Understanding Espresso - Grind Size (Episode #4)
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2020
- Today we discuss the single most frustrating espresso variable: grind.
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Thank you for disabling mid-roll ads. I know it's quite a big sacrifice as a business, but it makes the viewing experiences about 5367% better.
@@JimboJones99 "Actually... No you can't HAVE 5367 apples of the 100 apples, but you can have growth of 5367 apples on the 100, for example in potato farming where you invest 100 potatoes in spring and get 600 back in autumn (600% return on investment)."
@@JimboJones99 I understood that reference.
👌😂 This whole string is 100. 💯
He doesn’t need a mid-roll ad - He does one himself.
@@BasenjiAdventures And it's so much more pleasant for it.
I have found a way to change my grind settings without the need to waste coffee by purging the grinder after each change.
1. Determine what change I want to make (finer or coarser).
2. Make the grinder setting change.
3. Call out to my wife, "Honey, feel like an espresso?"
4. Make said espresso
5. After that...make myself an espresso and see how I like the change.
It's waste free and my wife is always happy with whatever comes out of the machine.
Update: Does not work if your single and alone ;-;
What about a manual grinder?
@@GrassiTube not sure since Idk your model but usually you can manually adjust your grind with a dial
Reminds me of gongfu tea brewing. The first (the tea wash) is for the dog. The second is for your wife. The third is for yourself. This is because the "third" brew (the second _actual_ brew) is generally considered to be the best.
I know James doesn't really ask for likes all the time, but the moment I click any of his videos, I automatically hit like because I know I'll love it
It's great that he doesn't need to. The cream of RUclips rising to the top.
I do the exact same thing
Yes I do the same, to me it shows a sign of respect for great info James shares with us all.
Ofc, i do it every time too and i know what u mean
It’s instantly good content
Ha! Will do this going forward!
My dad started a coffee shop in the early 2000s in rural Alberta (western Canada). Nobody had a clue what specialty coffee was, so we just did whatever we wanted and called it espresso or a latte or whatever. I think the tech who setup the machine dialed the grind setting in when he installed it, but after that nothing was ever adjusted. I am mortified to think of the countless terrible espresso shots I served while working there.
Wow that's good
Just when I’m having this real battle with grind size, here he comes to tell me why. Thank you
Same battle here 😅
Me too! Perfect timing.
You just need to understand the grinder , get to know it, feel it, touch it and love it
Couldn’t agree more!
What causes a puck to turn into a watery soupy mess?
I have this irrational fear that one day James Hoffmann will knock on my door and ask for a cup coffee in a polite british manner.
As I try to produce an acceptable cup with my inferior brewing technique, James keeps saying "interesting" with a seemingly neutral - but to my eyes slightly judging - look on his face. When I finally serve James the product of my nervous labour and he has slurped it very loudly
he then either
1) tells me how disgusting it is
or
2) lies.
His disappointement haunts me to the grave.
HAHAHAHHA
It’s a hiding to nothing.
He grimaces and coughs slightly. His eyes narrow as he peers suspiciously at the machine before he shrugs, frowns and politely says "Do have any tea?"
When James asks for coffee, you should always say I only have tea and then realize he's a Brit and he's going to hate your tea even more.
"Oh, you made coffee. Right. Thank you" *James grabs the cup, sips, then looks frantically but subtly around the room for the nearest exit*
I would be interested in a puck prep video. There are so many different techniques out there and conflicting opinions as to what techniques/combination of them is best. Distribution tools, WDT, tapping, Stockfelth, and shakers. I see a lot of people combining these methods too.
Yeah same! John from Decent taps, does some WDT and then tamps with a springloaded tamper. My sequence:
1) tap on counter to distribute grounds and remove air sockets
2) WDT with paper clip in flower pattern
3) tamp (without spring). I have noticed that lighter tamps give a waayyyy better taste profile. Not sure how that works... Maybe because you need to grind finer and thus get more contact area
I’ve gone over to a replica OCD tamp combo, best thing I’ve ever done. Love using it and I find it gives a far better consistent extraction.
@@craigs902 do distributors work? If your grinds are uneven, don’t they just them down?
