Single espresso

[ariggsby]

A couple of months ago, I got a Rancilio Silvia (and a Gaggia grinder). It took me about a day to get a good double espresso out of it, but I've never been able to get the same quality in a single, except of course, but splitting the double. The single usually tastes a little over-extracted, and the top layer is always thin and pale. (FYI, this is using slightly more coffee than half of that for the double, at a somewhat finer grind).

Anyone have any thoughts? Help? Ridicule?

Andrew

[adegiulio]

Don't bother with singles. If you are getting too big of a serving with a double, you're probably pulling your shot too long.

[phaelon56]

You're not alone in finding it difficult to get the same consistency from a single shot as you do from a double. I've often wondered if the stepped shoulder inside the single basket vs the more or less straight wall of a double basket somehow creates different dispersion patterns and a different type of extraction.

I do know that I never bother with singles. I just grind a bit finer, try to keep my tamp consistent and shoot for about a 1 1/2 oz double in 25 - 28 seconds. That's technically a ristretto but some folks restrict their double pulls way down to the point where they get only an ounce or so and most if is crema. That's a bit extreme for me - I'm happy with 1.5 oz to 2 oz as long as the crema and the flavor are there.

[ariggsby]

Good to know.

I also draw a fairly short double. I should have added that the reason I care about the single in the first place is just that I have a fairly limited daily caffeine allowance, and sometimes it would be nice to be able to distribute it more evenly over the day.

Andrew

[phaelon56]

....  I have a fairly limited daily caffeine allowance, and sometimes it would be nice to be able to distribute it more evenly over the day.

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I'm in a similar situation with daily caffiene intake. It's self imposed for good reasons - too much caffiene gets me jittery and then I crash later in the day. I typically have one 12 oz latte with two short doubles at about 9 or 10 AM and nothing else for the balance of the day. When I used to work from a home office and had my espresso machine nearby all day I used a blend that was half decaf and half regular beans.

That was a good solution for me - allowed me twice the amount of espresso and the flavor profile/body was still very close to regular beans.