# Iberital MC5 Grinder Dosing Adjustment



## fiveportions (Jun 29, 2010)

How does one adjust the dosing amount on this grinder?

-I've only just worked out the fine/course grinding adjustment whereby the ring on top rotates many times, not just a few inches as suggested by the mark on the side.

Inside the drum which holds the ground coffee there seems to be a spindle sticking up. Do I manipulate this somehow to adjust the amount dispensed with each yank of the side-lever?

I've read others talking exact dosage weights eg. 7 grammes. Is there a guide somewhere inside the drum to indicate the set weight of each dose?

I'm experimenting with the settings to try to get a good tasting Americano ('long' coffee?) at my work's canteen. We had an Italian guy come in to service the machine and before he left he changed all the settings on the grinder, causing the coffee to come out really slooowly (too fine a grind?). This is not practical for us Americano drinkers as it takes about 4 mins for the mug to fill up.

The engineer's response seemed to be that with the machine and Arabica coffee we use, we should only be drinking espressos or cappuccinos. He did seem a bit passionate about his craft, enthusing about how beautiful the crema was on the surface and wafting the aroma with his hand. This was a bit lost on us as we waited eagerly with mugs in hand. I guess he thought we were all a bit heathen.

So basically, what settings would anyone suggest for a smooth-tasting Americano style coffee which doesn't take all day to dispense? And how to change dosage?

Oh, sorry -one more thing. In experimenting with the grinder settings, the canteen staff managed to produce rather a lot of VERY coarsely ground coffee -like gravel! Can this be thrown back into the grinder without causing any harm?

Thanks for your help, 5p.


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Hey 5p, welcome to Coffee Forums UK

An Americano is an espresso with water added. Therefore, you should pre-fill your cup with near boiling water (92-96c) and then extract the shot of espresso into it

A shot of espresso (7g) will be enough for roughly 30mls of liquid (1oz)

If you are running the shot for longer you are over extracting and will (potentially) have a bitter tasting coffee.

Are you hoping to fill your cup with espresso alone?

Coarsely ground coffee will be under extracted, come out quicker and probably taste weak.

Don't reuse the grounds, just throw them away, and use the grounds when the grinder has been set correctly

What machine are you using?


----------



## fiveportions (Jun 29, 2010)

Hello Glenn,

It's a Magister 2-Group machine. The grounds aren't 'used', they are still dry, they've just been ground so coarsely as to be useless for making coffee. I was hoping I could just throw them back in the hopper and grind them down to the now correct grade.

Nice suggestion about not over-running (over extracting) the coffee. We did indeed keep running the coffee through until the cup was near-full. And the coffee did taste bitter. I will suggest the hot water with espresso shot top-up method.

No, I don't think it would be wise for any of us to have a full mug of espresso! It would be like having a pint of Jägermeister instead of just a shot >shudder!

Thanks, 5p


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Once coffee is ground it starts to go stale almost immediately, therefore, a lot of the gases will have dispersed and the oxidisation process will have begun. Technically you could re grind them but I'd advise not to. You will save 20-40 pence by regrinding them. Not worth it for the taste / flavour / aroma loss in the cup.


----------

