New to semi-automatic (Touch Impress) — Dialing in, first time using scales, have a few beginner questions...
I recently switched from cheap supermarket beans to a medium roast 100% Arabica that was roasted about two weeks ago (which beautifully fixed my issue with the wet pucks sticking to the portafilter!). We don't have a puck screen yet.
I am using a Breville/Sage Barista Touch Impress. My only previous experience was using super-automatic machines at friends' and family's houses. I’ve made about 10 coffees so far just learning the machine, and now I want to start using a scale for the first time to get my shots dialed in.
On our last automatic shot, it took 46 seconds on the machine's timer. Possibly, because I used double-wall and the beans were not stale I guess. Also, a quick question about the auto-tamp lever: should we get into the habit of tamping 3 times? Usually, we do 1 or 2. Recently I tried tamping 6 times, and the machine immediately suggested I change my grind size... From my info the tamping tool rotates by only 5 degrees BTW
I want to try my first manual shot using a scale. Does this workflow look correct?
- (?) Warming the portafilter: When warming my cup with hot water, I had the idea insert the empty portafilter in to get it hot before the first shot. Even if I wipe the basket dry, some water might trap inside the spouts. Is this actually fine, or complete rubbish?
- Basket size: I am currently using the double-shot basket, but my machine also came with a single-shot ("half-size") basket. Should I stick to the double basket for adjusting my grind size and weight, or is it okay to use the single one?
- Workflow & Ratios: To start, should my process look like this?
- Weigh the ground coffee in the portafilter.
- Do about 10 seconds of pre-infusion.
- Run it for 30 seconds under full pressure.
- Weigh the final espresso shot. (Should it be around 20–30 grams? Since 30 seconds is a decent amount of time, should I aim closer to 30 grams?)
Right now, with the freshly roasted beans, I'm using the default internal burr setting (5) and an external software grind setting of 18. The coffee tastes okay, but there isn't much crema. We drink our coffee with milk, so it's probably more forgiving!
We are currently using the double-wall (pressurized) baskets, but we do have the single-wall ones available (also, no puck screen so far)