Technivorm Moccamaster Cup One
MWJB I ought to have said. In a word no. The last coffee was a bugger to be honest. I ended up at 20 gms, 290 mls, and the grinder went from 38 to 40 to 42……I have all the measurements. AT 42 it felt watery so I only have enough left for one shot and I might make a shot for my morning cappa from it, so as I can start the day off with the new ones.
The settings will be 38, 290 gms water with 20 gms beans, unless told otherwise
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Well, I opened the Ethiopian, full of excitement! The smell was nice. I measured out 20 gms and ground it on 38. Prepared the shot with 290 gms water and away we go. I usually. break the crust up around the 2 minute mark. This morning I got my timing wrong trying to make breakfast for two at the same time. I realised at the 3 minute mark I had not stirred. I usually use the handle of a tea spoon but as I did not have one to hand picked up a fork which was much larger. That made the liquid slop over the side. The drip hole is minute on the plastic filter and it immediately clogged up. I was making scrambled eggs so could do nothing about it. I think I had about 185 gms but that is a guess as I forgot to cheeck the scales in my panic!
Anyway, the ¾ cup I got is a real Turkish Delight (full of eastern promise). I am definitely getting the raspberry that was promised so 11am I will make the next one and this time give the process my fullest attention!
Right fellow sleuths, I need help! Only one slight issue this time. For some reason towards the end my scales switched off. I use these ones and will change the batteries first as they have never done that before.
So, usualy recipe of 20gms in 290 mls ground at 38. The thing shut off around 2.50 and I reckon the brew tasted watery in comparison with no fruit notes. So, scales to one side, that suggests under extracted to me there keeping everything else the same tighten the grind to 36?
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dfk41 If you ground & dosed the same as the previous clogged brew, but this time the full amount of liquid landed in the cup, it is most likely that you extracted more not less.
The clogged brew ended up with an estimated ratio of 1:9.3 (185g/20), the non clogged brew would be 1:12.3 (245g/20), so much weaker.
I’m not sure why you keep reducing the coffee dose, it seems to me you are frequently looking for a more flavourful cup and brewing stronger (more coffee/less water) is more likely to achieve this.
We don’t have enough data, brew to brew, to draw any conclusions as you have made frequent changes to all parameters since the last full set of info.
Weigh the cup you brew into & make a note of its weight. When the brew has finished, weigh the full cup and subtract the weight of the cup to get the beverage weight, then your scales won’t time out.
MWJB Mark, the coffee dose has remained constant at 20 gms (apart from a couple of attempts at 18gms a week ago). The scales issue was that brew. I will change the batteries but in any case have ordered some more since they were as cheap as chips. SO, if I make another brew using the formula above should I tighten or loosen the grind (being the only variable I am trying to adjust, scales to one side)
dfk41 You brewed with 21g a couple of times the other day and got a “Quite tasty” brew on the 2nd go, with a coffee that appeared to lack flavour for the most part.
Sure, go bit finer, but remember the more coffee you use, the more concentrated the drink (as long as you can avoid overflowing the basket).
I had forgotten about that brief 21 gm encounter, though in my defence I was just trying to tame a particular coffee. I try to change the grind setting first and only try weight of coffee after that. So, back to these 88 cup score beans…..keeping to 18gms and 290 water what should I do grind wise…..tighten up a couple of notches?
@dfk41 - question if you don’t mind me asking: are you drinking more brewed/filter coffee these days rather than espresso? Or a mixture of both? Thanks!
MediumRoastSteam My routine used to be an 18gm americano without milk at breakfast. A cappuccino at 11 am and around 2 pm another cappuccino. Since I have bought the Moccamaster I have switched the afternoon from a cappa to an americano. Once I really get the hang though, especially of both tweaking a shot and bean supply I might add a third brew into the days schedule. Unfortunately my sleep patterns vary from poor to unacceptable so I am nagged if I have more than three. That said, I can always tell her it is decaf!
dfk41 So, back to these 88 cup score beans…..keeping to 18gms and 290 water what should I do grind wise…..tighten up a couple of notches?
I don’t care for the cup score, even if I did, it’s only a little above median (80).
What is the reason you want to reduce dose, is the coffee too strong to enjoy?
You frequently have mentioned trouble picking up taste & intensity, reducing the dose will make all your coffee weaker (within the range of delicate to intense coffees). Personally, I wouldn’t second guess, I’d stick to a dose/brew ratio that was generally good & maybe make an adjustment where necessary only, based on a typical brew. You’re changing so much & so frequently I don’t think I have seen 2 brews at similar parameters yet.
MWJB What is the reason you want to reduce dose, is the coffee too strong to enjoy?
Probably my ignorance in brew methods. I thought the increase to 21 was specific to that coffee as opposed to all coffees! So, I am picking up bits of information here, so tomorrow and going forward, I will go 21 gms, sticking with 300 mls water and start all this off at 38 in the morning. I have been writing each brew down again (I missed a couple of days) but I have high hopes of nailing this particular coffee
Not 36, as your last brew at 38 was “watery”?
You won’t taste any difference in ratio between 20:290g & 21:300g.
Right, this morning, 21gms @ 36 with 300 mls of water. Score 7 from 10. Everything is better. Nice mouthfeel……but……..there is a slight taste of what I know not but it certainly ain’t raspberry. The shut off was 3.10 and dry bed 4.38 with a weight of 222. I feel that it is so nearly there!
