Hahah yes! The sound is oddly satisfying. And I agree, this machine's steam power is a lot more powerful than others which makes it a bit harder to control for beginners like us. But that's a good problem to have hahah - Jon
Yes, always nice to start the day brewing my coffee. Your daily posts have inspired me to take my Cafelat Robot out again and brew espresso more often.
That's great! I haven't heard of Cafelat Robot and did a quick Google search. It really does look like a robot! Hahah! Looks complicated but I'm sure you would be able to pull a great cup out of that! - Jon
A thing nobody seems to be talking about regarding latte art, is how much the shape of the cup affects how the milk settles. I only recently got myself a shallow and round-bottomed cappuccino cup, and it's so much easier to pour art!
Yeah, our cup is not the best shape but we got this initially purely because we think it looks good. Little did we know that it's not good for latte art hahah. We are looking to get another cup to replace this! - Jon
That milk was perfect for Latte Art. I counted 4 seconds of a paper ripping sound. If you can replicate that, you're golden. Btw, is there a roast date printed on your beans?
And that's the difficult part, replicating it 😂 But at least now I know this is possible so I'll be working towards it. Yes, the beans were about 3 weeks old from roast date (no older than 4 weeks) - Jon
Hey Jon! Sorry it's been a while, I love all your new gear - that spring tamper looks great! I see it's a bit fiddly to get the puck screen out of the portafilter after you pull your shot. I always put the cloth down on a hard surface and tap the portafilter on its side at an angle, it always seems to pop the mesh screen out and not the puck for some reason. Maybe it's worth a try but it might not work. Also I can tell that even when the coffee comes out tasting not how you want it too, you enjoy the process anyways which is nice. Have a great day :)
Hey Judah! Thanks for the tip! Seems like we need a stronger table to tap the portafilter on it hahah. I might try that if I'm still having trouble with it. And yes, you're right! The process was fun, so the taste of coffee kinda became secondary, although it's always a bonus when it's good hahah! Thanks again! - Jon
Milk is looking very flowy! Try to start the pour a little higher in the cup, you were pouring in the center so the heart ended up a little deep and also got crunched up against the back of the cup. Very promising! nice work
with how their puck prep looks, I have little concern that there is channeling. unless the puck is breaking, which you'd be able to tell without a bottomless (drip drip drip, then pulling super fast)
Hey Jon, your shot looked ok, but as you mentioned, a touch long. With the steam, the "explosion" is common on all the Rancilio's, its a combination of the power AND some residual moisture trapped in the pipes. I found purging just a little longer on full power helps to mitigate this, but not remove it entirely. The density of the milk plays an important factor in milky coffees. The more aerated (foamy) the milk is, the less it dilutes the coffee. Hence the the difference in taste between lattes and cappuccinos (as well as the difference in milk to espresso ratio). I have been meaning to ask, is the coffee you use roasted locally or imported? Though anecdotal, I have found roasted coffee doesn't travel well... Wonder if anybody in the community can add to that? Another great piece of Rorschach latte art...😛 Overall. you're workflow is good and getting better (apart from the fiddly puck screen)🤣🤣🤣 Great job and keep plugging away.
Hey Raj, hmm we'll probably have to try purging more before steaming next time. We do realize the steam may not be very dry when we steam, so that might have caused the 'explosion' hahah. True that the aeration of milk affects the coffee, but I never know if I'm gonna get a latte or cappuccino until I drink it, so it's always a surprise 😂 More to work on! - Jon
Some observations from all your previous videos until now. It is not a problem with your milk for sure if it's the espresso flavor that is lacking. Unless you are using light roast beans, there is not nearly enough crema in your extractions. I think stale beans have been your biggest issue actually. For steaming, I mentioned before to turn the power all the way up straight from the beginning so you are doing that right and your milk seems to be much better textured. One issue I saw is the wand starting position which was too high and caused the intial splatter. If you are still finding the best starting wand position, one tip is to start a little deeper, and then lower the jug slightly until you hear the paper tearing sound for aeration. This way you will avoid the messy splatter in the beginning.
Hey Sekf, hmm... Not trying to say that it's wrong but there might be a higher possibility the problem lies with the milk than freshness of beans (if comparing the 2). Because we go through beans so quickly, our beans are about 3 weeks old from roast date (no older than 4 weeks). So I hope that's not too stale? And thanks for the suggestion with the position of the milk. Will try if it works better next time! - Jon
@ hmm maybe next time you buy a new bag, you can try to check when brewing beans straight from a newly opened bag within 10-14 days, do you get thick crema? I’m just a bit suspicious about the beans because the crema is almost non existant. Especially since from what I can tell, your beans does not look a light roasy.
@@thegroundedduo Hi Jon, I'm gonna have to agree with Sekf here, it looks like maybe air is getting into your storage container, beans tend to lose a lot of their flavour and quality after the two week mark, especially if they're not air sealed tight and there appears to be no crema which is a huge indicator, that and the lack of flavour 😆 do you use any brand in particular?
Love to hear that sound when frothing. This machine has some serious steam power.
Hahah yes! The sound is oddly satisfying. And I agree, this machine's steam power is a lot more powerful than others which makes it a bit harder to control for beginners like us. But that's a good problem to have hahah - Jon
Yes, always nice to start the day brewing my coffee.
Your daily posts have inspired me to take my Cafelat Robot out again and brew espresso more often.
