1. Pour 30 secs. Rating 9/10 2. Pour 35 secs. Rating 9.2/10 Then tried dosing straight into the PF. Didn't spill .. but could see the clumps that I would normally shake out when grinding into a container first. You also miss out on sniffing the aroma straight after the shake, which is kind of a regular part of the coffee appreciation ritual. Like giving a glass of vintage red a swirl and a sniff.. only, let's face it .. fresh ground coffee smells heaps better .. right? :thumb: 3. Pour 15 secs .. way too quick .. so did a 2nd lever pull and used larger 6 oz cup for the 40ml. Not bad. Rating 8.8/10 Micro-foam not as good (small bubbles) as I steamed the milk before the gauge reached 1.2 bar. I'm guessing the pour was fast due to the clumps leading to channeling? The 2nd lever pull is usually quicker .. so total pour time was about 25 secs. Seems like it is important that the grinds are free of clumps. it also lowered the dose in the PF so the grinds may not have been in contact with the screen as they usually are .. so this may have contributed to the faster pour? Normally the dose has the grinds in contact with the screen at 17g + 3 beans - which after a soft polish/tamp gives a clearance of 3mm. As the PF is attached to the group - it automatically tamps another 1mm to bring it to 4mm .. which is the minimum distance possible between the grinds and the screen. This has been measured previously. Any less than 4mm and the screen imprints into the polished surface of the grinds. If a higher dose was used, it would need a firmer tamp to achieve the 4mm clearance from the top of the basket, and if this is done .. the screen would not be able to push the grinds down further when attaching the PF .. as it has already been highly compressed? By only tamping lightly, and having removed the clumps .. the screen is allowed the flexibility to further compact the grinds down to the appropriate level while being in direct contact with the screen. I'm not sure whether a higher dose using a hard tamp could choke it when the grinds are in contact with the screen? From what I have been reading .. choking is usually due to the grind being too fine .. and that the tamp is irrelevant as far as the pour time goes? As I am using only a soft tamp .. I can get away with only using the supplied plastic tamper, whereas, if a firm/hard tamp is used .. you'd have to invest in a decent metal tamper. Yo .. I'm around $50 better off using the soft approach. 8) Might try a few Fellini moves to see if I can produce a 9+ rating coffee in a larger 6oz cup --> :coffee2:
