Well, I have here listed all the suggestions for espresso dosing. I will give them all a try and see what works best with my machine and grinder. Thanks so much for everyone's help. I have really been enjoying the list and I have learned more here than I could ever learn from a book. Dale House: 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 Steve D. :Buy a 7 gram spoon made specifically for measuring espresso. 7 grams per ounce is recommended but thats something you'll have to play with...I use 21 grams for about 2 1/4 ounces. - Steve D Renaud: 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. Ed Needham: 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! Greg Sace: 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. Angelo: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... Bill Cutts: 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 :-) Any of the ladies have a favorite dosing technique? -- Sherry Morrison homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |