tips for me in there. But FWIW I have tried all the faffing around style prep but now I have the zenith I get better results grinding straight in to the basket, a light tap on the mat just to level the mound a little bit and then tamping straight down seems to give the best and most consistent result. I do still get it wrong sometimes but by and large I think less is more.


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## Zakalwe

Jeez....I'm sure that he makes a decent coffee, but he doesn't half come across as a bit of plonker. A face and a set of mannerisms that you'd never tire of slapping.


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## malling

Well easy if you have a Mythos One or even a k30 paired with a very forgiving Aurelia, these two grinders do an excellent job distributing the grind, even if you don't move the portafilter around. But all other I have been playing with either deliver a huge pile in the middle or one of the sides, meaning you have to move them around allot, unfortunately you need to have a quick hand in those 2-4sec. it takes to grind a 18g dose

so messing with the grind is quite often a necessary practice, I have to admit I do it allot, and although I do believe he has a valid point, it is not that easy without his equipment, I would love him to state the same with less forgiving equipment.

the place the pf. in the group part is just silly, seriously unless your using way to much force, there is no way you going to crack the puck, I have never seen channeling if I accidental hit the brew head, and I guess you'll need a gasket that is not to thick or you'll need to use too much force too!


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## StuartS

I've watched a lot of videos on youtube and in many of them the portafilter is clattered into the brewhead. I've often thought, whats that doing to the puck, especially if you tamp lightly.

i think he is probably right.


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