[rob177palmer]

Herewith photographic application to join TLC!

It all started at the Rave forum day last year - lots of lovely levers and I knew I wanted one. However, being a long way off affording a Londinium, I stashed my lever ambitions at the back of my mind…until last week, when I stumbled across a well-priced Quick Mill Veloce from Bella Barista.

I made an impulsive 5-hour round trip yesterday to bring her back home to Bristol. Paired with a Ceado e37s, the Veloce is my first proper machine, having been a long-term owner of a fully-modded Classic.

BB were as helpful and friendly as ever. Whilst waiting for the QM to warm up I was given a full tour of the business, finishing in the roastery to play with their Compak E5 / LM GS3 test setup and sampling their in-house beans. We then compared how the Veloce could perform using the same beans, paired with their Rocket Fausto (which I think is a lesser grinder than the Compak?).

First impressions were that the grind quality from my Ceado is truly exceptional when compared to either of the BB test grinders.

Second impression was that the Veloce held its own against the GS3. The Veloce shot was less "bright" and probably more palatable - the discrete flavours blended together better - the GS3 revealed a very distinct lime flavour, which was too dominant for my tastes. Lovely body in the Veloce shots though, and I was sure I could improve on both the grind and distribution to get better results at home.

I spent a reasonable amount of time yesterday afternoon playing with decaf, with some acceptable results but nothing ground-breaking.

Today, however, and back to my normal beans (currently Django Nyungwe) I started to get some seriously tasty results. More of an early observation, but I had understood that levers required a finer grind to perform best - yet my Veloce is preferring slightly coarser that my Classic, which is interesting.

Now I am starting to get to grips with my new baby, I wanted to ask for advice on how long to wet the grinds before extracting.

How long is a reasonable time to hold the lever down before commencing the pour? I have been going for 10 seconds PI then timing a 30-35 second shot once I release the lever.

I don't always see the first coffee drips following a 10s PI - is it important to see drips before releasing the lever? Should I adjust the length of PI each time, only starting the pour after seeing the first drips, or do I standardise the length of PI and release the lever after X seconds, regardless of whether drips are evident?

I am loving the silent pours (once the vibe pump has done its thing!). Below a photo of a very tasty shot - 16g in, 32g out, poured into 10g of hot water in the cup.

 

[4085]

Congratulations.....the lever down is the equivalent to pre infusion. I used to do this for a minimum of 6 seconds and a maximum of 10. The determining factor for me, was after raising the lever how long took for the first drops to appear. Do not start your count until the stream has started and then, and it is only a guideline, I used to time the shot from 20 to 30 seconds. Taste will keep you right.

The Veloce is a capable machine. I owned one as well

 

[Jony]

OHH Lever we go nice one.

 

[rob177palmer]

It was reading your comments and various exchanges with coffeechap and others that helped push me over the edge. I was very thankful for your full reviews as they really helped me understand the machine before making the trip to view it.

 

[4085]

There was a bit of hoo hah about this machine versus Londinium. With hindsight, it was stupid. it is a bit like saying a Rocket is just a copy of an Expobar...it was an interesting project and fell because QuickMill would not back it......yet funnily enough you can still buy it on the Continent made by QM...strange that hey!

 

[rob177palmer]

Oh...and a totally gratuitous video of the pour that produced the above shot....

http://

 

[rob177palmer]

The determining factor for me, was after raising the lever how long took for the first drops to appear.

So pull a shot, arbitrarily a 6s PI, if that didn't pour smoothly, or poured too slow, adjust for a longer PI next pull, rather than tweaking the grind?

 

[Stanic]

Great! As for PI, a bottomless portafilter and a shot mirror are of great help. What I do is wait until the bottom of the basket gets covered with coffee, then increase the pressure (release the lever in your case). The shot in your video looks great!

 

[4085]

So pull a shot, arbitrarily a 6s PI, if that didn't pour smoothly, or poured too slow, adjust for a longer PI next pull, rather than tweaking the grind?

