# Sage Barista Express beginner questions...



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

I got my first ever espresso machine recently, a Barista Express - it was either this or a Classic with a cheapish grinder so I figured the all-in-one suits my needs better.

I have never before today pulled a shot in my life and am using 1 week old Union Sumatra beans - I will experiment and read a lot but just a few questions:

(1) Using the standard baskets, i.e. not the dual wall/pressurised ones, I started off trying to get an idea for grind size and thought I'd change other variables as I go, but very quickly I have reached the finest setting on the grinder and only now am I getting shots that aren't sour. Does this mean I am likely not tamping hard enough? Should I switch to pressurised?

Admittedly my tamping might not be 100% but I am tamping quite hard. This seems to work so far and I haven't choked the machine yet... Aiming for 18g of coffee and 36g final shot weight, flow is still a little quick (I'd guess 20 seconds or just over) but as I say machine isn't choking and I am grinding fine...

(2) I'm having to use a flat screwdriver to get my basket out of the portafilter, is this normal? Bit annoying.

(3) Brief googling suggests you can't currently get a 54mm (i.e. barista express compatible) bottomless PF, is this still the case? That was one of my planned eventual upgrades.


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Should probably update:

1) tried the pressurized, they weren't as good, read that they're not really ideal and you get more control with non-pressurised so been using that. Still, I'm finding it quite hard to choke the machine and need to push the grinder to its limits to get a non-sour shot/a slow pour, it seems. Getting decent results now.

2) still very tight but getting there...

3) not sure about this still.


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Second update:

I'm now getting consistently non-sour shots, not timing or weighing strictly and going more by taste and appearance i.e. how fast/slow the extraction looks.

Still there's something not quite right in the taste of the shots I'm getting, I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's just the characteristics of the machine, not quite sourness or bitterness, maybe something in between... I think I need to just go one-by-one and tinker with each variable.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I'd still recommend weighing/timing if you want to understand what effect each variable has when when you change it . Your espresso will weigh a certain amount whether your weighing it or not . Personally I would doubt the machine had characteristics that make coffee sour , it's only making the stuff you put in it at the settings you use . I'd encourage you to work on those as opposed to questioning the machine ft now . . Is this the machine with the built in grinder then It's weak point may be this but with the right beans and technique I think you should still be able to get tasty from it .

Anyway Where you are at the moment is using a language only you can understand , so any help in adjusting a brew or a conversation around extraction will be lost , as ultimately you are saying " o made some coffee over a period of time , I stopped it when it looked like to needed stopping , it doesn't taste right ". This may not be important to you and that's fine , you are making coffee for yourself after all.

Don't even perhaps stop what you are Doing but after you have killed the shot by sense , then note a weight and time anyway . Gives you more data to go on when you change something .

If you stop a shot by flow and you know the weight you will know of actually anything has changed at all other than your perception of flow ...

Personally I'd always recommend brewing by weight and ratio and noting time but it seems you have got to a place of " acceptable ? " without it ?


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## MarkT (Nov 21, 2015)

I also have a Barista Express and I'd have to put my hand up as I do not weigh either. 

My general rule medium beans 1 week old post roast starts at grind setting 5 and as it get pass 4 weeks grind setting reduces to about 1.

The darker beans I also tend to go finer too. Having said that not had dark roast for about 6 months plus now. 

I use normal double basket. And also uses Waitrose and volvic water mix.

So far I've been getting good shots unless coffee gets longer post roast.

Mark


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Thanks for the suggestions! Definitely improving, today I tried:

Small Batch's Goldstone blend (which by the way I've had in their flagship store and it was one of the best espresso's I've ever had, recommend both the blend itself but also a visit to one of their stores)

They recommend 17g in, 37 out in around 40 seconds so that's what I aimed for: tasting good. Still on the finest setting for the machine but pleased with the taste. Tried to even out the ground coffee before tamping, seems to have helped.


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## Ritch (Aug 23, 2015)

I'm late to this party, but just to chuck my two penneth in...

(1) Run a couple of bags of sacrificial (ie. cheap tat) beans through the grinder. My Sage grinder took a bit of seasoning before it started to become consistent. Much earache was had from the Missus, complaining that the house smelled like a coffee shop...

