In addition to what was mentioned above, competent staff is crucial. You can have the greatest machine in the world, but you also need to know how to use it.
In addition to what was mentioned above, competent staff is crucial. You can have the greatest machine in the world, but you also need to know how to use it.
What do you talk about when you say "a naked filter lets me identify any errors in the process" What kinda errors i thought u put the beans in, grind them up and brew it? Or do you mean the length of time to brew and how that looks when it comes out?
-Rich
very cool thread btw.
-Rich
very cool thread btw.
One typical error results in channeling. Lets say you didn't distribute and tamp the grounds properly in the portafilter, creating small gaps inside. The water, under 9 bars of pressure, will go for the area of least resistance. This results in small channels developing, and little jets comming out the bottom (visible with a naked portafilter). This creates areas of over-extraction, and areas of under-extraction, not good for flavor.
Well, espresso is actually a rather complicated process once you start considering all the variables that affect the resultant cup.
I don't recapitulate the entire espresso-making process, but I will attempt to explain that which can be isolated through use of the naked portafilter as you requested.
One of the more important procedures in espresso-making is that of "tamping"; this refers to leveling, and sometimes compacting, the surface of the coffee. Espresso is brewed by forcing water through coffee at a force of 9 atmospheres. If you have the slightest unsettling of coffee you'll have more water forced through one area than another; the result from this nonsense is an overextraction from some coffee and an underextraction from the rest. This manifests itself in the cup through bitterness, lack of body, lack of flavor, etc.; in other words, the cup may not even be drinkable.
So, you can see how important this process actually is. By using a naked portafilter we can see, first hand, where it is being overextracted. If you look at my pictures you can see that, for the most part, the coffee coming from the filter is fairly even. If it were overextracted you would see what's called "going blonde": all of the solubles in the coffee are extracted out of the coffee, and the result is that the color of the pour turns a lighter color... blonde. Eventually it will just turn clear indicating that no more solubles are available, and what you see is simply water.
Another thing that you can easily tell with a naked is a phenomenon called "channeling." This means that the force of the water through the coffee broke prematurely, and the result is often a jet of coffee that gets sprayed in sporadic directions.
So, the naked gives you an enhanced ability to identify and isolate problems in your process, specifically the two I mentioned above.
Make sense?
Generally speaking they are decent. Yes, they can produce a cup much better in quality than your average Mr. Coffee, and many of the super-automatics (that's the breed of machine in which this particular one is placed) produce a sometimes-passable espresso; however, they offer no control of the process, so any attempts at improving quality are usually limited.
If you want a reasonable cup in the morning a super-auto is a step in that direction, but if you're serious about coffee they simply won't do. The reasons aren't so much philisophical (although that's part of it as well) as they are technical. If you want more specific reasons I can provide them, but that'd be a long post.
In other words, the Mr. Coffee "espresso maker" I picked up for 50 bucks is a total crock, and the fact that it makes ass coffee is not my fault and I sould give it to goodwill? Or is it possible to hone the technique with such a machine so that it will at least produce a decent latte?
No. Toss it. You won't be able to get a suitable espresso out of that thing no matter how much you hone your process. Rather than just sound dogmatic I'll offer you a few insurmountable reasons:
1) Those machines are almost always based on steam pressure. Given this fact they can sometimes barely achieve 1.5 atmospheres of pressure. Given that you'll be presented, at best, an espresso that is more like a "strong" (in terms of flavor) coffee than espresso. You'll need at least 9 atmospheres of pressure to produce a real espresso, and that's most often achieved through a pump.
Well, that's reason enough.
Wow great response, yes it makes total sense now, (also referring to ure post above the one i just quoted).
My father enjoys his espresso but is always on the run for work and has no time to actually learn/ do the manual way. But i love the cofee that comes outta that thing
BurnItDwn
Lifer
- Oct 10, 1999
- 26,367
- 1,879
- 126
Sometimes I wish I had a bigger kitchen.
