Palombini Gold

Victor_M

In light of the responses I received in my previous thread regarding 'downgrading my Classic Gaggia' to a caffita pod machine I have decided to stock up on some Palombini beans and show the missus how to use the Classic properly.

Does anyone know where I can order Palombini on-line, the €25 bags in La Corte are huge and end up going stale before I can drink them fully. Ideally I like to buy a few 1kg bags rather that the 2.5Kg bags that they sell in the Epicurean centre.

Thanks in advance.

Dero

I've never managed to find an online source for Palombini beans. I haven't had reason to buy any in a while though since I moved on to home roasting.

I always thought the €25 bags were 1kg (I think it actually says 1000g on the bags). That's for the Dolce Italia at least - the stuff in the brown bags.

A 1kg bag used to do me about a month, which as you say is just too long. Even if the beans were fresh at the start, they're sure as hell not after a month, airtight jar or not.

BlueMonke

they're sure as hell not after a month, airtight jar or not.

So how long do beans last. I buy the beans from Starbucks and sometimes Bewleys if I am not to lazy. I just put the beans in an airtight jar but is freezing half the pack possible and defrosting when you think youll need them?

rockbeer

I think you can get smaller bags of Palombini beans in Dunne & Crescenzi (sp?), at least at the one in the Kildare Village. Not sure whether they do 'Gold' though. Next time I'm in there I'll check but it might be a little while - off to Sardinia on Monday

Dero

I was in Dunne & Crescenzi in Kildare this morning, and all I could see were 1kg bags.

I have seen smaller packs before, but I think they were pre-ground coffee.

rockbeer

Sorry if I led you astray. I'm sure the big bags in La Corte are bigger than 1Kg though. 1kg isn't huge, although I guess it depends on how much you use. The thing is, the beans are roasted so long ago that it probably doesn't make that much difference does it?

I mean, if you're not buying fresh roasted beans, why worry about having them sitting around in your house rather than on some shop's shelf? Vacuum pack beans taste stale within about five minutes of opening the pack anyway.

Victor_M

I got myself a small bag of the pre-ground Palombini (Blue & white bag), not the one i normally get, but if anyone lives near the Phoenix park, the boathouse restaurant in Farmleigh is a La Corte restaurant, I've been in there loads of times and it never crossed my mind that it's the same as the place in the epicurean centre, they sell the large bags of beans for 25€, they only sell the pre-ground in the smaller bags unfortunately, I think I'll stick with the fresher €5 bag every 10 days rather than enjoying the first 1/3rd of the bag of beans immensely and gradually tasting it going stale.

On a separate note, does anyone know where to buy a de scaler for a Gaggia Classic on line? Are there any tips for cleaning the machine properly?
All I do is remove the circular disc that the water comes out of and clean it, I had a pack of the de scaling agent but ran out about a year ago and haven't been into BT's since.
Thanks.

rockbeer

afaik, descaler is descaler, don't think you need a Gaggia-specific one.

Ristretto list a Puly one in their cleaning section.

RE*AC*TOR

Hold on now. Can I be the first to say - what the fúck?

1. Why buy stale Palombini beans when you could buy fresh beans from Ariosa, Ristretto, Java Republic, Bewleys etc?

2. Why buy preground beans at all? It'll only produce muck

Victor_M

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

Hold on now. Can I be the first to say - what the fúck?

1. Why buy stale Palombini beans when you could buy fresh beans from Ariosa, Ristretto, Java Republic, Bewleys etc?

2. Why buy preground beans at all? It'll only produce muck

Because the Palombini beans are by a long shot my favourite. I usually buy the Illy beans as an alternative.

RE*AC*TOR

Have you tried using beans that are, say, 1-2 weeks from date of roast?

Victor_M

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

Have you tried using beans that are, say, 1-2 weeks from date of roast?

Not to my knowledge, where would I get beans that fresh?

RE*AC*TOR

Ariosa (Temple Bar market on Saturdays).
Ristretto http://www.ristrettocoffee.com/home.asp
Bewleys on Grafton St (you'll have to ask about the roast date).
Java Republic online http://www.javarepublic.com/iopen24/ (again worth dropping them an email to ask about the freshness as you can occassionally get a slightly older bag).

I'd personally go with one of the first two.
I'd also prioritise the OPV mod for the Classic. What kind of grinder have you?

