# Beans - individual dialing required?



## drgekko (May 19, 2013)

Hi folks.

I purchased a selection of beans from Ocado just to give each one a try. First off, opened a bag of 'Grumpy Mule Espresso':

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Grumpy-Mule-Organic-Espresso-Beans/84256011

(hmmm.... I wonder whether 'Happy Donkey' are related to this?!)

Having opened the first bag to grind 20g of beans, I noticed the grounds were a little finer compared to several other brands I have used... this is a bit odd in my opinion. Consequently, after tamping, the extraction time took longer with a fine, dark trickle rather than a more flowing, creamier one - took around 35s to get a double shot. Anyway, it didn't taste that great.

So I'm assuming now that different packs of beans need to be dialled in specifically?? If so, man, what a pain in the ass!! It's like finding a marriage partner all over again!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Yep different beans and different roasts need to be dialled in individually, along with when you change your brewing method . Different beans will have differing amount of oils . You are in the ball park for espresso from your last beans so should be some fine adjustments this time.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Yes, that's right. That's why, when you've got a particular bean dialled in, you don't want to be switching to another type and back again. Also as the dialled in bean ages, i.e. dries out, you might need to tweak your settings to keep the extraction and time spot on. This is the price to pay to make sure you get the very best out of your equipment and beans.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Yup - sorry about that.

All beans need to be dialed in on an individual basis.

More of a pain but producing better coffee is to weigh in the beans & weigh out the finished espresso.

When you achieve the result you like if used reasonably quickly the same grinder, water setting will see you through the whole bag


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## drgekko (May 19, 2013)

Drat - I thought I was on a roll having gone through 2-3 different roasts recently... now I understand why shops tend to sell only one roast otherwise it would be a complete pain having to tweak settings for individual roasts... much easier to find the exact combination you're after and stick with it... wow, makes the journey more arduous but I guess there's something special to found at the end of the rainbow.


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

drgekko said:


> Drat - I thought I was on a roll having gone through 2-3 different roasts recently... now I understand why shops tend to sell only one roast otherwise it would be a complete pain having to tweak settings for individual roasts... much easier to find the exact combination you're after and stick with it... wow, makes the journey more arduous but I guess there's something special to found at the end of the rainbow.


It depends, often I'll buy two different coffees, one for brewing and one for espresso and I'll use a hand grinder for brew and an electric grinder with stepless adjustment for espresso.

Or, I'll buy espresso, then, after I open the bag, I'll buy a different bean and by the time I finish my bag, the new beans should be delivered and rested.

I don't think any of us home barista stick with only one bean, but usually we will use a whole bag or two before trying another.

A lot of people make notes too, for instance, how many turns they move to dial in a shot.

If you do it like this, then switching beans is easier.

If you know that for the current bean you have adjusted a total of 15 turns, then for the previous bean, there is a good chance it will be about 15 turns away.

in reality, the difference is more like 4 or 5 turns.

It does get more complicated when some beans respond better to being pulled short or long, so counting turns probably works better with similar origins and roast levels.


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## Nimble Motionists (Oct 22, 2012)

drgekko said:


> Drat - I thought I was on a roll having gone through 2-3 different roasts recently... now I understand why shops tend to sell only one roast otherwise it would be a complete pain having to tweak settings for individual roasts... much easier to find the exact combination you're after and stick with it... wow, makes the journey more arduous but I guess there's something special to found at the end of the rainbow.


Yep, this is a good reason to be suspicious of shops offering multiple beans without having the same number of grinders on the go. A number of speciality shops have a second or third grinder for guest beans but there are some shops who offer as many as ten different beans but chuck them all through the same grinder (the end product isn't good!).


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Grumpy Mule is not related to Happy Donkey









You may even need to dial in between different roasts of the same bean, and also as the bean ages the grind will change

Coffee grinding is not a set and forget process


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## bubbajvegas (Jan 26, 2013)

Glenn said:


> Coffee grinding is not a set and forget process


And that's part of the fun and enjoyment of coffee


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## autopilot (Apr 4, 2013)

The difference in grinder setting can be quite surprising too and change quite a bit as they age. Plus my other half likes decaf, so constantly adjusting the grinder. Having a stepped grinder helps here, but i do find often if it change it, to say and aeropress level, I can't just go back to the last used espresso setting even with the same bean. Probably due to my 'cheap' grinder.


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