I am new to the list and I am sure someone here can help me.
I have a commercial grinder which i purchased many, many years ago (about
1983) from Thomas Cara. My husband and i were honeymooning there and I just
had to get myself a most excellent grinder for my espresso passion. Yes,
come to think of it, i have been dreaming of espresso for quite a while!
  I believe it to be a Mazzer grinder as it has Brevetto written on the side
of it and it looks like the commercial grinders I see at many of the
espresso shops. Anyway, it does not have a doser and one cannot be
retrfitted to it. My question is: what is the most accurate, yet simple way
to measure the amount of ground coffee for my espresso grouphead?
Thanks in advance for your help.
-- 
Sherry Morrison
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    There are some pretty good instructions on this and related subjects,
and even a couple of downloadable videos, at this site:http://www.coffeeresearch.org/sitemap.htm. In general, you want enough
coffee grounds in the portafilter to fill it level to the top.
    Theoretically, you should use about 15 grams of grounds for a double
shot, packed such that it will percolate in about 25 seconds.  But my own
view is that the best approach is simply to make lots and lots of espresso,
paying attention to the variables -- roast, grind, quantity. tamping
pressure, water pressure and temperature -- as best you can, until you get
so you can reliably make something satisfying to you.
    The fact that you've had the grinder for, well, "several years" shall we
say, without really using it, suggests you may feel a little intimidated.
Don't be.  Believe in yourself, keep trying and YOU WILL GET THERE.  Accept
the fact that your early efforts will likely (but not necessarily) be
dreadful.  Fine.  You're right on course then.  If it didn't take a while to
learn, it wouldn't be worth it.  Practice, practice, practice.  If you're
roasting your own beans it will take you a long time to burn through even
ten bucks worth.
    Best of luck,
    Dale House, Anchorage

<Snip>
What I do is simply to use my "roasting" digital scale, accurate to 
within 1 gram. I measure the beans, dump them in the hopper, grind 
them all, and they all end up in my portafilter.
Steve, I assume you use a triple-basket? How's the taste compared to 
a double espresso? I was considering getting a triple portafilter for 
my future Conti spring-lever (Conti offers such portafilters). Ciao,
             Renaud
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Hi Sherry, and welcome!
I am not one to make my life more complicated than it needs to be.  I don't
use digital scales or calibrated measures to dose out my coffee.  I have a
doser on a professional grinder, but it doesn't dose the amount that I want,
so I click it a bit until the grounds are heaped up, then I take my finger
or whatever is around and strike it off level.  Tamp, twist, shake and brush
off the loose grounds, snap it in place and watch the show!
If you are the personality type that needs all the calibrated gismos to make
your shots, then go for it.  I'm not.  To me, espresso is art, not science.
Regards,
Ed Needham

 
I'm on Ed's program for the most part.  My rocky has a doser, but I don't 
really use it.  I dose into a small dish and fill the portafilter with a 
spoon.  I tap the sides of the pf to settle the grounds, then level it off 
with the spoon handle (spoon tang?).  That gives me the best results for 
Silvia with a la Marzocco double filter basket.  Typically, I see the 
showerhead screw imprinted into the puck after pulling my shot.
-Greg
At 10:51 PM 7/31/2001 -0400, you wrote:
<Snip>
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The easiest way for me is to fill the portafilter with the whole beans and 
grind that amount. It seems to fill to the correct amount, although I don't 
know if this small amount is feasible on so large a grinder. I have a Solis 
166 and grind into a 58mm LM double basket.
Another thing you might try is to grind into a  plastic container which you 
have marked and then transfer the grounds to your filter...
Ciao,
Angelo
<Snip>
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I have a large grinder with doser which is unusable for making two-four 
shots intermittently: Unless the hopper is at least half full of grounds 
the doser isn't accurate; if the hopper is half full of grounds they're 
either stale or going stale.
So I know within a few seconds how long it takes to grind enough for a 
double basket. I hit the switch, count the time in my head, and cycle the 
doser about ten times. Sometimes it's perfect, sometimes I slide my finger 
across the top and scrape a few grounds into the sink, sometimes I have to 
grind for another few seconds - but it's always simple :-)
At 11:43 AM 08/01/2001, you wrote:
<Snip>
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Ed,
I am the type who craves gizmos and lots of structure until I am comfortable
with the process. Then I let the science receed to the background and the
art can flourish.
Now, where is that scale?
-- 
Sherry Morrison
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