I was comparing 18gms to 9gms because we are both talking about using a double basket. Here in N. America you will rarely (if ever) see anyone pulling a "single" (7-9gms in a single basket). Nearly every shot I have ever encountered in a retail environment (whether it goes into an espresso for sipping, an Americano, or a milk drink) is a "double" (anywhere from 14-21gms in a double basket). In my kitchen I have a single basket for the BII and a double basket and also a triple basket, my workhorse is the double basket. A double basket is the case for most cafés. So for clarity's sake a double shot in a double basket is the common approach to drinks.
The determining factor on whether it is 14gms 18gms or 21gms in a double basket is really based on the coffee and what the person is trying to show in the shot. Given that you can pull the same coffee with 14gms or 21gms or anything in-between you now have exploration zones. Throw grinder settings against that zone and you have a very large window of opportunity in which to play with. The resulting pour volume might end up being 1.25oz or 2oz, the shot will tell you when to stop it, not so much based on time or volume but rather based on the amount of blonding during the pour. If you go with 18gms and a tighter grind you might end up with a gloppy pour that just plops down like really thick honey and though the shot never gets overly blonde- ish the pour starts wandering too far out of the time constraint that you want to keep it in, say maybe 40secs and so you stop the shot. Or maybe you go with 14gms, adjust the grind a bit more coarse and let the espresso flow much easier ending up with a 26sec shot and 1.75oz of volume. My point being, the "golden rules" are guidelines but not absolute, there are generally accepted practices that allow for a variety of liquid volume results and thus exploration of what the coffee has to offer - without the need to over-extract or under- extract. In your case of 9gms of finely ground coffee in a double basket the problem still exists of a very large headspace area between the top of the puck surface and the grouphead screen and the integrity of the very small puck would show greater disturbance creating more opportunity for a wide variance in over-extraction and under- extraction spots. You should put up a video of your espresso stream coming through a bottomless portafilter, I would be very surprised if it didn't show wild spraying jets of coffee shooting out as it tore that puck apart. And so for clarity's sake and to do a fair comparison, have you pulled a shot in a double basket using approx 18gms producing approx 1.5-1.75oz volume in approx 28secs and then topped it off to 5oz... then compared it to your 9gm in a double basket producing 5oz of flow- through? On Jan 26, 2:26 pm, "E. Masseurs" <[email protected]> wrote: > Not taking it personal at all, I like these discussions too ;-) > > Too bad the links didn't work, because they tell the whole story > in 2 pix. Here's another > attempt:http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk56/HCHybrid/BrewtusIII-V/IMG_1863.jpghttp://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk56/HCHybrid/BrewtusIII-V/IMG_1864.jpg > > I know all about the math and golden rules and what's supposed to be > considered > "wrong"...but I also learned to rely on my taste buttons and sometimes say > 'the heck' with the 'rules'. And that's how we came up with this new > version. > No matter which bean I take... the new version always comes out better than > the Americano and that's enough evidence based for me to forget about the > rules. > So, ok, the coffee 'world' may call this wrong or even over extracted with a > triple O > Frankly, I couldn't care less... it tastes better to me and our visitors and > believe > me, I've had enough people taste the difference between this new version and > an americano > (which was served according to the 'correct rules and standards'). > > Again, of course it's considered an 'imperfect' cup, but not so 'imperfect' > if > you compare it to the 'americano' way when it comes to taste. > > Also, in your story below you're comparing 18gms to 9gms, while I'm > comparing > 9gms to 9gms. A single espresso is shot from a 9gms dose in a single basket, > yielding 1oz within 25-30 seconds according to the rules, right? If you're > using 18gms > to yield 1.5oz, that's not exactly a single espresso according to 'the > rules' either. > 1.5oz with 18gms is right in between a single and a double espresso if you > ask me. > But maybe I misunderstood... > > So, how I think of now? Yes, you're right when it comes to the theoretical > survey of > this experiment. Yet, I'll always stick to my alternative, despite the > rules. > The results simply speak for themselves and that's also the point your > friend > Instaurator is making in his book I mentioned before. > > Peace, > Hybrid > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