Asks for some experimenting but I don’t have a machine that is consistent enough.
Am I making up excuses to buy a Decent? Yes.
@@MrTimitus yes like James has said in the past a good grinder makes a big difference in consistent grind. You don’t have to spend much, I use a breville BCG 800 pro, great grinder for the price for home. AliExpress sell great beveled distribution tamps at a great price. But yes I use a distribution tool at work now, 1 because of the way it works and 2 because of Covid, I don’t like people putting grubby fingers over my coffee, and will not go to coffee shop that dies it.
@@MrTimitus BH as well as others have done work showing that distribution tools like the OCD don't really give you any higher extraction compared to just tamping. As long as you're tamping and distributing correctly they don't really do a whole lot.
the one most important thing i learned during phd: change only one parameter at a time.
I learnt that in year 9 science
Maybe, I personally find a good experimental design of a batch of experiments more effective. What I find is that reproducibility is a much bigger problem than most of us (very much including myself here) think.
Jup - can relate :P
Right
Its too lesson 4 me
I like to switch dose and grind settings in the same time
I think, it’s ofc good way, but after i do espresso, it is worse then before 😂
I agree. If there's one thing I took away from high school chem and several college research courses, changing one factor helps with control of variables and outcome. Brewing is fun mix of science and art in one cup.
Hi James, I am a fan from the Netherlands and would like to express my appreciation for your insightful videos!
I often hear you say that puck prep is very important. I'm certain a lot of people would be interested to see your technique, hopefully you will share this with us one day.
I've just ordered some gear, subscribed to this channel and I'm ready to believe anything James says. Because he's very specific in his explanations. He always delivers the "why." Good stuff.
James Hoffman is my "go-to" guy for all things Espresso. Based on his reviews, I landed on a Niche Zero and a Cafelat Robot, both of which I ADORE! (noting that this was my first ever foray into the world/art/science/journey of Espresso). I actually sat and paused this video repeatedly and took notes, to assist me in my journey to Espresso enlightenment. Thanks JH!
Your videos are an absolute joy to watch not only because of the quality information but also your diction and tone of voice are just soothing and captivating. Similar to how a professor would speak during an interesting lecture grips you with interest - I'm not only interested in making good coffee for myself and others, I'm now griped by the science behind it. That actually should not be surprising as if you really want to be good at something you must be able to understand it properly.
Thank you for making this series.
I do feel like too much coffee in the world gets wasted. At sometimes $20/lb, coffee is a precious resource. Rainforests are being torn apart to grow your beans. Don't throw them away if they aren't perfectly ground. Just have a little container, baggie or whatever to capture the purge grounds. Then there are tons of uses for them
Cold brew coffee doesn't need the same consistency of grind. Gather a few days worth of purge grounds and put them in fridge with some water overnight and have a fantastic cold-brew coffee.
Throw them in the aeropress and make a quick cup of regular coffee. It's very forgiving for grind size.
Make espresso anyway. It's still going to be ok and will tell you if you are heading in the right direction.
It's still coffee.
Exactly. I dont get the fuss. If it is absolutely horrible - ok throw it out. Other than that it might just not be the greatest espresso you ever had, but still drinkable. So drink it god darn.
@@StarryNightSky587 For me if it's not a great espresso I'll just make it into a milk drink. I don't like wasting coffee especially since I have a hand grinder. It may not be the best latte ever but it's still good enough.
yup, i don't bother with purging at my coffeeshop, except i have to serve an espresso. it would be still ok in milk drinks and even americano. many people throw in sugar anyway. i'll just look at the next espresso.
@@xuetablya6301 especially if you're pretty close to dialed-in, a few larger crumbs isn't going to change things much. Maybe if the last thing you ground was French press...
I also feel like most cafes that sell milk drinks just pick a setting that works and leave it there. I've never actually seen Baristas dial in shots. Then again I usually have four five different drip coffee is but only use the one blend for espresso so there's never a need to adjust anything.
@@JC-fj7oo you probably have never seen barista dialing-in because it usually happens before opening, and just takes a few tweaks here and there during the day. espresso goes from pretty good in the evening to god awful in the morning every time.
