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Permalink Reply by Benza Lance on July 9, 2008 at 4:06pm

You know, I've gotten into debates (sometimes heated) over your final question: Screw all of the different techniques, if the shot comes out fantastic, then why should it matter?
IMO, it doesn't... to an extent. If you're causing harm to your equipment in order to do so, then is it worth it?

As far as the muddiness goes, I couldn't help ya. But luckily, there are way more scientific folk on here that can help you.

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Permalink Reply by Jordan on July 9, 2008 at 6:44pm

Anna,

What kind of grinder and espresso machine you are using when this occurs. Hopefully this information can shine some light on the subject.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on July 9, 2008 at 7:17pm

Is a muddy or a solid puck irrelevant as long as the end result is delicious?
The short answer is "yes".

Consider the physics. Once pressure is released, the liquid is not evacuated.

You are left with a mixture of coffee and water. Since matter displaces other matter, the more coffee you have left in the basket, the less room there is for water. Thus, the coffee/water ratio leans towards either a "dry" puck or a "wet" puck.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with technique, grinder, machine, or anything unless it effects the head space, or the allowance of an increased volume of water.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Prefontaine on July 10, 2008 at 1:15pm

Generally I've found that the issue is the head space between the coffee puck and the screen.

Are you having this problem on double or single shots - or both?

You say that you have the 'perfect dose' - what is your dose and how do you know its perfect? I bet you're dose could be short. Whatever you're using - try putting in more ground coffee and I'm sure you'll see that you're pucks are now dry.

So, if you're not wanting to put in that much coffee...then, depending on your machine, you can buy spray heads that are larger and essentially move the screen closer to the coffee.

In Italy, the 'standard' dose for a single is 6 - 7 grams, so the machines come with a taller spray head to move the screen closer. Here is North America, we generally use 9 - 10 grams...so we need a shorter spray head to leave more room for the additional coffee to expand.

Therefore, my guess is - you have a machine set up for a larger dose that what you're currently using. Experiment and let me know what you're seeing?

Cheers

Jason

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Permalink Reply by ben brown on July 10, 2008 at 3:04pm

Dosing plays a large role in this, especially with an extra fine grind. A couple of other points to consider are cleanliness and temperature. If the machine has not been backflushed on a regular basis, coffee oil build-up in the grouphead and in the solenoid valve can prevent proper exhausting. Scale build-up in the grouphead can create an obstruction, too. As well, if the machine is running cool, it will not exhaust properly. With this, however, you would be able to tell by the color of the crema and by the feel of the temperature on the tounge.

Ben Brown

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Permalink Reply by Alan Engbrecht on July 10, 2008 at 5:44pm

It seems to be the consensus, but I will cast another vote for too small of a dose. If the puck comes out muddy there is almost certainly not enough coffee in the portafilter. Don't be afraid to experiment by doming the grounds a little before the tamp to allow for a larger dose. I predict you will be much more pleased with the shots that follow. I can't imagine you are getting that much crema from a muddy puck.
Anyway caring is a great start and good luck with your troubleshooting.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on July 10, 2008 at 7:16pm

Good first discussion. Welcome.

For the record, I run into "muddy pucks" periodically too. It is a pain, and makes a bit of a mess, but does not appear to relate to shot quality (or amount of crema) here.

Sounds like a brief experiment is in order. Try some shots with different dose/headspace and see what tastes best to you. See what the correlation is to muddy pucks.

Regarding a lower vs an up-dosed shot... more is not always better. There was a discussion on home-barista a few months ago that talked about the merits of the standard dosed (or even under-dosed) shot. The proponents of this method claimed a restrained, nuanced, balanced shot. It works for me. Bottom line - play around and see what you like. If you like the shots you are pulling the best then don't worry about it.

I guess I'm gong with Jason's short answer - if the shots taste great, who cares what comes out at the end.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on July 10, 2008 at 8:33pm

There is much more involved with dose than simply how dry or wet the puck is.

It is not advisable nor wise to just stuff more coffee into the basket to fix what isn't really a problem so much as a cleaning inconvenience.

It's about the coffee... right?

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