# Barista express..... Learning to espresso!!!!



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

New owner, previously have had pour over, mokka pot, French press and more recently Nespresso and the new spinning Nespresso Vertuo. Generally happy with the Nespresso performance but it's limitations in choice and feeling that the coffee is about an 8 out of 10 have led me down the path to enlightenment!

Having played around with a few different settings I have produced a drinkable shot but......

19g beans (roasted 4 days ago),

Ground as fine as possible on stock settings,

Pressure gauge towards the top end of the espresso range but pour is only taking around 15-17 seconds and there is a definite sour note.

The end product suggests under extraction to me however I don't get why the pressure is all the way up? Also don't think I should have to be grinding at the extreme low setting?

I have ordered some suitable timer scales which should arrive tomorrow so will get a bit more precise.

Anything else I should be considering?

Cheers, Will.


----------



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

What basket are you using? Does it say dual wall underneath?


----------



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

Nope. Single wall.


----------



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

The pressure gauge on those machines is fairly useless. Seems like you aren't grinding fine enough. Check out this imgur album I made about getting it to grind finer by messing with the outer burr settings:



http://imgur.com/aQkNcLO


----------



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Oh, and lower the dose. I found a good amount to be 16-17g


----------



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

Cheers, will have a play and report back....


----------



## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

The pressure gauge is useful and does work on these machines. The comments on what it should do in the manual are another matter. In short a decent shot *usually *needs to show some pressure during infusion. When the max pressure goes up past the blue sector that's when water starts getting dumped into the drip tray. A little past and a little water being dumped is ok - question is how much. The 3 way action dumps some each time a shot is pulled. Once some one has found out what is going on with this they know how high the gauge can go before it causes the machine to have problems - main one is it looses it's shot accuracy which is pretty good.

Your problem may be too much coffee but you don't state how much coffee is coming out. Also as fine as possible, does that mean a setting of 1 ? If so something is wrong.

The easiest way to check the weight of grinds needed is the razor tool. Different beans can change the dose of the single by nearly a gram. More on the double. I generally found that a bit more than it left was ideal but how much more needs be approached very very slowly. My favourite was 0.1g more than the point where the used pucks stick to the shower screen. The 0,1g would stop them from sticking. Some beans may need a touch more. Much past this and coffee weakens as insufficient room for the grinds to expand. Lower is also ok but at some point the result will be rather wet pucks and even less then causes poor shot control as the grinds swill about all over the place.

All this then leaves is ratio and time. Edit - if the shots are pulled via the buttons the time will vary a bit as it's a volumetric machine. How much mostly depends on how consistent preparation is.

John

-


----------



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

Cheers. Will post some updates after having a play!


----------



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

Getting better.

Grinder adjusted for a finer grind. Not sure I can hear the motor slowing on the No1 setting but it makes a slight noise like a 'chirp' which I suspect is the slight interference between the burrs.

Double shot now takes circa 23 seconds for a 17g ground to 40g coffee. Taste is now strong but not sour, maybe a little bitter but not overpowering. I tend to add a little bit water for a 'short' americano and cones out nice.

Cheers for the advice, sure there is still a fair bit of room for improvement.....


----------



## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

Try 19g,19.5g or 20g dose for 40g output in 25-32 secs. I find my BE to be quite sensitive to more or less than those lower and upper dose limits (in the non-pressurised double basket).


----------



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

Will do cheers.

Interesting that a previous comment recommend 16-17g. I found that gave maybe a little bit under the recommended level when tamped down. Will continue to see what works best for me....


----------



## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

Could be slight differences in the machine versions. My BE doesn't have the Fine-Coarse markings on the burr.


----------



## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Wgl2019 said:


> Will do cheers.
> 
> Interesting that a previous comment recommend 16-17g. I found that gave maybe a little bit under the recommended level when tamped down. Will continue to see what works best for me....


 16-17g won't sit at the same height in the basket every time. A light roast will take up less space than a dark roast at the same weight.


----------



## Wgl2019 (Dec 1, 2019)

18.5g coffee beans, a more even distribution and a freshly set grinder = tasty coffee!!!!! Mojo restored.

Thanks for advice so far. Doubtless I will be back with more questions shortly.


----------

