grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

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CoffeeLegs

grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by CoffeeLegs »

Hi,

I want to ask how people generally dose and level with the mini vivaldi.

I use the double basket most of the time. My usual ritual is to grind just over the dose i require however I find if I am using less than 18grams (which is quite a large dose) of coffee, when i've ground it into the basket and give the portafilter a couple of settling taps on the counter - the mound of coffee in the basket is lower than the rim of the basket therefore levelling is an issue.

Lately I have been dosing 16grams with quite a short extraction and the results have been surprisingly good however I am conscious of not getting the coffee levelled to the sides of the basket every time before tamping. The coffee is about 5mm lower than the top of the basket?

Any comments or suggestions? ;)
MDL
Barista
Posts: 329
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 11:29 am
Location: San Diego

Re: grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by MDL »

First, my advice would be to worry about taste and not the quantitative details of your routine.

With that said I don't weigh my coffee but rather use a single basket worth of beans for a double shot. This gives me a mound of coffee that is just flat at the top of the basket after I level with my finger. I then tap the portafilter to settle the grounds a bit before tamping and polishing.
CoffeeLegs

Re: grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by CoffeeLegs »

Thanks for that. When i say i weight the beans, i weight them the 1st time i open a new bag as I find 16grams of one bean is different to 16grams of another.

If I fill a single basket with beans, and grind that amount into a double basket it only 3/4 fills the basket when i give it a tap. I can confirm also that I am eeking every last grind from the grinder, as i brush the excess out at the end of grinding.
jfrescki
God Shot
Posts: 100
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:30 am
Location: NJ

Re: grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by jfrescki »

I dose about 15.5 grams in the double. I do a quick WDT and shake to level before tamping, and almost always get a nice extraction.
John

Mini Vivaldi, EPC-8, SJ, Steel Burr Vario
Behmor, Modded Poppery
Coffee Stuff
peter

Re: grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by peter »

I dose 16g for a double, ending up w/ ~30g of espresso. There may be some differences in grinders, as 16g is just about to the rim of the basket for me. I'd say level it before you do any settling taps, and be certain to get the settling taps perfectly flat against the counter (or whatever you're tapping down on) to prevent the grounds breaking their seal against the sidewall of the basket, and then no tapping after tamping and gently insert into the group, again to keep the grounds where you've so carefully placed them.
CoffeeLegs

Re: grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by CoffeeLegs »

Thats folks, they are some great tips.
I have began to level before the settling tap which was where i was going wrong i think. I had not seen these replies until now so now i have to control my taps, get my tamp right and be careful inserting the portafilter into the group.
I will let you know how it goes.
(I am also experimenting with a finer grind and lighter tamp as i guess its easier the replicate the lighter tamp.)
CoffeeLegs

Re: grind, DOSE, LEVEL, tamp

Post by CoffeeLegs »

Just an update, i spoke to my local barista (https://twitter.com/vinibarista) about dosing for a flat white (my preferred drink). He said these machines have baskets that a usually slights too small. I should be dosing about 19 or 20 grams for a 50ml extraction. Naturally this changed everything! So after some tinkering, my grind is coarser, my tamp is very light and my basket is quite full (right to the top after leveling). The results have been really good, lovely rich crema, sweet strong coffee.

edit 08/01/2014
I got the bottomless PF and triple basket a couple of weeks ago so im not dosing 22 grams to a neat mound over the top of the basket, leveling it off and tamping to great results... i think the main issue for me was that the double basket does not hold as much as a double in a commercial grade machine so i was hard to get the same volume of coffee (without the end of the shot being bitter water).. the triple basket solves this :)
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