Clump Testing on Rancilio Rocky
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.พ. 2011
- To clump or not to clump? Gail tests if there is a practical difference between pulling shots without redistributing the grounds first and pulling shots after redistributing the grounds.
- แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
love the chemistry with you guys
@Tor1Amos Ha - thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video; I'll have Gail look into a contract for us ;) - Kat
@Verrrmin A bit, but it doesn't really loosen it up to give the grounds the same texture as when you mix it up, apparently. - Kat
@jamescitrome Thanks for your feedback - Kat
I use the Rocky and grind into a cup rather than the portafilter, and then shake the cup to de-clump the grounds before filling the filter. I don't like how the grounds fall out towards the filter and go all over the counter, so I just use the cup and it's much easier.
Whatever works for you katyornok63! :) We just happen to be messy haha :)
We love ❤️ Gail hope she’s having fun on her retirement!
Omg, you two should have your own TV show. Im serious!
Keep it comming!
@robotmotor You're welcome!
@dlevens22 Weiss Distribution Technique -- this isn't exactly as detailed in that technique, but the basic idea of redistributing your grinds before putting in the portafilter & tamping. The idea is to reduce clumping in order to reduce channeling and improve the extraction. - Kat
@alphaatube Clumping is going to be the type of coffee (some of them have more natural oil) and the humidity in the air that will have some affect on the clump factor. Some grinders put a screen before the chute so these factors don't come into play too much as any clumps would be dispersed before coming down the chute. - Kat
I've read an article that talks about clumping on homebarista that mentioned how dosers are a big help on grinders that clump a lot. So yeah, you don't need to invent a new declumping device. Just grab the dosered rocky on the back of the store and start using that for espresso instead. :)
@klarinetta Thank you too! :) - Kat
I have a Rocky. I always declump prior to tamping and I use a 25lb calibrated tamper. The only variable I have to deal with is grind size. I brew in a La Pavoni Europiccola and roast all the beans I consume. Typically to FC or FC+ I've never used a grind size above 5 and 2-3 is average. The Rocky is old technology, but it gets it done, although have to smack the back, a few times, to clear the grind. I would have preferred a Niche,
Awesome! Yeah, it definitely makes a difference overall ... - Kat
That's exactly what I was thinking while watching the (great as usual) video...
@winelover215 That's awesome! We tested out a couple of things last week to easily whir it up :) - Kat
@wtfwob6 We've been trying to break our tapping habits! But I am with you on the updosing. - Kat
I did notice a big difference when de clumping coffee from my Rocky. I use the WDT method now with every shot I do and wow, what a huge difference, of course WDT also helps very much with dosing.. giving me more control.
Please explain WDT?
If u use a thick flat tamper should it be all in the basket or only half of it?
Yes, definitely good for models that have that functionality available. I do think, however, that folks don't find enough value in the other function of the doser so opt against it. I think it's really 6 of one, half a doze of the other - Kat
Gail is so GROOVY!
which espresso machine is it? looks groovy
@Plastikos07 Thanks!
Did you consider how the tamping pressure affects the espresso? Using a bathing weight or similar for measuring the tamping could take out that variable. Not that I doubt your steady hand Gail :-)
@vyapada Not my disposition at all -- promise! Well, if you pull a shot with one grind setting and it tastes fine, then do the WDT with the same grind setting and it doesn't taste fine, and in fact extracts too much, then you have to change the grind and then you get a different flavor, etc., as a result. Going finer on the original grind would have been overextracted. The final shot was great, no underextraction flavor at all. - Kat
Interesting experiment, I wouldn't have thought they'd make a difference. Fortunately my beautiful Vario has hardly any clumping issues :)
Yep WDT is the way to go. Great videos!
@vyapada Def; the first time around it was more compacted than the second. Weighing would definitely be important if you're less of shoot-from-the-hip kind of person than Gail and I :D - Kat
@44Bigs :D You should try it anyway, see if even the aerating of the coffee makes a difference. We have been experimenting with a few gadgets to aerate the grounds with fun results :) - Kat
"smoother isn't it, oh oh...i was like clumping was like erhhhh!" LOL!!
Thanks guys for making the video!!
Just another day at SCG! ;-) - Kaylie
Hi guys, should i start timing from the first drip making touchdown or whe the swith is first flicked?
Thanks.
