With the Compak E8 / Lucidate, no stirring needed

Frans Goddijn

I usually stir the grinds in the basket before tamping, to make sure the grinds are 'redistributed'. I started doing that when using my Mazzer grinder already and also the HG One needs those few beats with a tiny whisk to guarantee and even flow from the basket.

Reiss pointed out to me that on his new E8, the one with the red Lucidate speed burrs, this is no longer needed and I tried it out. I had to 'hide' the whisk because my hands are used to routinely do it in a flash but once out of the way, the brief procedure proved unnecessary indeed.

Here is a short clip, also featuring a new dosing funnel:

Reiss Gunson

thank you for taking the time to create this clip frans, i do appreciate it.

JUAN ARIZA

Frans.

Nice video. Quick question. Does the dosing funnel fit the R120?

Frans Goddijn

JUAN ARIZA post=11149 wrote: Does the dosing funnel fit the R120?

It would. Not a tight fit but it sits well enough. You would need to take out the metal "bottom" slider because there is no room to slide it open so that would take away some functionality. Unless you have someone make you an aluminum piece to get a connector so the funnel sits in a tight fit and also higher up.

JUAN ARIZA

Frans.

Thaks for the info and the picture.

Rgds.

Pete Redrup

Nice video indeed, Frans. Where did you get the dosing funnel from? I've just bought an E8 with Redspeed burrs myself and although I'm using a hopper at present I do find it wasteful compared to the single dosing I'm used to with my HG One, so would be interested to try one.

Frans Goddijn

I got mine from the importer Sebastiaan Van Pommeren from Utrecht in The Netherlands after meeting him and Montse Ibern (COMPAK Spain) in person at the recent coffee festival. I believe it will become available on a larger scale on regular channels soon.

Matthew Hoffman

I can see that the Compak E8/Lucidate is more convenient to use than my trusty OE Pharos hand-grinder. But are the grinds any better (if you don't prepare lightly roasted beans)?

Reiss Gunson

hi matthew

i wouldn't knock the grind quality of the Pharos, in my view it is the best of the manual grinders by a distance, but as I'm sure you know all manual grinding becomes burdensome if you need to prepare more than just one or two coffees a day

kind regards

reiss.

Marc Young

Reiss, I have no experience with the Pharos but I do have a HG-One. You consider the Pharos to be superior to the HG-One in grind quality? I make at most 4 cups of coffee a day and find manual grinding a pleasure. But once my wife starts drinking coffee again and wanting to make her own I'll probably need to move on from the HG-One or find an electric grinder to complement it.

Jonathan Williams

Frans,
Thanks for the video. It is your usual fantastic production ( I've watched many of your videos before purchasing my L1).

So my question is, what do you think of single dosing the E8? I was always under the impression it would grind with more consistency with a weight of beans on top, but I really don't know.

The Compak single dose funnels have been available in the US for quite a while now, but they are very expensive ( $115). That was a very nice gift!!

Jonathan

Reiss Gunson

in my view the E8 needs a weight of beans in it for the grinder to perform optimally

Frans Goddijn

I love the look and feel and option of the funnel but I agree with Reiss that if you don't need to switch beans frequently, keeping the hopper well filled is the easiest way to enjoy consistency about that detail of the entire preparation.

Especially if one is a relative beginner, switching beans/roasts is a strategy that invites many unexpected results and it costs a lot of beans to get the extraction right, so then a full hopper, and sticking to one bean and roast for say 1kg is the most comfortable way to find one's way.

Reiss Gunson

The R120 does single dose nicely, but that's just silly to suggest for a domestic environment unless money and space really are no object, in which case lets talk! :cheer:

i would happily go on record and say that trying to single dose most grinders is the source of more frustration, bewilderment, and misery than any other aspect of making espresso at home

the monster flat grinders like the R120 achieve it because the volume of the burr hub is so cavernous that the entire dose can almost be contained within it and from there it is immediately thrown horizontally into the burrs with no opportunity to popcorn

single dosing on most other grinders is responsible for irregular grind shape and size and the poor extraction that results from it: avoid

