Home espresso: The experiment continues
For a while, I said to myself I wouldn’t own an espresso machine since I use one at work and I wouldn’t have any space to keep it. Yet on the 14th November, I went onto eBay and sought a 2000 Gaggia Classic with a full list of extensive modifications made, making it a beast of a machine (list of modifications below the page). With no desire of owning a grinder, I kept the Comandante C40 and Gaggia espresso setup making it both manual and sem-automatic combination. I recently upgraded the Comandante with the Red Clix which allows for even more precise and consistent grinding, essential for dialling in espresso.
My experience with the Comandante is grinding for espresso can yield some inconsistency for some coffees. Sometimes going between 8 to 10 clicks is a vast jump, which can be frustrating. Granted different coffees will vary due to the roast profile, how dense the coffee beans are and the freshness of the coffee at the time of brewing. That said, I re-iterate that if you are going for a Comandante C40 and espresso machine setup, I highly recommend the Red Clix upgrade.
I have an ongoing experiment where I record all of my espresso brews, listing the following criteria:
What coffee (of course)
Number of clicks on the C40
Dose
Yield
Brew time
Results/notes
To keep the experiment ideal, I keep to a 1:2 ratio using between 17 - 17.5g dose, aiming for 35g yield between 25-34 seconds. The only variables I change is the number of clicks on the grinder and/or dose. Depending on the type of coffee, I may aim for a higher/lower yield but generally I keep to these variables to make the experiment easier. Given that it takes quite some time to manually grind espresso (it’s a serious forearm workout), I drink every single espresso I brew. I think this is a great experience to taste under-extract and over-extracted shot so you can gauge what balance to aim for. In espresso, we tend to aim for a balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness. By combining these three elements, you can create some of the tastiest espressos. What is more exciting is brewing coffee that has a roast profile for filter brewing. Even though espresso blends or single origin coffees are roasted specifically for espresso, I have had pleasant coffees when brewed as filter. Same goes if I brew filter roast as espressos. Next time if you buy a bag of coffee and it is marked as an espresso blend, try brewing using a filter. You might be surprised.
As the experiment is ongoing, I have created a sheet which I link below so if you are interested in following the experiment, feel free to follow the progress below -
List of modifications on Gaggia Classic (‘00 model)
Large brass 3 ways solenoid valve
New long life blue silicon group head gasket
Stripped down and de-scaled
Upgraded water pump
Rancilio Silvia V2 steam wand
New bolts
Modified to 9 bars