Thats about right, but, cannot promise a grind tweak might not be needed. At the moment it all seems a little strange and you are having to sit and think about every parameter. After a short spell of time, everything will be on autopilot and these things will just happen without thought!

 

[rob177palmer]

Thanks gents. Really appreciated.

I'll keep trucking this week and see where I manage to get my shots to.

Interesting to try and hit a slightly shorter pour than I am used to, which I know will mean I am at a significantly courser grind than I have ever needed on my Classic - that's unexpected.

Am I right that (all other factors being equal) a longer PI = quicker resultant pour?

 

[MildredM]

Huge congratulations

I usually go for around a 6s to 10s pi on mine. Then another 30 to 40s depending on the beans and what I am trying to achieve.

Enjoy your new machine!

 

[rob177palmer]

I forecast a heavy caffeine intake over the next 7 days

 

[iroko]

Congrats, nice machine. I also aim for about 6-10s pi and about 30/35s before I pull the cup.

If your waiting 10s before drips try slightly loosening the grind to 6s before drips and see how that taste's, then just play around to suit your taste. Enjoy.

 

[jlarkin]

Looks great - sounds like you're starting to enjoy it. Well done on that impulsive round trip!

 

[Stanic]

for me, the play with PI depends on the beans and roast level (and those two also influence grind setting - which then influences PI) all parameters are interconnected to a certain level

in general, high altitude natural or honey process light-to-medium roast beans are hard to extract, demand fine grinding, long pre-infusion and higher temperature - mind you, it is very easy to get the desired temperature with the Portaspresso

some examples with beans I had last month (the extraction ratio is mostly 1 : 1,5):

Sq. Mile Ortiz 1900 - this was white honey process, roasted for filter but I only used it for espresso, I used rather fine grinding, looong pre-infusion and temperature of 94°C, yielding very very sweet shots

Sq. Mile Sweetshop - this was quite similar but already medium roast for espresso so I used water at 93°C and very slightly coarser grind setting

I have a medium-light roast Kenya from polish Tommy café and these beans work well with the same settings (grind and temp) as the Ortiz 1900

now with the Rave San Pascual natural process beans I have I tried the same grind settings as with the Ortiz1900 and 93°C but this led to overextraction and bitter taste with dark crema leaving a ring in the cup, the roast level is past medium meaning they are easier to extract compared to previous ones - so I set the grinder a bit more coarse again and temp of 92°C, the PI is logically shorter as well as overall shot duration

you will soon find out what works and what not with the beans you have, it just takes some time and conscious observation

 

[coffeechap]

Great that you made the trip, so close to helping out with collection but you were way to keen.

 

[Rhys]

Great looking machine that, nice and shiny as well

I guess once you see coffee coming through the bottom of the basket, then you have reached full saturation. Can you adjust pre-infusion pressure? I don't know Anything about the QM tbh (guessing it's tank fed? Can it be line fed?)

 

[4085]

Great looking machine that, nice and shiny as well

I guess once you see coffee coming through the bottom of the basket, then you have reached full saturation. Can you adjust pre-infusion pressure? I don't know Anything about the QM tbh (guessing it's tank fed? Can it be line fed?)

I had both so they come tank fed but can be swopped to line fed

 

[rob177palmer]

Really enjoying reading everyone and comments, so thanks for the help. It's useful to see how different people describe the processes, as you pick up different ideas from each.

I'm definitely going to loosen the grind tomorrow morning and see what I can make from it. Shorter PI would be better at first I think, to give a good base to start from.

@Rhys - I'm not sure if I can adjust the PI pressure - it is tank fed so I suspect that the PI is driving by boiler pressure?? (Guessing!!)

@coffeechap - thank you again for the offer. As you say - I was off like he proverbial rat up a drainpipe once my wife gave the a-ok!!

 

[rob177palmer]

Dfk - am I right that you were recently comparing IMS to VST?

I bought an IMS Competizione convex base ridgeless to compare to my 15g VST ridgeless. So far dosing 16g into the IMS leaves a big puddle of water on top of the puck as so much headroom. BB were adamant that this would work with a c.15-16g dose, but I think I am preferring my 15g VST so far.