Sage (Breville) Barista Touch Top Tips for getting consistent espresso
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- Looking at the things you can adjust to get constant results. Whilst this looks specifically at espresso shots, this forms the base of most drinks you will make with the machine. I’ll do another video about milk separately.
00:00 Intro
02:35 Dose
04:47 Tamping
06:00 Extraction
07:27 Troubleshooting
How to manually froth milk:
• Sage (Breville) Barist...
How to adjust the burr setting (do this if you run out of adjustment on the grind size)
• Sage (Breville) Barist... - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
![[Full Episode] MasterChef Junior Thailand มาสเตอร์เชฟ จูเนียร์ ประเทศไทย Season 3 Episode 4](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e7Oqqo90x_w/mqdefault.jpg)
This is by far the most helpful user guide I have come across even after watching Sage's own over-produced effort. Thank you!
Thanks Dave for taking the time to explain this in a, no-nonsense, easy manner. The best tutorial I've found on the Sage Barista Touch.
A Great and sensible review that is so badly needed in this space. Appreciate it and hope to see more videos on your learnings. Cheers and thank you.
Perfect explanation. Will keep coming back to this whenever needed. Thank you
Massive thanks for taking viewers through this, another well followed coffee channel said that the brew time couldn't be adjusted so it's great to see a working example here while pulling what looked like an excellent shot. Thanks Dave!
Thank you so much!!! I just got my machine yesterday and you helped me enormously!! Thanks again!!
Thank you so much Dave! Almost returned this machine before watching your tutorial and now I’m making a perfect shot every time. Thank you!
I just purchased this machine today, and I drink several cups already because I have been tested different settings. Lol. Your video is super helpful. I wrote down everything and I am sure I can fine tune this machine to make a perfect coffee of my liking. Thanks to much!
Huge thanks for this video Dave. I've just started using the machine after upgrading from a Nespresso and the difference is night and day.
Still getting to grips with getting the settings right for the coffee beans we like and this is a good way to keep the experiments semi-scientific! I'm trying to just vary one thing at a time until we get the kind of shot you're pulling here.
Great idea to keep the coffee settings in a notebook - I'll be trying that.
Amazing, just the info I have been looking for after owning the same machine for over a year!
Thanks Dave! I just bought this machine and made my first coffee a bit ago. I apparently was using far too fine of a grind and it was not evenly tampered. This is some great advice!
Thanks for that clear explanation. I had a delivery of a Sage Barista yesterday and have not quite sorted the grind and extraction. Fingers crossed I will be able to tweak things after watching this.
Just got this same machine and finally found this video to answer exactly every issue I had with my brew, with great descriptions on what to do if the brew does x, y, or z.
I’ve watched a ton of videos on this topic and this one video is more helpful than watching any other 5 videos! Packs a lot of useful knowledge!
Great video, thanks for showing and explaining everything. I just got the machine 2 days ago and kept wondering why my pucks were so wet and not pulling a decent shot, now I have a guide to work with 👍🏻
Just bought this machine…… now I’m 👀 videos on it. Thnx so much for your info! I’ll use your ideas on my coffee making excursion 😂👍.
Fantastic video! This has answered a couple questions that I've been struggling with. Thanks so much!
Top tip. I don’t store my beans in the hopper. I have an air tight container stored in a cool, dark cupboard. I find the beans last longer this way. My routine then starts by weighing 18gms of beans out and putting that into the bean hopper. I find the loss on my machine is very minimal.
Just bought this machine today and just watched few of your videos , learnt a lot , will watch more , thank you !
me too. Great video.
Thank you for this. Exactly what I needed. Am still finding my way round this machine, but you have certainly helped.
Just a question if that’s ok? I’m using the double basket and have brew set to double shot. Do I need to press brew twice, or does the double setting brew that consistency? Hope that makes sense!
Perfect explanation! I’ll try with your tips!
My single espressos tasted much better than doubles, didn’t know why. From watching this it’s due to lack of dose, pucks were watery and getting stuck. Looking forward to trying-thanks for tips. And machine is great
Thanks for the tip with the sticking puck. I thought the coffee powder is too close to the shower and therefore tampered deeper. Then I went coarser due to another reason and now I know why it stopped sticking. I also agree that is it easier with the double shots. Keep up your good work!
Your troubleshooting at the end was super helpful.
Thanks Dave, it was very helpful, you hit all the troubles I’m having.
My 2nd day with it.
Very much appreciate these objective measures to dial in my barista touch! My coffee is way better now!
Your video is VERY informative and so easy to understand! Thank you!
Having just picked up my Breville Barista Touch (Australian here) this was the exact no waffle tutorial I needed. Thanks so much!
I own a breville barista touch and this video was very helpful. Thank you ☺️
You are so good at explaining this. Thank you so much!
This was very insightful, I wrote down so many notes! Thank you!
