# Bambino plus - new user - shot advice - double shot 25 sec 31g includes infusion time?



## JakeG (Jun 24, 2021)

Bambino Plus


Mignon specialita grinder


calibrated tamper


timemore scales


single wall non-pressurised double-shot basket


Hi - new user here, ever grateful for your help

[see above list of equipment used]

this is my process



preheated portafilter


16g of levelled and tamped fresh-grind in the basket [i have tried 18 and 19g with little change of result]


scales under the portafilter to weigh and time the process


hit *double* shot button


1st drip at around 11 sec from button press [note: including pre-infuse in all timings here]


machine stops at around 31g of liquid at around 25 seconds total *including pre-infuse*


so i'm getting about *1:2 *ish, which seems good. in *25 seconds *which sounds right. i have a crema and it tastes nice. i dialled it in at a lot of effort to achieve this.

HOWEVER.



its a double shot button but i only get 31g. i feel like the single shot button should be doing 30g? have i dialled it in with the wrong target here?


And I'm including the 11 sec pre-infuse in the 25 seconds... so the time from first drip to finished is actually 14 seconds.


puck is solid but soggy


so I'm wondering if actually my grinds are wrong. maybe too fine, causing a slow pre-infuse and causing the double shot button to only manage 31g output when maybe it should be pushing more out for the double shot button. maybe i should be grinding it coarser and using single shot button for 31g shot?

should it be doing pre-infuse 11 sec and brew 25 secs for total of 35+ seconds?

before you say "if it tastes good it doesnt matter".... i just want to know what to aim at to get the best from this machine. 
🙂

thank you


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

JakeG said:


> HOWEVER.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 If you're putting 16g in the PF and aiming for 1:2, then you're expecting 32g out...30/31g, might be close enough. Personally, I wouldn't use the preset shot buttons, I prefer to make sure I hit my desired weight, whatever the time...but that's not really pertinent to your question.

25s including preinfusion is fine, if it tastes good.

Soggy puck, I wouldn't fret over this


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## JakeG (Jun 24, 2021)

thank you @MWJB 🙏

So - i can ignore the fact that the machine is "trying" to do a double shot here and only "managing" 31g before stopping. That's not an indication of a grind issue..


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

JakeG said:


> thank you @MWJB 🙏
> 
> So - i can ignore the fact that the machine is "trying" to do a double shot here and only "managing" 31g before stopping. That's not an indication of a grind issue..


 A double shot is a shot made from a double dose (14-22g) of coffee, it's not the output that makes it a single or double. It is managing a double, but you're only trying to make a 32g double to start with.

If you control the weight of liquid that comes out, by pulling manually, you can always hit that weight & use the changes in grind setting to steer the flavour balance. I've pulled as little as 20g (very concentrated & very under-extracted) out from a double and as much as 90g (low concentration & well extracted), they're all doubles, just the heavier shots are weaker and you will need to change grind to suit the ratio you are targeting.


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## JakeG (Jun 24, 2021)

❤ thank you [and for your patience in what might be real newbie questions!]


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## Davebo (Jan 9, 2021)

I've not weighed the input / outcome on my (new to me) B+as I am just going on auto until I get used to it. What I have found is that a low double dose was causing the puck to adhere to the group head and it was soggy. Upping the dose until the razor tool came into play improved things. I should really weigh the dose. Maybe this weekend.


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## 24774 (Mar 8, 2020)

JakeG said:


> ❤ thank you [and for your patience in what might be real newbie questions!]


 As @MWJB suggests you should pull the shot manually. This gives you more control over shot time and output rather than the machine dictating to you. To do this you press and hold the double shot button. The machine will start the preinfuse. At 7/8 seconds (or however long you want to preinfuse), release the button and the actual shot will start. Press button again to stop the shot.


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## dutchy101 (Jun 12, 2020)

What @CocoLoco said. for the first 6 months or so, I used the Bambino automatic settings but now I'm weighing in and out and the coffee is better. To be fair to Sage, the pre-programmed setting isn't bad and will make a decent drink but the manual approach has definitely improved my drinks


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## Davebo (Jan 9, 2021)

Davebo said:


> I should really weigh the dose. Maybe this weekend.


 ...so, I did. The dose was 17.9g and was coming out at 70g+. I reset the programmed values and now getting a much smaller output for the same dose. (Thanks to Sage for a free zoom call. A few tips picked up including the program reset).


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

The buttons assuming they function as they do on a BE produce as much as they are programmed to do. There is no saying what they will produce as supplied. In my case the default setting of the double button produced 30g out for 10g in taking around 37sec. This suited the bean. The time varied a bit as would be expected but the 30g was held pretty closely. I left the double as it was and programmed the single button for other beans but not so successfully.

Using the buttons this way and getting consistent shot weights can be tricky as a lot depends on the grinds preparation being very consistent so many people use this range of machines by weighing the shot that is coming out and ending it manually.

I managed to do it but what is done to the grinds each time needs to be the same. In my case a nice even central heap which I could just tamp. The weight of grinds used can't vary much either. Say I stirred the grinds as some do - fine if I stirred them in exactly the same way every time otherwise there will be more variation. Currently I use a grinds cup. Even just altering the number of times the grinds are tapped down in the portafilter alters the output. SDB now so I use a fixed 30sec shot. Once the grinder has settled to the bean I get long runs of shots with around 1g variation  and odd ones that have more. Maybe 4 or 5g more usually so just drink them.


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