Hi, I am new to this group and would love to hear some comments regarding my problem.
For starters I just recently purchased a new Brewtus IV, along with a Baratza Vario W grinder and Espro (calibrated) tamper. I am relatively new to the espresso world and thought that this group of equipment would minimize some of the variables that can have an adverse effect on shot extraction. The temperature of the Brewtus is at the factory setting 96 degrees C (approx 205 F) and I'm using a naked portafilter (for assessment purposes) My goal was to attempt to achieve an 2oz pull in roughly 25 seconds. I would use this as a baseline and then tweak from that point. Ultimately, taste would be my guide. On the first day of pulling shots I will admit that I didn't really have a plan nor did I keep track of times and volumes. Big mistake. I ended up getting shots that where either took too long or too quick to pull. The shots either looked like crude oil, 75% crema or something in between. Taste ranged from almost undrinkable (crude oil) to something that you would expect to get from one of those roadside coffee kiosks (you'll drink it because it's the only place in town). One thing I did notice that the brew gauge frequently indicated 4 to 5 Bar during the extraction. The next day I decided that I would chart my pulls in an attempt to resolve the problem. I started by adjusting the OPV by using a blindbasket on the portafilter. The factory setting was at 12 Bar which I have been led to believe is too high. I adjusted the setting to 10 Bar which now I believe might still be a little too high (9.5 Bar). Anyways the current setting seems to be better than the factory setting. My methodology was the following: I would start by setting my grinder at a very fine setting, pull a shot, measure volume/time and adjust if necessary. I ll spare you all the details (this is getting very longwinded I know) but will provided a summary. Basically the first shots (with a very fine setting) were very dark in colour and took approx 60 seconds. Brew pressure measured at 9 Bar. I then made the grind increasingly more coarse. The dose size (14 grams) would remain the same. My hope was that I would be able to reduce the shot time and maintain the brew pressure. What ended up happening was that the shots times did decrease to a point and brew pressure remained consistant. Then mysteriously brew pressures would only climb to 4 or 5 Bar after pre infusion. Towards the end of the shot (at the point where blonding has occurred and the fluid has changed to a clear state) the brew pressure shoots up to 9 Bar (I realize that I am allowing the shot to continue too long once it has reached this stage). I then tried pulling shots with a 16 gram dose using the same methods. Basically the same pattern occurred, full brew pressure with the finest settings although very long shot times. Once the grinds became more coarse, brew measure failed to reach more than 4 or 5 Bar and only reached 9 Bar well after the shot should have ended. The same pattern occurred at 18 and 20 grams. The naked portafilter suggests that tamping and ground consistency is OK. The fluids tend to first appear around the perimeter and then focus to the center. There is a 'barber pole' effect until blonding occurs. Sometimes is does take a few more seconds before a single funnel occurs but this doesn t seem to effect the shot times and volumes that I have been getting. I ve run out of coffee for now and probably could use a break. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, JJ -- 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.
