We put a lot of effort and money into getting state of the art equipment: incredibly consistent grinders, stable coffee machines, automatic tampers, expensive water filters but it seems that too often some of what should be considered the essential is forgotten, thus do we really correctly assess our priorities when it comes to delivering a high quality cup within a reasonable time frame?
Porta filters and shower screens are a great example: as we extract coffee shots, some of the fine particules and coffee oils stay stuck onto the bottom of the basket and the spouts (less of an issue for bottomless porta filters)
As we pull more and more shots these particules and oil add up and dramatically affect the taste of the coffee we serve as they keep extracting as the water passes through them
👉🏼on the right: water run through a dirty group and basket (see pic #2) 👈🏼on the left: water run through with a clean group and basket (no chemical just water)
That water that we use is what we’ll be brewing our coffee with. Needless to say that the difference in taste in INSANE. Using the same recipe:
On the left: clean espresso, citric acidity, caramel and liquorice sweetness.
On the right: dry, bitter, smokey espresso, unpleasant aftertaste.
(Also higher TDS and Extraction Yield)
Do the test yourself, you might want to reconsider your priorities if you think you don’t have time to clean baskets and shower screens during the day. If you weight your doses (which is great!!) you might want to allow a 1/2% std deviation from your usual dose if that leave you time to do more cleaning. I’ll post later on taste differences between a slightly off dose with clean equipment and a perfect dose with dirty stuff.