(2) Pretty much. I use a knife (of the eating dinner variety, rather than the chopping stuff variety, but only when the Missus isn't looking)

(3) Still correct, as far as I know. I bought a used portafilter from the USA via eBay and this will end up being attacked with a Dremel to remove its, erm, bottom. Oddly enough, I've just put this on another post, but if you can find a portafilter for a Breville BES870XL, BES800XL, Infuser, BES840XL or BES810BSS then this should fit the Barista Express, as well as the Duo Temp Pro. You'll still have to perform some surgery yourself, but in the absence of an alternative, and if you're keen, then when needs must and all that!


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

I got this machine yesterday, I'm only getting about 20ml coffee per shot and the process doesn't take long. Think I need a lot of messing around to get it right.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

shimceltic said:


> I got this machine yesterday, I'm only getting about 20ml coffee per shot and the process doesn't take long. Think I need a lot of messing around to get it right.


Scales buy scales .

Measure dose by 0.1g

Measure espresso by weight ( ditch the ml )

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?22879-Beginners-Reading-Weighing-Espresso-Brew-Ratios

Do some reading


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I have a BE and am amazed that some one is using the finest setting on the grinder. Don't blame the machine for a sour taste. That can be manipulated via grinding but type of beans is what you should look at if taste is way out. Otherwise they can be sweetened by grinding a touch coarser which will reduce the extraction, really it's better to change beans IMHO. There are plenty of varieties about.

The fill level in the baskets is pretty important. The razor tool they supply gets that right - surprise surprise. It leaves some room for the grinds to expand during infusion. Usually it wont extract correctly if there isn't. There is a 2ndry indication of fill level as well - the screw that holds the shower screen in place. If the impression of that in top of a used puck is very clear chances are there was too much in the basket. Just about being able to see it is about right. This can be used to tweak the grind time as the grinder settles down to the beans that are being used and for daily variations. Once used to making tiny twitches to the timer it gets pretty easy to get consistent shots just using the screw pattern on the top of the puck.







So in some ways given the razor and the screw there isn't any need to weigh. I do though when I start a new bean. I mostly use the single and know that I will need about 9.3g.

The spent puck should be more or less dry. I find that as the grind gets finer it's eventually a touch wet at the top. That may or may not suite the bean for the taste some one wants. Once it's at that state I don't think it's possible to get much more out of the bean. I reckon the wetness then is down to how Sage have achieved a 3 way valve. Small problem really because most of the puck bangs out without any problem. Grind a bit courser and the puck will be dry and rock solid - if the fill is correct.

It also pays to preheat the portafilter. Best way to do that is to run a blank shot through an empty pressurised basket. I run a double through it and then fit the proper basket and grind into it. If I made 2 drinks on the trot before doing that the 2nd one would be a lot stronger.

The infusion is important too. The pump starts up and runs for a short time and then it goes to a moderate pressure level and then on to full whack. Depending on taste nothing should come out of the portafilter until the moderate pressure stage or at least very little. This is why I find mention of the finest setting odd. I've managed to stall the pump without going that fine and currently the pressure gauge goes just past the espresso range when it's on full whack and that's with a grind level of 5. I haven't checked the burr settings but probably will at some point.

The BE grinder a let down? It's easily possible to get a worse small conical burr grinder. It's ok really but most prefer stepless and flat burrs. It can be used on fractional steps actually but best keep and eye on it. The biggest problem for me is the hopper. The sides at the bottom aren't steep enough for shiny beans and they tend to stick and need pushing down from time to time. If people do buy a separate grinder they generally wont get as many extra fineness settings as they might expect as they will have been designed to produce grinds for all brew methods. The one on the BE is designed for espresso and nothing else - mind you I'm not convinced that Sage have gone as far as they could in that area. They reckon start at a setting of 8 and then adjust to suite. That suggests that 8 should be a medium espresso grind with plenty of room either side. I has for me so far. The only problem I have had is filter basket sizes. I bought a bean where the single wouldn't hold enough and the double way too much so finished up seriously under filling that. The result is a mess in the basket and crap extraction really.

John

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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Some beans and roast combination are more porous than others, so wet puck or not can sometimes not be the most consistent indicator .

Different people have different processes that will work for them.

