• Beans

  • I can’t seem to get rid of unpleasant harshness and dryness

MuddyOne should I keep beans in the fridge instead? I’m really not sure.

I don’t think fridge is the best idea either.

This is a suggestion: get some more red brick from square mile - make sure you use it no more than a week post roast, 2 weeks max. Can you get your shots to run in 30s for 36g?

This is what I do when I buy 1kg, or even 500g: I split the bags in 228g each (19g dose), vac seal in put in the freezer. When I want to use it, I bring it out 30 minutes before (or a few hours, overnight even) and let it get to room temperature. Don’t open the bag straight out of the freezer otherwise you’ll get moisture in your beans due to condensation. I’m not saying you should do that. But let’s go back to basics and try fresher beans.

    Never got on with redbrick

    Try a different bean, I personally can’t stand Guatemala beans, perhaps you don’t like these

    Do you use a pick screen or anything? Use the stock basket, vst are hard to use and imo not really needed unless you’re after every last % in extraction.

    What temp is the machine at and how long has it been on?

    Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

      Cuprajake temp is set at 94 degrees with 2 now off set but as mentioned in other posts some weird excessive steaming is coming out from group head above 91 degrees and im currently waiting response from retailer as no one here seems to experienced such behaviour before, my machine is often on for around 30 minutes before first brew.

          MuddyOne

          Do you have a multimeter with a wire thermocouple you can check temp actually in the portafilter with. Its easy to fit portafilter with a wire couple inside it, wont damage anything. With the steam you are mentioning maybe your running hotter than the numbers suggest.

          Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.

          About Me

              LMSC I drink all sort of drinks but straight espresso is where my problem comes,long black comes out nice and smooth,maybe I should adjust my recipe for higher yields ,maybe 1:2 is too strong for my taste buds.

              My previous set up was barista touch and Compaq e5 and yeah my experience was similar, one of the reason I decide to change my grinders.

              • LMSC replied to this.

                  Cuprajake Never got on with redbrick

                  Try a different bean, I personally can’t stand Guatemala beans, perhaps you don’t like these

                  Guatemala? 🤔

                      Adrianmsmith Can you recommend one i tried to google that now but just wires come up first. Ill order one,good to have I guess.

                          MuddyOne Sorry, based on what you have shared, may be, your taste buds might not be suiting you to drink straight espresso. I am not saying you should not or doesn’t. It is another angle which might be worth considering. The only way to find out is trying other options advised here.

                          Espresso is a thick liquid and diluting (not pulling longer) with hot water would not just help release the flavours but also help us appreciate the cup better.

                          Unless you are using lighter stuffs, 1:2 is ok. I don’t know if Red Bricks fall on the darker side (like Medium Dark). May be, you can try 1:1.5.

                          You have lots of suggestions (stock basket, fresher beans, anything other than Red Bricks) which should keep you very busy. 😊

                          Edit:

                          Redbricks has Caramel as a flavour which can be likened to bitterness at the finish. This isn’t unpleasant like medicinal.

                            MuddyOne

                            Will take a photo of what i mean tomorrow, may not be worth buying just for this though…..

                            This is not a recommendation but just to show what i mean. Just got this off amazon…..

                            Google thermocouple k type meter

                            Proster Digital Thermometer Dual Channel Thermocouple Thermometer with Two K- type Thermocouples Temperature Meter Gauge with LED Backlight for K/J/T/E/R/S/N Thermocouple https://amzn.eu/d/8PzmcdY

                            Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.

                            About Me

                              yeah thanks everyone for the input, I think one of the mistake I’ve been making is that by doing substitutions I could never stick to the beans I have found great for myself, I think I will change my approach and buy beans and stick to those that suit me,with some I had good results.

                                MediumRoastSteam No.

                                I don’t know who the roaster is. I always find blends are difficult to deal with especially if one is less soluble (ex: Peru) than the other.

                                    MuddyOne I think I will change my approach and buy beans and stick to those that suit me,with some I had good results.

                                    There are 3 distinctive issues here:
                                    1) your machine is overheating (but you can just quick flush until this gets sorted). You need to contact the retailer for that, something we can’t help you with. I am unsure how you’ll measure the temperature of the coffee with a thermocouple and no other equipment meaningfully, but I’m sure @Adrianmsmith will help you here (I’m curious to know that one);
                                    2) your puck is deteriorating halfway through, as per your video. I think your coffee is stale.there’s only one way to find out, already discussed.
                                    3) you may not like the coffee from SquareMile, specially red brick. Personally, in my view, that is a great crowd pleaser. But taste is taste. And this is totally unrelated to the issues 1 and 2.

                                        LMSC MediumRoastSteam No.

                                        I don’t know who the roaster is. I always find blends are difficult to deal with especially if one is less soluble (ex: Peru) than the other

                                        I’m confused. Jake says Redbrick and Guatemala in the same post. You then reply to my post, and send a link for said coffee (the roaster is square mile) but there’s no Guatemalan coffee as part of that blend. So I don’t know what you are trying to tell me 🤷‍♂️. Redbrick is a rather traditional blend from SquareMile roasters (think James Hoffman owns it, or used to) 😊

                                            MediumRoastSteam I’m confused. Jake says Redbrick and Guatemala in the same post. You then reply to my post, and send a link for said coffee (the roaster is square mile) but there’s no Guatemalan coffee as part of that blend. So I don’t know what you are trying to tell me 🤷‍♂️. Redbrick is a rather traditional blend from SquareMile roasters (think James Hoffman owns it, or used to)

                                            Nothing.

                                            I have no idea if @MuddyOne’s RedBricks is from SquareMiles. Their blend origin changes. Their current offering isn’t Guatemala. I also have no idea why Jake mentioned Guatemala.

                                            Only MO can tell us where did he purchase his coffee from.

                                            If I still have not explained properly, please ignore my post. 😊

                                                MediumRoastSteam

                                                Maybe temperature swaying in my room is the issue, Can you elaborate on this advice please?

                                                Assuming I’m buying 1kg bags, I should buy vacuum bags, divide 1kg to four portions( 250g roughly lasts me a week) then take that bag out night before opening and use it .

                                                    LMSC I got red brick from square mile, well it’s going to be 1month now

                                                      MediumRoastSteam

                                                      The square mile been changing their blend and even now currently you can find two different versions on their website displayed ( only one can be purchased the other is not updated photo ) I think this is where confusion comes from