Since I know that a few of us have bought this item, it seemed easier to start a new thread. Mine arrived today but I have had absolutely no time until 20 minutes ago to unpack it. I bought the step down basket that simply pushes into a 58mm bottomless (£32), a wooden tamper (£21), a packet of paper filters (£8) and a magnetic dosing ring (£13.50). Also in the box was a shower screen that I did not order so many thanks. The order of the day is put the paper filter into the bottom of the basket. I have seen people say grind coarser. I wanted to use my Zero as it is easier to play with. I had some decaf that was on the boundaries age wise. I knocked it back a couple of notches, ground 16gms, poured it in and tamped. Put the shower screen on top and put the pf into the group. The handle did not tighten as much as it usually does and the shot was poor with water coming out of the seal. Ground another batch a bit finer, prepped the shot and tightened the handle more. This time everything was just about within my parameters for being acceptable. I was not concerned with taste as I do not know the coffee. But tomorrow I will try something I know. This is one of those things that on paper ought to produce a nice sweet shot…..therefore I live in hope! Will report back tomorrow. [URL=https://i.imgur.com/iD83mw6.jpeg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/iD83mw6.jpeg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=https://i.imgur.com/NDILSRi.jpeg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/NDILSRi.jpeg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=https://i.imgur.com/Eh8qZYc.jpeg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/Eh8qZYc.jpeg[/IMG][/URL]

> @"Cuprajake"#p81159 Would like to try this Will send you mine in a few days if you like

@"mkelly789"#p81180 yes please!

Graph Coffee step down thread

Dusk

I’m interested too, seems like a relatively low price for something that might make a meaningful difference. Should be pretty easy to do back to back comparisons with a standard basket as well

prezes

I just had a chance to pull a shot as well. Brazilian natural roasted three days ago. Stuck to same dose - 16 grams which using ims basket I grind at 22 so decided to grind at 26. Didn’t use paper filter at the bottom and used the 58mm mesh filter on top.

Shot took 58 seconds .It was still very drinkable but I think this is thanks to the Vesuvius as I don’t remember when it last produced a sink shot.
Wasn’t expecting that need to go so much coarser !

I’ll give it another go in a while as just defrosting some decaf

dfk41

Cuprajake Would like to try this

Will send you mine in a few days if you like

prezes

Had another go with the decaf. 18 gram dose this time and ground 9 notches coarser which seemed to be about right. 33 second shot. This time used paper filter at the bottom and 58mm mesh filter on top. The visible flow was off centre but steady. Tasty and sweet shot.

Still a lot of headspace even with 18 grams !

dfk41

I think part of the playing will be dose. With coffee being very personal, your 16gm might be my 19! I have never been convinced that water lying on top of the puck has any importance as it is just water that has not come into contact and gone through the coffee…..obviously the puck does not want to be sloppy!

dang2484

I didn’t get the pick screen as I pledged prior to three conception nor as freebie (lucky for some 😉) so I’ve been using the 58mm one which doesn’t seem to cause any issues.

So far I find still using a lower dose of 16g and over extracting a little so grinding finer gets a nice flavour without the bitterness of a regular 58mm basket.

I had issues initially with the flow out the basket and spitting everywhere, but a good WDT seems to have sorted that and I definitely get a more balanced and consistent shot each time (flavour wise) so a deeper pick does seem to be more forgiving.

mkelly789

For some reason, I managed to buy 2 of the springs that fit inside the basket and help keep the puck screen in place due to added headspace:

https://www.leespring.co.uk/compression-springs?search=LP072ZA01S316

They still charged me the “small handling fee” but if anyone is interested in it, I’d be happy to part way with it with shipping included

TomR

mkelly789 yes please!

TomR

I’d love to buy one of the springs from you. I have the rest of the graph kit already and have just started using it.

mkelly789

TomR Got your mail Tom

prezes

Had a chance to use it more today and feel overcaffeinated, that’s for sure !

Managed to pull some shots with light, medium and dark roasted coffee as well and under impression the espresso is sweeter/more mellow.

Stuck to 16g doses which is fine but there is a lot of headspace which is causing the luck to be more soggy at the end. What it also causes is the Vesuvius to overshoot pressure initially. Set to 2 bar for 8 seconds followed by 9 bar and decreasing to 5 but it rockets up to 10.5 bar or so initially.

Overall very happy with the shots produced and I understand where the smaller, deeper baskets are being praised.

Comparison of 16g puck from standard and graph baskets.

LMSC

prezes Unless the lights on the photo or my eyes are deceiving me, the puck from the graph basket look darker in appearance than the standard. I assume there are no signs of under extraction. Just curious, if this is normal for this basket size. :-)

giampiero

prezes Do you adapted the pressure profile to the Graph or you kept the same as for a standard 58 basket?

prezes

LMSC well spotted ! This is a darker roasted coffee as I managed to knock down the puck from the same coffee to the sink before taking a photo…

prezes

On another note I was under impression the bottom of the screen is touching the mesh screen when locking the portafilter.
As Friday is a weekly clean day I removed the screen and it seems to be the case. Will probably need to look into getting the small graph screen to test.

prezes

giampiero used the same profile - any suggestions ?

This morning pulled a shot without the puck screen and the flow was great but the puck got sucked and collapsed towards the end.

dfk41

I was unwell all day yesterday. I am also trying to switch beans over to my current favourite that I have done. I bought an aftermarket bottomless that works fine with the 58mm basket but with the step down fitted water is leaking out from the top. So I will see if I can sort that out and start testing today. I do have a shower screen but the first British Lions tour match is on at 11am so I do not have long!

dfk41

I made a couple of americanos. I was concentrating on the pour and the second one was spot on, meaning the grind/tamp must be about right. Next step is to concentrate on getting the taste right but it is not far away. I simply tightened the pf into the group and that stopped the leaking problem

RickO88

Seems a very deep basket. I would want something that would do a 14g shot.

Cuprajake

just picked one up for giggles

whats people experience been so far?

dfk41

Cuprajake I did not really give mine a chance in terms of seeing what it could really do. I have never been one to enjoy experimenting with coffee but admire people who are able to make small tweaks and taste the difference. So, I await the thoughts of others

dang2484

Cuprajake I’ve been using mine for about 3 weeks now and quite enjoying it, it’s not much different or extra faff than normal. I think I’m definitely getting slightly better coffee and more consistency taste wise.

prezes

Cuprajake I’ve been using mine daily in the mornings and mid day. At this time I am quite happy with it and shots are very tasty. I am waiting for the pick screen from the seller to see if it allows me to use 16g dose properly. If it does I will rate it great but if it doesn’t the flaw for my use is the depth of it as it really needs a minimum of 18g if not more. With lower dose the pressure rockets initially and the puck is as mess at the end of the shot. I can still achieve a good, steady flow and tasty coffee so I might be just overthinking it.