ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva

CoyoteOldMan

DavecUK How long do you preinfuse for and what pressure are you using. What grinder as well

2 bar (haven’t changed it from factory). I pre-infuse for a very minimal time as there is percolation coming through as the machine reaches 2 bar or very very shortly (1 second) after.

The grinder is a Ceado E37S slightly modified for single-dose (“feeding tube” and heavy tamper on top also acting as bellows)

MediumRoastSteam Good idea re using ‘known beans’; will order a bag. I’m afraid that if I ground finer I’ll just get more silting - not that I mind (I drink Turkish), but it shouldn’t happen?

Re: coming over - you are invited to Wallingford whenever you want. I’d be curious to see what difference the Niche makes, at the very least.

dfk41 These are 9 weeks past roast, but frozen at 3; I don’t have a vacuum machine, but what I take out of the freezer is consumed in the day (or the next at most). Taste buds are quite happy; then again, they may have low expectations…

DavecUK

CoyoteOldMan The grinder is a Ceado E37S slightly modified for single-dose (“feeding tube” and heavy tamper on top also acting as bellows)

Could be the beans, but might be the grinder, how did you come by it how old is it?

Cuprajake

CoyoteOldMan I’m on the ims baskets now, the 26version

I did struggle at first too.

I dose 16.5g of a med and 17g of med/light

MediumRoastSteam

CoyoteOldMan Re: coming over - you are invited to Wallingford whenever you want. I’d be curious to see what difference the Niche makes, at the very least.

I have dropped you an email. 👍

Cuprajake

I tend to prefer fresh to rested beans

LMSC the docks is ok, we prefer north star brazil.

Fwiw the choc point once rested is quite good, in milk. Still prefer north star. They have been very consistent for me

LMSC

Cuprajake the docks is ok, we prefer north star brazil.

Fwiw the choc point once rested is quite good, in milk. Still prefer north star. They have been very consistent for me

Point noted! Brazil is next when this bag runs out. I will anyway have to replenish the stock for my daughter. I have about 3 KGs in the post already. The Brazil may have to wait! 🤣

Agree, CP is good with milk

CoyoteOldMan

DavecUK It’s a 2020 model. Purchased used this April from a roastery in Scotland that bought it new in April 2021 and replaced it with an EK43 in October 2021. It had 27000 single shot-equivalents on the non-erasable counter (~ 200 kg of beans), now it has 20 kg (3000 single shots) more.

Cuprajake So did you “just” grind finer to resolve your struggles? I upped dose from 17.5 to 18 to 19 grams, and it has improved things, but not enough. I still have a fair amount of room on the grinder before I reach Turkish territory: I grind Turkish at 6, getting a texture/body similar to the best Turkish coffees I have drunk in Turkey, and I’m currently grinding for espresso at 18 (the Ceado has 80 steps for half a turn of the adjuster, but I don’t know what the pitch of the screw is; I suspect similar to the Mazzer Major, but this is just speculation).

I will try a potentially ‘choking’ shot later… going down to 12. I’ll have one of these at hand, just in case

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DavecUK

CoyoteOldMan If it chokes, you won’t need the towel, just pull gently back on the lever until the gauge reads zero, then you can unlock the portafilter, before moving the lever in a controlled manner to the rest position.

Ceados don’t seem to enjoy single dosing, but that shouldn’t require a grind close to turkish to prevent the shot gushing (unless the grinders massively out of alignment, which is unlikely), it must be the coffee.

CoyoteOldMan

DavecUK It’s not gushing as such - it’s just relatively fast. I have tried grinding quite a bit finer (4 marks), and this has resulted in a much longer shot (12 seconds from pump stop to first drops, and 59 seconds in total to 7 bar, or 47 under pressure), so somewhere between 14 and 18 grinder marks is the golden land…

(Grinder is fairly well aligned - I shimmed it to the best of my abilities and using a test indicator the top (fixed) burr is within 0.01 mm all around without shims.)

TomR I’m brewing with the group at 91 and boiler at 99, so relatively hot. I haven’t played with temperature at all, yet. My Gran Bar is nearly finished (I think I have one more double shot or thereabouts). Top Selection next! Will keep you posted.

Just ordered a bag of North Star Docks - let’s see what happens with that.

Thanks, everybody!

TomR

As a fellow LSM / Sake fan- Saka Gran Bar on an Alex leva / niche - I found that with enough pre infusion to saturate the puck (ie drops all over the screen),it was not great taste wise and meant the shot flowed very fast, with a very pronounced “bad robusta” taste. Best for me is v brief pre infusion phase (3 secs) then release the lever over 2-3 seconds, and extract 14g beans into 20-25g espresso in about ??25 seconds. I also use medium-hot temperature despite what the home baristas Saka fans say.

So I vote that you grind finer and pre infuse minimally

I found Top Selection has a larger sweet spot - maybe try with that first?

I am also not getting the same great taste I got in the first few days of opening the bag - its a bit muted- despite freezing. I think it might be like my experience of illy in a tin - ok a first but stales very quickly and becomes generic.

I’m curious to see what parameters you settle on, in the hope I can learn from your experience.

Good luck

Cuprajake

I prefer quicker infuse then release

Cuprajake

Chocolate point

Norvin

CoyoteOldMan

I’ve found that if the level of the tamped coffee is below the spring indent it flows too fast. Have you tried putting more coffee in the basket, regardless of the weight, so that the level is equal to or even above the indent?

CoyoteOldMan

Norvin Wow - that would almost double the dose… I’ll take a photo with the next coffee!

CoyoteOldMan

Norvin This is what I’m doing (although now grinding a bit finer seems to have sorted extraction times):

Weighing beans

Empty basket with a bean for scale

After tamping (sorry - forgot to take a photo pre-tamping) - well below the ridge line…

After extraction (this one was 2.5:1 in 30 seconds + 10 to first drops into a double spout, which is fine for me - it just needed grinding much finer than I thought!)

Cuprajake

Interesting. I’ll look for that

Here’s the pesky James gourmet I’ve been messing with. Super fine grind

LMSC

Cuprajake pesky James gourmet I’ve been messing with. Super fine grind

It’s looks like a good pour, although a tad longer. What’s up with that?

Cuprajake

It’s been a wierd bean to dial in, been all over the shop

LMSC

Cuprajake You did indicate that you prefer fresh than rested. Perhaps, this is the reason? I thought you had the JG a few weeks back. It is more than rested.

Cuprajake

LMSC yeah, I let it rest as I want getting anything out of it lol.

DavecUK

CoyoteOldMan You like a dark roast then.

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