Now that we have a scale and a timed, setting-delineated burr grinder, it's time to keep some records of the settings used and the results.
My machine for these records is a single boiler unit, a Breville Cafe-Roma with a pressurized (2-wall) portafilter basket, and my grinder is a Breville Dose-Control Pro, which has a pauseable timer and adjustable coarseness-setting, and can feed directly into my portafilter.
I've wanted to pay nerdy attention to the coffeemaking process for some time, and while the coffee we've been making has been good, I have the feeling it can be better -- and more importantly, that it can be consistently good. I'm looking forward also to developing a better eye for the weights of different amounts of dry/wet coffee through this, too.
The 'wet' weights may look unusual to any serious baristas out there -- why am I pulling these espressos so long!? It's because at the moment, I'm not pulling 'real' espresso shots. The Cafe Roma comes with a double-walled portafilter basket, aka a pressurized basket. It has a single small hole in the outer wall, and the traditional many-holed wall inside. The two act together to allow a lot of coffee to pump out very quickly, and make it (as far as we know) so that a classic espresso can't really be pulled, i.e. in a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio by weight.
The coffee still tastes quite good and is similar to an espresso shot, but would not likely satisfy a true coffee snob. Fortunately I'm not one yet! It is an interesting compomise, because the crema created is always very pretty, the coffee tastes decent even with much more coarse grinds than you can generally achieve without a decent grinder, and the results are overall, pretty forgiving regardless of over-or-under-pulling or how you've dialed your grind.
When we started using the machine, we wondered about the large amount per pull, and it took a while to realize we weren't really doing anything wrong! Still, we'd like to make 'the real thing', and take better advantage of the finer settings available on our grinder, so we found a single-walled portafilter basket online, which has just the wall with many holes, and thus is not pressurized. Hopefully it fits right and our coffee-game will be upped again soon. :)
mug weight: 295g, portafilter+basket weight: 210g
| date | cup | grind | gt (s) | dry (g) | pull (s) | wet (g) | water (g) | sugar (g) | milk (g) | crema | rating | comments | ||
| 2020-12-28 11:30:00 | 1 | 23 | 6g*2 | ? | 22 | ? | ? | 5 | ? | great | bad | scraped to 3 -- bitter after-taste, weak | ||
| 2020-12-28 14:10:10 | 2 | 23 | 4g*2 | 16 | 5,25 | 126 | 135 | 10 | 48 | good | ok | a bit sweet, a bit weak. Better at the end. | ||
| After this coffee, I did some reading and bought a depressurized portafilter basket online. The ratio of 16g dry to 126g wet is absolutely not what I apparently should expect from espresso | ||||||||||||||
| 2020-12-29 13:07:00 | 1 | 23 | 4g*2+e | 16 | 5,26 | 146 | 124 | 8 | 42 | bubbly | good | a little acidic, mostly just good | ||
| 2020-12-29 16:54:20 | 2 | 23 | 8 | 16 | 5.5,26 | 143 | 127 | 8 | 47 | smallish | good | used pause on grinder -- all around good | ||
| 2020-12-30 12:02:22 | 1 | 23@55%caf | -- | 16 | 5,26 | 150 | 119 | 9 | 55 | spackled | good | packed to even -- weak to start, better cool | ||
| 2020-12-30 16:00:00 | 2 | we made some dalgona coffee today (dec 30th) -- one hot and one cold, each w/ chocolate shavings. Very tasty! | ||||||||||||
| 2020-12-31 16:40:00 | 1 | 22 | -- | 16 | 5,25 | 131 | 136 | 9 | 41 | pancake | great | rich, even flavour throughout | ||
| 2021-01-01 13:30:00 | 1 | 22 decaf | -- | ? | 5,~45? | >200 | ~30 | ~10 | ~30 | weak | bad | packed to light -- accidentally waaay overpulled | ||
| 2021-01-01 14:05:00 | 2 | 22 | -- | 16 | 5,31 | 189 | 98 | 8 | 34 | uniform | good | |||
