Too Much Coffee

I've not attempted to research this problem anywhere else. I hope you guys can help.

I bought a mini eSantos from my good friend SL because I was drinking some very delicate coffees and wanted to see if the eSantos gave a clearer flavour to the brew. For quite a while it did. Then all of a sudden the brews started to tast sour - as if the extraction temperature was low or something, or maybe the brew is just under-extracted.

One of the problems with the eSantos as a device is that you cannot control the extraction time directly. I've always thought it a bit short, and it does vary a bit. It's supposed to be sensitive to how level the surface that you place it on is, and you're supposed to be able to fiddle with the brew time by varying the slope of the base (by propping one side up I think).

Does anyone know anything about this please? I'm finding that my Mbwinjeru (for example) is losing a lot of "information" in my normal press pot brew.

OK, I've tried the "tip the thing up" and the "use hot water instead" approaches.

The first one didn't seem to do anything for the brew time.

The second one gave me coffee which tasted "boiled". I've had this happen before with cold water starts too - the activity in the brewing chamber can get pretty violent with this brewer so we're probably talking some sort of major oxidation thing going on here.

I think I'm going to have to grasp the nettle soon and rehabilitate my 25-year-old Cona vacpot. I'm losing patience with this thing.

Thats a shame your having a problem with it phil. I use my most days and its tops. It does brew a bit quick but its that cold in the roastery (bbbbrrrrrr ) that it takes alittle longer than it would in my warm house. Perhaps you will have to brew in the shed

Have you asked on Alt.coffee? there normally loads of people with opinins there might be able to help

Did you sort this out phil ?

Nope. Last time I tried using it, it frothed like a mad thing for about a minute only, and the result tasted boiled. Then I got the Gaggia back and my focus changed for a while.