Very good explanation. Thank you, and I’m now subscribed. Cheers!
Got the same machine this weekend, so this is a super helpful video! Cheers
Thank you so much for this video! It has really helped me dial in my coffee & get it right! 🙌🏻
Super helpful thanks, got one a BT machine on the way after my Delonghi 4200 died... I've got a lot to learn!
I've been searching for a tutorial like this for a year, sine I bought my Sage (in europe). Now I finally know what i'm doing wrong!
Glad it’s helpful, the instructions with the machine are surprisingly bad!
@@davewellscoffee I think they just assume people know the technical details required to make quality coffee. I kept my grind too fine, getting wet on top, cause the flow was too fast. I just run it for 26 sec instead of 30 sec. Perfect.
Damn, this is a great video. Thanks for sharing. I was getting super soapy pucks.
Excellent video Dave… keep it up
Nice one, thanks for sharing this info, really appreciated.
Great video, just loved your surprise at getting the 18g of coffee as you predicted.
Thank you for this tutorial. Now I will go try again!
Just got my machine and this was really helpfull, thankyou :)
Best tutorial so far. I’d love to see you use the milk frother!
Glad it was helpful! I have a video on the steam wand in the video description ;)
absolutely brilliant video. thank you
Excellent video! Thanks!
Here I thought I was drinking a good cappucinno and now Ive come to find out I had all the settings off, not by TOO much but wow what a difference! Needless to say the cap is delicious now- thank you for the great tutorial! And did you all know that skim milk makes the best foam...I never knew that but it does make sense. I use 1% and it's perfect.
Awesome, glad you’re happy with the results- You can’t beat a good cup of coffee!
Thank you Dave! I've had this machine for about 9 months and had started to fallout love with inconsistent brews. I've had loads of issues with the grinder jamming even on 9 on the dial (Various different bean), I had to take some beans back last week as even on 12 the grinder couldn't cope and they were not even small or high altitude beans. The first machine only lasted a month before the burrs failed. Finally properly played with it this am. Getting 18g grinds 38g final contents in a 30sec pour and a lovely crema. Now I just need to master the manual milk.
Glad you’ve got it sussed! The manual milk is not too hard, it’s just a case of getting the knack! I have another video which should point you in the right direction…
@@davewellscoffee I watched the other vid! Very helpful. I'm still occasionally getting the grinder make a horrendous jamming noise when getting my 18g. Currently it's set to 9. I've cleaned the burrs etc.. I'm not sure why it does that but its seeming to happen more and more frequently. This is exactly what happened to the first machine and then Currys replaced it. Have you experienced anything like that at all or anyone else?
@@leeeastwood7531 a horrendous jamming noise doesn’t sound right at all. I’ve never experienced this, and it sounds like a problem. First thing I’d check, is that the burr was fully locked in when you replaced it- if there’s any leftover coffee bits in the grinder, these can get in the way and prevent the burr locking properly when you twist it back into position.
Whilst checking that, I’d also check that the metal handle which locks the position of the burr is inserted correctly. If something’s not locked in right, that could easily be the cause.
Assuming that everything looks correct however, try to get a video of it occurring (which can be hard if it’s intermittent I know) and send it to Sage/Breville customer support. If you can’t get a video, I’d email them , describing it in as much detail as possible.
If it breaks and it comes to getting replacements- going back to the shop where you bought it is always the easiest and quickest in terms of sorting it- they can deal with Breville on their own time. If you’re out of the time window for returns though, then the Sage/Breville customer service is the next port of call. Always worth a google search beforehand in case there’s a quick fix, but it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve seen I’m afraid.
Great Video, looking forward to seeing your review of the auto steam wand. I have had this machine for a couple weeks now and have found it steams micro foam well on a diary milk however for non-dairy alternatives it struggles (which i am sure is just the down side for some non dairy milks)
Not sure if this helps but you can buy dairy free barista style milks now in the long life section. My local Morrisons has them. They don’t foam as well as the coffee shop ones but they do cream/foam better than the usual dairy free milks.
Best tutorial. Thank you
very informative and well explained
Cheers Dave. This has helped me a lot. I am glad I found you and did not take advice from the other jerks on here. Ta.
Very informative, thank you
That's a very informative video - thanks
Very explained your video, thank you so much 😊
Very helpful video. Thanks. 🎉 Happy 2024!
Spot on!
Thanks a lot. The 18 g grinded in combination with the handling into the basket in two steps - got it!
First thing to try in the morning😊
One thing more; how do end up with your preferred steamed milk?
Thanks a lot for a very fine tutorial☕️
Thanks- Here is a link to my milk steaming video 👍
th-cam.com/video/oD79dCstzJ0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=whM1qvS5m7CRy6BM
Great video
Can't wait for this to arrive on Monday. I can taste that photo.
It’s a great machine. Take a little time to get it set up properly and you’ll be making better coffee than your local café. Enjoy!