Thank you. I just thoroughly cleaned my conical grinder and am impressed with how evenly the coffee is now ground. I would suggest everyone do this frequently. Great video
Appreciating your productions as much as your content. As smooth as your espresso, the videos are so well done! Thank you James!
Love your vids especially this series James. Now for the grind settings, I love mucking about with it. I get in different coffee, from different roasters, from different regions around the world for work. My customers love me for it, plus It keeps me on my toes for grind settings and ratios. It’s opened up my customers eyes to the many, many different tasting coffees that are available. So adjusting the grind or changing the amount of grind is no biggie. I’ve just had lots and lots of practice. Not that I have not learnt from you over the last 6mths I’ve been watching. I’ve learnt so much more in the last 6mths it’s not funny, so thank you so very much. It’s just a shame now I’ve decided to retire from the game and my customers are not happy with me but the coffee will still flow at work. Cheers James! Oh by the way the Espresso Tonics are Devine !!
i think purging is the saddest part as home barista as it's necessary at the same time money down the drain. i use it to get within the parameter when dialing in and practice latte art so it's not total wastage
I agree - I'm a big fan of grinders that reduce purging waste.
what if we regrind the coffee? is it usable?
As a non-Hoffman home barista though, I can not purge and also not tell the difference 👍
@@jameshoffmann i also very much agree. i think this is where manual lever machines shine for the home barista, that coupled with a great handheld grinder (e.g. kinu m47) or a niche, and you may never have to throw a shot in the sink ever again. i will say tho that i have always has this suspicion that no grinder has perfectly reproducible grind settings. i.e. ive coarsened my grind and then tightened it back to the same spot and found appreciably different results.
@@am-su7hx No the physics of regrinding are totally different, and you will probably jam up your grinder.
Is amazing to me how much alike espresso and photography are, exposure and extraction are quite similar and then using a combination of time and apperture to achieve good exposure is like dose and grind setting to achieve good extraction
Spoken like a true photographic aficionado.
Good analogy, haha!
Thank you for your precise & patient delivery style - helped me get past the frustration, got down to finding the right grind number - timing the pour and getting the best outcome possible - it is quite bewildering when you start, so guidance here done well, as you have done, is the key to breakthrough into fine espresso shots - thanks so much
This is a wonderful video James. I run a Coffee Shop in India and we do some top-notch classics. But it also starts with Understanding Espresso. It instantly uplifts all our coffee offerings. I try to constantly through your videos and other books/resources work on our Espresso and Espresso blends. Getting the grind right is no easy task. Thanks for constantly sharing this knowledge with us.
Also, different estates (and roasts) here in India require varied grind settings as well. Hence understanding the core principles allows us to keep our coffee offerings worthy.
In which state is your shop man ? If I live nearby I might drop in
our coffee offerings - that is so metal
I just bought the Flair Classic as my first foray into espresso literally seconds before clicking this video. Highly relevant and much needed.
The part about depth of the puck i was thinking of my Flair also.
You should know how special your videos are when I reserved a special time on my day to tune in every time you upload.
Thank you for all the information that you put out there James, I've learned a lot from your videos.
Keep up the good work, cheers buddy. A fan from Malaysia
Aa again from "the James", really insightful. And yes this aspect does frustrate me esp coz as an avid only espresso drinker, gotta fiddle and set it right not only with all the different coffees tht i get, but even for every new batch of the same estate too....
But its also essential and worth it if u really love ur espresso.
But man, the way u explain, i wish i had a prof like u....
I'm so glad I found this channel, I freaking love good coffee but I haven't got a clue how to make anything beyond 'passable' coffee at home, I'm learning so much now - cheers James!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge James, it really does allow people like me who have no idea about coffee improve their skills :) I've learned a lot from your videos, my coffee is actually beginning to taste good instead of just drinkable
Loving this series. Would really appreciate a detailed video about channeling and proper puck prep to wrap up this series!
When it comes to milk espresso I have a VERY strict recipe (our espresso blend changes seasonally, but stays pretty consistent taste-wise), and so grind setting is really the only variable. But with rotating single-origins I teach my baristas to follow the basic advice you‘be given about approximate dose and ratio, and once you think you have something resembling tasty that’s when grind setting comes into play. I love your videos because you give clear language for me to use in training, and that is not something that one sees often. So thank you, Jim.
