Adjusting the grind as you go through a bag of beans
tompoland We have central heating/cooling, and the house is reasonably well insulated. I won’t say that the humidity has been rock-solid, but it’s also not changing any more than at any other time.
I can confirm this as I have a hygrometer in my shop (humidity also affects how wood behaves), and it’s been at the same reading.
wilburpan are you still using the 9barista? I’m asking because it may make the “grams in : grams out” ratio a bit harder to determine than it might be with an espresso machine with a scale sitting under the cup.
I guess you are basing the “need to grind coarser” on taste as opposed to weight?
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When I roast, I typically rest for 7-10 days.
Without a doubt, when I start to use the batch, I will have to move my Niche settings for espresso up and down (8-12) throughout. I generally achieve 1:2 ratio within the 30 second shot (+ - 3 seconds) and dialing in every few shots is ok for my workflow.
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tompoland Still using the 9Barista. Still love it.
Right – the move to grind coarser is based on taste, not weight. I use 19g of ground coffee, and in my hands, the 9Barista has been remarkably consistent in terms of output, so I don’t think it’s a matter of different volumes of extraction.
Just to recap, because there are factors being brought up throughout this thread that aren’t completely relevant to my situation:
Usual experience with a bag of beans in the almost 2 years that I’ve been using my 9Barista:
- Start using beans, tweak a little because it’s a new bag.
- After several days, shots are a little acidic, and extraction time is a little fast (about 3-5s), so tweak my grinder (DF83) to grind a little finer.
- Finish bag after 12-14 days.
What’s happening with the bag in question:
- Start using beans, tweak a little because it’s a new bag.
- After several days, shots are a little bitter/strong, and extraction time is longer, so tweak the DF83 to grind coarser
- Still working through this bag, but should be done at the 12-14 day mark.
For me, this grinding coarser thing is an outlier event. That’s why I’m asking if others have had the experience of adjusting their grinder to go coarser as you go through a bag of beans.
@“wilburpan”# Are you using an electronic grind on demand or an older model manual / flick lever grinder? There should be no reason to adjust the grind over such a short period unless you are keeping the bag in the fridge unsealed and condensation or moisture is on the beans prior to grinding. If you are working to the old style recipe (correct) you should be targeting on a single shot 30 ml in aprox 30 seconds. Blade adjustment should be done as blades wear and you should always be adjusting finer. Unfortunately over recent years people in their wisdom are changing recipes using scales etc which is a crock of. A reason why you may be seeing inconsistency with your pour could be the incorrect loading in the portafilter and if under loaded it will run faster, overloaded run too slow. Cheers.
Bosses1 @wilburpan has a DF83 if memory serves me correct.
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tompoland This was what I read as well. I did not get the “blade” in the story.
Current setup: ACS Vesuvius, Nuova Simonelli Mythos One. Past experience, Nuova Simonelli Apia 1 gr., San Remo Capri 1 gr., Bezzera BZ 35e, Fracino Heavenly. Anfim Super Lusso.
Contact me at: john_yossarian11@yahoo.com
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Bosses1 For clarity and context, I use a 9Barista and a DF83. With the 9Barista, the only variables I can change are dose and grind. My dose is always 19g, and I haven’t changed that with this bag of beans.
I’ve had the 9Barista long enough that a conservative estimate is that I’ve made over 1300 shots with it. The DF83 I’ve had for a little over a year at this point, so that’s over 700 shots with the 9Barista/DF83 combo. So that’s plenty of experience at this point. I don’t think that inconsistency is the issue here.
I’m reading “blade” as “grinder burr”. Please let me know if I am wrong.