My VII arrived last week and I'm getting reasonable, but not fantastic shots. Any suggestions on a scheme to dial in grind, dosing volume for the double shot button and temperature would be appreciated.
The brew temperatue is currently set at 94 degrees and I'm pulling about 2 ounces from the double button (the volume that the machine was set at when it arrived). With my Gaggia MDF set at 4 I get slightly wet pucks but I think pretty nice dark crema and a reasonably good shot.
Thanks in advance for your help...
New owner/user seeks advice on dialing in shots
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Niko
Excellent.
That is a great tamper to start with and a keeper for the long run, excellent device to keep yourself in check or to just simply have a gauge on what your temping pressure is.
OK, now for some temps...
The Spaz is not putting out the temps you've programmed it for unless you pull at least 2 blanks in front of a real shot, once the machine is up and running continuously for while the temps are dead on.
For example, your programmed temp of 94C translates to 201.2 Farhenheit exactly, the machine is putting out as low as 198 for that given set temp, therefore, shooting a quick couple of (double) blanks wakes it up and shoots for that temp within a degree Fahrenheit, sometimes it's scary how the VII will stay within a .1-.2 degree once it's in a zone.
Now for the daily grind,
What grinder are you using?
That is a great tamper to start with and a keeper for the long run, excellent device to keep yourself in check or to just simply have a gauge on what your temping pressure is.
OK, now for some temps...
The Spaz is not putting out the temps you've programmed it for unless you pull at least 2 blanks in front of a real shot, once the machine is up and running continuously for while the temps are dead on.
For example, your programmed temp of 94C translates to 201.2 Farhenheit exactly, the machine is putting out as low as 198 for that given set temp, therefore, shooting a quick couple of (double) blanks wakes it up and shoots for that temp within a degree Fahrenheit, sometimes it's scary how the VII will stay within a .1-.2 degree once it's in a zone.
Now for the daily grind,
What grinder are you using?
I'm using a Gaggia MDF grinder.
I started with the grind set at about 6. The crema was light and the pull for a double shot took about 15 seconds. I've moved down to a setting of 4 and the crema is much darker, the pull seems longer (I haven't timed it), the puck is a bit wet but the group pressure stays smack in the middle of the green. I must also say that the shot tasted pretty good to me.
The volume for a push of the double button seems to be about 2 ounces.
I started with the grind set at about 6. The crema was light and the pull for a double shot took about 15 seconds. I've moved down to a setting of 4 and the crema is much darker, the pull seems longer (I haven't timed it), the puck is a bit wet but the group pressure stays smack in the middle of the green. I must also say that the shot tasted pretty good to me.
The volume for a push of the double button seems to be about 2 ounces.
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Niko
Don't worry about the dosing being set at 2 ounces, it's a actually a good setting to have incase you do pull textbook shots, we're not looking for that here. You want good tasting shots like the one you've described. The puck is going to be wet almost every time with the Spaz, partially due to the deep baskets. You want to cut off the shot as soon as the crema starts to lighten up (blonding), it doesn't matter what volume you've dispensed since there's so many variables in pulling a shot. Don't be afraid to reach that finger out and hit the 2-cup button again, I do it all the time. I aim for ristrettos every time, I grind finer than average and tamp around 40-42 lbs and the Spaz almost chokes, followed by a couple of drops and then immediately starts to mousetail a syrupy shot finishing off with a dark rich crema. The shot volume is way less than 2 onces, probably closer to 1.4 but the flavor is tremendous. Different coffees will yield different volumes and different everything so that volumetric doser is good for commercial settings where they use 1 type of bean (usually) and they just want to pump out volumes of coffee.
It sounds like your grinder is not stepless so it's going to be a little more difficult to find the right magical combination of tamp and grind, I had the same problems with my Isomac grinder. I had to tamp at a different pressure for some beans because the steps were too big on it, one click meant several seconds and the only way to compensate was changing the tamp pressure (blasphemy!).
It sounds like your grinder is not stepless so it's going to be a little more difficult to find the right magical combination of tamp and grind, I had the same problems with my Isomac grinder. I had to tamp at a different pressure for some beans because the steps were too big on it, one click meant several seconds and the only way to compensate was changing the tamp pressure (blasphemy!).
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Weska
That MDF is a limiting factor, MDL. I have one too and used it moderately happily with my Gaggia Classic. Even in that company, it was obvious that the MDF adjustment notches are too broadly spaced to hit the sweet spot except on certain lucky weeks.
When the Vivaldi came, I could only get the odd shot I liked until I did Jasonian's mod with teflon tape in the threads. It's hard to find (I just tried for several minutes.) at coffeegeek, but it is posted there.
Basically, you undo the hopper and the upper burr as if you were cleaning the grinder. Then you wrap 5-9 turns of teflon pipe thread tape on the upper burr threads. Meanwhile you set aside the springs and peg that hold the burr to the original adjustment notches. Reassemble everything, and the tape jams the threads enough so that they stay in place wherever you put them, although it may take more than one try to hit the right amount of tape.
It's not elegant, but it does give you better coffee. It will hold me until I overcome my indecision about what continuously adjustable grinder to replace my MDF with.
When the Vivaldi came, I could only get the odd shot I liked until I did Jasonian's mod with teflon tape in the threads. It's hard to find (I just tried for several minutes.) at coffeegeek, but it is posted there.
Basically, you undo the hopper and the upper burr as if you were cleaning the grinder. Then you wrap 5-9 turns of teflon pipe thread tape on the upper burr threads. Meanwhile you set aside the springs and peg that hold the burr to the original adjustment notches. Reassemble everything, and the tape jams the threads enough so that they stay in place wherever you put them, although it may take more than one try to hit the right amount of tape.
It's not elegant, but it does give you better coffee. It will hold me until I overcome my indecision about what continuously adjustable grinder to replace my MDF with.
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Niko
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Weska
Yeah, NIko, still on the quest. With my MDF kludged to continuous, I can relax and enjoy; but I do want to upgrade.
As I said elsewhere in the forum, MACAP continuous are non-existent here, Mazzers are so overpriced that even the Muscovites won't go for them, and that leaves the Cimbali Junior standing tall.
I can order MACAP from Italy, but the additional freight, brokerage, and capricious customs duties might make them as costly as the Cimbali.
The only alternative is to wait until I travel again to the US, order a MACAP from Chris, a hefty 120-220v transformer from somebody else, and then bear the excess baggage charges bringing it all back.
La Cimbali is still standing tall when I look at all my options. Apart from all the money, the only "sacrifice" with it is that it has a doser. Coming from an MDF with its rickety one, I would preferred to try a doserless this time around, but that seems not to be allowed.
As I said elsewhere in the forum, MACAP continuous are non-existent here, Mazzers are so overpriced that even the Muscovites won't go for them, and that leaves the Cimbali Junior standing tall.
I can order MACAP from Italy, but the additional freight, brokerage, and capricious customs duties might make them as costly as the Cimbali.
The only alternative is to wait until I travel again to the US, order a MACAP from Chris, a hefty 120-220v transformer from somebody else, and then bear the excess baggage charges bringing it all back.
La Cimbali is still standing tall when I look at all my options. Apart from all the money, the only "sacrifice" with it is that it has a doser. Coming from an MDF with its rickety one, I would preferred to try a doserless this time around, but that seems not to be allowed.