Thank you for these videos! Because of your channel I basically went from automated machine esspresso to filtered Aeropress and now I'm waiting for my 9barista. Having it as hobby, is expensive, yet really interesting.
The point about changing only one variable at a time is a really good one. It's really hard to understand the impact of each adjustment otherwise. Great tip!
I've found this extremely helpful, thanks James!
James is one of the most passionate professional i have ever come across. Or rather I would say, he is an artist in the art of coffee making.
Hi James, I really enjoy watching your videos. The content within them is very informative and helps me understand more deeply about pulling good shots. Also, the quality of your videos is fantastic. The settings, the music, love it. I'm enjoying my espresso more now than ever before and a lit of that is down to you. The advice you gave on changing one thing at a time, whether it is grind or dose, is very helpful. Saves me getting in a lot of knots. Keep up the good work 👍☕️👌
I don't own an espresso machine, but I watch these videos because of the quality presentation of the subject!
Nice, been waiting for this one.
hi Albert, will you make any videos?
This is the first time the relationship between the size of grind and amount of coffee have an impact on puck performance - specifically as it impacts channeling. Like many others, I am a very visual learner and your description of the confluence of factors allowed me to “see it” in a way I hadn’t before. I still prefer to pay the professional to do all this for me but I really appreciate being able to understand it so much better.
Thank you so much for the refresher course man. This was very thorough and gave me all the answers I needed. Keep up the amazing work!!
I don't even drink coffee, I have no clue what I'm doing here, but I listened intently. Thanks for the lesson!
Now I'm worried and excited that I've never actually tasted good espresso.
may your first good espresso be one you make for yourself
I have at one place. ACME in Monterey, CA. They hand press and roast in house. Once you try a good one, you will seek it out again forever! Lol!
I am a newbie and did great for first 2 months using Brevile barista pro. I was at a 12 grind and the shots were pulling in 15 seconds. Now my pucks were perfect everything was great. Then they started to not taste good, mostly as they cooled they developed a terrible taste or if I nuked them they tasted awful. After studying and watching and learning more, I realized It couldn’t possibly be good since pulling in 15 seconds. I had tried a Sumatra been, same roaster, dark and oily and have not been able to get back to that decent cup of Joe since. I have vacuumed out my grinder to clear everything out,tried three different beans, I have tried grind size all the way down to two and all the way back up to 12 and I cannot re-create that decent espresso. I lowered internal burr from 6 to 4, could that be it? I tried manually pulling the shots to force it to be longer, and the shots were longer when I took the grind size way down, but the espresso still tasted awful. I mean ‘linger in your mouth turn you off from even wanting to drink coffee anymore’ awful. I’m getting what I described as harsh almost chemically tasting espresso. (With 3 diff beans) Keep in mind I never had straight espresso in my life, so not sure how it should taste but even with my milk it taste awful. It’s undrinkable.I’m tired of keeping a log and throwing away coffee and I don’t know what to do. Your tips would be appreciated!
@@pixelfairy Old Italian saying ! Well...... it could have been . Lol
I’ve tasted really good espresso, but I know I have never made good espresso lol
Thank you very much for this series and your videos ! I already read your book and was still struggling with channeling. Your Series made it more clear to me when to tweak with what and that always grinded to fine and that broke the puck because of the pressure.
Just wanted to say a big thank you. As a new dad I needed some good espresso so I got a decent Breville and after 4 of your videos no more over extractions and my tamp is “better’’ but much more consistent and I’m able to see what was wrong by your guru level tips. THANKS!!
I've always had a tough time explaining this to people. Personally, When going for a new grinder instead of getting the baratza Sette 270 I got the Sette 30 as it forced me to settle with good and not keep tweaking it to try to get perfect espresso everytime. Generally I'm pouring shots twice a day and I go for 17g in and 34g out and I go through a bag of coffee every 2 weeks so I wait until my roasted coffee (shoutout to quietly coffee usually) is exactly 1 week old as it has settled and you're still drinking the coffee within its prime but coffee that is too fresh makes your pour way too inconsistent. At the end of my shot I decide if I need to adjust for the evening shot, usually I don't have to. I almost waste 0 coffee with this method and I aim for 30s.
