@Knluk - what’s wrong with the espresso you make? Is it sour, bitter, thin, syrupy? What do you not like? And, what do you expect it to be? Do you like the beans you ordered from Pact? Have you tried other beans? Have you tried the beans you ordered on a different machine?
Sometimes it’s not about the equipment, but about what you put in it and how you use it.
My attempt this morning. Another failure I am afraid:
Recipe: 15s preinfusion, 27s pull time at 7 bar (by feel), 18g in 45g out (1:2.5), grind size 2.0.2, beans is dark, brew 7 days ago.
Observation: observed slight channeling at the beginning of the pull, but maybe I greatly reduce pressure this time. I also didn’t count the time. Instead I focus on a steady pressure with moderate pull.
Result: strong bitterness, not sour, nice thick body
treatment: add some sugar so I can swallow it :)
tompoland based on the manual of robot and a lot of experience by users, the temp and temp stability is good if the PF is filled with boiling water 5mm to full. No preinfusion needed unless for light roast. Also, it tastes bitter in my latest shot. Maybe I should reduce the water temp a bit by waiting half minute before pouring?
MediumRoastSteam it is too bitter to me. I think the thickness is okay to good. I tried the robot with two different beans from pact. The first one was medium dark and I am on the dark one now. Both are no good to me. I also have black cat chocolate blend (today is 3 days after brew) and North Star dock blend and Brazil blend on the way. These will need some waiting time before I can use. So I will have no beans to use after two more shots.
I am noob in espresso. So I am not sure I can describe my preference in the taste well. But I think I want a balanced taste of sourness and bitterness and sweet. I like thicker body. But I think my tongue is very forgiving. For most espresso I tried in cafe including the office automatic machine impressed me. I will be happy if I can pull something even only similar to the automatic machine.
If I was you I’d try different beans. I think you just have beans you don’t like espresso from. And don’t be put off by the perfection that is presented in YT videos. That last shot looked fine to me - I often get a bit of slight unevenness like that as I don’t have the temperament to sweat over details like perfect puck prep. I make espresso like a Neanderthal - tastes fine
Gagaryn thanks for the advice. It is important for me to have some assurance bit by bit to identify what I really missed out. Re beans, I hope it is the cause as it will then by just a learning experience to identify something I like. Do you have any recommendation?
Sometime I am really confused. I can even like the one from automatic machine which likely use shitty bean or even grounded coffee. How can I hate the shot I made with fresh and freshly grounded beans. Still suspect I missing something here.
I am looking at some grinder in case my jX-pro is really the cause but if possible, I may not want to spend that money as I like the workflow of manual. If I have a Niche Zero for example, I can set the similar grind size with other users so will be safe. Is there anything I should be concern about buying used Niche? Does the burr tend to age quick and need to replace from time to time?
Knluk - Go to the supermarket and buy yourself a tin of the world famous Illy coffee - that might be something you would be more used to, specially if the automatic machine is giving you good coffee. You didn’t say what coffee that machine has though, but I’m assuming if it’s something in an office with an office plan, it’s likely to be something very box standard.
And then try something medium/medium dark roasts from roasters - keep it to a well tried blend.
Are you sure you are detecting bitterness rather than sourness? With the Robot, the temperature is always decreasing - there’s no way to increase it. Usually, bitterness is a sign of the water being too hot - which I very much doubt with the machine you have.
Needless to say, this is a journey. If you are a a novice to this, you there will be a period where things will be frustrating for you, specially with the kit you have, due to its limitations.
Also, don’t get carried away by the nth level of detail. Grind your coffee, tamp, pull a shot. Keep things consistent. Change one variable at a time. Keep to the simplest possible routine you can have. When you introduce a change, think about what it represented in the cup. Go again.
Knluk my jX-pro is really the cause
Your grinder is fine. It is a lovely grinder, which is what I have and use daily for espresso and pour overs.
You said, you have two shots:
1: Your latest video is good. I can see why you are saying it is channelling. Keep everything constant, coarse grind by another 4 micro clicks, pull a shot and see what happens. A click or two in JX pro may not make a difference to the shot. I doubt I can tell the difference in taste.
As advised by folks here, get Illy and get another a medium roast bag and see how it goes. If you have a roaster nearby, go to them, see if you can find a medium roast bag roasted 2 -3 weeks ago and use it.
Worst case, if you are out of coffee, go to Waitrose and get an expensive small coffee bag (not powder) you can find and get that if and only if there is a roast date (not best before). The waitrose bags will normally have a roast date. Do not the buy if the roast date is more than a month. If I am out of coffee beans, I won’t drink coffee. Period! 😊
BTW, what are the flavour mentioned on the bag? Since, it is a dark roast, you may find Cocoa, (dark) chocolate and nuts.
