Top Five Espresso Mistakes to Avoid

[@babackd.6485]

You guys make great content

[@tonylawlor8833]

Most coffee used and consumed in the world today is way past that 4 to 14 day period. Look at any supermarket shelf with best before dates two years in the future with no mention of roast date and thats just coffee beans, not even considering pre ground or pods or horrible instant. There are some really big players in this place like Illy, Lavazza and the like. Even in the speciality coffee arena they use the bbd way into the future however the better roasters just have the roast date printed on the packaging as that is the most important date. I suppose my point is the coffee industry as a whole needs to get its act together, it is so fragmented and while I can understand this, for many, many ordinary people they do not have the time or inclination to study this although they would prefer to drink good coffee rather than the muck that is instant. Coffee supplied by the likes of Square Mile, Verve, Intelligentsia, 3FE, Colonial, Coffee Collective and others occupy a completely different market place to the aforementioned.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

This is true and you can still get decent results like that. For best results, you'd want to go to a local coffee shop or roaster and use that. But, you can still get a wonderful cup even with cheap Starbucks grounds from the store, provided you store them correctly and use a pressurized portafiliter. Obviously, that's just when mixed with foamed milk, if you're just doing espresso, that's obviously a bit more particular as you won't have the milk to cover up any strange tastes from the beans.

[@jonesjangle9252]

Real concise well edited thanks for good content!

[@sstanforddpt]

Agree with Mark below....distribution is more important than tamping in preventing channeling.

[@ilyar7161]

Love it! Short and very informative. When do you do a video on other coffee tools, like brikka?

[@Lovestitch9]

Hello, you have some great videos. Questions: is it bad if the coffee touches the shower when the portafilter is mounted into the machine? Ifso why is it?

[@Radio4ManLeics]

yes, it's bad! You've overfilled the PF if you can see shower head imprints in your puck. There needs to be a bit of space for the water above the puck. There's usually a recess line pressed into the basket all the way around the basket, a few mms below the rim. That's your max fill line. Similarly, if you have too little coffee in the PF it's not good either. The coffee splashes up all over the head, spoiling the next shot, and the puck can get sucked up to stick to the shower screen.

[@markciso1028]

mistake 3,5....1:44 not redistributing ground coffee... ;)

[@siddharthg8801]

Awesome video

[@kieranmckenney4275]

Should definitely mention distribution

[@TheGrandMug]

how many pounds of pressure should i tamp subscribe with?

[@clivecoffee]

For that, check out this video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/b52TlaGOfbJkmbc Spoilers: It doesn't matter as much as you might think. - Charles

[@theohorvath5803]

@@clivecoffee Read his comment again. Hahahaja

[@clivecoffee]

@@theohorvath5803 I've fielded the real question so many times that my brain just filled in the rest. Hoist by my own petard, haha - Charles

[@theohorvath5803]

@@clivecoffee hahahhaha

[@jonesjangle9252]

Nice video!

[@RaduDumitrescu]

@Clive Coffee - there's an issue with #5. Espresso is not 98% water. Typical TDS for a third wave espresso is 9-10%, so espresso is about 90% water. Also not all machines need flushing before pulling a shot. A Dalla Corte Mina or LM GS/3 are just as good without flushing water. HX machines need a long flush to cool down. Pretty hard to make a rule out of it without knowing what the person reading the advice is using.

[@ek9772]

Radu Dumitrescu TDS (totals dissolved solids) is measured in parts per million. One part per million is one milligram of dissolved solids per kilogram, or one thousand of a gram of dissolved solids per kilogram. A cup of espresso is weighed in grams. TDS is usually between 50 to 250 milligrams not quite a gram but a fraction of one gram.

[@RaduDumitrescu]

Eric Kosak percent or ppm is the same thing. 1% equals 10.000 ppm (parts per million). It’s easier to write 10% than 100.000 ppm. Still, espresso is not 98% water. It’s only about 90% water. You’re saying espresso is weighed in grams, but then that it is 50 to 250 miligrams - milligrams of what? You’re probably referring to caffeine, but caffeine is not the only soluble extracted.

[@Radio4ManLeics]

This is not the same type of brew group. A quick flush makes sure that the brew head is warmed up to a decent temp when you pull a shot. The quality of the water is probably the major variable in if/how often you descale your m'c. Rocket now recommend you never descale, but manage your water quality instead, and/or use those resin bags in the water tank.

[@Do7a1337]

‪Coffee is a matter of personal taste and preference - you do you and make coffee the way you love.‬

[@SuperMatrix59]

I failed all 5

[@christophermckeon9030]

You have to be a science professor in the lab to make decent espresso, apparently.

[@clivecoffee]

Don't make me put my lab coat on. - Charles

[@christophermckeon9030]

@@clivecoffee Don't forget the pocket protector or you'll mess up. There's greater forces at work here.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

It helps to geek out, but just knowing to use filtered water, fresh beans and to grind and tamp them so that you've got that 25-30ish second shot time will get you a huge distance without having to be very smart or sciencey. Grind finer and tamp harder to slow the shot down, grind coarser and tamp softer to speed it up. The milk is a bit more challenging, but just for the espresso side of things, it's pretty straightforward. The scale isn't really necessary, it just helps a bunch with consistency. If you fill the portafilter every time and tamp the same way, you'll be fine. At least until you get obsessed with getting the best possible quality.