Just moseying on...

Not too many updates these last 2 weeks.

I have been making wonderful coffee with the Coffee Supreme Free Trade Organic Espresso blend. The grinder has been working great, the X3 is functioning perfectly at turning ground coffee into honey. The shots have definite plum overtones and completely lack the bitterness I used to associate with black coffee.

As I am only drinking 1-2 (2-4) shots of coffee a day, and only in the morning I have to be quite careful to get a coffee that I enjoy:

1. I heat the X3 up for 20mins+, with the portafilter loosely fitted (I don't leave it in overnight to preserve the group seal).
2. Flush a cup worth of hot water through the group and empty portafilter (heats the portafilter and cup).
3. I fill the hopper on the grinder
4. I do my normal, grind into the basket, WDS, level and light tamp - with no pressure when I polish.
5. I then time the shot into 2x 30ml shot glasses.
6. It is usually a little faster than the day before, and I have found that I have to tighten (make finer) the grind about 1/4 or 1/2 a turn each day to accommodate the beans aging.
7. I then pour the shots straight down the sink. Why? It is horrible. The first shot cleans out the old grinds from the grinder, and dissolves the stale coffee residue from inside the espresso machine.
8. I then do as in step 4, time my pour to 27-30 seconds into a hot cup(s) and enjoy wonderful wonderful coffee.
9. I can taste the difference between the first sink shot of the day and the rest of them - it is night and day.

Yum.

I will be trying the Espresso blend from 'The People's Coffee' next week - be interesting for me, as I have only been working with one roast up until now (limiting variables is a sensible thing to do when you don't know what you are doing).

Back to the ground coffee adaptor - I have decided that unlike I originally thought, I don't have enough headroom. Alternatives are less coffee, or more machining and a different (non convex) dispersion screen. I prefer the second option...

Also, the X1 arrived. It is now in little pieces, more to follow - this'll be great!