Coffee Beans

banaco73

Hello All

The novice needs more help

Thank you all for your help re First Coffee Machine I am now set up with my Rancilio Silvia and ascaso mini Grinder.

I have been getting some beans in bewleys in grafton street. Which i get in small amounts.

Reading about all the coffee available on the other Thread have a few small questions.

Fresh Ground Beans

Which is the best way to store them?
How Long Will they last?

How Much Should you put in the portafilter for a double / single shot

Look forward to some info


Keith

Gran Hermano

I rarely keep beans more than a week, the best way to ensure you are using
beans at their best is to 'buy little and buy often'. If you have beans in your
house you are either not drinking enough coffee or are buying too much beans
at once

I find that after 1-2 weeks from roasting the beans are well past their best.
You want to store them somewhere away from heat and humidity (watch
the steam from the kettle!) and do not keep them in a fridge or freezer.
I use a glass airtight container - weckpot - like this:




Due to the fact you have your own grinder I'm guessing your query was
how long you should store beans for as opposed to how long should one
store ground coffee - you should only grind just enough for the amount
of coffee you require within the next 5 minutes

Ground coffee does not store well for anything but a short amount of time,
a much shorter time than roasted beans.

The amount of coffee to use in your portafilter really depends upon:
- what coffee you're using,
- what your desired flavour profile is,
- what basket you're using,
- what machine you're using.

Whilst you could use a weighing scales and be clinical about it, my method is to
grind straight into the portafilter until there is a heap just above the rim - knock it
against the counter (or use a very light tamp) top up with more ground if required
then apply the proper tamp.

RE*AC*TOR

I think Gran Hermano has covered it.

- whole beans last about a week at their peak, air tight container at room temp
- ground coffee lasts minutes at its peak
- I use about 13-16g of ground coffee in a double basket, half for a single basket
- I use a digital scales. I zero the scales with the empty (dry & heated) portafilter. Then I grind into the portafilter and re-weigh.

banaco73

Gran Hermano wrote:

The amount of coffee to use in your portafilter really depends upon:

- what coffee you're using,
- what your desired flavour profile is,
- what basket you're using,
- what machine you're using.

Hi

with answers to the above


-I am using Bewleys Espresso Roast
-At the moment just want to try all options
-Using the double basket
-Rancilio Silvia Machine

some of the problems i am having re the fill of the protafilter

-Tamping too Much (no coffee coming out)
-Overfilling the portafilter (portafilter not making good connection with machine)
-Water coming out from where portafilter is attached

Bar the above i am doing ok machine is great makes good espresso most of the time.

I was an americano drinker but two weeks after getting my rancilio i am not converted to expresso 95% of the time

Gran Hermano

Banaco73, It sounds like you are either grinding your coffee too fine
and/or overfilling your portafilter - water coming out between the
group head and the portafilter is not a good sign! Try grinding a little
coarser and see if you can get a double shot in 25-30 seconds.

Don't fill the portafilter basket above the rim and when you tamp it
there should be a decent gap between the top of the coffee grinds
and the top of the basket.

Try a little less ground coffee, a lighter tamp and a coarser grind
and post back here how you get on. It might be a case of going
from one extreme to the other but you'll hit the middle sweet
spot soon.

rockbeer

banaco73, I highly recommend you get yourself one of these (it's the one on the right):



It's a LaMarzocco double filter basket. The straighter sides give it more capacity than the standard Rancilio double basket, which is a little hard to fill sufficiently without, as you say, making it difficult to lock in. As well as being easier to use, you also get a deeper flavour with it.

It will only cost you a fiver plus postage from

http://www.ongebrand.nl/index_eng.htm

Strangely although it's listed on their accessories page it doesn't show up in the shop inventory, but if you email them they will sort one out for you.

You'll probably never use the Rancilio one again. I haven't.

In the meantime I would certainly, as Gran Hermano has suggested, coarsen your grind a little. You should have enough ground coffee in the basket when tamped to just see an impression of the hex nut that secures the shower screen. Test it by locking in the filter then removing it without pouring a shot.

If the grounds touch the shower screen itself you have too much, there won't be room for the coffee to expand when the water hits it and everything will clog up.

As for water leaking out around the group seal, make sure you clean off the rim of the basket of any loose grounds before you lock it in. Also get yourself one of these:



from Ristretto or somewhere and be sure to clean around the seal every so often. If crud builds up in there you will have problems locking the handle in properly. Don't be frightened to give it plenty of pressure when locking it in, you won't damage anything. It needs to be tight in there.

You might find these cleaning instructions useful.

hth,
Bruce

banaco73

rockbeer wrote:

In the meantime I would certainly, as Gran Hermano has suggested, coarsen your grind a little. You should have enough ground coffee in the basket when tamped to just see an impression of the hex nut that secures the shower screen. Test it by locking in the filter then removing it without pouring a shot.

Don't be frightened to give it plenty of pressure when locking it in, you won't damage anything. It needs to be tight in there.

Thank you Gran Hermano & rockbeer

Have being trying a few adjustments over the last few days and i think that i am sorted out.:D

I coarsen my grind a little

Used the hex nut method

Locked in the portafilter good and tight I was only locking it to 90 degrees to the group head but it goes to about 120 Degrees and seem to make a very good seal.

Then went to M&D Coffee today and got some new beans and had one of the best espressos ever.:D