# 1st ever attempt , The result



## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

Got the machine

Got the grinder

Got the beans ( arrived in the post today )

Tried to measure some beans and my kitchen scales are obviously no good , not accurate at measuring , looks like I need to buy something better

Put an amount of beans in the grinder , and Woo Hoo it spat out some little log type ground coffee ?

Pre filled the coffee machine with water , ended up with a flud on the kitchen worktop , lifted out the water contained and found the fitting on the base was loose and leaking , tighten up by hand , seems OK now

Pre flushed the group head , in with the portafilter , lift the leaver , tick tock tick tock , count to 20 and some coffee starts to run out , very slow and very small quantity, must have been a good 60 seconds and just enough so switched off

Used the steam wand to froth the milk , this went very well , loads of thick froth

Mix the 2 together and sample , not bad not bad at all









Obviously I have novice problems , I think the grind may be to fine

Photos

No art yet sorry

  

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The froth remaining in the jug  

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Both sides of the puck

  

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Any advice most welcome

This being my first ever attempt is somewhat hit and miss


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

If you drank it rather than it going down the sink , thats not a bad first go ...









But You need some decent scales ....ultimately if your happy with the taste that's the important thing , but i think you need to read some articles and understand what your dose and output is , so you can adjust them and see if you can improve what's in the cup ...


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## truegrace (Jan 29, 2014)

Looks similar to my first ever milky drink out of the classic

(please ignore the glass, I was drinking from a dolce gusto prior to buying the classic!)


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

What is "little log" ground coffee?

Have a look on the home page for good ratios and timings for your espresso and make sure you adjust your grind keeping all other variables the same in the meantime.

When you back off your grind use a few beans in the grinder and throw away the resulting grounds.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Although it looks like there is channeling in the puck it is at this stage pointless running through such diagnostics.

You can expect your coffee to get slowly better over the next few months, don't expect miracles of course. If you really want to kickstart your abilities then there is just one way... training.

Obviously get some scales and a milk jug on the way asap.


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

*What is "little log" ground coffee?*

Sorry it's not a brand name it's what the ground coffee looked like when exiting the grinder


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Sounds like the Mignon was a little clumpy at a very fine grind.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

The Mignon is notoriously clumpy. It settles in after a few KG of use and gets better, make sure you distribute after dosing. Look up "WDT distribution".


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Instant no more ! said:


> Got the machine
> 
> Got the grinder
> 
> ...


Thats what the clumpy mignon does, you gets what you pay for


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

WDT worked really well for me with the Mignon.


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

The milk looks like it needs less frothing and more whirling to mix the thick foam with the liquid milk, are you using a thermometer?


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

TomBurtonArt said:


> The milk looks like it needs less frothing and more whirling to mix the thick foam with the liquid milk, are you using a thermometer?


No not using a thermometer just going by feel / heat on my fingers


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

That technique is great for those with experience, you may need to invest in temp tabs or a thermometer until you get some practice.

I usually stretch the milk until 80-100deg F then whirl until 140 deg F


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Purchased some of these last week. Two temp tags included at £2.45 + £1.19 shipping. If you need more sets shipping is an extra 20p.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0095VON3U/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_20?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3VSBHATV5LV1L


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

You will have trouble using temp tags through a glass jug I think, best used once you buy a metal one!


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Good point. I almost mentioned that after seeing photo of the pyrex glass jug but then it must have slipped my mind reading through the whole thread.


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## wilse (Nov 14, 2013)

You didn't mention if you had a tamper...







!

Also, being new to fresh beans myself, I had real problems with beans that were very fresh... i.e. two days.

I now leave them a 7-10 before I use them.

Don't wast your time with kitchen scales, buy some cheap jewellery scales from ebay around £5 all in.

My other 'newbie' advice... buy a 1kg bag of beans. I bought smaller bags, and by the time I was getting the grinder set properly, I had to tweak for the next type of beans. :-(

As others have said, if you haven't sinked it, you are on a winner already.

w


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

Mine were in the sink for the first week or so. I had got a lot of things wrong as I hadn't done my homework, luckily there was plenty of info on here to point me in the right direction!

By the way, forget what it looks like, the puck looks like etc. its all about the taste.


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## Obnic (Jan 14, 2014)

Clumping and logs.

Yup, that's a feature of the Mignon. I lived happily with mine for years by grinding into a mug and whisking the grounds with a small ballon whisk to get rid of any trace of clumps. I then poured this into my PF and distributed by stirring with a straightened paperclip taped to a lolly stick.

Many will disagree but I think this is a perfectly sensible way to avoid inevitable distribution issues with a Mignon.

Get your distribution sorted and then you can use grind to control shot time for a given dose.


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## aodstratford (Sep 18, 2012)

TomBurtonArt said:


> The milk looks like it needs less frothing and more whirling to mix the thick foam with the liquid milk, are you using a thermometer?


I'd agree with this - think "swirling" the milk rather than frothing - it will lead to a silkier and much sweeter tasting result !


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

Todays experimenting has improved things

1st The clumping is now gone , I now get fine grinds / free flowing from the grinder , Backed off the setting little by little until it flowed nicely

Less froth in the milk

Dropped down from a double shot to a single

Just having a







Now

Oh and the smell of fresh ground beans is amazing


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

It's all about a double shot!


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Instant no more ! said:


> Todays experimenting has improved things
> 
> 1st The clumping is now gone , I now get fine grinds / free flowing from the grinder , Backed off the setting little by little until it flowed nicely
> 
> ...


Concerns me a little to hear you have backed off on the Mignon to the extent there is no clumping...

What kind of ratios are you getting, are you weighing in and getting in roughly double the weight out in around 25-30?

Also, when you say you have dropped down to a single, are you just splitting the shot or are you cutting it off early, or are you dosing less into the basket/using the smaller basket?


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

Dylan said:


> Concerns me a little to hear you have backed off on the Mignon to the extent there is no clumping...Yesterday I was getting clumps like little logs dropping out and had to stir them up / break them up prior to use
> 
> What kind of ratios are you getting, are you weighing in and getting in roughly double the weight out in around 25-30? I am new to this so don't really understand this question , I will be ordering scales as soon as my funds have recovered £1k out in 2 days !
> 
> Also, when you say you have dropped down to a single, are you just splitting the shot or are you cutting it off early, or are you dosing less into the basket/using the smaller basket?


 The machine I have come with 2 baskets for the portafilter a double and a single so I swapped to single


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

Ratio refers to the weight of coffee you grind into the basket vs the weight of the espresso that you extract over 25-30 seconds.

The ideal ratio is 1:2 which means if you grind 16g into your basket you should aim for 32g of espresso in 25-30 seconds.

Only when you can measure this ratio can you really understand how fine/corse your grind should be.

By the sounds of things you should probably expect to get a certain level of clumping, but dont let clumping be the deciding factor in changing your grind. Work this out using brew ratios.

I'd advise going back to doubles, i find singles much more difficult to get consistent results on. Far less forgiving.


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

TomBurtonArt said:


> Ratio refers to the weight of coffee you grind into the basket vs the weight of the espresso that you extract over 25-30 seconds.
> 
> The ideal ratio is 1:2 which means if you grind 16g into your basket you should aim for 32g of espresso in 25-30 seconds.
> 
> ...


OK thanks

Will have a go when the scales arrive


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

Instant no more ! said:


> OK thanks
> 
> Will have a go when the scales arrive


As I was advised, if you have 1g kitchen scales you might aswell start using them.

My shots have improved loads since I started weighing and my jewelers scales havent arrived yet either!


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

As Tom has said, dont let clumping be the reason you change your grind. The Mignon almost always clumps, and if you are getting clump free grinds you are probably grinding too coarse. There are nuances to every grinder and I may be wrong about yours, its just likely that I am not, and your grind it too coarse.

Brew ratios will tell you how coarse or fine you need to grind. I wouldn't say 1:2 is 'ideal' as different coffees suit different ratios, but its a very good starting point every time you get a new coffee in your grinder.

Lets say you are using a double basket that is supposed to hold 18g of coffee. You go to your grinder and grind 18g at the setting you last used for espresso, when you have scales this will obviously be easier. This goes into your PF and you tamp. Then into your machine, hit the brew button and at the same time hit the timer on your phone to count up. It should take roughly 25-30 seconds to pull a 36g shot (18gx2 = 36g), this is all very difficult without scales. I understand you just spent a lot of money, but you aren't going to get anything like what your machine is capable of without buying scales. They cost less than a tenner and are VERY important.

Stop using the single basket, put it in your cupboard and forget it exists. None of the advice you can get here relates to how to use one of these baskets, they extract differently and generally very poorly. If you want a weaker drink then use the double basket with the double spouted PF and allow half of it to drain away, your tastebuds will thank you.


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

Ideal was a poor choice of word.


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

I recently got these scales from e-bay for about £5, really quick delivery also

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAGA-DIGITAL-SCALES-2000g-2kg-x-0-1-GOLD-SILVER-COIN-POCKET-JEWELRY-GRAM-HERB-UK-/311296533055?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=hl4KNkKXi7Pp1R7ZE7RsNxNnCc0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Three articles here may help when the scales come

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/content.php


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## TomBurtonArt (Jan 18, 2015)

GCGlasgow said:


> I recently got these scales from e-bay for about £5, really quick delivery also
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAGA-DIGITAL-SCALES-2000g-2kg-x-0-1-GOLD-SILVER-COIN-POCKET-JEWELRY-GRAM-HERB-UK-/311296533055?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=hl4KNkKXi7Pp1R7ZE7RsNxNnCc0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc


Oh man. Those are the ones I ordered, same price but coming from China over new year :-/


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