Anyone wanna help me with my anita?

[mhortsch]

Can take to PM... might be easier. Or even straight email.

I should add, doesn't have to be anita experience in general, more naked portafilter and methods of fixing things

[ResIpsa]

I've got an Anita, what's the problem?

For the sake of general knowledge it might be better to keep this in the open thread, might help someone else as well

[Twill413]

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

For the sake of general knowledge it might be better to keep this in the open thread, might help someone else as well

Yea, like for starters...what is an Anita...I am guessing we aren't talking about Ms. Floydp.

[ResIpsa]

Originally Posted by Twill413

Yea, like for starters...what is an Anita...I am guessing we aren't talking about Ms. Floydp.

[mhortsch]

Basically, i'm trying to figure out how to use it!

I've read countless FAQs and threads, my head is spinning.

So here is a start. 18 grams of single origin, roasted tue night. Tamped with a 30# espro tamper.

Cooling flush performed, naked portafilter.

Pour was a fast, blonde gusher.

What's my first step in correcting

[ResIpsa]

Originally Posted by mhortsch

Basically, i'm trying to figure out how to use it!

I've read countless FAQs and threads, my head is spinning.

So here is a start. 18 grams of single origin, roasted tue night. Tamped with a 30# espro tamper.

Cooling flush performed, naked portafilter.

Pour was a fast, blonde gusher.

What's my first step in correcting

This one is going to take community knowledge, the Mooster, Norman, Bigwaved, Tristan, et. al. Anyone with an espresso machine, preferably E61 grouphead.

Question #1:

What grinder are you using?

Observation #1:

Your grind is off. You need a finer grind.

Blonde gushers are symptomatic of a few different things, but most commonly 1) your grind is off or 2) your tamp is too light 3) the basket is underfilled. Since you're using the Espro, that takes the tamp pressure out of the equation. 18 grams is about right for a double basket on the Anita, so that leaves us with #1, your grind is the problem.


Oh, great CS Coffee Mind, help Resipsa out here

[Bigwaved]

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

This one is going to take community knowledge, the Mooster, Norman, Tristan, et. al. Anyone with an espresso machine, preferably E61 grouphead.

Question #1:

What grinder are you using?

Observation #1:

Your grind is off. You need a finer grind.

Blonde gushers are symptomatic of a few different things, but most commonly 1) your grind is off or 2) your tamp is too light. Since you're using the Espro, that takes the tamp pressure out of the equation.


Oh, great CS Coffee Mind, help Resipsa out here

Although not in this instance, old roasted beans can make this happen as well, imo.

[ResIpsa]

Originally Posted by Bigwaved

Although not in this instance, old roasted beans can make this happen as well, imo.

Oops, forget about BW.(corrected)

And Yes, could be old beans in the abstract.

[ghostrider]

Without knowing any more details, I'd have to agree that your grind might be off. What grinder are you using, and how fine are you grinding?

[mhortsch]

Mazzer Mini w/o timer.

Grind setting... now here is an interesting tidbit. The mazzer came without an adjustment pic (something I just ordered). I thought I was notches from absolute zero, well I just took a small screw driver and was able to turn it another 18 notches. That would mean my setting was at 18 notches from absolute zero... way off! Are all mazzers very hard to turn by hand (wo a pin)

I read 13 is a good starting point. Oh shoot, I should mention, i was turning without the machine on, should I turn it and and turn to make sure my burrs aren't touching?

The grind has been a rather soft grind, but having not seen a tru espresso grind yet, I could be to coarse.

[ghostrider]

I also have a Mazzer Mini. If you're dialed in to 18, past "0", I'm guessing that's way too coarse. Did yours come with a sticker indicating which direction is coarse and which is fine? I believe mine is around the number 1, with an arrow. I dial it in right near the arrow, adjusting slightly left or right as needed. You're going to want a fairly fine grind for espresso.

The dial is indeed hard to turn, and designed that way. Your Mini should have come with a small threaded 'arm', which fits into one of several holes along the dial. Find the most convenient, comfortable one for you, and use that to get some leverage as you adjust.

Once you've dialed it in, you will only need to adjust it slightly one way or the other depending on the beans you use, and their age. I use mine for everything from Turkish grind, espresso, moka pot, to vac pot, so I'm all over the dial depending on what I'm making at any given time. It's fairly easy to make both big and small adjustments either way. You just have to remember what you use for each method. Write it down, or get a grease pencil to mark what you use.

Hope this helps.

[mhortsch]

I can clarify a bit more, just do me a favor and ignore my last posts.

I did a dry test on the grinder... with the machine on I adjusted 'fine' until the burrs ever so slightly touched... possibly a taboo thing to do, but I felt it necessary. Hopefully no damage was done

So when I say zero, i don't mean the number zero on the dial, I mean the point at which the burrs touch. I counted over 13 notches from that point, and it puts me right to where the mazzer sticker is pointing. My sticker is placed right where the 3 would be.

In my previous post, I was referring to zero as the point where I could no longer turn the dial with the machine off... hence why my previous post should just be ignored.

So, here is where I am. Sitting right dead center on the mazzer sticker arrow, which is 2 notches from where I was experiencing the blonde gusher. Should I go more or less then 2 notches? And, should I start pulling singles to waste less beans?

[ghostrider]

Sounds like you're right about where you need to be as far as the grind goes. Mazzer does a pretty good job of indicating where the espresso grind is.

Have you let your Anita warm up? 20 minutes is the minimum on my Gaggia, I usually let it go for about an hour before I pull a shot. There are many variables to address, from the grind, tamp pressure, amount of beans, etc. Try going one or two steps finer on the Mini, see what that does for you. If that doesn't seem to do much, try varying your tamp pressure. Do a search on coffeegeek for the WDT method if you haven't already. If your grounds have any air pockets in the PF, you're going to end up with what you already experienced.

Single shots and doubles are two different animals. If you plan on pulling and serving doubles, I'd recommend sticking with them on your learning curve. Don't be surprised if you go through a pound or two of beans before you manage a decent shot. There's a big learning curve here. Takes lots of practice, lots of repetition. Take notes if you need to, and keep at it until you find what works best for you and your machines.

[mhortsch]

Alright, round 2.

Pulled a double for a latte for the wife, set dead center on the mazzer sticker. Little slower shot, still blonded really quick but had more flavor to it. Probably a little more then 2 oz after 25 seconds.

Pulled a second double for myself for a machiatto. Lowered the grinder 2 whole notches finer. Totally different extraction. No blonding, even noticed some striping. BUT, got have the extraction in 25 seconds. Way more intense of a shot, quite tasty, but not a double. I'm guessing I have landing on both ends of right where I want to be?

[ResIpsa]

Originally Posted by mhortsch

Alright, round 2.

Pulled a double for a latte for the wife, set dead center on the mazzer sticker. Little slower shot, still blonded really quick but had more flavor to it. Probably a little more then 2 oz after 25 seconds.

Pulled a second double for myself for a machiatto. Lowered the grinder 2 whole notches finer. Totally different extraction. No blonding, even noticed some striping. BUT, got have the extraction in 25 seconds. Way more intense of a shot, quite tasty, but not a double. I'm guessing I have landing on both ends of right where I want to be?

Striping is good. You want striping.

1 oz in 25 seconds sounds more like a ristretto than a double.

First thought is go back up one notch.

Second thought is

18 grams is a little on the plus side for a double in Anita. Try dropping the load a couple of grams and see what happens.

I'm usually at 14-15 on my machine, anymore than that and I'm bumping up against the shower screen when I lock it in.