# First gri nd !! :)



## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

yey !! Iberital MC 2 'Noir' grinder came this afternoon !!

It's nicely dosing 15 grammes of the free coffee beans that Happy Donkey supplied with the machine, which is doing a 2 oz shot in about 25 secs now that I've tweaked it all

OMG it tastes good !!!!!


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## Soll (Nov 10, 2013)

Congrats on your set up omegabri ! Have fun getting to know it!!


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

Soll said:


> Congrats on your set up omegabri ! Have fun getting to know it!!


Thanks !







Looking forward to enjoying and tweaking, but most of all......the coffee


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Congrats , and well done nailing the grind so quickly !


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## Soll (Nov 10, 2013)

omegabri said:


> Thanks !
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's all about the coffee mate


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

cheers guys


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Congrats - nice little setup!


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

lookseehear said:


> Congrats - nice little setup!


Cheers!!







Liking it loads right now


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Glad you now have it all together and working well. Enjoy your coffee and the experience


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## Greenpotterer (Nov 29, 2009)

Enjoy the coffee Well done on setting up so quickly


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

Just had a thought..... How do I know that my grind isn't too coarse and my tamp to heavy, equalling a 25 sec shot time??


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## Iwwstriker (Dec 6, 2013)

Weight of coffee grounds = 1.7 or 1.8 x weight of espresso, in 25 secs. There's something about lighter roast for more or less time count and darker roast for the other thing. Have to check again. In addition, freshly roasted and rested coffee beans become the variable as well. I am still learning as well. hahaha.... can't advise much. For now, that's what I follow.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

omegabri said:


> Just had a thought..... How do I know that my grind isn't too coarse and my tamp to heavy, equalling a 25 sec shot time??


With tamp , it's major role is levelling and out and being flag. Pressure you use will change the extraction, hard , light , soft but it's not a big a variable as grind size or distribution is.

Try and find a tamp that is repeatable , not matter what the pressure , level and use this as a fixed to move your grind and dose around. Then your not worrying .

Help at all ?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

omegabri said:


> Just had a thought..... How do I know that my grind isn't too coarse and my tamp to heavy, equalling a 25 sec shot time??


With tamp , it's major role is levelling and out and being flag. Pressure you use will change the extraction, hard , light , soft but it's not a big a variable as grind size or distribution is.

Try and find a tamp that is repeatable , not matter what the pressure , level and use this as a fixed to move your grind and dose around. Then your not worrying .

Help at all ?


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

Great!







Thanks.... I think I have it now. I'm on about 27 seconds for a double shot when it blondes. Nice crema and fantastic taste, and my tamp feels much better









I just hope I keep things pretty much even when I switch from the free beans that came free with the grinder and start using the beans that I have from RAVE!









Bri...


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

I have exactly the same set-up as you and the same beans from HD. 15g coffee taking 25s from the Gaggia and it tastes absolutely vile...


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

CletePurcel said:


> I have exactly the same set-up as you and the same beans from HD. 15g coffee taking 25s from the Gaggia and it tastes absolutely vile...


Ok but what is your 15 g delivering 10g , 20g, 30 g. Is it blinding very quickly ? Are the beans fresh ?

Pot it could be you just don't like that particular type of roast ?


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

I am going to experiment more tomorrow. I was just pointing out that Bri is possibly very lucky to have it sorted so quickly I suppose. Well done, Mate.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

CletePurcel said:


> I am going to experiment more tomorrow. I was just pointing out that Bri is possibly very lucky to have it sorted so quickly I suppose. Well done, Mate.


Consistent dose, measure output , steady tamp and change grind till your happy.

Good Luck !


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

Thanks. I'll have another go with some Rave beans which have arrived (Fudge and Signature). The coffee tastes so bitter it makes my hair (what's left of it) stand on end. I was using Happy Donkey Italian blend which arrived with my MC2 a few days ago. I assume they are reasonably freshly roasted.


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

CletePurcel said:


> I am going to experiment more tomorrow. I was just pointing out that Bri is possibly very lucky to have it sorted so quickly I suppose. Well done, Mate.


Thanks









Yer.... Same exactly but I'm grinding 17.5 g, which just happens to fill my non-pressurised double basket perfectly before I tamp. I also have my Gaggia turned on, hotting the group head and portafilter at least 30 minutes before I brew....(if that's of any use to know!?!?)

Hope you get it sorted soon mate!







I do feel quite lucky though to have pretty much made a shot that I'm happy with so quickly....


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

CletePurcel said:


> Thanks. I'll have another go with some Rave beans which have arrived (Fudge and Signature). The coffee tastes so bitter it makes my hair (what's left of it) stand on end. I was using Happy Donkey Italian blend which arrived with my MC2 a few days ago. I assume they are reasonably freshly roasted.