Hi James. Your videos are an inspiration. Thank you!
I was wondering what your set-up is, especially with audio.
The sound on your videos is the best of any channel I watch and I'm curious how you achieve that.
As for grind questions, a video on puck prep, maybe touching on Stockfleth and how relevant it is in a cafe environment would be really great to see.
Thanks for your hard work.
Some people are just a blessing to this world. Like you, James! Keep up the great work! It helps a lot of us.
Even tho it’s unrelated to my current coffee problem, which is getting my Mokka pot to produce the best coffee it’s capable of, hearing about the way you change your grind size and properly dial those things in helped a LOT.
Thanks mate.
its good that my boyfriend drinks 8 coffees a day and isn't particularly picky about the flavor of coffee - no coffee goes to waste while I learn how to make decent tasting cappuccinos :D
I do that with my wife 😅
As a chef who makes coffee I never throw away coffee. 1. If I change the grind: my reckoning is, if it was descent before the change, it will be descent after and I can wait for one or two coffees to see if it gets even better. 2. If the grind was way off, which it almost never is, I use the coffee to make ice cream or ganache.
Thank you for this, I felt insistent that I don't waste the grounds.
i’m just getting into espresso, but i have to say that you are so far above other sources i’ve found. expert explaining, sir
Excellent excellent series. I got a Sage Barista pro yesterday and wasted a lot of coffee trying to dial in my espresso watching other videos on RUclips then last night stumbled across this series. It’s not that the other channels were not good it’s just that this series, how it’s presented & explained just clicked for me and after just a couple of attempts this morning, with a better understanding of grind, dose, brew time & how they affect each other I managed to make something that resembled a good cup of coffee. Thanks 🙏 & keep up the great videos……
Now time to perfect the art of steaming🤔
Im curious about how the freshness of beans can affect how you adjust your grind settings. Im also keen to hear about best puck prep practice, as other have mentioned. Thanks for your videos James , they are gold.
This guy inspires me. I didnt drink coffee before watching this channel!
Finally....someone who can explain properly, the intricacies of grinding coffee beans. God bless and thank you!
You just blew my mind. Not only subjects is great but the way you put it. Thank you for this. Awesome job. Cheers.
Just got some bad news and then my mood turned positive immediately as I saw a new video from Dr. Hoffmann :)
The audio quality on this video is incredible. After watching this the grind recipe that comes with my coffee subscription box makes more sense.
I'm guessing the 18g example of coffee in is for a double shot. I measured a single at 9g so I'm assuming I'm on the right track with this.
So, so useful thank you
I have learnt sooo much from your videos and have been very entertained at the same time. I feel like I am starting to get good at making espresso with your help. Thank you!
James - thanks for the thoughtful and helpful tutorial on Understand Espresso. I just bought a new Gaggia Classic Pro and Sette 270 Grinder and am using the information in your tutorial to improve my home Barista skills.
As a relative novice, I'm surprised by how much I have to change the grind setting for different "espresso roast" coffees. The same grind setting on two different coffees has surprisingly different results! (I sprung for a Niche Zero in my kit and love its reliability at reproducing the same setting easily).
I have definitely chased grind size around in the past. Making changes to the amount rather than grind size has been a good way to have to do less of that. Thanks for these videos. I'd love to see something on the impact of filter basket size. For example, how does extraction, brew time, etc. compare when brewing with 17 g in a 17 g basket vs. 17 g in a 20 g basket, vs. 20 g in a 20 g basket. It is another one of those variables that seems like it should make it easier to dial in exactly what I want, but it mostly confuses me.
Thank you for this. I just learned that espresso uses a finer grind than regular coffee and was wonderng about the science of how and why (not a big coffee drinker myself. prefer soda or tea.) and you answered pretty much all the questions this new knowledge had brought to mind.
I went back to using my hand grinder after I got my flair, because I wasn't ok with the huge coffee wastage of the ex-cafe electric grinder I bought. Another great video, Mr H.
