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Date: 19 Aug 2006 07:51:53
From: Mick
Subject: Gaggia portafilter
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Hi alt.coffee,
I saw another thread about a Gaggia Evolution, but was unable to reply
to it.
I too have bought this machine, and basically I am happy about it. As
another mentioned it can be hard to keep the extraction time to about
the 20-25 seconds. I started using pre-ground coffee, as I had no
coffee shop nearby nor a grinder at the time.
I now have the Rancilio Rocky and was told to start around a setting of
8. With this setting I got approximately 3-4ml of espresso in that
time. So at the moment I have a setting of 14 on my Rocky.
At the shop where I got Rocky, I saw a portafilter that was not angled
at the bottom. The one for a double shot delivered by Gaggia is angled
and thereby has less holes for the coffee to get through. I also feel
that I do not tamp as hard as 30lbs to get the 20-25 sec.
My theory is now that the delivered portafilter is a little different
than 'normal' portafilters, and therefore need coarser grind and less
tamp to get to the golden rule.
Is this also the experience of others?
Has anyone tried the straight portafilter with Gaggia Evolution?
The freshly ground coffee is not as bitter as the pre-ground, but still
more bitter than what I tasted in the shop. It feels like I need
coarser grind with little to no tamp to get past the bitterness. Maybe
the angled portafilter is designed to help build pressure?
If anyone can enlighten me a bit, I would greatly appreciate it.
Regards,
Michael.
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 05:37:39
From: Mick
Subject: Re: Gaggia portafilter
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Hi Dave,
Thanks for the answer.
I already started to experiment with both tamp and grind.
I found that setting my Rocky to 11 and almost no tamp at all, gives me
some crema. It starts to produce a lot of crema, but after a little
time the crema production stops. I believe that it is still tamped a
little to much, but decided to go for a grind of 12 next time and the
same tamp.
Also I am wondering if the water hardness has any affect on the
bitterness of the coffee produced?
At this point I am using the plastic tamper provided by Gaggia. It is
only 55mm and should have been 58mm.The beans I am using for this trial
was roasted on the 16th of august.
Regards,
Michael
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 04:47:54
From: daveb
Subject: Re: Gaggia portafilter
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These things will all go away, as you gain more practice. the grinder
is critical as you now know.
feel free to experiment with the settings on the grinder, the tamp
pressure, and quantity until you get the coffee that you like -- 20-25
seconds for 2 ounces. What tamper are you using?
There are no hard rules. enjoy.
Dave
Saeco / Gaggia service SE
Mick wrote:
> Hi alt.coffee,
>
> I saw another thread about a Gaggia Evolution, but was unable to reply
> to it.
> I too have bought this machine, and basically I am happy about it. As
> another mentioned it can be hard to keep the extraction time to about
> the 20-25 seconds. I started using pre-ground coffee, as I had no
> coffee shop nearby nor a grinder at the time.
> I now have the Rancilio Rocky and was told to start around a setting of
> 8. With this setting I got approximately 3-4ml of espresso in that
> time. So at the moment I have a setting of 14 on my Rocky.
>
> At the shop where I got Rocky, I saw a portafilter that was not angled
> at the bottom. The one for a double shot delivered by Gaggia is angled
> and thereby has less holes for the coffee to get through. I also feel
> that I do not tamp as hard as 30lbs to get the 20-25 sec.
> My theory is now that the delivered portafilter is a little different
> than 'normal' portafilters, and therefore need coarser grind and less
> tamp to get to the golden rule.
>
> Is this also the experience of others?
> Has anyone tried the straight portafilter with Gaggia Evolution?
>
> The freshly ground coffee is not as bitter as the pre-ground, but still
> more bitter than what I tasted in the shop. It feels like I need
> coarser grind with little to no tamp to get past the bitterness. Maybe
> the angled portafilter is designed to help build pressure?
>
> If anyone can enlighten me a bit, I would greatly appreciate it.
>
> Regards,
> Michael.
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 13:47:38
From: daveb
Subject: Re: Gaggia portafilter
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hardness? NO effect on the coffee, but many negative effects on the
machine.
Tamper? throw that one away. Lots of water is now sneaking around the
sides of the coffee damaging the shot quailty.
IMO a great tamper:
www.vivace.com
schomer is one of the gurus of espresso.
Dave
wwww.hitechespresso.com
Mick wrote:
> Hi Dave,
>
> Thanks for the answer.
>
> I already started to experiment with both tamp and grind.
> I found that setting my Rocky to 11 and almost no tamp at all, gives me
> some crema. It starts to produce a lot of crema, but after a little
> time the crema production stops. I believe that it is still tamped a
> little to much, but decided to go for a grind of 12 next time and the
> same tamp.
>
> Also I am wondering if the water hardness has any affect on the
> bitterness of the coffee produced?
>
> At this point I am using the plastic tamper provided by Gaggia. It is
> only 55mm and should have been 58mm.The beans I am using for this trial
> was roasted on the 16th of august.
>
> Regards,
> Michael
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 22:13:28
From: Alan
Subject: Re: Gaggia portafilter
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"daveb" wrote
> IMO a great tamper:
> www.vivace.com
I think you meant: http://www.espressovivace.com/
Although even more helpful would have been:
http://www.espressovivace.com/ergo_packer.html
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 22:05:58
From: Alan
Subject: Re: Gaggia portafilter
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"daveb" wrote
[...]
> IMO a great tamper:
> www.vivace.com
>
> schomer is one of the gurus of espresso.
??? --- that url leads you to a site for an " 8 Step Programs to Internet
Profits" ---- don't see a thing about a tamper
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