Thanks for this video. Greets from germany.
Danke Kumpel
Perfekt. Gruss aus der Schweiz 👍🏻😃
Very informative thank you
Hi David, quite insightful. I’ve had my machine for around a month, really struggled with the dose to yield. Adjusted the grind, and reduced brewtime. Now at 6 on the grind, and 20s on the brew. Appears to be about 1:2, and tastes great. I’m at a loss of how to get a brew
Similar to yours with a coarser grind you show, ends up around 5:1 yield otherwise
If it tastes great, you’re winning. You could maybe add an extra 0.5 - 1.0g to the dose; that would likely make the brew time take slightly longer. You could possibly go down another step on the grind size too - ideally, if you achieve your extraction in 25-35s, you’re likely to be getting a good balanced shot.
In terms of your settings being different to mine, don’t pay any attention to that - each machine is different, and I had to adjust the internal burr setting on mine, so the numbers will be different to yours. If you’re getting a good brew ratio and it tastes good, you’re doing ok.
Nice one thanks! Took delivery today - 250g coffee by 11am - buzzing but coming through on 5 second and watery even on finest setting. Had to take the grinder apart to adjust. Works better but more coffee calibration tomorrow.
Yeah mine was like that, I had to take the top burr down two notches to get it in the middle of the range when it arrived, but since then it’s been perfect. Must have got through a whole bag of coffee before it was just right. Once you have one coffee properly dialled in though you’ll find it’s much easier with others, it only takes small adjustments after that.
@@davewellscoffee Thank you for the video. I have mine since yesterday. I read that a lot of you changed the top burr. Can you explain how you are doing this? Thank you!
@@nickvanr3720 I’ll put up a video soon. Basically, take off the bean hopper (ideally empty, but the beans should stay in it if it’s full) by turning the locking piece in the middle anti-clockwise, brush out any residual coffee (use a hoover if there’s a lot) then lift up the little metal handle on the grinder and rotate anti clockwise. The whole top burr section will then lift out.
Remove the metal handle by just pulling one side out, then you can rotate the inner section round. There are markings to show what setting you’re on; smaller numbers are finer, larger numbers are coarser. Try adjusting by just one or two notches, as each makes a fairly big adjustment.
Then clip the handle back on, replace the top section, put the hopper back on, and voila! You have adjusted the whole range up or down.
@@davewellscoffee thank you! I am going to check this
Thank you for this video!!
Amazing video! I just bought the machine this month and I’m going crazy and wasting so much coffee trying to get consistency.. I have many problems:
1. Grind comes out in cubes, I changed the burr setting inside to 4 and played with different grinds
2. Puck can be watery many times and won’t leave the portafilter in one piece.. I want a dry puck that’s easily jumps out
I’m just all over the place at the moment
Hi Amr, there’s probably a few things going on here.
1. The coffee clumping together could be a sign that the grind is slightly too fine, but also some beans are just more prone to it than others, especially if they’re quite oily. You can get a needle distributor quite cheap on Amazon which will help break up these clumps.
2. Again, a watery puck could possibly be an indication that the grind is slightly too fine. How much espresso are you getting out, how much coffee are you putting in, and what is the brew time?
You may want to reduce the grind size very slightly, possibly increase the dose slightly whilst trying to keep roughly a 2:1 brew ratio in a time of 25-35s.
It is worth using Lavazza beans whilst setting up the machine in my opinion, as they’re cheap, consistent and not too oily. Once you’ve got them dialled in, it should only take small adjustments to get any other beans dialled in.
Thank you
Many thanks for your explanation. For me, I am using
Grind size 12 for 11.5 seconds and getting about 19g out (It does create large mountain!) . However the actual yield is around 48g in 30secs. What do you recommend I change? I would like get around 36g like you did. Thank you.
Make the grind slightly finer (smaller number)- you may need to increase the time to get the same dose. 11.5 seconds is quite a bit quicker than mine does it.
It won’t take a huge change if you’re getting 48g in 30s to get what you want. When you’re near the 36g point, you could adjust the brew time by a second or two either way as well.
@@davewellscoffee thanks!
Best video ever 😃
Thanks Dave, have you done any more videos? I found this so helpful
Thanks Doreen, glad it was helpful. I’m in the process of making a few more videos, it’s just taken me a while to get round to it. Next one will be specifically a flat white
Such a fantastic and educational video! Thank you!!
Question- I learned quite a bit from you about how to pull a great shot; how do you go about the Americano?
Firstly, get your espresso nailed- you’re going to use the same settings for an americano.
The ‘long black’ recipe built in is basically an americano; if you press and hold it on the menu, you can edit the parameters- set it so that they’re the same as your espresso.
An Americano is traditionally about 2oz coffee (a double shot) and 2-3oz water. You can preset how much water will be added, so have a trial and error with the cups you’re going to be using. Make sure you leave room to add milk/cream if that’s your preference.
