fishnoob Senior Member Joined: 6 Jan 2012 Posts: 9 Location: USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Wed May 16, 2012, 5:16pm Subject: Single Shot vs Double Shot?
How many members pull both single and double shot espressos?
I am the only one who drinks espresso in the household and strictly pull doubles.
I tried pulling a single the other day using only 8 grams of coffee vs the usual 16g for a double along with same tamping method.
Man does that thing pull fast! It's definitely under extracted and is by no means drinkable. It's done filling it's 1.5oz in like 12 seconds?
Double shots are fine, same portafilter, same basket, everything, minus the amount of grinds (16g)
My question is, do you need to grind finer for single shots? I haven't played around with it too much since the beans currently in the hopper are a bit on the pricier side.
NobbyR Senior Member Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 1,608 Location: Germany Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Poccino Opus One, Ariete Grinder: Eureka Mignon Istantaneo,... Vac Pot: N/A Drip: Melitta Linea Unica de Luxe Roaster: N/A
Posted Thu May 17, 2012, 1:33am Subject: Re: Single Shot vs Double Shot?
Using the single shot basket is usually harder than using the double.
With an 8 g dose the basket is usually not full enough. Fill the basket with ground coffee until there's a small heap, so that the basket is full to the rim once you've leveled out that heap before tamping. That is usually a good single dose, so you might want to weigh that amount for future reference. Now all you have to do us dial in your grinder until you get the right extraction, because the single basket usually needs indeed a finer setting than the double.
One further note: The La Marzocco single baskets are a little easier to handle than most other ones.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
Coffeenoobie Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 2,314 Location: PNW Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: N S Oscar Grinder: Vario W
Posted Thu May 17, 2012, 10:42am Subject: Re: Single Shot vs Double Shot?
My tamper doesn't fit my single basket so I pull doubles and split them if needed. I did that this weekend for family and since there were so many people the 2nd did not go to waste.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
Steve, you are absolutely right. My espresso machine only came with one basket, that being the double, and I have been using that one to attempt the single. I need to find a diff basket so I can make sure!
It is conclusive from this thread: 1) Must use single basket 2) Must grind finer for a single shot rather than double
Simple Solution: Double shots only =P
Thank you all for the replies, especially NobbyR for going into depth.
BTW, the espresso maker mentioned is the Saeco Aroma. I am having a case of upgraditis!
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 