tompoland Just so I’m clear, are you recommending that a newbie try for a 1:3 ratio because it is easier to obtain a quality pour than starting with a 1:2 ration which is more challenging?
I’m saying it is sometimes impossible. Plenty of case studies out there from people asking for help, varying between sourness and bitterness and aiming for a 1:2 or 1:2.5. The reason is they were struggling to hit the low end of a normal EY with the coffee and grinder they were using. Grind finer and get silt……so what to do?
Sometimes a 1:3 will be better, or a 1:2.5, just as sometimes a 1:2 will be ideal. it’s not possible to predict remotely, without any other knowledge, so there’s no point in recommending anything as a benchmark. You’d just be arbitrarily telling them to aim for a specific strength in a specific time. If somebody were to simply ask for help because their espresso is bad and provide no other information, you wouldn’t say “pull a 1:2 in 30 seconds” and expect it to solve anything (or any other ratio and time combo).
It’s important to aim for consistent output so you can see the effect changing grind setting, dose, or temp has as a diagnostic. The ratio will set the strength and that’s something personal, but a lot of new espresso drinkers won’t find a strong shot palatable and may find it hard to detect flavours and assess an extraction. Again, letting a newbie know this is better than telling them to aim for something so they can actually adjust to their taste.
It’s far more appropriate to give people some idea of what changing a ratio does (increases strength; decreases extraction / decreases strength; increases extraction), what grind setting does (increases/decreases extraction), and what basic flavours and characteristics indicate (i.e sourness does not mean under extraction and bitterness does not mean over extraction) so they can determine what to tweak than it is to just tell them to aim for a specific strength in a specific time. One is going to help make good coffee, one is going to result in coffee of a certain strength in a certain time.
tompoland I have a different opinion on the bottomless portafilter but that’s the beauty of diverse opinions in a forum like this.
Indeed, but if you’re giving advice it’s probably a good idea to be able to explain your opinion. A lighter roast with thin crema is going to wind up looking somewhat patchy on a bottomless portafilter as the puck erodes and possibly due to holes getting clogged, it’s not an indication of channelling. It’s not even an indication that holes are getting clogged but that is a possibility. A darker roast can produce crema of such volume it engulfs the bottom of the basket and completely conceals any deadspots.
It’s tough to advise a newbie on this. Tell them a shot must look perfect on a bottomless or there will be some problem or something that can be improved and they’ll be pulling their hair out, tell them not to worry and they might never learn to distribute and tamp properly. It’s easy to assess a good and bad pour when you know what you’re doing, not so much when you have no clue. Cuprajake keeps posting this video: