Please do another of these videos. Even if you think it's repetitive. The mystery roast. It's so helpful to see your decision making process and to compare it to what we would do. Much more helpful than more abstract knowledge where it's separated out into themes etc. Seeing it all put together and organic is the best for learning.
Great vid, as usual. Would love to see the same done for pour over. Specifically how to make those same micro adjustments once you find a good flavor zone. Thanks bud!
It's probably the best video on dialing in light roast I have ever watched. Often sour/bitter situations will happen, and that is very confusing to most people. That situation is explained perfectly.
Please do more video like this with more coffees, different equipment, etc. Coffee RU-vid is oversaturated with comparison/unboxing videos, but at the end of the day we all have different beans, equipment, and skills, this teaches transferable skills.
I just had to comment to say keep doing what you’re doing, Lance. Your content is super helpful and your videos are always so enjoyable to watch. All the goofy fun things you do only make it better. As a teacher, I have to say I’m very impressed with your ability to teach difficult concepts in easy to understand ways. Your passion for what you do shines through!
This is what I love, a good old fashioned dial in. Aside from telling me my choice of grinder is still on point, all I want to see is you dialing in a new bean, showing me that ratios of 15 to 50 aren't weird, making a slurping noise when tasting, then whispering about Hugo. This is my happy place ☕
Extremely helpful! The Gaggia is quite the hobbyist machine, great to see you doing something like this in affordable packages that are within reach of most of us. Cool grinder too, I'm behind I gotta go see your review on that. The Gaggia and Silvia are both machines I have been eyeing. Hope you're doing great man! Cheers!
This video lead to one of the best shots I've pulled yet. As a novice, I was using a 2:1 ratio even for light roasts. I had never seen/learned/heard about changing the ratio based on roast level. Bumping it up to 52g this morning let the coffee sing.
I am opening a coffee trailer very soon and I can honestly say that I have learned more from all your videos (Which I have watched) than any other teaching platform I have subscribed to. Keep up the great work and thank you.
Really like the initial setup grind checks that you did to get grind size close. I’m sure even the first shot was really good. Great tip to minimize wasted coffee.
I have a jar I put extra coffee grinds into for my in laws who ask me to provide them with ground coffee for their morning coffee. Any grind size will do. They love regular coffee.
Just getting into espresso and wanted to experiment with a lighter roast today. Thank you for being technical but still easy to understand. 👍 pulled a somewhat decent shot with this info first time around, and planning to make some tweaks to the next shot.
Awesome video! Thanks Lance. I of course only speak for myself when I say this, but I really enjoy the "long format" stuff you do (even a 40 min. vid is not too long), especially when you talk about important stuff like lightly roasted coffee ^^. Keep at it
Oh man! This was so helpful. I really needed to hear “go coarser on the grind” it made all the difference. My shot looked pretty bad coming out, messy but delicious and sweet where it was sour before. Thank you, my dude!! 🙏
Lance, you are such a great teacher! The methods you come up with to convey grind size across a video (with sound and feel) is amazing! Also, love that dosing cup with built in scale!
I had been struggling to get a light roast to taste good, this definitely helped! I especially appreciated you talking about changing the ratio, for some reason that’s not a variable I was experimenting as much with. Something more towards 1:2.5 instead of 1:2 definitely tasted better. Thanks for the video!!
Wonderful timing. Being new to the espresso process, I've been wresting quite a bit with lighter roasts and my breville bambino, and I feel like I've tried quite a few things (to no avail). This has given me a few more things to try. Thanks Lance!
Which bambino do you have? I have the basic one without the automatic froth feature, and it only came with a pressurized basket. Definitely order a normal basket if that is the case and you will have a lot more luck! I hope you pull some good shots soon!
@@ronnorhgih3265I have the basic one as well, but it came with 4 baskets. 2 singles and 2 double (one pressurized and non-pressurized of each). I've only used the non-pressurized double basket, so I don't think that's it - but thanks for reaching out!
@@Jefffocus From what I've heard (and I'm starting to think it's true), it's a problem related to the temperatures (because I've tried pretty much every variable). I don't think these machines can consistently hit the right temperature for certain beans. Yesterday I bought a new bag of beans which are a mix of dark and medium roast, and I finally got a shot that wasn't sour. I think it's possible these entry level Bambino's just aren't ideal for lighter roasts. Of course, it could also be me - I'll never rule out some error on my part, but I've been working at this for quite awhile, using every tip and trick I've been told, and nothing has really worked.
Thanks so much for this great video. I especially appreciate the explanation of how coarse ground shots can have great body…another mystery finally makes sense. I agree that many cafes use a long pull as a cheat code to moderate the acidity, but that’s why I appreciate light roasted shots that are truly dialed in and have balanced acidity even at 1 to 1.5 or so. It takes reduced flow to get this right I suppose, everything has to be right.
More great information Lance. With all the information you provide, and all the equipment you use,I believe home users have varying degrees of these factors. Many move between different roasts, and this video hits a point along with your dark roast dial in video. One easy factor is to journal equipment, grams, time grind settings etc
Lance, This is a great video, one of your best, and very instructional, thanks for using a stock Gaggia Classic Pro, a machine that many of us started with. I couldn't stop laughing after Hugo's comment of "Average". Again, thanks for a Classic Lance Video. Cheers.
