Hi Ann, To echo what Shaun said, as I read your first post I immediately thought ³beans² also.
³Fresh², by my definition, is less than four days post-roast for decaf, and less than ten days post-roast for regular. So, try to find a local roaster that you like, and see if you can¹t get beans the day they¹re roasted. Decaf will come alive within about a day, and regular within a couple of days as the CO2 escapes from the beans. Until you have really fresh beans, you can tweak your grinder all you want, but as you noticed, your shot quality will be more or less the same. Possibly ok for milk drinks, but not the reason you spent the big bucks on the B2. No offense to WLL, they are awesome, but the ³free² beans they sent me with my machine smelled like a bottle of cooking oil that had been open for two years. They were obviously rancid and I didn¹t dare put them through my grinder. With a lot of experience behind me, I can tweak my grinder a bit as beans near the end of their useful life to get a decent shot, but not one I¹d want to drink straight. As we get further and further down the rathole, many of us have taken to home roasting in order to have the ultimate say in the composition and freshness of our blends. I drink 75% decaf/25% regular, so getting fresh beans is a real challenge unless I¹m willing to pay for freight twice a week (because decaf beans go bad so much faster than regular, in my experience). With the savings on the cost of unroasted beans and the savings on shipping, I paid for a roaster in less than a year. And I get the great smell in the garage every few days. Hang in there, it just takes time and practice (and lots of beans and milk). As an aside, I have done quite a bit of testing on various tips for steaming and have posted the results here. Search under ³tip experiment² and I think you¹ll find it. All the best, bmc "Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel....." From: Ann Ross <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 21:35:12 -0500 To: <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Ginder settings Thank you for your reply. I am using Illy medium roast beans, from Wholelattelove, and they are fairly new. I just tried grinding a little finer (had to figure out which direction was finer!) and there still was not a rich crema. I may open a new can of beans and try them. I I can master this! > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: Ginder settings > Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 21:09:38 -0500 > > > I don't know anything about the Pasquini K2 but as I was reading your post > what immediately came to mind was "it's not the grinder, it's the beans". > The shots out of a Krups or a BII will be substandard if the beans are > suspect. Where are you getting your beans from, how old are they, how are > you storing them, are they the right beans for an espresso machine. > > Have no doubts, the BII can pull awesome shots, it can steam great milk and > you can combine the two into fantastic drinks - I do it every day - that's > not braggin' it's just fact. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > Shaun Taylor > > http://shaundoreenevankeegan.blogspot.com/ > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of mamafish > Sent: 05 September 2008 20:56 > To: Brewtus > Subject: Ginder settings > > > I have just received my Brewtus II this afternoon. I read the 2005 > manual, ground my coffee with the new Pasquini K2 doserless, and made > 2 shots of espresso that really weren't too different than that which > I produced with my Krups Il Caffe Duomo! I am wondering if anyone in > the group has this grinder, and has found an optimal setting. Yes, I > can experiment, but wasting my coffee beans is sooo painful for me. > > The K2 came set at "11", but that setting didn't produce much crema at > all, and the shots took 18 seconds to deliver about 3 oz. I changed > it to 91/2 but didn't notice any appreciable difference. > > I recognize that tamping is an issue, but I thought I would tackle > that next. I am short and sixty, so I am not sure I am getting enough > leverage and strength to approach 30 pounds of pressure, though I gave > it my best effort! My digital bathroom scales only measure "error" > when I push on them. > > Thank you in advance for any suggestions... > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