Nobody puts "Cafelat" in the corner...😉
Cafelat Gang 🙌
That's great! I haven't heard of Cafelat Robot and did a quick Google search. It really does look like a robot! Hahah! Looks complicated but I'm sure you would be able to pull a great cup out of that! - Jon
A thing nobody seems to be talking about regarding latte art, is how much the shape of the cup affects how the milk settles. I only recently got myself a shallow and round-bottomed cappuccino cup, and it's so much easier to pour art!
Yeah, our cup is not the best shape but we got this initially purely because we think it looks good. Little did we know that it's not good for latte art hahah. We are looking to get another cup to replace this! - Jon
That milk was perfect for Latte Art. I counted 4 seconds of a paper ripping sound. If you can replicate that, you're golden.
Btw, is there a roast date printed on your beans?
And that's the difficult part, replicating it 😂 But at least now I know this is possible so I'll be working towards it. Yes, the beans were about 3 weeks old from roast date (no older than 4 weeks) - Jon
Exactly. Queue the next 5 sub-par pours. Trust me I've been there!
@@NeverMind353 🤣🤣
That was a very good milk jon good job
Thank you! It was definitely a lucky one because I was shocked myself hahah! - Jon
Hey Jon! Sorry it's been a while, I love all your new gear - that spring tamper looks great!
I see it's a bit fiddly to get the puck screen out of the portafilter after you pull your shot. I always put the cloth down on a hard surface and tap the portafilter on its side at an angle, it always seems to pop the mesh screen out and not the puck for some reason. Maybe it's worth a try but it might not work. Also I can tell that even when the coffee comes out tasting not how you want it too, you enjoy the process anyways which is nice. Have a great day :)
Hey Judah! Thanks for the tip! Seems like we need a stronger table to tap the portafilter on it hahah. I might try that if I'm still having trouble with it. And yes, you're right! The process was fun, so the taste of coffee kinda became secondary, although it's always a bonus when it's good hahah! Thanks again! - Jon
Milk is looking very flowy! Try to start the pour a little higher in the cup, you were pouring in the center so the heart ended up a little deep and also got crunched up against the back of the cup. Very promising! nice work
Oh alright! That's something to keep in mind if I can ever get this flowy milk again hahah - Jon
maybe get a bottomless portafilter for your setup there so you can see if extraction is uniform and if channeling is a problem. cheers.
with how their puck prep looks, I have little concern that there is channeling. unless the puck is breaking, which you'd be able to tell without a bottomless (drip drip drip, then pulling super fast)
Hey Robert, yeah we are considering getting one because it looks aesthetically pleasing when extracting hahah - Jon
Hey Jon, your shot looked ok, but as you mentioned, a touch long.
With the steam, the "explosion" is common on all the Rancilio's, its a combination of the power AND some residual moisture trapped in the pipes. I found purging just a little longer on full power helps to mitigate this, but not remove it entirely.
The density of the milk plays an important factor in milky coffees. The more aerated (foamy) the milk is, the less it dilutes the coffee. Hence the the difference in taste between lattes and cappuccinos (as well as the difference in milk to espresso ratio).
I have been meaning to ask, is the coffee you use roasted locally or imported? Though anecdotal, I have found roasted coffee doesn't travel well... Wonder if anybody in the community can add to that?
Another great piece of Rorschach latte art...😛
Overall. you're workflow is good and getting better (apart from the fiddly puck screen)🤣🤣🤣
Great job and keep plugging away.
Hey Raj, hmm we'll probably have to try purging more before steaming next time. We do realize the steam may not be very dry when we steam, so that might have caused the 'explosion' hahah. True that the aeration of milk affects the coffee, but I never know if I'm gonna get a latte or cappuccino until I drink it, so it's always a surprise 😂 More to work on! - Jon
Some observations from all your previous videos until now. It is not a problem with your milk for sure if it's the espresso flavor that is lacking. Unless you are using light roast beans, there is not nearly enough crema in your extractions. I think stale beans have been your biggest issue actually. For steaming, I mentioned before to turn the power all the way up straight from the beginning so you are doing that right and your milk seems to be much better textured. One issue I saw is the wand starting position which was too high and caused the intial splatter. If you are still finding the best starting wand position, one tip is to start a little deeper, and then lower the jug slightly until you hear the paper tearing sound for aeration. This way you will avoid the messy splatter in the beginning.
Hey Sekf, hmm... Not trying to say that it's wrong but there might be a higher possibility the problem lies with the milk than freshness of beans (if comparing the 2). Because we go through beans so quickly, our beans are about 3 weeks old from roast date (no older than 4 weeks). So I hope that's not too stale? And thanks for the suggestion with the position of the milk. Will try if it works better next time! - Jon
@ hmm maybe next time you buy a new bag, you can try to check when brewing beans straight from a newly opened bag within 10-14 days, do you get thick crema? I’m just a bit suspicious about the beans because the crema is almost non existant. Especially since from what I can tell, your beans does not look a light roasy.
If you get a thick crema from newly opened bag, then you might want to try a new storage container.
@@sekf Alright, thanks for that! Appreciate it! - Jon
@@thegroundedduo Hi Jon, I'm gonna have to agree with Sekf here, it looks like maybe air is getting into your storage container, beans tend to lose a lot of their flavour and quality after the two week mark, especially if they're not air sealed tight and there appears to be no crema which is a huge indicator, that and the lack of flavour 😆 do you use any brand in particular?
I think you use to much coffee in portafilter😢
hmm.. the basket is actually a 21-28g basket. and my dose was 21g, so... I think it's not too much? - Jon