# Critique my brewing!



## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Hi guys, I recently bought the Iberital MC2 to use with my flatmate's delonghi treviso espresso machine. I've been playing for a couple of weeks now with some nice beans from Drury in Covent Garden and the espresso is tasting pretty good, generally quite smooth but perhaps not as strong as it could be? I'm still fairly new to drinking espresso so in a way I'm not sure what to aim for but I'm learning all the time.

I've made a short video of how I make my espresso. I'd appreciate if any of you can have a look and tell me where I'm going wrong!

I know the tamper is crap and plastic, I'm hoping to get a Silvia soon so I don't really want to spend money on a nice one that isn't going to fit a new machine.

Here's the video link:


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## DavidS (Apr 8, 2010)

You're shot is too quick. That's probably why you think the coffee doesn't taste strong enough. Grind finer and try and get the extraction to ~ 25 secs, and calibrate from there.

Also ensure you are dosing evenly. For example, when you shake the portafilter between dosing the coffee make sure you do it the same each time, or even easier, don't do it at all and level it when the PFs overflowing. That way, when the grinder is dialed in to the exact extraction you want, it will be more consistent, without having to sink shots in between.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Ah thanks for that, I just timed it at around 20 seconds so I'll dial it down and try again


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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

It looked as though you were using the tamper the wrong way round. As you said, its a "crappy plastic tamper" and so check out other tampers. You don't need to spend a fortune but once you have got yourself a good tamper, you will wonder why you used the plastic one! I have the Espro one click.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

It doesn't fit the other way round! The basket is only 53ish mm so I'd have to get one specially for it. I will get a nice one when I get a new machine as I know how important it is, but at the moment spending £30 upwards on something that'll never get used in a month or so (when I anticipate buying a Silvia) doesn't seem worth it for me.

I dialed my grind down too far and almost choked the machine so I've gone back the other way a bit. I need to get some new beans tomorrow as I'm out but I'll do some more testing tomorrow night I think.


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

For a good value tamper when you get your Silvia try here, http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0823-57-58mm-wooden-tamper.html

or if you fancy one that gives a click when you hit 30lb pressure which is what Sandy uses look here, http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/coffeeaccessories/espro-tamper.asp?cat=31


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Hmm still can`t get posts to save when edited so have added this in another post

As far as I know, none of the machines on the market come with anything else other than the rubbish nowhere near 53 or 58mm plastic tamper , the one supplied with the Silvia is a bit more chunky compared to say Gaggia but is equally rubbish in use. I make my own tampers sized exactly to the filter baskets I use as even they can vary, eg the La marzocca basket I use sometimes with the Silvia is 0.5mm less than the standard Silvia one. Unfortunately I cannot make more than the odd one for myself as the machine shop time is only available as an occasional favour from a mate.

Don


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## Osh (Jun 15, 2010)

Just a thought, you might find that the pump will not give enough pressure when you switch the steam function on whilst brewing, as the extra power consumption will detract from it. If you time it carefully and start brewing shortly after the thermostat switches off, you should be able to maintain temperature for one double shot.


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

Avoiding what has been said already:


The water coming our of the grouphead seems to be at the back of the machine. Is it possible to lift it slightly at the back? Or perhaps the screen needs a clean









I'm not keen on tapping personally

Have you tried weighing your grinds to ensure consistency?


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Osh said:


> Just a thought, you might find that the pump will not give enough pressure when you switch the steam function on whilst brewing, as the extra power consumption will detract from it. If you time it carefully and start brewing shortly after the thermostat switches off, you should be able to maintain temperature for one double shot.


I'm not sure, I think perhaps because the boiler is dripping a lot while it's heating up, when it gets to brew temperature I think it might not have that much water in. Even without temp surfing at all it still won't last a double without the boiler cycling, which means the temperature must have dropped quite a lot I guess.



BanishInstant said:


> Avoiding what has been said already:
> 
> 
> The water coming our of the grouphead seems to be at the back of the machine. Is it possible to lift it slightly at the back? Or perhaps the screen needs a clean
> ...


 I'll try tipping the machine but due to the rate the water is coming out it must be a seal/valve on the boiler mustn't it? It only comes out when the boiler is at or near its hottest.

I've been tapping partly due to the fact that the tamper doesn't fit therefore a lot of grounds end up around the side. Not sure whether it matters too much when I'm using an awful tamper anyway!

I haven't got any scales currently, I'll see if I can pick some up. Currently I'm just filling the basket.

I think that I'm quickly becoming frustrated with this machine. If the leaking problem isn't fixable by me I'm sure it isn't worth sending it off as it would probably cost more than the machine is worth to fix!

As soon as I get my tax refund from last year (god knows when that will be!) I'll be looking to replace it


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Just an observation, realised that I have a DeLonghi machine with the same grouphead at work, found when using properly ground coffee that I got leakage around the grouphead gasket. I don`t think the machine can maintain a seal at full pressure as its not got the most solid construction. Moving up to machine with a proper chunky grouphead and portafilter should solve the problems. I use ESE pods at work with acceptable results having given up on ground coffee with the machine.

Don


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## awlred (Mar 10, 2009)

I can't see if it's possible, and I don't know the machine, but if you can remove the gasket, it may (emphasis on the MAY) be possible to improve the gasket seal by placing a cut piece of gasket paper, or thin very thin rubber between the gasket and its mounting.

This is only a theory and I cannot guarentee if it's possible, or if doing so would scupper your machine, I'm just throwing it out there.

Alternatively, you could wait until you can get a nice upgrade


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