We are a family of four… but only 3 that really like coffee. My daughter will have maybe a cup a day; wife, son and I are on 3-4 each. We only like espresso-based drinks, which creates an interesting problem: how do we make coffee for 3 people, when none of us likes drinking a double? I suppose I could learn to dose, tamp and brew singles, but has anyone found another solution? If ‘singles’ are the way to go, any suggestions/recommendations/tips & tricks on how to make them work with an Evo?

Three's a crowd?

PortafilterProcrastinator

Is pulling a decent single harder than pulling a decent triple?

Baskets seem to get pretty massive, so you could go bigger and then split?

CoyoteOldMan

Cuprajake On my “usual”, I’m pulling 45 grams liquid for 18 grams coffee, split into two cups. It’s definitely not enough for 3. I guess I could buy a triple basket and put 26-27 grams in - they won’t fit in the stock basket for sure, though - or at least not without a funnel that doesn’t latch on the inside of the basket.

PortafilterProcrastinator Is pulling a decent single harder than pulling a decent triple?

You tell me. I seem not to have the knack for either (or at least for ‘compressing’ 25 grams plus into the stock basket)

MediumRoastSteam use a triple spout:

I could try that - with a little ledger for the third cup if the drip tray isn’t deep enough!

I’ll check the thread; after all, I’m not using the single spouted portafilter (the 4 times I tried to get a single, I put the single basket in the naked PF); may as well recycle it for something that might be of use.

Cuprajake

Umm

What weights are we talking?

Personal I dose 16-17g on my ims baskets for the Evo

I think that’s fine.

You could split a double. Dose more in the stock basket?

LMSC

20-22 at a time; use double spouted PF.

MediumRoastSteam

Triple shot! Get a deep basket which would fit 22g grams of coffee or so, and use a triple spout:

https://www.ferrari-espresso.com/product/triple-spout-o-38/

I’m assuming the LSM PF has a ⅜” bsp bread.

I wouldn’t bother trying to make singles. Seems wasteful (water wise), and the. You’ll need to tweak the grinder slightly, and what nots.

dutchy101

I had no idea triple spouts existed.

dfk41

I played with triples a little bit. I used a 21 gm basket and once you get your shot prep correct, they work fine

CoyoteOldMan

dfk41 Ha! And I’ve got the same scales too! 😁

dfk41

It is easy to get it wrong though

Knluk

CoyoteOldMan

“usual”, I’m pulling 45 grams liquid for 18 grams coffee

Sorry for distracting the topic. Just curious, isn’t this a bit on the longer side for dark roast? I figure out my taste is more on the medium to dark side. So I am thinking about the dial in approach when I get back my niche replacement. Used to pull 1:2.75 but learnt that people recommend even down to 1:1 or 1:1.1 or 1:1.3 for medium dark or dark roast.

Maybe train up your girl?

MediumRoastSteam

CoyoteOldMan Ha! And I’ve got the same scales too

Same here! £4.99 on eBay, 10 years old and going strong!

CoyoteOldMan

Knluk Just curious, isn’t this a bit on the longer side for dark roast?

Considering that the typical Italian recipe is 7 grams of coffee for 25 ml of liquid (say 22 grams, as there is crema?)… no, I wouldn’t say it’s long. A 1:1.something I would call a ristretto.

Then again, I don’t really buy the hokum-pokum of “3.735 seconds at 2.439 bars of pre-infusion followed by an extraction phase of 27.189 seconds - not a millisecond longer - resulting in a 1:2.154 ratio” etc. etc. - I know what I like in the cup, and I will adjust my technique to get it. 18 grams in, 45 out seems to work for me; you do you. 😊

FWIW, I’m finding it interesting that the INEI (Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano - National Institute for Italian Espresso - which is an association of manufacturers and has no official status, despite the resounding name) states a 25 ml ‘standard’ on their Italian page http://www.inei.coffee/it/Cose.html - but there is no similar text on the English page… (although they do mention the 25 ml on the “Cappuccino” page, so that’s another conspiracy theory busted).

The “7 grams of coffee in 25 ml” kind-of-standard (sorry - all in Italian):
https://www.coind.it/le-10-regole-doro-per-servire-il-caffe-espresso-perfetto/
https://www.romcaffe.it/it/espresso-perfetto-qual-e-la-giusta-dose-di-caffe-da-caricare-nel-filtro/
https://laboratorioespresso.it/espresso-perfetto/
https://www.espresso-international.it/cos-e-un-caffe-espresso/
https://www.cimeitalia.com/5-regole-per-servire-il-caffe-espresso-perfetto/
https://aprireunbar.com/2017/03/13/quante-tazzine-prepara-in-media-un-bar-e-quanto-costa-una-tazzina-di-caffe-in-italia/
https://www.illy.com/it-it/caffe/arte-blend/come-preparare-caffe-espresso

Note - I’m not saying that “7 grams (for a single) in 25 ml is a rule and anything else is wrong” (heck, I’m using 9 in 30 or thereabouts!), or that the websites above are particularly authoritative. I’m just saying that it is a fairly accepted custom/standard in Italy, and - outside of competitions, where I have no idea what they do - it’s what baristas and café owners budget with.

Knluk Maybe train up your girl?

It’s nothing to do with training; it’s to do with liking. She is fine with one coffee - or fewer - a day; the other three in the family want more.

LMSC

Knluk isn’t this a bit on the longer side for dark roast?

Let your tastes dictate the ratio! :-)

MWJB

Knluk people recommend even down to 1:1 or 1:1.1 or 1:1.3 for medium dark or dark roast.

You’re making quite a different drink like this, it’ll be a low extraction, but these can still be nice if low enough, same goes for light roasts too though.