If people wanna communicate on a common language and have help adjusting their shots , then I would alway advice weight in, weight out and noting time and taste as being a great starting point, especially when dialling in and with new kit .


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

ajohn said:


> I have a BE and am amazed that some one is using the finest setting on the grinder. Don't blame the machine for a sour taste. That can be manipulated via grinding but type of beans is what you should look at if taste is way out. Otherwise they can be sweetened by grinding a touch coarser which will reduce the extraction, really it's better to change beans IMHO. There are plenty of varieties about.
> 
> The fill level in the baskets is pretty important. The razor tool they supply gets that right - surprise surprise. It leaves some room for the grinds to expand during infusion. Usually it wont extract correctly if there isn't. There is a 2ndry indication of fill level as well - the screw that holds the shower screen in place. If the impression of that in top of a used puck is very clear chances are there was too much in the basket. Just about being able to see it is about right. This can be used to tweak the grind time as the grinder settles down to the beans that are being used and for daily variations. Once used to making tiny twitches to the timer it gets pretty easy to get consistent shots just using the screw pattern on the top of the puck.
> 
> ...


I'm struggling to get the right amount of coffee in also. I've had a few pucks sticking to the machine also, not sure what that means as I'm tamping and using the dosing tool. Any combination I've tried so far has come out poor, not enough liquid in the cup and not hot enough either. I'm starting to wonder if I have a faulty machine.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

There is one simple test of the machine. Take the single double walled filter basket, put it into the portafilter and run a double shot through it while it's empty. Net result should be a very hot portafilter with some water remaining in it and the pressure gauge behaviour and outflow should be as I described. Just as a near perfect shot will behave actually. At max pressure the meter needle should be more or less vertical. I'm assuming that the machine settings are as supplied. If not reset them.

I switched to glass mugs as they take up less heat than others due to getting drinks that were too cold. I still preheat those with with some hot water out of an empty basket in a portafilter. This helps keep the shower screen clean too.

John

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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

ajohn said:


> There is one simple test of the machine. Take the single double walled filter basket, put it into the portafilter and run a double shot through it while it's empty. Net result should be a very hot portafilter with some water remaining in it and the pressure gauge behaviour and outflow should be as I described. Just as a near perfect shot will behave actually. At max pressure the meter needle should be more or less vertical. I'm assuming that the machine settings are as supplied. If not reset them.
> 
> I switched to glass mugs as they take up less heat than others due to getting drinks that were too cold. I still preheat those with with some hot water out of an empty basket in a portafilter. This helps keep the shower screen clean too.
> 
> ...


I misread about putting s double shot through the single basket so only did a single shot, the pressure gauge went half way in the espresso range and I was left with more water left in the portafilter than the cup. I will try again later when I'm home.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

The double shot takes longer to run so you should notice 2 pressures on the gauge. First one fairly low and the final one as you saw, needle vertical. The pressurised baskets restrict the flow in the same way as a real shot does. How high the first pressure is and the final high one is one of the indicators of grind and taste. The other is fill level.

The other aspect is that if the temperature of the water coming out of the machine is sensible the portafilter will get very hot. It just gets warm when a normal shot is run.

Might be worth asking what beans you are using.

John

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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

ajohn said:


> The double shot takes longer to run so you should notice 2 pressures on the gauge. First one fairly low and the final one as you saw, needle vertical. The pressurised baskets restrict the flow in the same way as a real shot does. How high the first pressure is and the final high one is one of the indicators of grind and taste. The other is fill level.
> 
> The other aspect is that if the temperature of the water coming out of the machine is sensible the portafilter will get very hot. It just gets warm when a normal shot is run.
> 
> ...


I bought some beans from hasbeen, ive gone through 2 bags so far so bought some cheaper ones to use this afternoon to try getting it right


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shimceltic said:


> I'm struggling to get the right amount of coffee in also. I've had a few pucks sticking to the machine also, not sure what that means as I'm tamping and using the dosing tool. Any combination I've tried so far has come out poor, not enough liquid in the cup and not hot enough either. I'm starting to wonder if I have a faulty machine.


Pucks sticking to the machine might mean you have overfilled the basket, or that you are grinding too fine.

Use the dosing tool to ascertain the ideal dose weight for the basket, but don't actually use it to shave tamped pucks - just keep using the same dose weight.

2 bags of coffee is a lot to use up just dialling in.

What were the details of your last shot?


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

MWJB said:


> Pucks sticking to the machine might mean you have overfilled the basket, or that you are grinding too fine.
> 
> Use the dosing tool to ascertain the ideal dose weight for the basket, but don't actually use it to shave tamped pucks - just keep using the same dose weight.
> 
> ...


My last shot I had grind amount at 3 and grind size 9. The pressure gauge seemed to do as it should, the coffee still came out a little cold and bitter. I've turned the grind amount down as any more and it was ended up as waste.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shimceltic said:


> My last shot I had grind amount at 3 and grind size 9. The pressure gauge seemed to do as it should, the coffee still came out a little cold and bitter. I've turned the grind amount down as any more and it was ended up as waste.


Sorry, but that means nothing to anyone, unless you & they have perfectly calibrated machines (very unlikely).

Grind amount in grams will mean that any of us will know exactly what you are talking about. Likewise, the amount of coffee that lands in the cup.

Other than te pressure gauge going up during the shot & dropping back down after the shot, I wouldn't read too much into that.

After turning the grind amount down, does the Razor pretty much meet the surface of the tamped puck? What weight of grinds achieves this?


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

MWJB said:


> Sorry, but that means nothing to anyone, unless you & they have perfectly calibrated machines (very unlikely).
> 
> Grind amount in grams will mean that any of us will know exactly what you are talking about. Likewise, the amount of coffee that lands in the cup.
> 
> ...


Ok, 11 grams grind and 16 grams espresso


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shimceltic said:


> Ok, 11 grams grind and 16 grams espresso


Single basket?

A ratio of 1:1.45 (16/11) is unlikely to extract to a good flavour balance & will likely be too intense to really pick out flavours.

Try 11g in 44g out. Make record of the time the shot takes.


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

MWJB said:


> Single basket?
> 
> A ratio of 1:1.45 (16/11) is unlikely to extract to a good flavour balance & will likely be too intense to really pick out flavours.
> 
> Try 11g in 44g out. Make record of the time the shot takes.


Yes single basket, how do I get more out? Is it a case of holding the single shot button rather than just pressing it?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shimceltic said:


> Yes single basket, how do I get more out? Is it a case of holding the single shot button rather than just pressing it?


Or, grinding coarser. I would stop the shot manually, so that you can always get close to your target weight in the cup.


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

MWJB said:


> Or, grinding coarser. I would stop the shot manually, so that you can always get close to your target weight in the cup.


34 seconds to get 44g. Tastes bitter still. I did it manually rather than the preserve option


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shimceltic said:


> 34 seconds to get 44g. Tastes bitter still. I did it manually rather than the preserve option


OK, now try 55g out.

Bitter? Not sour?


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

shimceltic said:


> I bought some beans from hasbeen, ive gone through 2 bags so far so bought some cheaper ones to use this afternoon to try getting it right


Hasbean does a wide variety of beans. Different ones are likely to need different grinding. If you mention the type some one may be able to provide a clue about the grinding even if just coarse, average or fine in espresso terms.







From my own experiences setting up for a decaf can be more tricky than normal types. Some none decaf beans such as the one I have used a lot are surprisingly sensitive to changes.

Personally I wouldn't be bothered about using the razor tool on tamped coffee providing you tamp again and didn't remove a lot. It might be better to fill, tamp, check, fill some more etc. Tamping can make a difference. I had some problems in that area and tried all sorts as the degree of tamping can alter the shot. Some one on here mentioned the obvious. The main aim is to fully compress the ground coffee so I placed some scales where I tamp and tamped them with the tamper. I found that if I strain a little it came out at 20kg so that's what I do as it's consistent. I'd suggest you do something similar. ( I just checked the pressure again.)

Anyway I assume that the portafilter did get very hot so the temperature of the water coming out of the machine is probably correct. By very hot I mean that I can touch it rather briefly but some reckon that I have asbestos fingers.







Comes from working on electronics and guessing the heating of power parts with a finger. I'd put it at over 60C so could really burn.

You should also have notice how fluid flows out of the portafilter - pump starts - nothing at least for a while, pressure builds and some flow, then goes to maximum. As an actual shot is tuned in that is what you should see. The initial flow can be honey coloured as most people put it or black. Grinding finer darkens the initial colours and pushes the pressures up. Less in the basket lightens so quantity has a similar effect. Too much in messes up the lower pressure part and can weaken what comes out. No harm in trying it but make sure that the amount put in doesn't make the portafilter harder to fit. There does need to be some space.

If you have no beans you could check the grinder. I bought a refurbished separate Sage grinder to go with my BE so that I could use more than one type of bean without too much messing about. When I received the grinder I checked it before using it. What I found when it was on it's finest setting was that it ran more slowly without any beans in it. Worse still it slowed down even more over maybe 10 secs or so. I switched it off quickly.







You can't on a Sage Smart Grinder Pro so glad that I was using push and hold the button rather than it's timer. The timer can only be paused. There was no signs of any damage to the burrs even via a magnifying glass. All I did to cure this was back of the burr settings by one adjustment notch. You could try your grinder empty and preferably cleaned up the same way at various settings down to the finest. You could do the same thing and then adjust the burrs finer to see what happens. My SGP slows down slightly now but no noticeable change in speed over such a short period. Sage mention an iniitial grind for the SGP as they do on the BE. I'd say my SGP is a touch finer when both are set as Sage suggest. You have to be on your own doing this sort of thing but don't use the timer. Press and hold the portafilter in. That way it will stop as soon as you pull it out. The machine seems to decide on the basis of how long it's pushed in before the grinder actually starts. Release before it starts and the timer is used.

I *haven't* checked my BE this way though. I just followed the suggestions in the manual. The lowest setting I have had to use was 4 on just one lot of beans- jamaican blue mountain. 5 may work out on a bean but may prove too fine. Several types have been best at 6. I bought the blue mountain too soon really so will buy some more at some point now I am more aware of what setting up the machine means in practice.

The alternative is set the grinder to 8. Grind some beans. Make sure that the tamp is ok and that the basket is correctly filled and run a shot and report what happens especially colour and when flow starts. A setting of 8 should give some sort of result if all else is ok but may well be rather weak.

Scales don't cost a lot and as bean weights vary can be very useful. Some people on here seem to tend to use these or the 500g version.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Foneso-kitchen-Electric-Back-Lit/dp/B01GJ0AJOG/ref=sr_1_42?s=diy&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1509803380&sr=1-42&keywords=scales&refinements=p_76%3A419158031

They use normal batteries and not lithium which means less flat batteries in the long run. I don't think that these switch off too quickly. Something to check as tare is useful at times. You might tare a mug and weigh what's been added later. I don't. I just use taste as the final check and don't much care what the actual volume of the shot is, just that it's consistent. The 500g version is fine for weighing what goes in.







I drink long blacks with a touch of milk so it all ends up in a lot of water anyway. I can judge the actual size of the shots from the level my mugs fill to anyway.

One thing that came as a surprise to me was taste. It varies wildly from one type of bean to another. If you've picked one that you don't like the taste of no amount of tuning will fix that completely. I've found I like monsooned malibar. Extractions can be sweat but weak and there after the tasting notes make more sense. The term spice is usually used to describe one aspect of that. That aspect can be varied but the "background" taste is always similar. Another which I've decided I don't like old brown java is said to have a musty taste that I would call earthy. That always seems to be there. Some one mentioned Jampit. Bought some and haven't really tried any variations yet. It has a completely different taste that is nothing remotely like anything I have tasted before. These coffees are sometimes referred to as gourmet types. I once dined at a restaurant of that type and was served beetroot that had been steeped in fresh orange juice. Unusual but actually rather nice. The same things could be said about various types of beans.

John

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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

ajohn said:


> Hasbean does a wide variety of beans. Different ones are likely to need different grinding. If you mention the type some one may be able to provide a clue about the grinding even if just coarse, average or fine in espresso terms.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi, using Vincent payed at the moment, i have bought 2 bags of Colombian beens from M and S to practice with though as they were half price. I might empty the grinder and try these.


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

MWJB said:


> OK, now try 55g out.
> 
> Bitter? Not sour?


Maybe it Was sour rather than bitter, just not what I am used to drinking


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Don't change beans, or you'll need to start again.

How was 55g?


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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

MWJB said:


> Don't change beans, or you'll need to start again.
> 
> How was 55g?


I've not tried. I'm gonna order better scales as I'm just using standard digital ones at the moment and they don't sit right on the machine. I probably won't be able to update till next weekend as I work away from home and won't have the machine with me. Thanks for all the help.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

It's not unusual for people to want smooth rich coffee. What I did is read the reviews on the site that I bought from. No connection with them but you might like to try these.

https://www.redber.co.uk/collections/asia-and-pacific-coffee-beans/products/monsooned-malabar-a-medium-dark-roast?variant=283991814

Or maybe the dark roast they do which I am currently using. I'd say that the medium dark is a bit easier to deal with and more likely to give the spicy note they mention. When I switched to redbar I added a note that I was changing supplier and hoped that their beans were as nice. Ordered dark roast and they sent medium dark which is how some companies supply this one. Then I ordered 1kg and they sent the dark. It gives a stronger drink. 9.3g in the single is plenty for my 400ml mugs - read Americano for type of drink. I run the shot into hot water as I can grind and tamp while that is being run. Ground on setting 6 on my machine with a preheated portafilter. If you don't preheat it will be weaker. That can be done with the normal single basket but preheating with the double wall makes it a bit stronger still. It can also be ground at 5 but that tends to leave a wetish puck. The best extraction for me is when the puck shows rather slight signs of the screw in the puck. That can be adjusted by slight changes of the grind timer. The full dark roast ones need changes to that setting pretty often until the grinder settles down - more so than the medium dark.

Taste wise I like Costa etc americanoes with a couple of splashes of milk. The full dark can be a bit stronger I usually add a bit more milk. It's a popular bean attempting to recreate what was being drunk when coffee shops first started to appear in the UK. 16th C.

John

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## shimceltic (Oct 28, 2017)

ajohn said:


> It's not unusual for people to want smooth rich coffee. What I did is read the reviews on the site that I bought from. No connection with them but you might like to try these.
> 
> https://www.redber.co.uk/collections/asia-and-pacific-coffee-beans/products/monsooned-malabar-a-medium-dark-roast?variant=283991814
> 
> ...


Cheers, I like a good espresso when I go to Italy and trying to recreate the taste so maybe I need a different bean.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

You might prefer one of the Italian blends if that's the case. People like Costa definitely use blends with robusta beans in them. Italians - not sure. The monsooned is in some ways ideal for me. My wife doesn't like Costa etc even in full milk drinks. She likes monsooned providing I don't preheat the portafilter. My son is much the same but beginning to appreciate more taste.







Wife change - no way.

Actually - frown - Starbucks sell a lot of beans and they don't come by the Kg and need keeping in the freezer like Costa suggest as the quantities are smaller. I may buy a pack next time I am in one just out of curiosity. It may be the only way to get that specific taste.

I just had a look at what my set up is doing in the usual terms used on here *but *this is via a BE's default one shot time. It's 9.3g in 20.1g out. The 9.3 is probably a bit lower because I adjusted that for what signs of the screw I like to see in the puck. Very little in this case. This is with preheating via a double wall filter. I've never measured the shot timing but guess it's 20 to 30 secs. It can be programmed on the fly while a shot is running. It suites me as it is at the moment.








Being a pervert as some would see it measuring that caused me to run the shot differently. Generally I run a double shot through it straight into hot water. Why - I like the taste that way. The BE's hot water has a default run time and running the double also gets much closer to the fill level I am after. I finish that off by using the single shot button so can tell by how much that needs just how much the shot size has changed. The shots can be stopped by pressing the button again. I'm usually disappointed if that doesn't need running as it means the extraction will be weak.








However running a single first then the double seems to have produced a stronger brew. Probably down to a more effective infusion. That stage on a BE has a lot to do with the final taste.

Not that any one will - If people do try my way of running the shots do wait for the hissing to die down at least a bit before running another. The pressure will be messed up if you don't. Many have said that the pressure gauge isn't important. Me not so sure because the levels do indicate taste so yet another way of seeing what the extraction levels are likely to be or if something has changed - even tamping. Also a warning about going to fine because at some point the pump will stall.

The only change I have made on the machine is to set max brew temperature. Another control. There are 3 levels. It seemed to me that due to the plastic group head etc that the set up is cooler than ideal so setting the high one would help. For my tastes it has.

John

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