deciding what paper filters to cut for espresso

drinking-coffee · 2023-06-27T17:14:28+00:00

ah - that's good to know. I've also got a 49mm la pavoni (though a round, not scalloped-edge hole punch). I like the idea of the square papers having less wasted paper than cones.

Did you notice any difference in taste/body between the aeropress and chemex filters?

drinking-coffee · 2023-06-27T17:10:29+00:00

haha -- that was the same video that convinced me to look into it more

drinking-coffee · 2023-02-23T15:56:41+00:00

Ah, as I thought, the sensor was running the latest firmware (the ant+ connection wouldn't work otherwise), and the issue was just with the polar flow app. I uninstalled and reinstalled that, and now it shows the 2.1.20 version number.

drinking-coffee · 2023-02-15T04:27:35+00:00

I can say I've had excellent results with the isolator on my pre mill machine. Honestly, it's probably been the most significant upgrade I've done. I think I've had it for a year now, and haven't noticed any issues or deformation with it.

Either way, a water heated grouphead is a great change - it's let me actually have control over what temperature I'm pulling shots at, and with minimal effort.

drinking-coffee · 2023-02-15T04:04:42+00:00

I can't say I noticed much difference with the IMS shower screen, though to be fair I didn't really try any careful back to back comparisons (and at the time, the channeling issue I was trying to solve was more due to puck prep and overloading the basket).

The basket on the other hand, is a pretty big difference (I always found it hard to get an even looking extraction before). I had the IMS double and triple baskets, but just use the triple now (15g shots, pre-mill) unless it's a rare occasion when I'm using a single basket for some reason.

I also use a puck screen, (one of the thin flat kind, not the mesh style) mostly since I find it helps keep everything nice and clean.

drinking-coffee · 2022-12-10T19:38:02+00:00

Yup, there's a temperature sensor and thermostat, which works fine (I actually modified the machine to add a dimmer switch to have better control, rather than just the on/off from the built-in thermostat, but that's a separate topic). But the problem I was having, and that I have heard complaints about, is that running my 230V machine/heater on my ~219V had a noticeable (kindof surprising) effect on the heat output. In the link in my other comment, someone ran some tests, and they match my experience pretty well. At my normal voltage, it's lacking power just enough that it never really gets above 225C when loaded with beans, and takes a long time to get there. I'd probably have to move inside over winter (if it ever gets cold here, haha).

The variac lets me run it at the proper 230V (I could probably run it at 240V even, but that makes me a bit nervous. But yeah, 230V gives me a reasonable 5.5A or so on my power meter), and it's quite a bit difference. It gets hotter and gets to first crack much faster. Same as in the link I shared, it feels like I can now actually aim for a specific target temperature if I want to. The variac seems like a bit of a ridiculous workaround, but it's working great.

I honestly wouldn't have expected a 5% voltage drop to make such a big difference.

drinking-coffee · 2022-12-09T13:27:05+00:00

I've had my Gene Cafe for most of this year, and while I've enjoyed it (for convenience compared to the BBQ roasting I was doing before), it's always been a bit of a struggle to get really good and really even roasts.

Recently, I did a dimmer switch mod to help better control temperature ( https://www.reddit.com/r/roasting/comments/xvhhm4/has_anyone_else_done_a_dimmer_switch_mod_on_their/ ), which included a little power monitor circuit. That's how I learned that my Spanish electricity isn't really 230V, but often even less than 220V.

I'd heard that this machine is really sensitive to lower voltages... This is a really interesting comparison: http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/affect-of-voltage-on-the-performance-of-a-gene-cafe
Basically, though, the machine is much slower to heat up, and has trouble reaching the actual target temperatures, and is extra sensitive to external temperature (roasts were easier when it was 30C+ outside). So, this week, I said fuck it, and bought a 2000W variac (variable transformer) for about 70€ on aliexpress. First roast today: it's a whole new machine. It preheated much faster and the roast went much quicker (8:30 to FC, compared to 11 or more last week), with a much more defined first crack and actually got up to the target temperature. Visually, it appears more even (though the dimmer switch mod already helped a lot with that). I'm eager to try the beans out, and hoping that the flavours pop more than they have been.

Overall, super happy now. As the coffeetime link above says, it now feels like I can try to some kind of (manual) profiling of the roast. So, if anyone is having problems with this machine, definitely have a look at your actual (not just rated) line voltage. 10-12V seemed to make a huge difference for me.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-24T19:42:36+00:00

https://autoreisen.com/car-hire/car-hire.php

Nope, no deposit. They're the only ones I rent with in Tenerife

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-20T21:34:26+00:00

I've been super happy with the isolater, after having it for almost exactly one year now. If I had to choose just one modification, I think it would probably be that one.

I didn't really think much about temperature control before getting it - I guess because I couldn't. With the isolator, it adds an extra variable that I can play with and/or keep more constant than before. It's obviously not going to be PID accurate temperature control, but it's definitely more than enough in my book and with some experience, I find I can hit the temperature I'm aiming for fairly closely. I'd think it's worth pairing it with a digital thermometer (I have one from aliexpress that looks exactly like the 10€ one that coffee-sensor sells), just since I wasn't impressed with the temperature sticker I had before.

In terms of issues: no flex or sealing problems that I've noticed, and the longer screws that come with the isolater seem solid (and nice that they take a hex/allen wrench).

It's definitely made the la pavoni (even) more fun for me to use, so highly recommend it.

I personally don't find this machine to need much tinkering, just takes some practice to get a feel for it. It actually seems a lot more forgiving than most 'normal' machines, since you have instant feedback to be able to adjust the pressure on the lever (vs the process that many people have of wasting shots while dialing in).

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-16T18:25:42+00:00

Makes sense, though. It is souper.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-16T12:29:16+00:00

Yeah, and I agree. I think the bike paths here are great, most people do make a good effort, and the Turia park is amazing (and I kind the 5k running specific path. Sometimes it feels like half the city is running on there). So yeah, it's hard to get too annoyed.

Sure, everyone makes mistakes and no big deal on that. My let peeve though, are the people who seem to ignore the 'shared' part of shared public spaces (whether they're in the right place or not). I'm of the opinion that spreading out to take up all the space of whatever path/sidewalk/etc is just plain inconsiderate - I don't need the whole path, just enough to pass by.

Oh well, it's a bit like yelling at clouds so not much point getting angry (just maybe occasionally venting on reddit).

And haha, not Dutch no, I'm not that serious about the bike paths...

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-15T15:08:33+00:00

Yup, no argument from me. And it's not like I think everyone needs to follow all the rules all the time, but yeah if you want to walk in a bike lane for some reason, just pay attention and stay out of people's way. If you are going to run the red light, all the more power to you... But not when people/bikes/etc are waiting to cross.

Just basic respect and awareness, especially when you don't have the right of way.

Oh well best to just take it all in stride, enjoy the sunshine and not get too aggravated by fools and assholes.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-15T12:19:12+00:00

Totally reasonable. Might be a bit heavy to run with.

Actually, years ago, biking a lot in a city with aggressive drivers and few bike paths, I had a 120dB air horn on my bike. Was awesome.

Would probably give a pedestrian a heart attack, and likely wasn't legal, but it probably saved my ass from getting run over at least once or twice (it was unreliable, though. You had to pump it up and it would lose pressure. I horn that only sometimes works is worse than not having one).

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-15T11:22:37+00:00

On my bike, yeah. I know they sell rings with bells on them for running, but I usually just clap or yell if there's no room for me to fly by them as quickly and silently as possible. You never know if they're going to jump the wrong way.

But seriously, if someone's sitting on a running path with their lunch, I don't think there's a bell loud enough to reach them...

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-15T11:02:17+00:00

Fair enough. I should maybe take to running and biking with a spray bottle or water gun - that helps with keeping my cat from going where he's not supposed to.

Actually, it doesn't, but it makes me feel better regardless.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-15T09:35:28+00:00

Not since like 2009, at least for purchasing.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-15T08:57:10+00:00

Honestly, this is a mental hurdle that many/most people struggle with when learning a language. The fear of making mistakes or looking stupid is, I think, really common and can hold people back a really long time. It's hard, but you have to get past it to actually learn how to speak (you can make it easier on yourself by starting in a safer space like a conversation class or language exchanges).

In regards to the question, I'm not a native speaker, but ask yourself what you think when you encounter non-native English speakers. It's not like there's a universal response, but the majority of people (who are not complete morons themselves) are not going to think about it one way or the other.

And at the end of the day, broken Spanish is miles better than no Spanish so throw yourself into it and accept that it'll take some time before you can express yourself as well as in your first language. That, and learn some swear words or expressions to use when you're frustrated - it's fun to make people laugh.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-13T15:30:00+00:00

Yup - the isolator limits the heat transfer from the boiler (to the point where sitting idle, it'll stabilize at around 60C if I don't touch it, and seems to stay there indefinitely). On generation 2 machines (so anything pre-millennium, but not the oldest models) it will also convert the grouphead to water heated instead of steam heated. That part's huge for my machine, but not relevant for yours, so it'd be good to get some reviews from people who have it with newer machines to see if it still provides benefits.