| 2021-01-02 12:25:00 | 1 | 22 | 2s*4 | 15 | 6,23 | 143 | 147 | 8 | 38 | nebula | good | bitter first taste, butt now bars run this page!!!! | ||
| comments continued: thanks jenna for your input above <3 -- good cup but a bit hollow on flavour | ||||||||||||||
| 2021-01-02 17:16:00 | 2 | 2 | 2s*4 | 15.5 | 6,24 | 135 | 131 | 8 | 45 | majora | good | sour and bitter! but better as I drink it. | ||
| 2021-01-03 13:10:00 | 1 | 22 | 10s-ish | 15.5 | 6,24 | 159 | 115 | 11 | 40 | smooth | great | very mild golden flavour | ||
| 2021-01-03 17:50:00 | 2 | 22 | 8s | 15 | 6,24 | 126 | 145 | 10 | 50 | ice | comments | |||
| 2021-01-04 09:28:00 | 1 | 22@80%caf | 9s | 16 | 6,24 | 152 | 120 | 10 | 38.5 | thin | ok | too sweet! good otherwise | ||
| 2021-01-05 09:55:00 | 1 | 22 | ~8s | 16 | 6,24 | 145 | 140 | 10 | 40 | -- | great | satisfying | ||
| 2021-01-05 15:58:00 | 2 | 22 | ~10s | 16 | 6,24 | 151 | 101 | 10 | 49 | buttery | great | so good | ||
| 2021-01-06 09:50:00 | 1 | 22 | 8s | 16 | 6,24 | 169 | 96 | 9 | 30 | -- | ok | very sour to start | ||
| 2021-01-07 11:55:00 | Just tea today! almost out of coffee and more won't arrive until tomorrow evening -_-' | |||||||||||||
| 2021-01-08 11:55:00 | 1 | 22 | ~6s | 15 | 6,24 | 146 | 110 | 10 | 40 | egg | good | rather sweet | ||
| 2021-01-08 15:40:00 | New bag arrived! 2.27kg of Punch Buggy | |||||||||||||
| 2021-01-08 16:30:00 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 6,25 | 131 | 105 | 10 | 40 | thin | good | bitter+sour at the start | ||
| 2021-01-09 12:33:00 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 6,24 | 140 | 122 | 9 | 41 | galapagos | great | golden flavour | ||
| 2021-01-10 12:35:00 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 14 | 6,29 | 148 | 110 | 10 | 41 | cookie brain | great | very very good | ||
| 2021-01-10 14:42:00 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 6,28 | 166 | 96 | 11 | 45 | marshmallow | good | overpulled, a little weak but good | ||
| 2021-01-11 10:20:00 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 14 | 6,27 | 167 | 101 | 10 | 40 | normal | great | pretty solid cup | ||
| 2021-01-11 17:05:00 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 6,~26 | 135 | 113 | 9 | 42 | gross thin nebula | good | so bitter to start | ||
| 2021-01-12 10:35:00 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 6,~27 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | completely forgot to log this! | ||
| 2021-01-13 12:05:00 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 6,26 | 166 | 93 | 9 | 44 | thick | ok | overpulled | ||
| 2021-01-13 17:20:00 | 2 | 22 | -- | 16 | 6,26 | 153 | 116 | 10 | 37 | gibbous | ok | added a little chocolate. s'ok -- sour. | ||
| 2021-01-14 12:25:00 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 15 | 5.74,26.7 | 140 | 125 | 9 | 38 | europe | good | comments | ||
| 2021-01-14 14:20:00 | j1 | -- | -- | 18 | 5.3,30.05 | 155 | 16 | 11 | 54 | brain | ok | packed moderate -- +1.5g cocoa -- jenna made a mocha | ||
| 2021-01-14 14:58:00 | 2 | 22 | t | 15 | -- | 155 | 106 | 10 | 38 | yin/yang | ok | bitter start, better after | ||
| 2021-01-15 11:35:00 | 1 | 22 | -- | 15 | 6.27,26.93 | 129 | 118 | 10 | 38 | blanket | good | a little oversweet | ||
| 2021-01-16 13:56:00 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 15 | 5.72,28.39 | 140 | 111 | 12 | 62 | -- | good | too much sugar! | ||
| 2021-01-16 16:56:00 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 5.65,28.29 | 141 | 115 | 10 | 42 | pokeball | good | all the flavours are there | ||
| 2021-01-17 11:30:00 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 5.71,27.64 | 142 | 117 | 10 | 43 | nebula | ok | too sour-ish. but with pancakes! | ||
| 2021-01-18 12:55:00 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 5.70,30.59 | 122 | 129 | 10 | 44 | caramel | good | surprising | ||
| 2021-01-18 16:36:00 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 5.57,30.52 | 156 | 101 | 10 | 50 | granite | good | a little weak to start | ||
| 2021-01-19 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 5.42,30.61 | 157 | 97 | 11 | 46 | cement | great | all yum. | ||
| 2021-01-19 15:42:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6.06,32.40 | 138 | 123 | 10 | 43 | glass | great | golden flavour | ||
| 2021-01-20 09:55:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6.72,31.76 | 127 | 117 | 9 | 57 | swamp | great | :D | ||
| 2021-01-20 16:12:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6.06,32.57 | 148 | 126 | 10 | 50 | eclipse | great | v bitter to start, then perfect | ||
| 2021-01-21 10:40:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.65,32.86 | 148 | 111 | 10 | 53 | sponge | comments | |||
| 2021-01-22 14:38:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.5,31.61 | 137 | 121 | 10 | 49.5 | thin | great | started unsure but so good | ||
| 2021-01-22 17:53:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.86,32.6 | 159 | 103 | 10 | 52 | lake | great | jenna approves | ||
| 2021-01-23 13:48:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.89,32.97 | 137 | 129 | 10 | 46 | cake | good | right off the start | ||
| 2021-01-23 17:15:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.87,33.28 | 160 | 95 | 10 | 51 | orange peel | good | feels a little overpulled | ||
| 2021-01-24 13:28:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.68,31.95 | 157 | 108 | 10 | 57 | -- | great | brief stop at 131 | ||
| 2021-01-24 16:13:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.68,32.69 | 144 | 121 | 10 | 46 | blanket | great | |||
| 2021-01-25 12:55:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6.14,33.8 | 141 | 129 | 10 | 44 | -- | great | brief stop at 130 | ||
| 2021-01-25 16:16:00 | 2 | 22 | 4+4+1 | 17 | 5.80,33.66 | 140 | 122 | 10 | 40 | crescent | good | brief stop at 127 | ||
| 2021-01-26 12:30:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.69,34.09 | 143 | 121 | 10 | 57 | -- | great | |||
| 2021-01-27 13:30:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | ~6,~32 | 140 | 121 | 10 | 47 | marshmallow | great | 110 stop | ||
| 2021-01-28 9:50:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 18 | 6.17,27.31 | 143 | 129 | 10 | 40 | wispy | great | oddly short pull | ||
| 2021-01-28 15:00:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6.20,32.56 | 144 | 127 | 10 | 43 | thin | great | |||
| 2021-01-29 14:00:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.88,33.76 | 153 | 131 | 11 | 51 | orange | great | like hot chocolate | ||
| 2021-01-30 13:58:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6.20,32.56 | 157 | 131 | 10 | 44 | moon | ok | overpulled | ||
| 2021-01-30 16:55:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | ~5.7,~32 | 141 | 129 | 9 | 50 | mote | good | stop at 131 | ||
| 2021-01-31 14:30:00 | 1 | 22 | 9+2 | 17 | 5.96,32.43 | 143 | 124 | 10 | 44 | gelato | great | |||
| 2021-02-01 10:25:00 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.93,35.01 | 145 | 129 | 10 | 48 | spiral | great | |||
| 2021-02-01 17:15:00 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 5.75,46.67 | 139 | 127 | 10 | 51 | -- | good | maybe overpulled | ||
| 2021-02-01 18:30:00 | we got the unpressurized basket!!! time to start experimenting :D | |||||||||||||
| 2021-02-01 18:58:00 | 3 | 5 decaf | 9*2 | 18 | 3.17,4.74,6.75,28.53 | 38 | 109 | 6 | 17 | none | AMAZING | overpulled by weight, but still, incredible. Actually worlds different. Light brown crema before milk+sugar. Too sweet. Numbers:pre-inf,dwell,no-liquid-pulling,pulling | ||
| 2021-02-02 11:00:00 | 1 | 4 | 9+2 | 19 | 3.81,5.68,19.03,1:15.61 | 47 | 143 | 4 | 50 | tiger/beetle | bad | very bitter. Came out way too slowly, weighed at 319 (underpulled), put back, overpulled. Tossed most. | ||
| 2021-02-02 11:45:00 | 2 | 5/7 | 5+5+2+1 | 19 | pull | 39 | 129 | 6 | 4 | alien/-- | ok | (comments written down and will be added later) | ||
legend: