Thank you Kev... you emailed a discount code a couple of days ago and the discount it gave was really good so I’m grateful. Now I'm waiting for my Impress to arrive Yaaaaay! I absolutely would've filled the hopper two minutes after unwrapping it and would’ve fallen foul of this problem for sure. I'm very glad you uploaded this video today.
I have just bought one from Amazon Uk in grey £12.99 silly colours £11.99 fits on my pro grinder just had a coffee couple of pumps got more coffee out fitted easily… thanks Kev
Idk, I don't have a hopper (hand grinder) so I couldn't say but I have left my beans in the fold over style bag they come in for a week and it seemed to age about the same as my generic airtight container. That said, I kill a 10-ounce bag of coffee in about 5 days. Might simply not have time to stale. (I actually have an ESP coming in the next hour or so, so the hopper thing could change but it won't as I ordered the single dose, lol.) As for inconsistent shots, I had that a lot starting out. The answer, for me, was puck prep. Oh, and coffee that is too fresh is a good one. That was wildly inconsistent from day to day. And, not yummy to begin with. To each their own but when people say they drink coffee 3-4 days post roast my face scrunches up like a bit into a lemon. I find, for espresso, that I like about a 10-day rest. 14 if it contains Robusta. That is with medium to medium-dark roasts. I don't love light roasted espresso. Good for pour over, though. Anyway, as always, thanks for the enjoyable video.
Thanks for the kind words :-). Yeah this isn't about going stale, as such, it's more about the swing in temp and humidity having an impact on the beans in the hopper, and therefore impacting on whether or not you're still dialled in. People will fill their hopper, dial in, go back to it an hour or so later and they're no longer dialled in. It happened to me all the time, I've made all kinds of assumptions about this in the past, such as it's the change in temp/humidity affecting the burrs, or it's the cause of integrated grinder machines causing this to happen to the burrs, etc. But all the testing I've done (albeit defo not scientific!) has left me with the conclusion that it's simply that hoppers don't protect against swings in room conditions, and that this is the culprit as far as I can determine.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience! I'm trying to absorb all the information even though I don't have any interest in a hopper (I saved my money and kept shopping and my first Grindr is a Niche Zero) I watched this video anyway cuz Kev always drops great tidbits in his explanations and the comments are so polite and full of gems like you. Your straightforward explanation makes so much sense. I'm trying to keep this hobby straightforward and simple not falling down a massive Magic Rabbit Hole but no one around me has any lived experience to bring all the bits of information together to soften the learning curve. Thanks so much!
Great video - I have an Oracle touch and have noted a related point. If you have auto start on, the machine has consistent heat cycles and the added heat accelerates the ageing of the beans in the hopper. I also find that the heat sinking effect on the integrated grinder causes the grind setting to go out as the burs expand and contract at different rates…. If you want consistent shots, you need a separate grinder, or learn how to play your grind size nob like an accordion!
I've been getting much better results since grinding only the exact weight of beans I need - one shot at a time (in my Sage Bambino). I also discovered you can use the hopper lid as a makeshift bellows, just by partly opening the lid when the grind has finished, and patting it closed again with a sharp tap. It blows any remaining ground coffee out of the nozzle, leaving the machine pretty much squeaky clean and ready for the next shot.
With an integrated hopper / grinder is there not the issue that the grinder requires the weight of beans above it to ensure it works smoothly? I've recently purchased a Sage Oracle and I was told not to let the quantity of beans in the hopper drop too low or they wouldn't grind properly, which is completely at odds with your advice :)
Hi Matt, How strange, I would be interested to find out who told you that info, please email me kev@coffeeblog.co.uk to tell me where you got that information from, Ta
@@Coffee_KevI have an Oracle and heard this as well referred to as popcorning I believe as the beans bounce around. I would guess that if the oracle measures weight then this would not happen
Sage is just inconsistent anyway. The weights change every time you grind. I can’t be bothered to measure each cup. I don’t drink espresso so it rarely matters that much.
The weight you get for a given grind time will change with all grinders, depending on the coffee you're using, and the grind size. But also if you do store beans in the hopper, if we're talking relatively small changes, that could be down to exactly what I'm talking about here. Cheers, Kev.
I'm not necessarily advising single dosing, just not filling the hopper and using it as storage, but single dosing doesn't have to mean exposing air into the beans each time, there are various solutions including individual dose storage and airtight storage with the ability to push the air out, even putting the coffee back in a properly sealed bag with a degassing valve and pushing the air back out, is a solution. Cheers, Kev
I havent noticed any inconsistency at all over a few days in the hopper. Single dosing is such a hassle. Dont you have to retrieve a single dose from your "airtight" container? So that would mean you are constantly opening and closing your "airtight" container multiple times a day, 7 days a week. And you're saying that doesnt allow for large swings in temperature, humidity etc? That doesnt make any sense.
