The General ACS Minima Thread

gregE

Cuprajake I have started to weigh in and out but on that one I did not. I just did another pull that was much better. I think the spray was related to basket prep. Let me know your thoughts though.

Cuprajake

Nothing wrong with that,

Now dial by taste you may want to go faster or slower on bean and taste.

Theres lots of crema so its still very fresh,

Dont worry about time, so much its only a guide it will get you in the ball park

gregE

Cuprajake

lots of crema -> fresh meaning the roast date or something else?
To go faster or slower would the main variable to change be grind size?
On that note, taste was good, pretty well balanced. I have no complaints there. If I wanted it slightly heavier bodied or bitter I suppose I would grind finer. Otherwise I am not too sure how to modulate the pull to get changes

Tal

gregE

You can also play with ratio, pull it shorter or longer and see how it tastes.

Likewise you also have temperature to play with.

Cuprajake

Yeah exactly that fresh from roast so still off gassing.

Again correct with the grind finer =slower.

gregE

Cuprajake Great, thanks for the comments!

DavecUK

gregE Loving the colour.

gregE

DavecUK thank you! i have watched many of your videos and scoured through the information here. So cannot be more appreciative of the community here

gregE

Another rudimentary question! After each use I run the group head for about 8 seconds to clear out any particles, i.e. just let the water flow for those seconds into a bowl. Is there any cleaning on the grouphead I should be doing after each use of the machine? If so, any recommended tools to use? Feel free to point me to other discussions on the forum as well. I didn’t find any yet on my searches. I would rather do something each day than let stuff build up and have more intense maintenance to do months or years down the line.

DavecUK

gregE Feel free to point me to other discussions on the forum as well. I didn’t find any yet on my searches. I would rather do something each day than let stuff build up and have more intense maintenance to do months or years down the line.

Try this on my YT channel. Whole playlist in simple answers to everyday questions.

Tal

I do what Dave C recommended in one of his many videos.

Grab a container, mines a chinese takeaway tub, pull some water into it from the hot water tap, get a group head brush, wet it and brush the gasket all around. Clean the brush and repeat. Then pull some water through the group as you have done. You could go one step further and put your spare portafilter with blank basket and do a water only backflush., which I do after the last coffee of the day.

gregE

Tal Both comments are great, thanks Tal!

gregE

DavecUK Hadn’t seen this one yet. This is great, thank you.

DavecUK

gregE The entire playlist has lots of useful tips

gregE

DavecUK I saved the playlist. so many goodies

gregE

Posting here because I was previously getting my Minima dialed in. A few follow-up questions:

Beans roasted on 5/12. 4 days ago I pulled 36g out in 38 seconds, which I seemed to like. Today, twice, I pulled the same amount in only 30 seconds. There are several factors at play but same beans, same 18g in, same tamping (presumably), same water temperature. i.e. I didn’t think I changed anything to the routine. Might it be related to 4 days going by on beans with a 5/12 roast date or is that a non-factor? Am I focusing on a too small of a time difference? the shot looked and tasted very similar so maybe it’s not a big deal. Just an observation i want clarity on.
Am i crazy to think that I need to clean the shower screen on the E61 grouphead once every week? How often is probably a function of how much you are using your machine. I feel like it would be overkill for me to do it every couple of days. Any advice or perspective?

Tal

Beans stale over time and require finer grinding for the same extraction times, you’ll have to constantly adjust your grind as your coffee ages essentially.

Tal

Dave C will likely say weekly cleaning so I try to do it every weekend. It’s easy to remove an e61 shower screen so I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to give it a wash regularly

gregE

Tal Re: Beans - Does even a few days make a noticeable difference or is it more like a month that truly makes a difference?

I shall clean the shower screen on the grouphead regularly then! Just trying to make sure I don’t pass over maintenance that I should be making sure I am doing especially if easy. Thanks.

Tal

gregE

It’s a gradual change, but a change that is happening constantly. So yes I’d expect some difference over 4 days.

Cuprajake

How are you storing them, and yes can make a difference. What beans

gregE

Cuprajake Air tight container, in a cabinet (i.e. no sunlight). I live in SF so temperature doesn’t really fluctuate too much. Beans are an espresso/darker roast, blend of guatemalan, brazil, and yirgacheffe ethiopian (even %s) - that’s all i know

« Previous Page Next Page »