It's the most difficult part to get used to and good at. 1 year in as barista and lots to learn still. Luckily we have lovely people doing these videos. 👌🙌
Very neat and clean explanations. Loved this series, thank you
I just love the invaluable tips from the true maestro of coffee
On only changing one paramater at a time. Be aware that if you change grind setting it will affect the amount of coffee a grinder will churn out in a fixed time. So if you go finer you will probably get less coffee out in the time set on the timer for grinding. The other way around when grinding coarser. So I always manually add some coffee or scoop out excess when dialling in. Later on you can adapt the timer on your grinder.
This is a good reason to not keep your hopper full and to only add the amount of coffee you’re intending to grind each time. Although I wonder how much that’s affected by grinder retention.
this is why you should work with grams not scoops, timers etc. you get to actually repeatable dosages.
@@TheVitamineE @fluffy that is possible but not very practical if you need to make production (not to mention retention). A good grinder has a very reliable output using the timer. I just wanted to warn that if you change grind size with a timed grinder, your output will vary as well so if you are not careful there is a risk that you vary 2 variables.
@@jph364 You make a solid point, and this is something that is more relevant to cafes where timed dosing grinders are more common. When dialing in, use a scale to make sure you're using the same dose each time and just adjusting the grind, then once you have dialed in make sure the timer is right so that you keep getting that dose. I'm sure there's good videos to explain the process
@@jph364 Ah, sure, I was assuming home brewing and not a professional environment.
Being a process engineer who loves brewing espresso, this video is beautiful
I love messing with the grind setting on my coffee, when i lived with my parents i always just made the espresso like my father thought me and he fine tuned the process. Now that i live on my own, i bought a la Pavoni europicollo, messing with the grind setting, dosage and pressure and directly seeing how it affects your shot is just such a different way of looking at coffee. And the passion i have for coffee has increased a lot, im pretty sure by now, thanks to your tips i can pull a great shot from my machine.
Good day, James. I started to watch your videos a few days ago and I totally fell in love with your channel. =) Thank you a lot for a tons of useful information! You help me to improve my coffee knowledge and reach my next level of a coffeelover. Hope you have a great day! Greetings from Ukraine!
The most scientific coffee making I watched so far
After watching this i just backed off my sage smart pro as ive been grinding far too fine as id often get channeling, poor extraction sometimes through one side more and a sour espresso which i thought was coming from the coffee bean roast. After backing it off and grinding slightly courser, now the coffee was so much sweeter and no channeling at all.
Like always your videos are very insightful!! Im new in the world of expresso and watching your videos really help out.
Your presentation style is counter intuitive!! Your voice is so soothing, it lulls me to sleep but your content keeps me awake!!😊
I never waste coffee, if the shot ir cup its not to my liking i still drink it and analyse what went wrong, i belive drinking the bad coffee makes the really good coffee much more satisfing.
Please drink your bad coffee, its part of this hobby i belive
If it isn't too far of, just add some milk, but I switched beans and went from around 30 seconds to close to 90 seconds for 2:1 on an 18g dose, not drinking that
sometimes drink a lot of coffe makes you feel bad, becouse of the taste, the cafeine, etc. If you are dialing your espresso and you drink all the shots that you pull out, you will be unable to make a good comparison betwen them. I usually drink just one or two sips, and then i drink water before the next one. I think, that sometimes, its necessary to waste some coffe to drink a good espresso.
@@javiercarbone2769 you are right, thant's why i don't usually dial in espresso in one sitting, some times it takes me up to 5 days to get it right, i just pull one or 2 shots and take notes on the changes that i think it needs and in the next morning i continue the process until i am satisfied, its not the optimal way to get the absolutly best shot but at least i dont waste coffee. this is just my way of doing it.
When I make espresso, I always use the leftover shots. Most times, I dump them in a 32 oz container, fill with water, and chill overnight. Now, I have a drink that carries me through several days. It's usually 3-4 shots strong, so I get a good kick in energy.
I always drink it, no matter how bad it is. If it's terrible I iust pour it over some chocolate icecream lol
James has the greatest job
Well he did worked hard for it, literally became world champion.
@@arpit5317 Absolutely!
I have been waiting for this. Excellent.
