vc Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2011 Posts: 46 Location: philadelphia Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: olympia cremina Grinder: la cimbali max junior Roaster: behmor
Posted Mon Oct 3, 2011, 7:27pm Subject: Cremina technique?
I grind with la cimbali. Tamp at about 30 lb. Flush the group head. I then lift the lever about half way the lock the portafilter. Then bring the lever all the way up and Follow with 2 half pulls and then a final pull with good results.
I m looking to always improve....
Should I not lock the Portafilter completely before lifting the lever?
Should I leave the lever up for several seconds (instead of a 2 half pulls) before pulling the shot?
Posted Mon Oct 3, 2011, 10:51pm Subject: Re: Cremina technique?
Vincenzo.. Both techniques are used by many manual lever owners. Personally, I believe that a manual lever should produce only SO MUCH coffee, nothing more. Sweet, concentrated shots. 1.5oz max.
The double pull...often referred to as the "Fellini Move" seems, at least to me to make more sense with a SPRING lever, the purpose mainly to get more water into the cylinder. I see no real use for it in a manual like our Creminas. In fact, there is more chance of disturbing the puck, causing fracture due to the excessive up stroking pressure.
I prefer to "semi-lock" the PF , lift the lever 2/3 the way up, then locking in the PF while extending the lever to the top. I hold in position for a 7 count...to pre-infuse the coffee bed gently, then lower the lever, first with a decent amount of pressure, then as the pour commences,slightly lessening thedown-stroke.
This technique sort of mimics the action of a spring lever.
As far as tamping, after 4+ years, I seem to get the most consistent results by not really tamping, but using my fingers to gently level the tamper over the bed, and just doing a light twist.
Go for a finer grind while doing this. You have a very nice grinder, and you should be making outstanding coffee, assuming you're using artisan roasted fresh coffee beans ...starting about 5 days post roast.
I believe that the less "fussy" you become (avoid over massaging the coffee to level, etc) the better results you'll have.
Endo Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 804 Location: , location, location. Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: machine is < important than... Grinder: !
Posted Tue Oct 4, 2011, 6:31pm Subject: Re: Cremina technique?
I will also usually use a single stroke for ristretto shots (1 oz).
But when I make a latte for my wife, I'll add an upstroke after the preinfusion is complete to pump up the volume slightly to get a slightly higher volume shot (a little more than 1.5 oz).
I have a different tamping technique than most. I like to use nutation on these taller puck machines (like the vivaldi and cremina) to distribute the grounds and compact the edges more. I use a rather hard 30lb tamp as well. I personally have found this prevents channeling (which I believe is more prevalent on taller pucks). I know several Cremina users who prefer the light tamp method, so this is by no means a hard rule.
My shots come out excellent and the puck has no divets or fissures afterward (see photos).
I don't do singles. For doubles, I mostly ignore weight and aim for volume, or rather, headspace. I also weigh for reference and I find the weight can easily change by 1.5g depending on blend and grinder I use. For example, for the current blend shown here (Ritual Sweeth Tooth...a particularly dense blend it seems), I'm using a huge 17.5g in a Elektra Micro Casa basket, and it still leaves me a good amount of headspace as shown ( I use a 3 settling thumps and nutation as well).
Posted Wed Oct 5, 2011, 6:23am Subject: Re: Cremina technique?
My Cremina single basket is a tight fit for my Penney tamper, so I use my ElektraMCAL single. I generally settle on 11 grams, using a slightly finer grind than I do for doubles. I love the flavor from a single., but i admit it took a while to be able to successfully pull them with consistent results.
Definitely NO double pulls, half pulls, etc. The object is to get .75/.90oz shots. Those little Italian goodies.
Posted Wed Oct 5, 2011, 9:07am Subject: Re: Cremina technique?
You guys used too much coffee! Or it was me that used too little. :P I grind pretty fine and am using 12g of Redline in Cremina stock double to pull about 1-1.25 oz, up until the point it get blonded. It's more of a normale double shot rather than restrettos.
Thanks for sharing the information btw. I occasionally did singles but still prefer doubles. Maybe I should start using more coffees.
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