single dosing part II

….More thoughts on single dosing…  aka single dosing part II

This is a continuation of yesterday's blog on single dosing that started running too long.

http://www.roaste.com/CoffeeBlogs/wakeknot/single-dosing

Imagine you want to single dose, but your grinder does not perform well under a light ad of beans, what should you do?  One grinder I have tested that fits this category is the Macap M7K.   Under a large load of beans I think it competes quite well with the best grinders in the world, including the Mazzer Robur, which costs thouosands more.  On the other hand, single dosing I found it hard to dial in.  The problem was that using the exact same dose will result in two different shots.


There are good solutions that one can come up with, though.  One clever solution is to replace the hopper with a tube that just fits inside the throat of the grinder.  Now it will take fewer beans to create the same pressure as a large load of beans in a huge hopper.  This then allows  you to run the grinder with only two or three shots worth of beans in it and get great results.  This is not quite the same as single dosing, but a close compromise.  You, of course, do lose one of the great virtues of single dosing – the idea of just running the grinder with the dose init you want so you do not have to worry about getting too much or too little in the basket.  Then again, anyone who has tried single dosing and weighing before and after realizes that the dose you put in is  never quite exactly the same as the dose that comes out sometimes off by as much as half a gram.


Another good solution and one that worked perfectly with the Macap above is to insert a weight into the throat on the grinder that pushed down with roughly the same weight as the hopper of beans would.  A tamper works, but is arguably too heavy.  A pill bottle with weights added inside can be used.  You can also get a woodworker to manufacture something for you (my favorite option).  This gives you back the option of true single dosing reducing some of the flaws..

Again no method of dosing at home is perfect, but this can be an excellent one when done right with the right grinder.