You consistently hit on the exact topics I've always wanted covered by an expert like yourself. Your channel continues to be a gold mine of info! Thank you!
Great! Just when my roaster sends a filter roast for my espresso - i get this. Good timing! Universe is reaching out to me through Lance. What a sign!!😅😅😅
Loved this Lance. Have never really thought beyond size and taste to introducing ratios is excellent. Thanks giving some love the Gaggia once again. Have upgraded but still try to surf the Gaggia for a good cup.
That was a very helpful video, even if for the most part it confirmed what I'm doing already. One question though: you used the word "balanced" a number of times, once in regard to acidity, other times in regard to the whole shot. But what is it that is balanced? Sweet and sour? Acid and bitterness? Some other elements?
Gotta start dialing my light roast now in the espresso. Thanks for the ideas. My light roast usually brewed via pourover exclusively. Gotta test lights.
sometimes when I buy new coffee I take about 25g of it and bring with me to work. It's usually a light roast. As i don't have an espresso machine I just take on the opportunity to use the one at work. It's a Appia II. I have just one shot and that's it. Got some really fast shots sometimes and to my surprise they tasted really good. The last one I tried had a really pleasant hazelnut taste to it. Got 60g out from 18g of a light roasted catuaí vermelho grinded on a timemore C3S with the esp adjustment plate it took about 35s to extract. 30g were for tasting and the remaining coffee turned into a latte that tasted like nutella
Hi Lance, when you started explaining how the water moves through the puck I had a bit of an idea: What if you selectively mixed different grind sizes for I guess what I would call a designed channeling? I know that this sort of happens already because of the grind size distribution of a grinder, but maybe a more exaggerated version of this would be worth looking into. My sort of train of thought, is that the water would choose the path of least resistance and finer grinds would steer the water to the more coarsely ground coffee particles, while at the same time allowing for higher extraction as the finer part of the puck would also give off solubles. Maybe even layers of differently ground coffee would be cool to experiment with. I'd do it myself if I had an espresso machine :p
I’ve often wondered similar thoughts. I’m curious about blending extreme uni-modal grinds in calculated ratios to unlock different flavor profiles. I see promise with this in pour over, but the experimentalist is also curious about this in espresso.
I imagine the particle distribution and grind quality is just purely random in a blade grinder. I do think there's potential with extremely unimodal grinders, if blending in calculated ratios. 2 grind sizes I imagine would be enough to play with, thinking something like ratios of 1:5 or less. @@drygordspellweaver8761
Absolutely love your videos, Lance! Thank you for providing such high-quality, in-depth content for everyone. I've learned the most from your channel compared to others in terms of refining my espresso output. Any recommendations for specific light roast beans that you enjoy? Just tried some Onyx Tropical Weather beans and was surprised by how much I enjoyed them. Generally, for light roasts, high temperature is recommended, however, Onyx recommends 92 C instead of 94 C for that roast. What would you suggest, the higher temperature?
Great advice! I will try out the fingerprint method. Also curious what your advice would be for a single shot basket of around 7 to 9 grams, which are more challenging to find the zone in my experience. Don't agree on the sourness though: when life gives you lemons or a light roast, enjoy the sourness. I consider it an acquired taste after a few years of being a home barista ;)
Awesome content again, will try it as I almost have given up on light roast espresso (the one recipe V60 for light roast though is a hit each time). Thanks for the fun delivery of this educational content !
Quality content as always 🤌 It also all comes down to the palate experience/professional experience and preference as well. Today I had a pretty underextracted and sourish, but kinda still drinkable Brazilian espresso and the barista was very happy about it as "our Brazil is fruity as you may have noticed, unlike every other bitter Brazil out there"
Thank you lance, recently had a Nestor lasso by Manhattan in espresso roast and it seemed to have benefited from really long ratio, I wish this video was uploaded back then 😢. Btw Lance, the barsetto has built in plasma generator, so inherently it has no static in stock form. I am wondering if the plasma really works when grinding without RDT? cheers!
Nice and clear explanations! Very helpful. Where can I find the little gizmos like the RDT spray bottle, and Wisk for stirring the grind? Also need a portafilter collar or dam like the one you use to prevent grinds from spilling over the sides when you pour them in. Thanks!
Good tips, I find I can get really good results when I pull longer/slower running shots (usually more 1:2-ish, but also with a pre-infusion). I tend to err on the side of going too fine, but yep, It is easier to get good results by going coarser and doing a larger ratio though. I gotta try to get myself back there with faster flowing shots, just to see if I'm missing anything in my coffees (it's good to experiment). If you go super-fine sometimes I'll see coffee oils getting extracted :O
"It's average" Hugo, you've been around Lance too long. I think what you're calling average would be the best espresso I've ever had. 😆 Lance, I really appreciate that you used a GCP for this. I know you've done a Bambino before as well, and it means more of the audience can see themselves doing what you're doing. When I see coffee youtubers pulling shots on their barely not commercial $3k+ machines, it's like "that's cool and all, but I'll never be able to replicate it." (at least unless I win the lottery or something)
Just realized I need to grind finer than I thought. An yeah I don't know why I haven't watched a video on grind size yet. I think because a lot of the videos I've watched have kinda talked about it.
Precisely what force do you use when tamping? Isn't tamping the most precarious of all the espresso variables... I use a tamping scale. Works a treat. Reliable extraction every time.
