Unlikely as it seems, I think it probably is the papers. I've been having the same problem with Filtropa filters, even after removing the fines with a 250 micron sieve. This morning I tried a Chemex filter. It drained in 30s, yielding a rather delicious brew of the Wote station Yirgacheffe.
... Very frustrating since I recently replaced my Maestro plus with a Mahlkoenig Tanzania (over kill and then some). The coarsest setting on this is 9 = 900microns which I read on another post on here corresponds to 22-23 on a Baratza Virtuoso.
I'm taking the Virtuoso correlation with a pinch of salt since 9 in too coarse for a French press with a steep time of 4 mins. The grind appears superbly even compared to the Maestro Plus as you would expect so I am not suspecting a fault nor that it is wrongly set since the results are excellent with French press. Ironic since I prefer a cleaner filtered brew.
I also had exactly the same problem with the Clever using the Maestro plus with settings of between 22-28. The Maestro latterly may have been worn or possibly even faulty (too uneven a grind even for the Aeropress).
I'll try the Filtropa and Chemex filters and the tip to empty the rinse water out the top. I suppose in the interim the burrs may bed in.
A Tanzania? That's basically a Ditting 804 or 805 - a machine I've been drooling over for a while.
I'm interested in the Chemex filters, but the filter shape for the CCD is flat-bottomed, and the Chemex filter paper is either flat lab-bonded filtration paper, or pre-quarter folded. How does one fit the Chemex into a basket more suited to a Melitta#4?
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
I used the flat, circular filter. First fold in half to put a crease in it. Then put two more parallel creases at right angles to this, the length of the flat section apart. Finally, fold round the two ends as you put it in the basket. Easier done than said. I have no idea why it worked so much better - very strange.
I used the flat, circular filter. First fold in half to put a crease in it. Then put two more parallel creases at right angles to this, the length of the flat section apart. Finally, fold round the two ends as you put it in the basket. Easier done than said. I have no idea why it worked so much better - very strange.
The melitta filters that I use have small indentations (sort of like quilting, they call them "flavor enhancing micro perforations") with slightly "puffier" areas in between. I suspect that fines migrate INTO the filter in the thicker areas and basically clog it. I was in a pinch and grabbed one of the last old basket filters I had and did a makeshift filter for a quick check on something - and was surprised to see it ran right through on a medium grind. Fines were in the final brew, but it did get me to thinking.
I looked at some of the Chemex filters - they are noticeably thicker than normal filters. It reminds me of ~2 to 5 micron paper qualitative sediment filters. However, the paper looks to be steam press-bonded. I propose that the bonding prevents or reduces fines migration into the filter, allowing the filter to work without progressive clogging.
Unrelated but similarly related (sounds strange, but let me continue) - quite often I still use 5 micron polyester filter felt with my Aeropress. However, if I use them straight out, they do increase in resistance (with hot water rinsing) until I do a thorough soap wash and rinse in very hot water, then they return to "normal" for a while.
BUT, if I use a lighter to "sinter" the surfaces, and rub them somewhat smooth on a cool corian cutting board - a makeshift surface bond of sorts - they stay cleaner longer, and they don't seem to increase in resistance. I only wash them when I feel that they are "dark" enough. LOL
I started doing that just to reduce the hairiness of the filter felt - and reduce the hairy/stringy remnants of the part of the filter in contact with the grounds.
I'm wondering now what would happen if I used a chunk of poly filter felt...
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
I looked at some of the Chemex filters - they are noticeably thicker than normal filters. It reminds me of ~2 to 5 micron paper qualitative sediment filters.
I used the flat, circular filter. First fold in half to put a crease in it. Then put two more parallel creases at right angles to this, the length of the flat section apart. Finally, fold round the two ends as you put it in the basket. Easier done than said. I have no idea why it worked so much better - very strange.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
I'd think they can't be using 5 micron filter paper - with gravity filtration, I gotta believe these would clog like crazy. Maybe crystals clog more than coffee fines?
Based on cost alone, this must be somewhere closer to 25 micron or more.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Very frustrating since I recently replaced my Maestro plus with a Mahlkoenig Tanzania (over kill and then some). The coarsest setting on this is 9 = 900microns which I read on another post on here corresponds to 22-23 on a Baratza Virtuoso.
I'm taking the Virtuoso correlation with a pinch of salt since 9 in too coarse for a French press with a steep time of 4 mins.
Can't speak to the pinch of salt, LOL, but 22/23 on a Maestro Plus will, indeed, take 5+ to draw down in a Clever. I've used both Melitta and GK Connaisseur filters, with similar draws. Grind size depends on dosing. I range from 22/360 (the "stock" recipe) to 24/340 (Jason Dominy's), and grind ranges from 25-28 on a Maestro Plus.
Can you take a picture of some of your 9 grinds with a mm ruler, to compare? I'll gladly grind up some old beans for you to see what I'm using.
That all said, right now I'm using a custom K250 steel mesh filter the Kaffeologie guys made me, and there's a crazy fast draw, like 10-15 sec. So it basically converts it to almost entirely immersion. But oh so tasty!
Yes, I found your posts very useful when researching. I finally managed to justify it to myself in terms of what you can spend on a top notch espresso set up which is not where my interest lies.
Great idea folding the Chemex papers this way. Using them in the Chemex cone shape was a bit of a disaster - half a mug of coffee after 5 mins.
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