# How do I get better result on Gaggia Classic Pro 2019 + Mignon Specialita ...?



## scbirk (Apr 29, 2021)

Hi there,

I have just upgraded my coffee setup from Delonghi Dedica EC685R + KG79 Grinder to Gaggia Classic Pro 2019 + Mignon Specialita. And im super pleased with this. So far so good. I even got a bottomless portafilter with a 21g basket.

Im running 21g through my Specialita and hits the 30g yield in roughly 26 sec on the Gaggia which, if I understand it right, should be a great espresso, right...?

Sooooo normally im making an americano out of that espresso by letting the water keep running through the basket (just not stopping the gaggia) until I have around 180g americano. I know this is not the way to do it and I probably need to change that to just boiling water topup.

The end result of this is a "strong in taste" americano without any of the coffee flavour notes sticking out, no great aftertaste at all and a crema that's gone quite quickly.

But if I run 14g through my Delonghi KG79 and Dedica using the same (wrong) methode I get a beautiful americano where all the flavour notes great, I can suddenly taste the nut and berries in it, so the question is how do I get this out of my new setup...?

Using the Lavazza Oro bean and I takes 20.2 sec to grind 21 gram on the Specialita.

What do I do wrong...? Any tip and tricks to get this right...?

Have tried to lower the dose in the 21g basket, have tampered it lighter and harder, all without luck.

The look:


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

No ratio guarantees great espresso for everyone .

if you want to make an long drink duality your espresso with hot water , don't run it though the spent coffee puck .

Personally I'd brew a little more , 20g dose into 60 g somewhere between 25 to 40 seconds l taste and dilute , then adjust .

with your new grinder you are running too much water through the coffee puck resulting in a weak but massively over extracted brew .


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

An americano is an espresso pulled into hot water. A cafe crema is what you're making by running water through the puck. To do a cafe crema properly you probably need to use a much coarser grind or significantly lower dose.

21g dose to a 30g yield in 26 seconds....there's no reason to believe this should be a good espresso, if anything I'd expect it to be under extracted. But you aren't producing this, you're making a 180g 'shot' from a 21g dose in an unknown period of time.


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## scbirk (Apr 29, 2021)

Mrboots2u said:


> No ratio guarantees great espresso for everyone .
> 
> if you want to make an long drink duality your espresso with hot water , don't run it though the spent coffee puck .
> 
> ...


 Absolutely, I totally know that I cant run hot water through the coffee puck.

Interesting, Ill defo give that a go and see if that changes anything for me.

"with your new grinder you are running too much water through the coffee puck resulting in a weak but massively over extracted brew."

So with this you mean top it up with hot water...? and that will do the trick...?

What im doing atm worked on my previous setup and make sense since I only used 12g but over extracted it to get more out of it...


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## scbirk (Apr 29, 2021)

Rob1 said:


> An americano is an espresso pulled into hot water. A cafe crema is what you're making by running water through the puck. To do a cafe crema properly you probably need to use a much coarser grind or significantly lower dose.
> 
> 21g dose to a 30g yield in 26 seconds....there's no reason to believe this should be a good espresso, if anything I'd expect it to be under extracted. But you aren't producing this, you're making a 180g 'shot' from a 21g dose in an unknown period of time.


 See, im very new in all this so don't really know thats much about it all.

Interesting with the cafe crema.

So I want to make a classic americano and top up an espresso with hot water.

If you are saying this is under extracted would you run it for longer than 26 sec...?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

scbirk said:


> See, im very new in all this so don't really know thats much about it all.
> 
> Interesting with the cafe crema.
> 
> ...


 I'd run it until I got about 50g probably, maybe 42g. If it's a really dark roast maybe less. I'd probably run it for longer than 26 seconds too but it's all hypothetical, I have no idea what I'd do because I can't taste the coffee. My starting point would be a 1:2.5 ratio or a 1:2 minimum in anywhere between 25-45 seconds and then I'd make an adjustment from there either to the ratio or grind size (which would alter time at the same ratio).


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## scbirk (Apr 29, 2021)

Rob1 said:


> I'd run it until I got about 50g probably, maybe 42g. If it's a really dark roast maybe less. I'd probably run it for longer than 26 seconds too but it's all hypothetical, I have no idea what I'd do because I can't taste the coffee. My starting point would be a 1:2.5 ratio or a 1:2 minimum in anywhere between 25-45 seconds and then I'd make an adjustment from there either to the ratio or grind size (which would alter time at the same ratio).


 Sure, so the bean im using atm is a medium rost.

I'll try the ratio suggestions which make sense. End up with something between 42 and 50g in 25-45 and take it from there.

Do I then topup with hot water for the americano...?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Yes


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