If I read this right the idea is to have only the first 20%-50% run over the frozen ball.
Frozen Balls
Blimey Tompoland you never do things by halves do you… Mind you, having said that even at £44.99 plus postage over here, your golden balls are very enticing especially as you get 4 plus the holders.
After buying the ball and sink strainer support I realised I do not have a small espresso cup with a small enough diameter so I found a retro one on Ebay whihc should be here this week.
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In for a penny…
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I’ll try this filter version too. It will arrive next week and I’ll report in.
I figure that I’ve invested so much in grinders and burrs, that it would be silly not to give it a whirl. It’s less than the price of the last kettle I bought. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.
I also tell myself that I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. Although it’s getting to the point where a crack addiction might actually be cheaper 🤔
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Paragon frozen ball pour over gizmo costs £140 - feck that. Decided to do a bit of DIY. Here’s the result. Used an 03 and 02 Switch.
Placed the frozen ball in the 02 with valve open.
Sat the 03 on top of the 02 and on to the jug. Bit precarious but doable.
Method. 30 grms roughly ground as for Chemex. 200 grms water in with valve open. At 45 secs, remainder of water with valve closed. Left until 2 min 30 secs then draw down which completed in total time of 3 mins 25 secs. EY was 19%. Temperature of coffee in jug was 69c.
Tastewise, can’t say I noticed much but I had a tooth out couple of days ago so I am not on top form. Will definitely try again with some other beans over coming days as the methods isn’t much extra work.
Systemic very innovative!
Poured my first espresso today using the balls but messed it up somewhat. Going to run some blind taste tests the grinder lab on the weekend. I’ll be surprised (and delighted) if I can pick the difference.
Is there an issue with stainless steel balls needing to be food safe? I’ve personally no idea. Boilers are SS so probably quite safe. It’s probably something our resident engineer would know about @DavecUK ?
Damn you tompoland! I love it!
If I had the taste buds and coffee preparation expertise the likes of you and many more on here possess, then I would be raiding my piggy bank right now. Having said that, when I try the heath robinson method (steel ball and sink strainer method) if I do actually notice a difference then…where’s that hammer?
Here’s a question though. I get it using this method for espresso as that pours in a matter of seconds. But surely the time it can take a pour over to filter through won’t the cold ball temp rise significantly with hot coffee pouring over it, thus defeating the whole objective?
Pompeyexile But surely the time it can take a pour over to filter through won’t the cold ball temp rise significantly with hot coffee pouring over it, thus defeating the whole objective?
My 500 grm brew dropped to 69c. My recommendation for getting the best out of brewed coffee is anything between 50-60c. Making a small brew will probably drop the temp more but not significantly. Might try that later. If you pre-heat your brewing kit, you won’t end up with lukewarm coffee.
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Left the ball in the Switch for couple of hours before cleaning. Coffee residue washed off OK but left this.
Won’t be using it again. Ordered a stainless steel one.
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Pompeyexile But surely the time it can take a pour over to filter through won’t the cold ball temp rise significantly with hot coffee pouring over it, thus defeating the whole objective?
The thing is, the coffee in either the espresso or filter set up is only meant to be poured on the balls for the first twenty to fifty percent of the pour.
I’m not sure if this is actually meaningful, but the other feature of the Paragon balls is they have some sort of special magical material inside the ball which is meant to keep it cooler for longer. Make of that what you will.
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Pompeyexile If I had the taste buds and coffee preparation expertise the likes of you and many more on here possess
The thing is my taste buds are really quite average. I think that’s perhaps why my preferences aren’t the same as world champion baristas. I have had a lot of guests who tell me that they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a coffee from one grinder to the next. And they are universally surprised when I use two different grinders and give them samples because they can always detect the difference. (Bearing in mind I deliberately choose two distinctly different burrs such as SSP Espresso versus a DF DLC burr.)
The challenge of detecting the difference becomes much greater if there’s a long gap between the two samples e.g. your coffee at home versus visiting a mates place. And that’s why I set up the grinder lab; so I can do two espresso pours or two filter pours side by side with a variable (using two grinders or one with the balls and one without) and sample them blind immediately one after the other. Repeat three times and I either have a clear winner or the variable makes no difference.
But in regard to the average state of my taste buds, I figure that if I notice a distinct difference after blind taste testing then any Tom Dick or Harriet would probably do so too, unlike if The Hoff or The Hed could detect a difference, where we may not.
Good fun if you have the time.
And it’s not quite as expensive as some people imagine because I am starting to get offers to buy kit at wholesale on the basis that I will post my impressions. And then I can onsell that item without too much of a loss once I’ve finished the testing.
Another example of why it doesn’t always cost much is yesterday when I was asked if I wanted to test a new 83mm filter burr from a manufacturer that’s due out late this year. In this case, I don’t have to pay for it or even post my impressions. I just give them feedback. (When I was asked if I would like to test the burr set I replied that it was a bit like asking my dog if he wanted Fillet Mingnon for dinner.)
Burrs are the exception. I’ve had to pay full retail for all 31 sets (15 × 64mm and 16 × 83mm flats) that I have acquired in preparation for the “Burrnament” I’m launching in March and they may not be as easy to onsell once I’m done with them. Especially so given that I’ll be keeping the winners 😉.
So many burrs, so little time!
(**** Apparently the short version of the name Richard is considered worthy of redaction 😀 )
I did see that but to be honest I couldn’t see how I could do that. Because the problem I can forsee, is me trying to whip the sink strainer and ball away from under the portafilter as coffee is still running out. I don’t know about a perfect recipe for espresso, more lke a perfect recipe for disaster for me…I mean, have you seen my picture?😁
Seriously though, I will give it a try. I think maybe the best way to do it without creating a holy mess, will be to use some tongs to quickly take out the ball and leave the strainer in, as the indent the ball nestles in sit well below the lip of the cup. That is where the filter version in the video allowing you to swing it out of the way, comes into its own.
JHCCoffee What was the construction of this one? Was it chrome? Why did it discolor?
I don’t know - perhaps others might explain. It was chrome and I thought it would be food safe but the discolouring put me off.
Replacement stainless steel 40 mm ordered from. Just over £10 including postage.
https://www.ballandrollerstore.com/stainless-steel-ball-bearings/
Pompeyexile Seriously though, I will give it a try. I think maybe the best way to do it without creating a holy mess.
My set up is to sit the ball in a stainless steel sink drainer which sits snugly on an espresso cup. Haven’t yet tried taking the strainer and ball off mid extraction but figure it should be pretty mess free. I’m a few days post tooth extraction which has left me unable to appreciate coffee so looking forward to getting back into the swing asap.
Pompeyexile Because the problem I can forsee, is me trying to whip the sink strainer and ball away from under the portafilter as coffee is still running out.
Prophetic words. My first attempt was a messy disaster! I have a saucer ready for attempt number 2.
I don’t know aboit filter coffee as I don’t drink that stuff but for espresso, the shot doesn’t last long enough to warm up the frozen ball all that much. I find a new stainless steel sink strainer and stainless steel whiskey ball do the job very well - I got the idea from Kyle rowsell’s video.
17 sec mark in this video shows you how the ball is meant to be move out of the flow of the espresso in case it helps anyone.
That needs a wide-ish mouth on the cup, no biggie. But because I’m using it with the Decent and a Bluetooth connected scale, a dramatic change in weight stops the pour mid stream.
I’ll try manually holding the ball up to underneath the basket, saucer at the ready.
A bit of faffing around for what could be simply the latest flash in the pan. But I won’t know till I try.
Ever the cheapskate, going to try this when replacement stainless steel ball arrives. Using a tea strainer it is possible to deliver the shot into an espresso cup without the extraction going everywhere (not accounting for spritzers or gushers of course).
I don’t know why Systemic but your imgur images never appear on my laptop.
Tea strainer with a long handle. Chuffin genious!…That’ll do it!👍
Stainless steel ball arrived today so I can give it a go.
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Used mine for the first time ditching the sink strainer and going for the sytemic tea strainer method and it worked a treat. For the first time I could actualy drink espresso without pulling a face resembling a bulldog chewing a wasp. Oh, because I am a bit OCD when it comes to keeping my coffee gear clean, rinsing the ball quickly and immediately under the tap after, meant it still looks as good as new and no discolouration. Popped back in the freezer for my next go.
Just out of interest…this seems to be something for drinking espresso. But, if I pull a shot using this method and then make say and Americano, will it also make difference?
Wouldn’t it be better if the steel ball was filled with a liquid that would change phase? More of the heat of the espresso would be taken away that way. Stainless steel is pretty bad at taking away heat.
All set up and ready for a split test but first of all I have to make sure I’m dialing the grind size correctly and for that I am being ably assisted by @MWJB
Once I’m more confident that I’m doing the grind size and the pour as best can be expected then I’ll run a split test and let you know impressions.
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Two Stags? Now that’s just greedy!😁
I really do like that Paragon set-up though for pour over….but as I haven’t won the lottery here is my Heath Robinson version…
Love it.
Just bagged one courtesy eBay for just over half price. Still silly money but not totally silly.
chlorox the thoery seems because that’s when all/most of the “aromatics” are lost to the atmosphere and the ball has them stay in the liquid and therefore add to the flavor.
If the coffee is left to flow over the ball after than it simply cools the liquid down unecessarily.
The aromatics part seems to be well researched, or at least its promoted as such. The difference in flavor seems to be a benefit that’s notably omitted from the claims.
I know, I know … color me skeptical but I’m still giving it a go. This weekend I move the espresso ball to the grinder lab and that will be the acid test for me. Can I consistently pick the espresso that was poured over the ball from the espresso that was not. Still tying to figure out how to account for the temperature drop from the ball espresso but it’s probably going to mean I have to pour the non-ball espresso a couple of minutes before. Testing times!
Pompeyexile nice job! Noticing any difference in the cup?
2 months later
Has anyone tried this with a hot ball/bearing, rather than a frozen ball?
They’re doing this with whiskey now too