# Latest sweet shop espresso from squaremile



## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Anyone got the latest sweetshop blend- 50% kochere natural, 50% El Vendaval.

Playing about this afternoon. Just pulled a shot in the right ball park but still overly sour. Takes a fine grind. 18 in and 27 out in 27s. Few spritzers from the bottomless pf so maybe under extracted. I've never felt I've really got to grips with any of these blends. Gonna try upping the temp on the PID by a few degrees to see if that helps.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Tried sweetshop about a year ago and agree with you about never getting to grips entirely with it. I did get some very nice shots though, but my burrs were almost clashing.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Just went with finer for longer and upped the temp a bit and getting closer. More balanced now.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Sweetshop is one of my favourite blends. Got some fantastic shots out it with the Classic. Haven't bought any in ages as trying to avoid 'premium' priced bags but might be time for a wee treat soon.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

I've never felt that I've really nailed it. Not blaming the blend, think it's technique. I'd like to taste it made by someone who knows what they're doing.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Yeah me too, I think it's sometimes on at Prufrock and Kaffeine


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Try running some more water through , say 18 into 35-40 , pull more sweetness through .


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Thanks Gary, I'll try that. The last shot I had was about 32 in the end and definitely more balanced.


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

Keep extracting more until it's balanced. Even if it's 60s long. When it gets bitter, you'll know when to step back. Don't be worried if you need to go outside the usual parameters. I find SM's light roasts suit milk drinks, personally.

If you are using a small boiler machine like a Gaggia Classic, give it a full 20 min warm up, short flush for a couple of seconds, and then pour at the top of the heating cycle to get the best temperature range available.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

rodabod said:


> Keep extracting more until it's balanced. Even if it's 60s long. When it gets bitter, you'll know when to step back. Don't be worried if you need to go outside the usual parameters. I find SM's light roasts suit milk drinks, personally.
> 
> If you are using a small boiler machine like a Gaggia Classic, give it a full 20 min warm up, short flush for a couple of seconds, and then pour at the top of the heating cycle to get the best temperature range available.


Yeah, fully warmed up and I've a PID on mine so heating cycle not really an issue. I'll keep going longer as you say.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Went finer again, 18 in and only 25 out in 40. Getting towards overextracted so I've backed it off slightly for the next shot. Much sweeter. Strong citrus flavours but I wouldn't call it overly sour this time.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Push for higher yields; most of SQM recipes are 18 to 32 at least.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

CallumT said:


> Push for higher yields; most of SQM recipes are 18 to 32 at least.


Thanks, I was aiming for more but chickened out when I hit 40s. Not used to trying longer extractions. I'll go for it on the next one.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Dont fear long extractions, I doubt you'll over extract Sweetshop too much


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

I'm going to sound stupid now but when someone says pull a shot longer do they mean time wise or weight wise. Or both?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Weight I would say, pulling a shot shorter usually means slower for a lower output so just going with the opposite.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Good call guys. 18 in and 34 out at 35s. Sourness gone. Much sweeter.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Anyone know any good resources on recognising extraction problems. I'm out of my depth sometimes.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

I have some coming and I'll be aiming in the 18.0g D - 33.0g Y - 35 drop time ontop of 10 pre infusion in a 20g VST on the L1

I did mean yield earlier, but arguably I wasn't too clear and Gary is right as always in saying you'll struggle to over extract.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Neill said:


> Anyone know any good resources on recognising extraction problems. I'm out of my depth sometimes.


Your taste buds! Finding sweet spots is always a pain. But in terms of recipes and things like that the forum is an ideal place to go; running a yirg natural at 15.5 to 30 in a similar time at the moment and it is awesome.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I'm guessing that's 18 in 33 out but what do the D and Y stand for? Dose and yield?


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

CallumT said:


> I have some coming and I'll be aiming in the 18.0g D - 33.0g Y - 35 drop time ontop of 10 pre infusion in a 20g VST on the L1
> 
> I did mean yield earlier, but arguably I wasn't too clear and Gary is right as always in saying you'll struggle to over extract.


Thanks for the tips. Wasn't referring to your post, got some advice elsewhere to grind finer and pull longer which is what confused me slightly. Just out of interest, any idea why it's near impossible to over extract?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Neill said:


> Thanks for the tips. Wasn't referring to your post, got some advice elsewhere to grind finer and pull longer which is what confused me slightly. Just out of interest, any idea why it's near impossible to over extract?


Read this , try not to focus on the EK43 part of its content

http://mattperger.com/The-EK43-Part-Two


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

garydyke1 said:


> Read this , try not to focus on the EK43 part of its content
> 
> http://mattperger.com/The-EK43-Part-Two


Weird, the link shows up in the quote but not on the actual post.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> I'm guessing that's 18 in 33 out but what do the D and Y stand for? Dose and yield?


Yeah in and out sounds like time in terms of you'd say x in, X out, in x also is easy to mix up. so hoppers get marked D-Y-T, I still talk with the ins and outs though less confusion in pixels I think with the d's and y's.

Tomato, ..... Haha


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Thinking back last time I got some cult of done they said to pull it 18 in, 35 out in about 35s.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Cult and workshops espresso in general really came to light on the L1 and Stuart from workshop spoke to me about how he thought their roasts might actually really suit levers; but yeah you can really push them in terms of time. I'm just generally really looking forward to sweet shop and the kochere SO.


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

Regarding either extending brew weight, or brew time; try both. Some lighter roasts seem like they need more time to penetrate, and might not permit a good extraction by only increasing the brew weight. Anyway, experiment. You could always give a 2s splash of pre-infuse!


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Just managed my best shot yet. 18g in. 2s pulse, 2.5s delay and 30s brew with 34 out. Really sweet. Still quite bright but I liked it. I wouldn't call it sour.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Tried it in milk this morning. A double in a flat white. Used semi skimmed. Was surprised by the sweetness that came through. Didn't really expect it to work but it was lovely.


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