Don’t be tempted to let the espresso run longer to increase the volume- you’re better adding more water. The latter part of the espresso pour is the more bitter flavours, and will overpower the drink if you run it too long
This is very helpful and concise. I’m using a single shot basket and getting about 10g out with the grind level set to 8. It starts dripping at 4-5 seconds and brews for 25-27 seconds using the single shot preset, however my yield is 67g! Any tips on what I’m doing wrong? I’m afraid making the grind too fine will make it taste bitter, should I adjust brew time down? Thank you again, this is really helpful.
If you want a single shot, the easiest way is to make a double and collect half from one side of the spout. This is slightly wasteful- if you’re going to drink lots of singles I’d still set it up with a double, then half your dose, but then add about 1g as the single basket seems to hold slightly more than half (so your 10g is probably about spot on).
It will start pouring at a different time with the single basket, the flow will be very slow and any inconsistencies will be multiplied, which is why I recommend going with the double, at least to start with. Don’t be afraid to adjust your grind finer- it varies between coffees, and I have had some good results at 25s, although usually a few extra seconds makes an improvement. You definitely don’t want to be taking any less than 20s or you’ll definitely be a bit under extracted.
Dave, this was super helpful and allows me to start really geeking out :) Is it really a "problem" if the coffee begins to come out at closer to 5 seconds rather than >8? I have tried playing with coarseness etc and have followed your tips on measuring, and everything seems spot on except that the coffee extracts early.
In short, no, it’s not really a big problem. The reason it should be around the 7 second mark is due to the fact that you can’t vary the pre-infusion time on this machine (where lower pressure water is used to start the infusion before the full pressure is put through to extract the espresso).
In all honesty, the most important thing is getting a good extraction ratio; dropping a second early won’t be the end of the world. That said, if you add an extra half a gram to your basket, you might just sort that out too.
By far the Best explanation I’ve heard. Thank you. I find my espresso run out after about 5 seconds and I’m all the way down to grind size 3 (using exactly the same machine as you) what am I doing wrong here? Is it my tamping that’s too hard or what. Plz help 🙏🏻 I’m also struggling to get more crema
You won’t be tamping too hard, but if you’re applying a lot of pressure, be careful to apply it evenly straight down. A lighter tamp is better than a wonky tamp- the key is keeping it even.
The crema could be due to several things, but by far the most likely thing is old beans. Try getting some freshly roasted beans and try them out within 2 weeks of the roasting date.
The time it takes to start pouring isn’t as important as the ratio of weight out to weight in. Get a 2:1 ratio pouring in 25-35 seconds and you’ll be laughing.
Great tutorial thanks. Probably the best I've found. I only got my machine yesterday but I'm struggling to get the same ratios as you. I need to grind the coffee for about 15 seconds longer to get 18 grams. Also I'm then ending up with almost 50 grams of coffee when brewed and not a great crema. What do you suggest?
Start by putting exactly 18g in the basket, set the brew time to about 50 seconds so it won’t automatically stop too soon.
Then, with your cup on your scales, hit brew, and manually stop it by pressing the button again when you have poured 36g. *Note how long that took*
However long that took, subtract it from 30 (so if it took 19s for example, that would be 11).
Whatever figure this gives you, half it (so we’ll round to 6 in the above example).
Reduce your grind size by this amount (or if it took over 30s, you’d add it- mostly it’s too quick though). So if you were using grind size 12, you’d adjust to size 6 in this example.
Repeat with this new setting, noting that the time it takes to grind 18g will be longer at finer settings.
This should take closer to 30s, so your next adjustment will be smaller. Once it’s taking between 27-33s to pour 36g of liquid coffee, you’ve pretty much got it nailed. You can then make minor adjustments through experimentation to achieve the best taste.
Note that if you run out of room to make the grind size smaller or bigger, you may need to change the burr setting (see my other video on that).
Once that’s done, If you’re not getting decent crema, it’s probably down to the beans- try some freshly roasted ones
You can also change the brew temperature in the settings
Thanks for posting this video, it’s very helpful as I just bought this very machine last week. I’m managing to get the shot to start pouring at around the 7/8 second mark and getting a nice crema on top of the dark brown espresso, however, for 18 grams of coffee I’m extracting around 40-45 grams of espresso which seems a lot given what you (and the industry standards) say. When I make the grind 1 notch finer I get only 30 grams out which seems like a huge gap for such a small incremental adjustment. Do you think I’m simply allowing the brew to run too long? Should I reduce the brew time from 30 seconds down to 25/26? To make matters even more confusing, some good coffee sites are saying we should actually get “up to” 2oz out of 18 grams which is almost a whopping 60ml?! I drink Americanos (or long blacks as this machine calls them) so I’m wondering if there is actually more merit in me shooting for more than 36 grams, say 45 grams, as a preferable amount for an Americano? Ive messed around with the grind setting and time and I’m sure it is bang on, I just think it’s now down to the amount of water I am letting run through the coffee (i.e. the brew time). Any advice would be appreciated…
If you’re getting 40g out from 18g in, over 30s and the result tastes good, I wouldn’t really change it. You could maybe stop the brew a second early if you want.