Victor_M

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

Ariosa (Temple Bar market on Saturdays).
Ristretto http://www.ristrettocoffee.com/home.asp
Bewleys on Grafton St (you'll have to ask about the roast date).
Java Republic online http://www.javarepublic.com/iopen24/ (again worth dropping them an email to ask about the freshness as you can occassionally get a slightly older bag).

I'd personally go with one of the first two.
I'd also prioritise the OPV mod for the Classic. What kind of grinder have you?

Hey RE*AC*TOR,
I have an MDF Gaggia (setting 5 usually) that does the job nicely, as for the OPV (over pressure valve I presume) mod, I had a look at some of your previous posts regarding this mod and it seems fairly straight forward and yields positive results, there is currently a fine line between a nice espresso and an acid espresso, this mod seems to make the whole coffee making process a bit more forgiving.
I don't have a Blind filter basket so I'll just make a Anti clockwise 180 degree adjustment like magnolia did last year, is that still seen as a correct adjustment or have there been any changes to the theory since then.
Thanks.

RE*AC*TOR

Cool - the MDF will do nicely.
Maybe Mr Magnolia will come on and say something about the OPV. I think when he measured the OPV eventually with a gauge it was still over the desired setting. He might be able to give you a better idea of what kind of blind adjustment to make.

Mr Magnolia

I'd say in total, over 2 times I adjusted the OPV I went past 180 degrees. You could maybe go 270 if you want to take the chance. You would be better off holding out until you at least get a blind filter or better still a pressure gauge.

Victor_M

I had a go at the OPV mod a few minutes ago, i'm not sure if I've made any major difference (am about 45 degrees CCW from where I started), I'm able to pour a single espresso in 25 seconds up to just below the rim of a gaggia espresso cup, I poured it into a measuring jug and it's about 85Ml, decent crema just not sure I've made any difference.
Should I start off at Zero again and just go to -270 as Mr Magnolia suggested? Does the OPV control the speed of the flow or just the quality of the pour and crema?

On a separate note, I signed up to Ristretto and ordered 2 bags of the Ristretto espresso blend and a wooden handled tamper.

Mr Magnolia

The OPV just controls the pressure that the water goes through the group head at. I wouldn't advise further adjustment without a wn accurate way of checking the output.

The adjustment will have changed pour times but this shouldn't be used at all to gauge the new pressure setting of the OPV. You will have improved your coffee with that adjustment but again, don't try and gauge it from the pour times.

You should be pouring around 50/60ml of coffee in ~25/30 seconds. Sounds like you're pouring a little on the quick side. Adjust your grind an incriment at a time to a finer setting until you achieve the above pour.

Victor_M

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

The OPV just controls the pressure that the water goes through the group head at. I wouldn't advise further adjustment without a wn accurate way of checking the output.

The adjustment will have changed pour times but this shouldn't be used at all to gauge the new pressure setting of the OPV. You will have improved your coffee with that adjustment but again, don't try and gauge it from the pour times.

You should be pouring around 50/60ml of coffee in ~25/30 seconds. Sounds like you're pouring a little on the quick side. Adjust your grind an incriment at a time to a finer setting until you achieve the above pour.

Thanks Mr M, I'm pretty curious about this whole mod now and want to do it properly, any suggestions where I can get a gauge in Dublin? Maplins? Is the gauge attached to the OPV itself?

Gran Hermano

On a side note, what tamper are you currently using?
If it's the plastic POS that comes bundled with the machine hold off until
you get the real tamper in the post as using a proper tamper will allow
you to measure/adjust the grind and flow better.

Victor_M

Ok so I've just spent the last 30 mins tweaking it and I think I've got it set about right I used this guide -

No worries with the questions. The OPV doesn't require the machine to be hot. It should work straight away. Adjust the OPV (I found 270 degrees counter-clockwise about right) and then close her up. You'll need a to do one of the following to check if it is correct. Either use a blind filter basket in the portafilter and lock it in (you use this for backflushing, to stop water exiting the group) and then press the brew switch. The other alternative is to turn on both the steam switch and the brew switch (the method used to get hot water through the steam wand), but keep the steam valve closed. This should turn on the pump but keep your 3-way valve closed and let water exit the OPV return pipe. One note here is the 3-way valve itself can act as an emergency relief valve and will usually open at some pressure above optimal brewing pressure, such as 10-12 bar. If this happens, you'll see water coming out of the group as well. It can also be a good indicator that you've lowered the OPV setting enough when this flow through the group stops (if it occurs at all).