MediumRoastSteam thanks for input! Below is a pic of the automatic machine. I like the shot but I do prefer the other shot I had in a specialised cafe. For Illy, are you referring to beans or ground? Do they normally have a brew date? I bought a bag from sainsbury branded Union with brew day slightly over a month old. I don’t want to touch that after two shots :(
I think I am tasting the bitterness as I feel it more at the back of my tongue
Re changing one variable, should I change grind or ratio based on my current problem?
LMSC great input for the grind setting on JX pro. I gonna try that. But one question. My pull time is currently 27s. If I were to increase ratio to 1:1.5 and coarsen the grind but maintaining same pressure, I will likely finish the shot at 15s. Won’t it be falling outside the sweet spot of 25s to 30s? I hope you can see how I am stuck with all these variables. Not to mention that I feel very confused reading about an article on how the taste change with pressure/ ratio/ temp/ extract time/ grind size 🤷♂️ I will try your suggestion anyway
Below is the bean I am using for ref on the taste note.
Knluk For Illy, are you referring to beans or ground?
Ground coffee and espresso don’t get on well, at all. For espresso (and if you want good coffee) always grind on demand.
Knluk Your total shot time includes the PI. As MWJB said, don’t worry too much about the timing. There isn’t anything like a universal sweet spot timing. Let it take as long as it should, provided you like the shot. Similarly, your taste should dictate the ratio. I know one Evo Leva owner, who always drinks a dark roast, pulls 1:2 and takes 45s-50s for the shot to complete. This gentleman’s timer starts only when a drop falls into the cup. 😊
Knluk For Illy, are you referring to beans or ground? Do they normally have a brew date?
Illy tins have two dates: a ‘Best Before End’ date, with month and year, and a ‘packaged’ (ICS) date with a day, month and year (and time of day).
The ‘BBE’ date is useless, but the ‘packaged’ date gives you a good idea of when the beans were roasted; if (unlikely) it’s recent, then a few weeks of useful life can be inferred (say 6-8 weeks from packaging date*); if it’s months old, the coffee will be fine when just opened, but will deteriorate in the space of a few days.
* You’ll read all sorts of dates for shelf life of roasted coffee, ranging from 2-3 weeks to 6-9 months from roasting. This is one of those areas where you need to make your own personal opinion up on what “still tastes good” to you, and that may very well vary by beans and brewing method. The 6-8 weeks is when I find that Illy beans (which I use often) start tasting mostly of burnt wood, rather than nice coffee; I’m well known for not having a particularly discriminating nose or palate…
Knluk You are over whelmed with information overload. Please take it easy. Why don’t you step away from the machine and try again when you are fresh? 😊
If a bag is just a little over a month old, it should be still good and should not be like “don’t want to touch it….”. I am also thinking a milk chocolate as a flavour not necessarily not generate a little bit of chocolate bitter taste. The best example I can give is the Docks blend (milk chocolate, toasted nuts,…). The roaster’s description is bitter sweet chocolate. if one were to drink as a black than with milk. That’s what I get as tasting notes in my coffee.
CoyoteOldMan been to Waitrose and also checked our M&S food just now. As you expected, the package date was Mar 2022(!). Will try to buy some beans from a local speciality cafe tomorrow although they don’t have brew date shown. But the owner said for the beans on shelve, average age was 12 days after brew.
Knluk I hope you can see how I am stuck with all these variables.
There are 2 variables, grind setting and brew ratio. Do everything else the same & remember making coffee takes time, but the time it takes is not critical to the result, so record the time as a vague frame of reference, but don’t give it unnecessary importance.
Remember those scores, bitter & sour are only so useful…especially considering coffee is often both at the same time.
I don’t see anythig wrong with buying a small tin of Illy preground for espresso to try as a sanity check. It won’t last long, but maybe enough to provide a clue.
Also see if you can find out how much coffee the Franke machine doses, see what the brew ratio is.
Planned to do a better job in managing the supply chain of beans given they need to be store at least two weeks before consuming. I searched about the contents here about storage, but seem there is not consensus on whether freeze it or not. May I check whether I should freeze it or just use the original zip bag come with the beans for storage. I saw people using vacuum seal bag, is it only for long term storage? I will aim at store it for 14 days without opening the bag and consume within the next 14-21 days. Thanks.
Knluk How many coffees are you going to make per day?
A 250g bag holds 14× 18g doses max, so 2 weeks even if you make 1 shot per day.
If resting 2 weeks, brewing in the next 2 weeks, it will be fine to leave the beans in the resealable bag.
The consensus for 70yrs has been that freezing preserves coffee. But if freezing, freeze in small, rested, batches/doses that you will use straight away (hence vacuum sealing in portions).