With regards to the amount out, there’s no right or wrong, it’s what you want to achieve and what you like the taste of. The ratio of 2:1 is widely regarded to give a well balanced flavour profile, but this is fairly generic and depends on the specific coffee, the roast the shot volume etc.
Extracting for longer will give more of the bitter flavours in the coffee. If you are going to deliberately increase your output, I’d consider reducing the grind, which would under extract at a 2:1 ratio, but would balance out of your going for a larger output.
First of all, I’d try adding water to what you have currently, see how it is, and consider where to go from there- if your americano is too watery, try reducing the grind by a notch and extracting for longer.
Whatever you do, only make small changes, or at least note what settings you currently have, as it sounds like you have it set up fairly well.
This video is going to save me hours of trial and error and wasted coffee. Thank you!!
Thanks for your help I seem to be getting better the only thing is I’m getting way move the 36 gm of coffee out more like 60 so not sure what to do now
Start by putting exactly 18g in the basket, set the brew time to about 50 seconds so it won’t automatically stop too soon.
Then, with your cup on your scales, hit brew, and manually stop it by pressing the button again when you have poured 36g. *Note how long that took*
However long that took, subtract it from 30 (so if it took 19s for example, that would be 11).
Whatever figure this gives you, half it (so we’ll round down to 5 in the above example).
Reduce your grind size by this amount (or if it took over 30s, you’d add it- mostly it’s too quick though). So if you were using grind size 12, you’d adjust to size 7 in this example.
Repeat with this new setting, noting that the time it takes to grind 18g will be longer at finer settings.
This should take closer to 30s, so your next adjustment will be smaller. Once it’s taking between 25-35s to pour 36g of liquid coffee, you’ve pretty much got it nailed. You can then make minor adjustments through experimentation to achieve the best taste.
Note that if you run out of room to make the grind size smaller or bigger, you may need to change the burr setting (see my other video on that).
Great tutorial, thanks for your video. I’m new to the Barista Touch. I’m currently using a grind setting 08 To get my 18g. However my extraction is more up 1:3 from a 25sec brew. Do I need to reduce my brew time to reduce my yield or change something else? Extraction starts pretty much on 8sec.
If it’s taking 25s, I’d try reducing the grind size. If you keep the dose the same, a smaller grind size will result in less out in a given time. Reduce the grind size gradually until you get a 2:1 ratio in that time
Hi, thanks for your videos, they have been very helpful! I have just bought a Touch in the uk and trying to get mine dialed in. I went to a local coffee shop as i really liked their coffee and bought a bag of their beans that they sell...however they dont have a roasted on date only a use by date so im a bit skeptical of how fresh they are compared to the ones they are using in their customers coffee's. I have now gone through about 1500g of beans trying to get it dialed in and struggling :( im currently on a 7 for 17seconds giving me 18g and brewing for 25seconds giving me about 40g yield. it starts to pour on about 7 seconds, looks really nice and smooth and creamy however towards the end around 20 seconds of brewing it starts to come out gloopy, slopping out from left to right, the taste is a bit tangy however with milk it tastes alright. Im wondering if its just the beans and i should put up with it till the bags done and try a uk based fresh bean delivery company. what do you think?
Sounds like you’ve done a pretty decent job dialling it in. I wouldn’t make any drastic changes to your settings.
For the coffee you’re using, if ‘tangy’ is kind of sour acidic, then you’re possibly a little under extracted. You could try going a little longer on the brew time to increase your ratio to more of a 2.5:1. Another option would be to make your grind a notch finer. I’d try the longer brew first, but only change one at a time.
Some coffee shops have beans roasted for them specially, but don’t always know the exact date (or don’t want to tell you). Some of my favourite beans are from a local shop like this, but I always try to use them quickly. I would say that yes, it would be worth trying some from a uk roaster where you know the roasting date- as much for comparison as anything else.
Your tangy taste could well be the beans, especially if it’s a lighter roast. Try a medium- medium dark roast- this will likely have a slightly bolder and possibly more bitter taste. When you start with a new bean, go for 18g dose with the same settings that worked previously and adjust from there. Even your first shot should be drinkable, but it won’t take much to get the best out of it.
One final note- make sure you have fired some water through before pulling your first shot (you could also turn up the brew temperature in the menu a notch)- that will help to avoid under extraction.
Great video Dave .... i have the same machine but been getting ER05 an issue with the temperature sensor which can only be repaired at a service centre
Apparently, that one is due to the milk temperature sensor. You might be able to fix it by switching the machine off, unplugging, making sure the milk Sensor is centred and vertical, the plug back in and switch on.