Unrelated to all your high quality and informative content: I've been admiring your sweater collection since finding your videos. This one is such a great color on you!
On the "purging out coffee and wasting it" thing.
Here's what I do: Stick it in a container and use it in an Aeropress later. Very forgiving as a brew method and doesn't ruin the flavour much at all.
Dialing in is a very frustrating process sometimes, especially since I'm practically always buying different coffee (coffee offers change often at the supermarket). I always tell my roommates to use my coffee waste, they aren't big espresso nuts but do use my machine ;)
I appreciate your views on real-world working with coffee. Third run through of the video and I think I'm just now starting to understand it. Thanks for sharing with us!
I began my espresso journey not too long ago with my breville barista express and I’ve always treated dose and brew ratio as constant, leaving just grind setting to play with. Issues with retention are a big pain point indeed. The built in grinder on my machine does a decent job at getting into the ball park of getting me to the right flow rate but I never had the luxury of going beyond that since the step size in grind settings isn’t that granular. This series really helped me realise that i can play with the other variables too as well as how to go about doing so. Thanks James :)
Also, really found your review of the niche zero really helpful in this regard. I’m hoping to get my hands on one soon 🤞
So, am I correct if I assume that a "solid" coffee-puck (not breaking in any way) after pulling the coffee may indicate, that my extraction went well (provided, that my espresso tastes well)?
Yep they don’t call it a puck got no reason, lol
My boyfriend just sold one of his rare Pokemon cards so that we can buy some espresso making gear. :-D I've been watching you non-stop and want to thank you for your amazing videos. Best espresso channel I've come across in my last few weeks of intensive research.
I started watching this channel 3 days before and Today i just threw my coffee in the kitchen sink with a James Hoffmann thought "it's dark, bitter, barky and CRAP".
NOW i am going to revise my coffee making procedure. Wish me luck.
Thanks James Hoffman four your informative videos! I watched this video this morning and RUclips pointed me toward your January 1st, 2020 video, "Did Science Just Reinvent Espresso." I cannot perform the experiment that was requested in that video because I am using a Gaggia Classic Pro that I have had for about a month and I am stuck with the 15 Bar (!) pressure that they make it with. But these two videos inspired me to brew 17 double shots today. This is what I have experienced:
My best tasting shots run about 25 seconds. At twenty seconds or less, they are harshly sour. They improve from say 23-27 seconds and after that they tend to get very bad again and kind of inconsistent shot times, I am pretty sure this is because of channeling.
I bought an inexpensive leveler and was trying to use just that without tamping, but I couldn't get consistent shot times with the leveler alone, so I backed it off and used it to just level and tamped after. That did improve consistency, but I still seemed to get channeling with shot times in the 30 second range.
After watching the two videos this morning, I was on a mission after work today! My theory is that I can't run a shot longer than about 25 seconds because the 15 BAR that my machine runs at over-compresses my puck, breaking it, and causing channeling. I would like to hear some constructive feedback from someone knowledgeable (James?!) about this theory.
So this was my experiment today: I took a coffee that I like, but couldn't get consistent results with. It was tasting "strong," probably sour, in my lattes. Overall, just not very pleasant. I wanted to try to get consistent results tamping with ONLY my my leveler. I first reset my leveler to the depth that I was using when I was trying it out to tamp with before. I then tried to tamp it and discovered that I couldn't. It was already tamped harder than I tamp by hand. And sure enough, I got an OK, 23 second shot, but when I ground finer, the shot times decreased! Even after resetting to the same grind as the 23 sec shot, it was still in the 18-19 second range and terrible.
So I tried the leveler where I had is set when I was tamping after and get fast, inconsistent shots. But things improved when I set the leveler in between. I was able to get consistently timed, OK shots, probably about as good as anything I had been able to get out of the Gaggia. I think it will make a nice latte and I am looking forward to trying one in the morning.
So what do you guys and gals think? Is the 15 BAR of the Gaggia breaking the puck if I grind to a 30 second shot, causing channeling? Will modding the Gaggia to 9 BAR fix these problems? "Let me know in the comments below!"