Trevor Watters

Reiss Gunson post=11250 wrote: The R120 does single dose nicely, but that's just silly to suggest for a domestic environment unless money and space really are no object, in which case lets talk! :cheer:

i would happily go on record and say that trying to single dose most grinders is the source of more frustration, bewilderment, and misery than any other aspect of making espresso at home

the monster flat grinders like the R120 achieve it because the volume of the burr hub is so cavernous that the entire dose can almost be contained within it and from there it is immediately thrown horizontally into the burrs with no opportunity to popcorn

single dosing on most other grinders is responsible for irregular grind shape and size and the poor extraction that results from it: avoid

While I'm no expert, I can only endorse Reiss's statement regarding single dosing. Having attempted with a HG-1 and even with my E10, the results were unpredictable even when you attempted repeat a second shot immediately after.

My E10 Essential performs consistently with over 500 gm in the large hopper and it changes when the weight of beans is low. My Solution is to place a bag full of rubbish beans in a loose plastic bag in the hooper above my good beans. That extends the consistent grinding to less than 100 gm of good beans.

BTW, my experience with the E10 is that professional grinder benefit from a break volume of grinding beans. This seasoning seems to help the way the burrs work for a uniform size. With my E10, I do not stir the grinds before tamping - a shake of the PF to level the grinds and then a gentle tap of the PF before tamping.

Frans Goddijn

I'm on a short vacation about 1200km from home, in a little wooden hut in the woods near Bachotek Lake. The L1-P would be difficult to bring along but the E8 went with me, together with a few Pavonis (and 10 packs of LONDINIUM beans) so the coffee needs are covered here!

Matthew Hoffman

Beautiful setup. But wouldn't one La Pavoni have been sufficient? Why two?

Matt

Frans Goddijn

Bringing two machines is first to ensure that I will have one that works, in case I forgot to bring a cable (like in september last year when I could not use the PID) or if something breaks.

Then, on Sunday I will give a presentation about coffee and I want to allow as many as possible the chance to taste a cup. A friend will operate one Pavoni and I will use the other. I would have brought two grinders but the E8 is big and heavy enough and it will not easily stop working if it bumps into anything during the trip.

Previously I took the HG One on trips but the E8 is faster and easier.

http://www.gust.org.pl/bachotex/2016-en/schedule

Matthew Hoffman

Thanks. I knew there would be a good reason but I couldn't imagine what it was. I hope the demonstration goes well.
Matt

Reiss Gunson

hello frans

thanks for posting, and another nice image. how do you find the short hopper - is there enough weight of beans in it for them to feed into the grinder nicely?

kind regards


reiss.

Frans Goddijn

Thanks. The short hopper, when kept well filled, works fine I think and especially on a trip it saves a little space. The 'small dose' funnel is also relatively high so it can also be filled and will then have a small column of bean weight.

The Brazilian beans LONDINIUM roast work very well here too. The 6 or 7 visitors in my little hut have loved it so far. Previous years, I would get some "I taste lemon" faces of vistors being polite enough to say they liked it. These beans are more close to what people expect from coffee and then some 'specialty' elements extra, a rich creamy sweet experience.

Reiss Gunson

boring brazilians may be the phrase you are searching for!

don't worry, we are approaching the day when we will be ordering some unique and exciting beans!

Frans Goddijn

I found that the trick to make these beans come out with their full potential is to have the brew group a little less hot than I have it usually. The sweetness is very appealing, none of the visitors used the sugar cubes or the artificial sweetener I have on the table. I did not bring any other type of beans so i could focus on these exclusively, not getting confused by different grind settings. A tiny bit lower dose also works well, 12.5g instead of the 13.5g that I mostly use in the Pavoni basket.

Unknown

Isn't that true on all flats with some beans above the burr chamber?

In general from my experience on single dosed conics you always have to mix the grinds as the particle size changes through the grind, tighter at the start as it has some beans in the burr chamber and looser on the end with beans jumping about.

Anyone with an E8 and standard burrs can do a test if mixing is required?

The above is the reason why grinders were designed to be used with a hopper, they just work better.

Rgds,
T.

Frans Goddijn

PS some (mostly not coffee related) impressions from the place:

http://kostverlorenvaart.blogspot.com/2016/04/bachotex2016-day-1.html