Not had it myself, so can’t say for certain, but worth a shot before sending it away…
Thanks you so much Dave, by far the best explanation I have seen on this machine. I tried you recipe and tips and didn’t get a good extraction. I’m learning how to tamp so that might be an issue, but my beans are stale, I need to order a fresh batch, do you think this might be the reason why I get no crema?
Lack of crema is vey likely to be due to old beans yes. Crema will get less significantly with age. Darker roasted beans also produce less crema, although there is nothing wrong with a dark roast - that’s just a taste thing.
@@davewellscoffee thank you so much! I will try that. Now if that doesn’t work would you recommend me to adjust the grind size to finer right? And what else?
Thanks for this Dave I see your setting is at 12 outside is your inside 4 from your other video. I just changed mine to 4 inside and going to try this machine again
Yes, that’s right- settings within +\- 5 from where you dial it in should be pretty much good. Although settings on my machine may not work the same for you- each machine seems to be different
Hi, thanks for the video. Very informative! I have got a question: I’m using the single filter basket and currently on grind size 5, 8 secs which gives me 10g of grounded coffee. The extraction begins at 4 secs. The coffee tastes good to my palate. However, the extraction is on 23 sec and that gives me 40g of coffee liquid! Is that normal? And what can I do to improve? Thank you
Hi Yumi. A 4:1 extraction ratio which is what you’re getting is about typical for a lungo (‘long’ shot), so yes, it’s pretty normal. Having said that, you’re still getting it quite quickly, so I’d maybe try making the grind slightly finer. If you run out of room to adjust, take a look at my video on adjusting the top burr.
The single basket is quite hard to get right, so you’re doing a good job. Don’t worry about the pour starting slightly early with the single basket; it always does.
Thansk for the great demonstration! I am still trying to find the best settings for my beans (kimbo premium selection), but struggling. Your double shot espresso seems perfect, do you mind sharing which beans you are using? And do you have optimized settings for a single shot?
I can’t quite remember what this one was- it might have been the Columbia el Carmen from Rave Coffee. I’m currently trying some local roasteries.
The single shot is fiddly to keep consistent, as any tiny changes are a bigger percentage of the coffee, so it amplifies anything that’s wrong- the easiest thing to do for a single shot is to collect 2 singles separately from the 2 spouts. This can be wasteful of your only making one drink, so if you do need to use the single basket, make sure you have the double shot dialled in nicely, half the amount of coffee and add an extra 0.5-1g then use the same brew time.
You’ll have to play with this a bit- as I said, it’s a fiddle to get it consistent, but it is less wasteful.
What a brilliant tutorial for this machine. This is very helpful at dialing things in! I do have one question: how would you portion out ground weight and pull length to create a 200-300 gram coffee? Is that pushing beyond the limits of this machine?
There seems to be a lot of people recently with similar questions to this, making americanos . Basically, your best bet is to pull a good double shot and add water to bring it up to 300g.
If you just keep pouring through the puck, you’ll end up with a really over extracted bitter coffee, which won’t be as well balanced.
If you do want to make a bigger shot, can tweak the extraction ratio from 1:2 to more like 1:3 or even 1:4. I’d increase the grind size slightly if you’re going to do this. You’ll find some coffee beans work better in this lungo ratio than others, so it will be a bit trial and error.
@@davewellscoffee thanks for the detailed and quick response. The fun is in the trial and error and at this rate I should be awake for the next few days!
Great video with step by step t-shooting instructions! Very helpful. Do you find that your machine doesn’t get the water hot enough during the brew with this model? I am considering this model but am slightly concerned based off some reviews I’ve read about temps not coming close to what they should be for expresso.
I think almost all of the people that have this issue just switch the machine on and put a shot straight away. The boiler heats up in just 3 seconds, but the rest of the machine is obviously still cold, which is what causes the issue. Simply pulling a dummy shot of water before putting your first espresso should solve this issue. There are also temperature options which you can set in the menu to adjust the water temperature.
@@davewellscoffee Thanks!
very informative thanks. I'm still trying to get to grips with mine. One issue I have is with Long Black. Barely any coffee extracted, so I add a shot of espresso at the end with the same coffee in situ and it extracts fine. Don't understand why?
All the ‘recipes’ annoyingly use the same espresso settings, so if you dial in the machine on one recipe, the same grind and brew settings are carried across to others (just the milk settings, and in the case of a long black, the water settings vary between recipes).
With that in mind, it’s easiest to adjust your machine using the ‘espresso’ recipe until you’re happy with it. Aim initially to extract double the weight of espresso as ground coffee in 25-35s.
Then go back into your long black recipe. Set the water (which comes out before the espresso) so that it fills up your cup to the amount you’re happy with, leaving room for the espresso on top.
What you’ve been doing so far, is essentially doing a double brew with the same coffee, which is actually fine, and in fact some people prefer a 4:1 or even higher extraction ratio in an americano. It would be better to do this by simply increasing the brew time rather than pouring a second shot through the puck, so you could just add 15s or so to the brew time. Bear in mind that the machine will carry that into the other recipes, so you will need to reset it when you make a different drink.
Also bear in mind that extracting for longer will give more of the bitter flavours of the coffee. If you do want a longer extraction, you can reduce the grind size slightly (again, this setting does carry across into the other recipes), which will help reduce over extraction of pulling a longer shot.
Thank you for this great, informative video! I’m still working on dialing mine in. I have the grind size set to 12, grind time is 18s (yielding 19g) of coffee, and I started at 28s brew time. That brew time has espresso flow starting at ~7s and yields 57g of liquid. I noticed that my crema is very minimal and the espresso seems to flow very fast at first. Do you think a finer grind size might do the trick?
So you’re not a million miles out. Yes, I would try reducing the grind size by 1 steep at a time (measuring your coffee weight, because less comes out at the finer settings).
Re. The crema, this is more likely too be due to older or badly stored coffee, but some roasts naturally don’t produce as much crema. Try getting some freshly roasted beans and see how that goes (you will have to tweak your settings again with the new beans- start from what worked before and make small adjustments).
@@davewellscoffee I'm just getting started myself - so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems if you use a darker, oily roast, you will have the problem Raina mentions. Switched to a freshly roasted medium espresso roast and it's made a huge improvement.
@@22dpeters i’d tend to agree with you. I find it’s best to avoid really oily beans altogether. As well as giving sub-optimal espresso, the oil gets all over the grinder and is a pain to clean
Thank you for this video. Found it very useful. I have played around with my machine and I am now at ground size 5 and 24sec grind time which yields about 18g. But the start time never seems to get to the 7+ secs. Starts around 6 secs. And I am getting 85g yield after 25secs of brewing. So not quite the 2:1 ratio. The puck is firm and dry though, so I am doing something right but not quite there yet. Any suggestions? How do I reduce the yield?
Glad you have found the video useful. You’re right, you’re doing something right, and a few tweak should get you where you want to be.
There are 2 ways to bring that yield closer to a 2:1 ratio. You can either reduce the grind size, or increase the dose. Both of these actions will make it harder to force water through the puck. If you increase the dose, you compound this effect by needing extra yield to maintain the same ratio.
I would start by reducing the grind size by another notch. I note that it is already quite close to as fine as it will go, so it may be worth (next time you are cleaning out the bean hopper) reducing the burr setting (I have another video on that to help out).
Stop your pour at 36g with this finer grind and pour yourself a shot, stopping it when you get to 36g in the cup. If this time is still below 25s, try using 18.5g and pouring 37g out.
Keep making small adjustments until you’re happy. I wouldn’t go to any more than 19g in your basket; if you get that far, just reduce the grind a little more.
Finally, don’t worry about the drop time for now- you’ll probably find that it will become right by itself when you get to a 2:1 brew ratio.
Great video thanks, so you only use the single wall baskets when your'e using fresh beans? cheers Tim
Mine is at 4, but required settings seem to vary between machines
Hi Dave, great vid!
I've been using your tips and have tried a variety of settings. The thing is my extraction always starts at about 4-5 seconds. And then comes out quite fast - about 20 seconds.
I wonder what tips you have?
Hi. First off, are you using the double or single basket? The single will always drop earlier than 7 secs, so start off by using the double shot basket. If you are using the double shot basket, you’ll want to make the grind a bit finer. Once you adjust the grinder, weigh the coffee, as it makes less in a given time at finer settings.
If you cant get it right by reducing the grind size (you should easily be able to slow the extraction right down by reducing grind size & get the same volume 36g for 18g coffee). The only other issue might be the beans you are using, poor quality or stale (over 1 month old or not kept in dry, dark airtight container) will be difficult to dial in. Also light roasts are more difficult to get right than darker roasts, due to the beans being harder and less easy to grind fine enough. Although I have found the Sage grinder to work well for light & dark roasts, although I have had to reduce the inner grind setting on my Impress m/c.
Hey! Small world. I’m thinking of getting one, and thought ‘that’s DW’!
Hah! Yep that’s me. Hope you’re doing ok. I I really like this machine- it is a complete cross between a fully manual machine and a super automatic. If you’re after just pressing a button and the coffee appearing, it’s not the best. But if you want to enjoy the process of making it, it’s really good for that. I’d be interested to know what you go for.
Hi Dave. Thanks for your helpful videos. Very good guidance. My machine is new and I haven’t finished my first bag of beens yet but I think I’m on the right track. For where I’m at now I would like to ask this of you: 1. Right now my grinder is set at 9 for 21 seconds, my brew time is 25 seconds. I tamp the grounds down following your example. The expresso starts right at 7 seconds but, per the scale, the 25 second brew time expresses in upwards of 65 grams for a double shot.