Thanks
If only I could find a cafe that actually knows how to do this
I remember the last time I was still learning how to calibrate but my espresso machine is a HX and time programmed. Resulting in many many coffees wasted. lol
I don’t know why this video made me sleepy… likely because I’ve seen MANY in a row, because I loved this channel. Thank you James.
What I love about my manual flair machine is that once you start the shot, you feel if your grind size is too coarse or fine and you can adjust your pressure or pre-infusion and save the shot.
With new beans and a freshly cleaned grinder, pulling shots on a semi-automatic makes you go through a 250g bag way to quick, sometimes it can be very frustrating and wasteful.
4 am coffee videos lets goooooooo
Is it obvious I drink coffee way too late into the day?
@@andremaldonado7410buddy you dont plan to sleep?
This gonna be the earliest I've been to any RUclips vid! This being pretty grand at that!
+1!
so what?
@@roberthardy5171 lol go back under your bridge troll
@@frylochenn nobody cares if you were “early” lol
@@roberthardy5171 apparently you care, enough to reply so thanks Robert Hardy. Lol
I just started making espressos at home a week ago and have been tampering with grind settings. This was exactly what I needed!!
The pursuit of a perfect grind with a perfect puck resulting in a tasty well balanced espresso is why I listen to James👍🔥🔥🔥 I have Niche grinder and make daily 1/2 step adjustments as needed keeping brew time around 25-30 seconds with a 2 to 1 ratio.
Is it true the the Niche Zero grinder has almost no retention? So you don't have to purge when making a new grind adjustment?
If you are serious about your espresso at home, single dose grinder is a no brainier. No need to purge, no need to waste. 😉
Also: that EG1 😍
Luben Z you still might need to purge on a single dose grinder
I don't purge on my Sette270 and use it as a singe doese. But I also make horrible espresso :D
@@rickastley885 in my experience, it's not necessary. With the Niche Zero, even after just cleaning it out completely, the most I ever retain is .1g which I do not think will have any affect on my grind setting changes. Usually the retention is less than .1g as my scale can't pick up the difference
Matt McP but the whole selling point of the Niche is that it's low retention. A lot of single dose grinders still need to be purged
Not really as it’s more effort to pull many shots back to back when hosting people for example and need to make half a dozen coffees
I like to spin my grind setting around each time I use it and some days I get good coffee
💀
Teacher James, I'm from Brazil and I'm learning English with your videos and good espressos too. Thank you for all knowledge that you give us.
I know this one’s older, but I’ve been binging your videos lately and I have to say:
The texture and cadence of your voice is exquisite
I can’t tell de difference between sour and bitter espresso.
Thanks for this. I can't get a good espresso out to save my life. Have played with grind size so much.
I’ve been having trouble too. Problem is you don’t know what a good brew ratio to use is either. Somehow one need to be constant while you adjust the other and then switch and hold the other constant while you adjust what was first the constant.
ive found that getting a "mediocre" everything gives a better coffee then going all out brew pressure, or extraction time
Thanks for another great and informative spot James. Cheers
Gosh, I never knew there was so much to know about coffee. TY for all these videos you have made. Fascinating and so helpful.
Does anyone else notice a change in terms of the age of the beans (well, the time they've been out of the freezer, that is)?
I use approx. 1 bag of coffee per week, and what I've noticed is that keeping the dose the same (judging by weight of coffee in vs coffee out) the flavour of the shot noticeably changes - though, that may be subjective, but in addition to that the time a shot takes changes too.
In response to this, what I've started doing is adjusting the grind slightly as time goes on, only by a single click at a time. This seems to keep the flow rate consistent, and as far as I can tell the flavour too. Once the bag is done, and a new one comes out, I put the grind setting back to where it began, grind through half a shot and discard, then typically I'm back to where I wanted to be.
Which is great until I change beans for different ones! :D
Definitely! I have a Pavoni lever machine and OE Lido E grinder. The Pavoni is notoriously fussy about grind. Keeping all other things constant I need to grind finer as the beans age in order to apply the same pressure to the puck. I was also hoping for a video on bean age to understand exactly why.
Exactly the same for me. And I have a Pavoni too.
Always hard to do coffee with this baby.
Funny you asked this because I just posted a comment asking the same question!
I think it’s an important variable to consider