# Espresso on single shots



## kingdean (Nov 27, 2016)

I've been using a mazzer royal to grind some coffee grinds and noticed that on the same grind setting and using my gaggia classic I will consistently get well under an appropriate flow rate on some beans (usually darker roasts) to the point where the coffee is sludge and burnt while on lighter roasts the water will stream through and just produce a cup of coffee tainted acidic water. It isn't as if the coffee is imperfect, it is typically so far from an appropriate flow rate that it's undrinkable.

My method is just to weigh 17.5g of grinds, tamp and do the pull.

I just end up wasting a heap of coffee figuring out the grind so I just end up using my aeropress. Is there any other method I should be using to approximate the an appropriate grind instead of wasting 50g of coffee each time?

Thanks


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Are You using the same grind for different roast levels ?

You need to adjust the grind and dial in for each new bean...

Rule of thumb - go coarser for a darker roast . Finer for lighter ( based on same dose - and aiming for same output )

Keep notes for beans you have had .

What are you judging appropriate flow rate . What are you aiming for ?

If your only using 50g to dial in a bean your not doing too bad .


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

As Boots said. Have to adjust grinder for each bean type (or even bag of beans as they age). 50g is accepted wastage "too fine, (purge) too coarse, (purge) just right" uses 50g and that's the best you can hope for on average. I keep a list of every bean I buy and note the roast level, bean origin or blend, grind setting, grind time, ideal recipe, and what I thought of it. It's geeky but it means I waste less as I can have a good idea where to start.


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## christos_geo (Feb 9, 2016)

Have a look at this valuable info written up by PaulL with the help of DavecUK (http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/espresso-grind-table) and also take note of the sound advice above. You will soon be able to dial in efficiently within a few shots. 50g though is next to nothing! Get at least 500g of the beans you like and work on them till you've got then where they taste their best. Next time you buy them they will hardly need any further dialing in.


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## kingdean (Nov 27, 2016)

Thanks for all of the advice.

I tend to roast my own coffee because I don't drink enough of it (maybe a couple of cups on the weekend) and therefore roast in order to keep it fresh hence I jump between beans and individual roasts quite often.

It sounds like I might need to restrict my espresso to known beans. I might select a good bean and buy a few kilos of green beans and dial those in.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I agree. Of course you also need to make sure your roasts are consistent as roast level makes a fair difference to solubility and therefore the grind level required. Then again so does humidity on the day, time since roasting etc. There's no avoiding dialling in for espresso, only strategies for minimising its impact.


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## kingdean (Nov 27, 2016)

Yeah, I usually roast the beans a few different levels and then taste it as it ages (time since roast) to figure out what I want. I guess I'll just dial in and record a good grind for different levels and just deal with humidity (or put my espresso machine in a walk in humidor???)


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