I have found if I use a more coarse grind, and tamp a little harder, the expresso starts out at 7 sec. or less. With all this experimenting the expresso is still coming out too fast. Any suggestions?
Start by putting exactly 18g in the basket, set the brew time to about 50 seconds so it won’t automatically stop too soon.
Then, with your cup on your scales, hit brew, and manually stop it by pressing the button again when you have poured 36g. *Note how long that took*
However long that took, subtract it from 30 (so if it took 19s for example, that would be 11).
Whatever figure this gives you, half it (so we’ll round down to 5 in the above example).
Reduce your grind size by this amount (or if it took over 30s, you’d add it- mostly it’s too quick though). So if you were using grind size 12, you’d adjust to size 7 in this example.
Repeat with this new setting, noting that the time it takes to grind 18g will be longer at finer settings.
This should take closer to 30s, so your next adjustment will be smaller. Once it’s taking between 25-35s to pour 36g of liquid coffee, you’ve pretty much got it nailed. You can then make minor adjustments through experimentation to achieve the best taste.
Note that if you run out of room to make the grind size smaller or bigger, you may need to change the burr setting (see my other video on that).
Hi Dave - Could you advise what your setting for both the machine and top burr and also beans you are using? I'm at my Witts end with this machine! thanks in advance!
Dave nice video, how do you keep the machine body clean and shining? In the manual, they say use a dumb cloth only, i dont see that very effective after few months.
Yep, just a damp cloth. Give it a quick wipe before you switch it off every time and don’t let filth build up.
Hi Dave, some other question. This morning (I am in the Netherlands :)) I created a new double espresso. I put in 18gr coffee and made a 38gr espresso and grind 2. It tastes already better, but my throughput time is around 20 seconds and first drop came at 6 seconds. Do you any advice to make it a bit smoother so it takes around 25 seconds?
It sounds as though you want the grind a bit finer, so you could really do with taking the top burr down about 2 steps (as described in the comments yesterday- I’ll put a video on before too long). That will give you the ability to grind it finer, which I would think will sort your problem. After adjusting the burr, you will need to set up your grind level again- try starting on something like 11 and adjust it from there.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the video. I Just bought my Sage Touch and I have some trouble getting coffe Crema.
What Burr setting (1-10) do you use with grindsize 12?
Best regards
Uffe
Each machine is different, so my settings won’t necessarily work for you. My burr is on 4, but the important bit is getting the size right for your particular coffee on your machine. Get it to a 2:1 extraction ratio and it should be good.
The other thing that makes a big difference is how fresh the coffee is. Old coffee will not give you a decent crema.
Hi! Your video is so informative. Thanks so much. I tried everything but for some reason I’m getting 10g of coffee from only 15 grams of ground beans. I tried to get 18 but it’s too much and just falls out. I don’t know what to do so that it extracts less liquid (at 25 seconds).
If you’re getting 10g coffee out, you want more not less. You should be able to fit 18g in the single wall double basket- it might just need tapping against your palm half way through filling to settle the ground coffee flat, then again when it’s full before tamping.
From there, hit brew and let it run until you have double the weight of coffee in the cup to the ground coffee you had in the basket (around 36g), timing how long this takes.
Take the difference between how long it took, and 30s. (So if it takes 40, the difference would be 10 for example).
Adjust the grind size by half this number - if it’s over 30s, increase the grind size; if it’s under 30s reduce the grind size (so reduce it by 5 steps in this example).
Repeat the process again, tweaking it until you’re getting a 2:1 output in 25-35s and it tastes good!
Hello Dave, thank you for useful video. I have a question do we set the brew to single shot or double shot and the shot you extracted is single or double shot? Thanks!!😊
Use the appropriate setting (single or double) for the basket you want to use. I always use double (which is what is in the video) because it’s a lot easier to get a consistent shot. Any slight changes are amplified when using the single shot, so if I need single for someone I tend to just make a double and catch it in 2 cups (one cup for them and a spare shot for me!)
Great video, thank you! I’m playing with the barista touch since February and I love it! What is the model/brand of the scale in the video? Thank you!
Laelr Digital Coffee scales on Amazon. Costs £15, but on offer at the moment. Bargain! There are definitely fancier ones out there, but these are great value and work really well.
@@davewellscoffee thank you so much for your help! I saw several videos with those fancy and super expensive scales, which I consider a waste of money because if I would invest my money in something coffee related, with the same amount of money I would buy high quality coffee. If this one you suggested has the same precise weight of the more expensive ones, I’ll definitely give it a try
@@andrea2538 I haven’t tried it side by side with an expensive set, but it gives consistent measurements down to 0.1g. I’ve had them a couple of years and they have never let me down so far