Your ONE favorite change to improve your coffee?

[MichaelS]

So, after reading much of this fine forum, CG, and HB forums... I have not seen a thread like this elsewhere - though that could be due to my search skills. What I wanted to know was this "What was the one process change that improved your coffee experience the most?"

I'd love to get both the simple "any one could implement this" idea's, as well as the economic ones (upgraded grinder, new machine, etc.)

My own to start this off?
pre-heating my portafilter on the s1 prior to pulling the shot (simply run the 2shot profile button with the PF empty before grinding). I leave my machine on 24x7, but the PF isn't in it. I had been just pulling a shot through the cold PF - heating it up made an immense flavor difference.

My economic one? Home roasting, bought the hottop-b about a year ago ,roasted ... I don't know, 50 lbs in it now or so. LOVE the fresh beans I do :)

So, what's yours?

Michael

[Endo]

By far...bean selection. Finding a blend and roaster that you like, and making sure it's fresh (less than 2 weeks from roast, even if it means roasting it yourself). But we all know this I suppose.

More difficult is the second most important. Could be grinder perhaps? Maybe dose size?

One thing for sure, espresso machine itself is pretty far down on the list.

[michael]

i like this thread

three things for me

1. better distribution of grinds!

2. better beans, currently liking hairbender and some of the verve coffees, and figuring out the correct doses and temperatures

3. my mazzer e grinders

[dgasmd]

In no particular order of importance:
-leaving the portafilter empty in place so it is always hot.
-finding the right blend and type of coffee from a vendor.
-using the temp and dose profile that tastes best to me regardless of the roaster's recommendation.
-no more than 15grm dosage
-letting the shot cool before tasting it and drinking it. I don't care how good it is, if it incinerates my tongue and lips at touch I will be to numb to taste it.
-32-37 sec extraction on my my mini S2
-once you think you got a good grind consistency, resist the temptation to continue to mess with the grinder. Just leave it alone.
-watch videos of people pulling shots. It will make you feel very normal regardless of what you do.

[ronsil]

Above everything else:
Weighing the coffee into the PF & weighing the volume out. Usually 18 grams in over 32-36 liquid(espresso) grams out.

Ron

[caf4brains]

- Lower dose and finer grind - change extraction time to adjust the flavor profile
- Along with the lower dose I learned to move the PF under the grinder and just give the PF a couple of shakes to distribute. This gives me more consistency than trying to distribute far below the top edge of the PF

[expy98]

the day I got the Orphan Espresso Pharos, still blissful after over a year.

[Dan Bollinger]

HOME ROAST! Nothing else will come close to the improvement you'll get from using the best coffee in the world roasted fresh.

Home Roasters Organization http://www.homeroasters.org/index.htm

[gene]

1. Mailing 25 grams of my homeroasts to states all over America to be judged against other methods and roasters using same bean.
2. OE Pharos handgrinder which I adjust constantly as beans age from three to sometimes 21 days. Usually keep three types of fresh roasts beside my grinder at all times for blending.
3. Helps to have a lever machine beside La Spaz so they can compete for better shots.

[richardcoffee]

Weighing my dose and occasionally the output has improved my shots amazingly.

[peter]

Adding lots of microfoam to drown out my pooched roasts.

[chas]

Hopefully you can somewhere find a nearly endless supply of green beans to help this problem along!

[MichaelS]

Well, having completed my move to Austin earlier in the fall and having to detach my v2 from being plumbed in to using a flo-jet - I'm going to have to say that in spite of a hundred or so shot tweaks (2-300 test shots) the taste is different due to water. Not bad, just different - which I am adjusting to.

I can't log as a suggested change to move though - lol, would rank as the most expensive coffee improvement suggestion in the thread. However, an accumulator with a filter is likely in the future for the water supply as I'm stuck in this rental for a while.

I do have the precision parts on the way though (double, triple, and shower screens) and I'm looking forward to trying it out on the voodoo that is accompanying them :)

Michael

[Tokio]

I brew coffee beans by myself and grind them after that. I want to believe it makes the taste of my coffee better lol