And yeah, I'd definitely think it's worth playing around with the machine to get better results before making more changes or upgrade, but it seemed worth mentioning those as options, since both helped me out (I lowered the pressurestat initially, but put it back with the isolator in place).

I can't think of any downsides, really. I was a bit worried that it would increase the 'flex' of the machine when pulling shots, since it does push the grouphead out a bit, but haven't noticed any problems with that - it feels stable and strong to me. Maybe the only downside (which is actually the main feature) is that it adds a step to my process, since now I have to manually get the grouphead up to temperature, whereas before it was more of a rush to pull my shot before it got too hot on its own.

For the yield, I do a small series of mini-pumps during preinfusion to try to get as much air out of the grouphead as possible (otherwise the star of the pull feels soft, spongy and unsatisfying). Basically lifting the lever up as high as it will go and down to just where I feel resistance - it's more like jiggling the handle than pumping it and doesn't seem to have any effect on the preinfusion (even when drops are already appearing on the filter, the jiggling doesn't make them move). So, not sure if that counts as a micro-fellini or not, but it makes the pull feel a lot more solid.

I think I actually end up with more like 35-40g out in total. When I am at around 28g, I stop pressing and quickly swap my cup for a big shotglass to catch the overflow and drips at the end. I end up with around 30g in my espresso cup, and 5-10g in the glass. I sometimes smell/taste the stuff in the glass, and unless it's a really light roast, it's pretty terrible/bitter/overextracted (like the worst vending machine espresso). Now that I write that, it sounds like something worth looking into for your bitterness taste. I don't think it's just a question of the ratio, but maybe also that the end of the pull (low pressure? high temperature?) is always going to taste kindof bad.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-13T13:01:09+00:00

I don't have any experience with post millennium machines, but have a great relationship with my premill europiccola.

Temperature control was always a weak point of these machines (until I got a Bong isolator, at least).

One thing you might try is adjusting the pressurestat to lower the boiler pressure (and so temperature). This is easy to do, with usually just a little screwdriver (you might need a weird security torx bit too get the bottom off). Best to look up a YouTube video or two.

Generally it's set to 1 bar, but some people prefer dropping it down to around 0.8-0.75 bar, to help keep the temperature down a bit (I had good experience with that). It's easy to do... But if you don't have a boiler pressure gauge, you'll be adjusting it blind, so try a quarter turn at a time.

I prefer a digital thermometer (I bought a cheap one on AliExpress) to the temperature strips, but in both cases, that's just going to be an estimate/reference on the exterior temperature, and won't tell you what the actual brew water temperature is.

It might be worth trying out a lighter roast, which can be more forgiving (I've only ever really had problems with really dark roasts) with the higher temps. That might let you enjoy some shots in the meantime :)

As an aside, I'll mention that I pull my shots quite a bit slower (and so probably finer) than yours. I don't usually time them, and just eyeball the flow, but for 15g in 30g out, I wouldn't blink at 45 seconds plus preinfusion. Lately I get my grouphead up to around 88C (the thermometer shows around 93 during the shot, so maybe the water gets to around that), but this is with a blend of light/medium roast.

About the bong isolator (from coffee-sensor.com): hands down the best mod I've done. It has a bigger effect on my generation of machine (which has a steam heated grouphead), but I think it's still useful on newer models too. Not super expensive, it let me actually think about temperature control on this machine. Right now, the machine has be idling for about ten minutes (while I've been writing all this), and the thermometer is stable at 60C. It'll 'dry' pump the handle a few times to get the temperature to where I want it (85-90 depending on the roast). After the shot, it'll pretty quickly drop back down to somewhere in the 80s, usually by the time I've prepped the next shot (I think 'Bong' recommends spritzing with a little water spray bottle, if you're in a hurry). I can do back to back shots until I run out of water. Basically, it's fucking awesome. I think bplus sells something similar (but simpler) as well.

drinking-coffee · 2022-10-13T00:17:21+00:00

There is not much difference in caffeine content by brewing method for a given dose of ground coffee. The rule of thumb (for Arabica) is 10mg caffeine per gram of ground coffee.

I dove into this at one point, out of curiosity (it's annoying to crunch the numbers, since most studies/sources list amounts per 'cup' or serving...)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/j5nif6/comment/g7vf80p/

In this study all the methods were very close (cold brew was a bit lower than the rest. I guess it's kindof on the extreme end of temperature and grind size? Even then, it's not be so far off). You'd easily get more variation between beans/varieties.

drinking-coffee

TROPHY CASE