Grind finer vs Increase yield - confused

DrForinor If you know the sweetness to be in the coffee, and there’s no sharpness/tartnness, then I’d be adjusting coarser.

I do a downwards tap, then a couple of side taps with the heel of the hand to level.

In what way has it ‘thrown’ you?

DrForinor How is this affecting the taste?

DrForinor OK, see what coarser does, with a downward tap & side taps to level. If, at the end of the day, tap at top setting 12 gives you the best flavour, then stick with that, but I tend to grind at the coarsest setting that gives good flavour balance.

DrForinor Maybe I have started to be more/less aggressive with my taps?

The key is consistency what ever you do to fresh grinds. That includes tapping them especially if firmly or near that but sometimes there is no choice especially when tapping grinds down.

Something I have rather recently started to do. Side taps to get a heap levelish and a currently 2 taps down to get them to sink. First problem was doing that holding the portafilter handle. That’s swinging it so grinds may finish up out of level. I then use a 2 slope leveller. Net effect when they aren’t level is many flows starting with 2 out of the filter basket that merge to one at some point and wiggle around. I now tap holding the end of the portafilter and the funnel. That tends to leave the top of them flat. More flows start with 1 and wiggle around less. I am using 2 firm taps. I may switch to one and for the same ratio that will need a different time or a grinder change. I use a ~15kg tamp which some might think overcomes variations from this area but it doesn’t. :( I am painfully aware of this as I always use a 30sec fixed shot time and check weigh what comes out. ;) I like a challenge.

Overall though the change has improved things. Obviously a higher yield as more of the puck is getting extracted more evenly. This isn’t channelling as such, It’s fairly minor variations in water flow across and through the puck.

People can play with time but I think that video I posted makes a fair point. For any significant change in shot time the ratios need going through again. It’s something I play around with now and again. It might be something I’d try if a bean doesn’t seem to give what it should with a 30sec shot.

I find straight espresso too strong to drink so use americano but my final decision on taste is when it has cooled significantly,

This is a very interesting and informative thread.

@MWJB , what are your thoughts on making an Americano, I’d normally do what the cafes do and make an 18g in / 40g out shot and top up with hot water.

But would I be better grinding coarser and running the shot to get my desired volume without the need to add water post shot ?

Waitforme Depends what you drink the most of & how big the final drink (plus how pretty you need your pours to be).

If you mostly make typical length shots to drink as espresso or to have in milk, make Americanos, but I’d use the minimum amount of dilution water to get the clarity you want. Longer Americanos can often taste flat/dry to me. I guess because the undissolved solids become more noticeable as the concentration of the drink gets weaker.

If your drinks are mostly ending up at 50-90ml, then you may as well just make them that way, but I would only do this with a spouted portafilter as the longer shots will look awful.