Rest the rave beans for at least 7 days , the fudge blend should be quite forgiving, are out using a temp surfing routine before you pull the shot?


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

On the temperature I let the Gaggia warm up for about 20-30 minutes. I wait until the light has gone out and as soon as it comes back on I pull the shot.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

CletePurcel said:


> On the temperature I let the Gaggia warm up for about 20-30 minutes. I wait until the light has gone out and as soon as it comes back on I pull the shot.


There are more than a few experienced gaggia users on here. Im sure one of them will pop up with their temp surfing routine if different&#8230; Charlie? Urban? What do you guys do >


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

CletePurcel said:


> On the temperature I let the Gaggia warm up for about 20-30 minutes. I wait until the light has gone out and as soon as it comes back on I pull the shot.


There are more than a few experienced gaggia users on here. Im sure one of them will pop up with their temp surfing routine if different&#8230; Charlie? Urban? What do you guys do >


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

CletePurcel said:


> I am going to experiment more tomorrow. I was just pointing out that Bri is possibly very lucky to have it sorted so quickly I suppose. Well done, Mate.


Try and stick to the same ratio of coffee dose vs beverage weight, measure them both & use grind adjustments to get you your chosen shot weight in a reasonable time (more than 20 seconds, less than 40) & fine tune from there.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> There are more than a few experienced gaggia users on here. Im sure one of them will pop up with their temp surfing routine if different&#8230; Charlie? Urban? What do you guys do >


I tend to have the Classic on for 20-30 mins, with the PF in to warm it and the basket up. Grind into the basket, tamp.

with the PF still out I hit the brew button and catch the water from this into the cup that I'm going to use for the shot (approx 1.5 -2oz). Wait for the light to go off, fit the PF and then pull the shot one the light goes back on. Lots of people do it differently but this seems to work for me


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Double post......


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

I too wait for the light to just come on before pulling the shot, or steaming the milk.

Regarding grind - I've taken out the shoot of the MC 2 and filed the edge down that caused a lip, which in turn held the coffee grind back... It retains a little, but not much of anything really.

I've also set the timer so it grinds out about 8.5 g per press of the button, so I get a nice 17 grams for my double with two presses. I grind it into a cup (rather than pressing my portafilter into the clip), then tip it gently into my portafilter over the sink. That way I can tap and fill my basket in the portafilter without causing hardly any waste and I'm leaving the portafilter in the Gaggia for as long as poss before filling and getting it back into the machine







Works well I think









Bri...


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

Thanks for all your advice. My Rave coffee was only roasted 4 days ago so I guess it isn't ready yet.

I also grind into a cup from the MC2 after grinding a couple of teaspoons to get rid f any stale grounds in the chute.

I will try increasing the coffee weight and weighing the result (which I hadn't been doing before).

Cheers.


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

I realise now that my volume was way too high. I was using the lines on the shot glasses as a way of judging the amount of pour.

Now I am weighing the output it is much clearer what I have to do (finer grind and decrease volume).

Thanks again for all the advice.


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

Glad it's coming along. I'm simply going off advice, reading reviews, more advice and youtube (my wife is sick of it !! lol - but likes the coffee !?!?.....ha....figures !)

I still feel very lucky to have got to a good grind, dose and shot so quickly.

I've still not tried the beans from Rave yet. I'm hoping that the beans I have chose will be my preferred taste and end up being my final set-up (but can I be that lucky as well !?!?)

I've got 1kg of Signature blend, and 1kg Jagong Village beans - both sat in the cold in the garage resting


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## CletePurcel (Jan 5, 2014)

Thanks, Bri. I have a pack of Signature and a pack of Fudge but only roasted 6 days ago so I am going to wait (I believe 10 days is optimum). I have half a pack of the HD beans that came with the grinder left so more practice today I think.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Glad you guys are getting into it and enjoying the journey, keep up the enthusiasm


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## omegabri (Jan 7, 2014)

I think I have a small bag of Taylor beans bought by mistake when I was buying pre-ground for my French Press. I'm going to put them through while my beans from RAVE still rest...

It should give me an interesting comparison from the HD beans, and also show me how good the RAVE beans are when they go in the hopper


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

omegabri said:


> I think I have a small bag of Taylor beans bought by mistake when I was buying pre-ground for my French Press. I'm going to put them through while my beans from RAVE still rest...
> 
> It should give me an interesting comparison from the HD beans, and also show me how good the RAVE beans are when they go in the hopper


Bear in mind the grind could be significantly different form hd to Taylor's , depending on freshness and roast level.

As freshness decreases , then you'll find you will be tightening the grind to try and tho your ratios.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Good point, different beans do require different grind settings. Which is why it's recommend to buy a kg of the same bean when you first start out. Well done for holding off the Rave ones


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