Taken from a coffee snob site that RE*AC*TOR linked to, I used the steam wand switch trick to sent the flow straight through to the OPV, I now have exactly 100Ml in 30 secs, which from what I can gather is correct (Is it?) I can now pour a nice thick 3/4 of a full espresso cup in 25/30 secs seems to be a thick crema, and espresso was treacleish and gooey - after all this fiddling I haven't even had a coffee tonight as it's too late, but it looks good so far, will have a testpresso for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Looking forward to my Ristretto beans now.

I also showed the wife the comments I recieved last week re: the cafita conversion Kit, she had a good laugh and agreed to take a few lessons, she is now able to knock out the americano's perfectly, I'll work on the Latte's and Cap's down the road.

Thanks for all you suggestions and help lads.

Mr Magnolia

Good to hear you are happy with the results so far. Interested to hear what you think of the testpresso

Victor_M wrote: »

Thanks Mr M, I'm pretty curious about this whole mod now and want to do it properly, any suggestions where I can get a gauge in Dublin? Maplins? Is the gauge attached to the OPV itself?

To check the pressure with a gauge you'll need to screw the spout off the portafilter and fit a small pressure gauge. When you run your machine the gauge displays the regulated pressure so you know exactly what your machine is running at. You'll need a gauge with at least a 0-15Barg range and a 3/8" reducer, preferably liquid filled. RE*AC*TOR recommended this crowd so they're worth a shot for the gauge and fitting.

This type of arrangment (note that this particular assembly didn't fit due to too many fittings and a big gauge but it gives you an idea).



Make sure your full assembly fits into the machine before purchase, take measurement between the base of the unit and the shower head.

Mr E

I'm reading this thread with bemused interest.... who'd have thought making a cup of coffee would be so damn hard?

Mr Magnolia

Mr E wrote: »

I'm reading this thread with bemused interest.... who'd have thought making a cup of coffee would be so damn hard?

It's as hard or easy as you want it to be


Like anything you enjoy, once you really get into it you want the best results possible with the raw materials to hand. This is more in-depth than most coffee fans would probably get into but if you have the machine you may as well get the best out of it. Are you thinking of getting started?

Victor_M

I had a reasonably tasty espresso this morning, not sure if the coffee has gone off a bit or not, I ground some Illy beans that were opened about 10 days ago so it could be that the beans aren't as fresh as they should be, didn't have the crema I was hoping for, I was using stale different espresso last night for all my testing shots.

That Gauge set-up looks impressive, will the bottom of my portafilter (the gaggia classic standard one) screw off?

I'm not goings to tinker with it until I get the new tamper and the Ristretto coffee beans, has anyone found the need to adjust grinder settings for these particular beans, I just leave my MDF set to 5 most of the time.

Mr Magnolia

Yes, the spout screws off.

I adjust my grinder very regularly [always need to adjust when I change bean] but I have a stepless grinder so I can adjust in very small incriments. The age of bean and humidity are all variables which can dictate the need to change your grind. You need to remember 50/60ml in 25/30sec, if you have all other variables constant (amount of coffee dosed, type of bean, tamp pressure) then the only one remaining is the grind so adjust it until you hit the desired pour time. Poor crema generally indicates stale coffee, other factors can be at play though.

Mr Magnolia

Just noticed I left out RE*AC*TOR's recommendation for the gauge in my post above: http://www.manotherm.ie/

I'll edit it in now.

Mr E

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

It's as hard or easy as you want it to be ... Are you thinking of getting started?

Definitely... I'm one of those philistines with a €50 blade grinder. Sorry to derail the thread. I'll have a good read of that getting started thread.

Mr Magnolia

Absolutely no hassle, never understood the problem with off-topicness in most fora

Mr E

OK, thanks Mr. Magnolia .... In fairness, this thread started discussing Palombini beans, and derailed into a BSc in Physics.

Mr Magnolia

Seems to happen more and more here, great isn't it!

Victor_M

Apologies most of the derailing has been due to my enthusiasm for the OPV mod:D
regarding that getting started thread, Mr E I would take the advice the lads give regarding the grinder seriously, I'm only sorry I didn't see it 4 years ago, it would have saved me a fortune in crap grinders and cheap espresso machines, you could have the greatest espresso machine ever made and with a crap grinder never get a decent coffee out of it.

There should be a warning on the coffe machine boxes,
"this product is highly addictive and may harm the finances of you and other around you!"