coffee forum, ?????, ?????, fresh coffee beans and tea house

[Nastypenman]

3 weeks into Espresso Making with my Krups XP4020, and have got the non-pressurized basket from Landy. Great machine, but my skill is still...

Things actually improved a lot since i got a modified Saeco grinder and started grinding at home, using beans from Landy. But I still have some questions:

1. I thought my mod-Saeco couldn't grind fine enough for espresso, but looks like it can actually choke my 4020 (see point 2 below). So I assume the biggest weakness of the Saeco is that it can't evenly grind the beans, right?

2. When I use the tamper I got from Landy to apply something like a 30-40lb force, almost no coffee came out. I had to apply less and less force. Now, if I tamp with reasonable force, I'd get a 1 min drip, with ok looking espresso. If I tamp it really slightly, I'd get a 25-30 sec drip, but the color turns white at about the 15 sec mark. What should I do?

3. I am very tempted to get the bottom of the PF cut. But just in case anything goes wrong, anyone knows if I can get a replacement PF from Krups, and for how much?


Anyways, it has been a fun 3 weeks, and even my wife is kinda into the act. We just found out this morning that a new Starbucks is openning up near our neighborhood. Before, we'd be very happy, and we live in a kinda remote area and sometimes fancy a cup of coffee at night. But now, hehe, we don't really care. I haven't been to Starbucks for the past 3 weeks.



OT: Speaking of going to cafe, the only place i went to in the past 3 weeks is Habitu in Wanchai. Coffee is actually ok there.

[fieldmice]

[kckc]

actually, the espresso should not drip out
if it is dripping out in a large drop, you should put less coffee,
your coffee is too fresh that sucked your machine.

and another rule of thumb, if the espresso comes out too slow or too fast,
you have to adjust your grinder, not your tamp or dosage

[Nastypenman]

Looks like too much bean is the problem. I used less dose today, and ended up with a much better extraction

Keep trying...

[fieldmice]