Dosing

It turns out I am an up-doser. I have been filling the basket, leveling and tamping. I was reading a thread (pages 3-4) on this on HB and decided to try the 2 x 7g doses measure with my scoop this morning. Well, it was horrible and went down the sink. This is not scientific, and I made no attempt to adjust my other variables, but as I am getting great espressos at the moment, I will stick to my current methodology until I am ready to try other things.

You might notice in the thread above, how well the Nemox Lux grinder stacked up against grinders many times its price - that is an incredible performance. The thread author also comments that the Nemox Lux suffered from clumping - mine does not seem to have a problem with clumping, perhaps the grinds funnel helps?

I noticed my shots ran a bit quicker today (but the crema was better), perhaps this is the beans aging a little - I have tightened up my grind for tomorrow. No wormholes today either. I really am quite far off from having an understanding of how all the variables fit together.

I still need a decent tamper - the 58mm tamper I had was to big for the Ascaso basket. I am currently using the plastic one that came with the Gaggia Carezza - and while this is reviled across the internet it is not stopping me getting good coffees (I will admit I have sanded the bottom of the tamper to remove molding ridge as it was damaging my puck). In all I suspect the tamper is not super critical to my coffee making. I guess agree with the 'light' tamp crowd. None-the-less, a nice tamper would make an aesthetic improvement to my morning. I measured my Ascaso basket with a micrometer at 57.5-57.7mm. I was thinking it would nice to find an undersized 58mm tamper, however I found an very interesting discussion that makes me think I am otherthinking matters, and that a tight tamper might indeed be a very bad idea.

I have resolved to grab a 55-57mm tamper that I like the look of and not worry so much.