Please see this Video to see what I am referring to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGQbMOmVsQA
On Sunday, April 1, 2012 6:16:43 PM UTC-7, JJ wrote: > Hi, I am new to this group and would love to hear some comments > regarding my problem. > > For starters I just recently purchased a new Brewtus IV, along with a > Baratza Vario W grinder and Espro (calibrated) tamper. > > I am relatively new to the espresso world and thought that this group > of equipment would minimize some of the variables that can have an > adverse effect on shot extraction. The temperature of the Brewtus is > at the factory setting 96 degrees C (approx 205 F) and I'm using a > naked portafilter (for assessment purposes) > > My goal was to attempt to achieve an 2oz pull in roughly 25 seconds. > I would use this as a baseline and then tweak from that point. > Ultimately, taste would be my guide. > > On the first day of pulling shots I will admit that I didn't really > have a plan nor did I keep track of times and volumes. Big mistake. > I ended up getting shots that where either took too long or too quick > to pull. The shots either looked like crude oil, 75% crema or > something in between. Taste ranged from almost undrinkable (crude > oil) to something that you would expect to get from one of those > roadside coffee kiosks (you'll drink it because it's the only place in > town). One thing I did notice that the brew gauge frequently > indicated 4 to 5 Bar during the extraction. > > The next day I decided that I would chart my pulls in an attempt to > resolve the problem. > > I started by adjusting the OPV by using a blindbasket on the > portafilter. The factory setting was at 12 Bar which I have been led > to believe is too high. I adjusted the setting to 10 Bar which now I > believe might still be a little too high (9.5 Bar). Anyways the > current setting seems to be better than the factory setting. > > My methodology was the following: I would start by setting my grinder > at a very fine setting, pull a shot, measure volume/time and adjust if > necessary. I ll spare you all the details (this is getting very > longwinded I know) but will provided a summary. Basically the first > shots (with a very fine setting) were very dark in colour and took > approx 60 seconds. Brew pressure measured at 9 Bar. I then made the > grind increasingly more coarse. The dose size (14 grams) would remain > the same. My hope was that I would be able to reduce the shot time > and maintain the brew pressure. What ended up happening was that the > shots times did decrease to a point and brew pressure remained > consistant. Then mysteriously brew pressures would only climb to 4 or > 5 Bar after pre infusion. Towards the end of the shot (at the point > where blonding has occurred and the fluid has changed to a clear > state) the brew pressure shoots up to 9 Bar (I realize that I am > allowing the shot to continue too long once it has reached this > stage). > > I then tried pulling shots with a 16 gram dose using the same > methods. Basically the same pattern occurred, full brew pressure with > the finest settings although very long shot times. Once the grinds > became more coarse, brew measure failed to reach more than 4 or 5 Bar > and only reached 9 Bar well after the shot should have ended. The > same pattern occurred at 18 and 20 grams. > > The naked portafilter suggests that tamping and ground consistency is > OK. The fluids tend to first appear around the perimeter and then > focus to the center. There is a 'barber pole' effect until blonding > occurs. Sometimes is does take a few more seconds before a single > funnel occurs but this doesn t seem to effect the shot times and > volumes that I have been getting. > > I ve run out of coffee for now and probably could use a break. > > Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > > JJ > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/brewtus/-/4LmuZT_4ZZgJ. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en.