I forgot to post this earlier…..21 gms @36, 300 mls water, shut off 3.06, dry bed 4.45……we found the missing water as it weighed 257 gms but the taste was no better/no worse
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dfk41 The good thing is, if this was no worse than the previous brew (“everything better, nice mouthfeel”, 7/10), then we don’t necessarily need to correct the brew ratio for stronger drinks.
You seem to be in a fairly good spot, you could either make anothere enjoyable brew as you are, think on what you think is lacking, or go a click finer/coarser to see how that impacts the brew?.
Have you always stirred the brew as it fills?
Right, coaarsened this mornings brew by one mark, all other parameters the same. The figures were within spitting distance of the previous. Just the merest hint of a fruit but it is far into the distance. I always stir the bed around the 2 minute mark. The was the water is added is not at a constant. It slows up and speeds down but is always saturated around 2 minutes.
MWJB I did not realise that it might make a difference Mark……you have to treat me like an idiot please!
MWJB Those figures (2.40 to 3.10) seem to be the figure at which the brew cuts off. Would it help if I took a video of the brew from start to finish? This mornings effort only had the smallest tweak of coarsening the grind one notch so as you would expect the timings were similar, it seemed to retain slightly more water. The flavour was ever so slightly stronger.
Video as promised. Again, pleasant enough to drink but absolutely no rapsberries! The only time I got this taste was when the eggs exploded in the microwave….must check back!
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dfk41 What grind setting was this brew, 35?
The ‘exploding egg’ brew (21g, 35 grind) was, “quite tasty”. What, 7/10?
The stir at 0:55 seems a bit excessive, try doing just enough to visibly wet the grinds, in say 3-4 strokes. I don’t think the 2nd stir at 1:32 is necessary.
I have some of this coffee on the way, we’ll see about the raspberry (other than Skylark, who else has told you it tastes of raspberry…and does the ‘tart’ they refer to have fresh, jam, sweetened? How much different does raspberry tart taste compared to a raspberry Danish, or pie? I like raspberry flavoured stuff, but not keen on raw raspberries.)
MWJB The grind setting was 37. When I stirred, I was trying to evenly wet the bed, hence the second stir as there was a clump of coffee nearest to me at 6 o’clock. The egg exploding brew I definitely got a small hit of raspberry from it. Even without checking the tasting notes I would have detected it…but, nothing since. The point of the video was to see if I was making any blindingly obvious mistakes. It would seem that the easy solution I thought the Moccamaster was, it is not. Perhaps I need to stick to darker blends and just accept my tastebuds are made of salted cod…….I will be interested in your findings Mark, meanwhile I will persevere!
Many thanks for your inputs!
dfk41 The coarser you grind, the more floaty the coffee grinds will be. The finer, the quicker they will absorb water & sink.
Go 35 on the Duo, 21:300g. Stir just enough to wet as soon as you can (0:50?) with 3-4 strokes max. Cover the brewer until the machine clicks off, then lift the cover to record dry bed.
FWIW I don’t stir any pour overs, nor Melitta Aromaboy brews at normal drip grind, only if brewing with finer grinds.
The exploding egg brew was with a different coffee, Myanmar I thought?
All brewing is essentially as hard/easy as each other. For drip you need to identify your preferred ratio/strength, pour rate (handled by the machine) & grind size (you started fine, then overshot coarse, now working back).
The coffee not exactly matching the notes is not necessarily a malfunction with the brewing (hopefully, I’ll be able to comment later in the week). All brews being bad, or ‘neither like/dislike’ would be a malfunction. Yours are currently better than neutral preference (7?), an average of 8/10 would seem within realistic expectation to me, 9’s will be rare, 10’s may be very rare indeed/absent.
MWJB Well, MArk’s suggestions (including placing the cover on) gave me the best cuppa yet….I would say 8 from 10. Still no real taste so I am beginning to wonder if I have the proccess about right, am I the problem? I have ordered some more coffee from Dark Arts and have one bag of Skylark stuff left. I am going to try some brews with my cheap as chips blended coffee. It might just be that I cannot educate my palate!
I tightened the grind up from 35 to 36 then used the same parameters as Mark’s last suggestion (21gm, 300 mls) and there is the slightest hint of rapsberry, just like the poached egg brew. It is just a hint of raspberry mind you, but to people with better taste buds I guess it would be overwhelming!
I am waiting with interest to see what Mark makes of this coffee.
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MWJB I am tempted to say thank goodness! But Mark, there is no question as to who is the masetr and who is the apprentice, so you have a challenge ahead of you! What is an Arbegona?
MWJB Sorry, stupid me thought it was a type of coffee brewer……..LOL
Good morning everyone, I have a Moccamaster cup one and I noticed that the flow is not so strong as in the normal Moccamaster as the pipe only have one hole, is there a mod I could do or fit another kind of pipe? Sometimes I have the feeling that the coffee bed is not wet enough.
Sorry for my English;)
profesor_historia I had one of these and it is important that after every use when you wash it, you clean the hole. If a single coffee grind is lodged there then it will slow it right down
profesor_historia Big brews extract at a faster pour rate than small brews, so I’d expect the water delivery to be slower than the larger brewers.
@dfk41 was brewing with 300g of water with his, last water into the cone was around 3 min. This doesn’t seem unreasonable, I often brew with a slower pour & my Melitta Aromaboy delivers brew water a very similar rate.
Is there something about the brews themselves that leads you to believe there is an issue?
MWJB to be honest I but I would like the water flow to be stronger…