(Currently lives in a townhouse with a small kitchen ... There is only about 1 foot of counterspace from the wall to the oven/stove then about 3 feet of counterspace to the wall. Then, about 3 feet to the sink, a foot after the sink, and my fridge. The other 2 walls do not have counterspace since that would prevent me from having a table to eat on (I have no dining room.)) So, on the big corner section, I have a little crappy coffee maker, a cutting board, and my microwave, and that takes up all the space. On the 1 foot sections, one has my knives, and the other has my Foreman Grill .... not enough room for a good Espresso machine here
Well, October of 2006 will mark my second year here, and then I can "upgrade" to a bigger townhouse or SFH and not have to pay capital gains tax on the sale of this property. It's already up about 10 to 15% since I bought it 8 months ago (note: I live in one of the less expensive western burbs of Chicago, so even if it doubled in value, it would still only be like 1/2 the cost of a condo in CA... heh )
(Currently lives in a townhouse with a small kitchen ... There is only about 1 foot of counterspace from the wall to the oven/stove then about 3 feet of counterspace to the wall. Then, about 3 feet to the sink, a foot after the sink, and my fridge. The other 2 walls do not have counterspace since that would prevent me from having a table to eat on (I have no dining room.)) So, on the big corner section, I have a little crappy coffee maker, a cutting board, and my microwave, and that takes up all the space. On the 1 foot sections, one has my knives, and the other has my Foreman Grill .... not enough room for a good Espresso machine here
Well, October of 2006 will mark my second year here, and then I can "upgrade" to a bigger townhouse or SFH and not have to pay capital gains tax on the sale of this property. It's already up about 10 to 15% since I bought it 8 months ago (note: I live in one of the less expensive western burbs of Chicago, so even if it doubled in value, it would still only be like 1/2 the cost of a condo in CA... heh )
nice pics. I just started getting into espresso. I got an Exobar Pulser and a Mazzer Mini grinder. I drink mostly Americanos but so far my drinks have been hit or miss but are starting to get more consistently good. Since reading this thread its a long 30 minute wait to heat up the Exobar
0roo0roo
No Lifer
- Sep 21, 2002
- 64,795
- 84
- 91
thats nasty man!
judging by those pics, i could eat taco bell, put my a$$ on a shelf in starbucks and call it an espresso machine.
judging by those pics, i could eat taco bell, put my a$$ on a shelf in starbucks and call it an espresso machine.
Originally posted by: h8red
nice pics. I just started getting into espresso. I got an Exobar Pulser and a Mazzer Mini grinder. I drink mostly Americanos but so far my drinks have been hit or miss but are starting to get more consistently good. Since reading this thread its a long 30 minute wait to heat up the Exobar
Yeah, mine takes a fair amount of time to heat up as well. The Pulser is a great machine, and obviously so is the Mini.
I don't drink many Americanos as I will largely just go for a press pot instead if I'm wanting more volume.
I could have told you that. A couple of things:
1) Preground is never going to be good. There are some that package their coffee under nitrogen, but once you expose the coffee it goes stale very quickly.
2) Coffee roasted any more than a week ago is already going stale. Anything over a few weeks is absolutely stale. Consider that most of these macroroasters have "best by" dates that are a year or so after the roast date.
3) 100% Arabica means very little. You can have 100% Arabica of the lowest grade beans from the least interesting origin roasted a year ago and preground and have 100% crap.
The next step you should take is buying a quality burr grinder and buying whole bean. Beyond that you should try fresh coffee.
0roo0roo
No Lifer
- Sep 21, 2002
- 64,795
- 84
- 91
yea i know, i have a burr grinder. i'm too lazy to use it recently.
folgers is half decent considering the price if enough grounds are used. can't beat the price. and the current containers atleast have the gas valve so its packaged relatively fresh. it meets the low "tastes good as starbucks" benchmark. i'll probably stick with it till i get an espresso machine later
folgers is half decent considering the price if enough grounds are used. can't beat the price. and the current containers atleast have the gas valve so its packaged relatively fresh. it meets the low "tastes good as starbucks" benchmark. i'll probably stick with it till i get an espresso machine later
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