Thank you! :) - Kat
@henrihenrynl Finely pre-formed pucks... = pods? ;) - Kat
Love the videos, another great one! I was hoping that after you dialed in the grinder for the aerating that you would try the clump again with the new setting. Maybe it was a better shot because of the grind? There is a video on youtube of a guy with a silvia who modified his grinder using a yogurt cup to catch the ground coffee and a vacuum canister top that he pumped up and down as the beans where grinding, making for a supper fluffy grind - Dennis
what type of machine is the machine to the left of the grinder? i saw it in a movie and like the look of it
that is a Francis Francis. We don't carry that machine anymore. We have the updated illy version: www.seattlecoffeegear.com/francis-francis-x7-1-iper-espresso-machine - Steven
Gail and crew: may I ask a newbie question? I have a Rocky, which I'm using with a Gaggia classic. Because stirring away clumps really does cause a faster shot, I've been grinding quite fine. But even a 17-18 gram dose doesn't rise over the portafilter rim, so I can't smooth my grounds one they're in there - it would take 20g or more for a workable mound. Regardless of how I try to distribute - tapping, shaking gently - I end up with a quickly blonded, channeled shot. 25-30 seconds for a rich, fully extracted shot seems like a dream because I can't figure out how to control distribution. Do you have any advice?
Love your videos, by the way, both their information and spirit!
It sounds like you know your stuff and are trying all the right things. You may be outgrowing that machine based on what you're expecting to get out of it. You could also look at a distribution tool like the OCD - www.seattlecoffeegear.com/ocd-coffee-distribution-tool
Thank you so much for replying promptly! I'll check out reviews of the OCD - I've heard it doesn't solve clumping below the very surface. At any rate, I'll need a solution that won't break my grad student's bank :-P
Who knew getting two ounces of rich, fully extracted coffee would be so difficult...
@dlevens22 Thanks for the tip! - Kat
What was the espresso maker you used?
Hello William Sinclair, It looks like Gail and Kat were brewing on a Rocket Espresso Giotto. - Sarah
I have a Ceado espresso grinder and do not get any clumps at all.
NAKED!!! LOL ... I do this (WDT Weiss Distribution Technique) for every shot. I use a naked portafilter fitted with a yogurt container with the bottom cut out. My vario is set to hold the yogurt container on the naked portafilter in the holder too:) After i grind my set time I then use a Rattleware 10 1/4" Stainless Steel Drink Whisk to stir the grounds to declump and distribute - tamp - and pull. Ya know what the result is? AN ESPRESSO GOD SHOT :) YUM
@Tor1Amos I so totally agree
As others have said, by stirring you added air as you 'fluffed' up the ground coffee, this results in it being less dense, so when you add it to your portafilter and tamp, you remove the air which means less coffee in the basket.
You really should have used a yoghurt pot with the base removed inserted into the basket, then ground directly into it, stirred the grinds to remove the clumps, lightly push down inside the yoghurt pot with your tamper so all the ground coffee fits into the basket.
thank you great
I think the best part is that this is our job! :-D -Kaylie
I am guessing the rocky with the Dorser is A LOT messier?!?
@TheTraumaFactor Ha - I will let her know :) - Kat
This was interesting. But I’m not sure what happened here...what do I do about clumping? It seemed you were dialing in as usual.
"This is Velton's coffee."
"It sure does."
lol
It breaks up the clumps so that's nice :) - Kat
Found it. You have to check this guy out. He used a click clack lid to declump during grind. Search TH-cam for this phrase "Espresso Preparation with Rancilio Silvia" should be the first one that comes up. - Dennis
what is WDT?
Weiss Distribution Technique
WHAT a CREMAAAA !!!
The fact that you stirred it made it full of air, which caused you to not load the brew head with the same weight as the first. You should have weighed each grind as it mostly determines the time of brewing. Just a note. I don't think clumping affects brew time or quality, as the clumps are not compressed and break up easily because they are merely held together by static electricity, and that force is very weak.
Came here to say this. Appearance can be deceiving, so weighing is the way to consistency.
Oh btw it's the Rattleware Flat Bottom Drink Whisk I use :)
:D
3:45' "it tamps down further" because prob. there's less amount of grounded coffee in the basket!
A) if you weight it, you'll see... that's why I prefer the doser version :)
B) you may be tamping it slightly harder, how can you be sure? - You'd need a Calibrated Tamper for this (coffee is compacted with consistent pressure every single time)
C) 3:28' this method is not very accurate because your finger is not the same shape/diameter all around and you're not using precisely in the same position, neither the same way; hence it may 'scrape' a different amount of coffee, each time.
If you use i.e. an old credit card, this would be more accurate :)
Briefly, I think the clumps make little noticeable difference with such a fine grind, and you tamper (approx.) 30 lb force.
It's not like (hard) super cubes.
@vyapada I should film Gail the next time she's doing her commando crawl with a knife in her mouth across the store floor. - Kat
No thanks.
hmmm ...a robo unclumper LMAO, perhaps a puc maker, one big clump to dump straight in your piston
LOL!
omg that terrible laugh in every video, i hate it