I'll be covering a lot of profiles on the Decent Espresso DE1 starting with my favorite ones. I thought a great way to start everything off would be to talk about the Default profile. I go over the Default profile, pull 2 shots of Default, then compare it to Londinium and Gentle & Sweet. This is a massively underrated profile that oftentimes gets skipped over in favor of popular profiles such as Londinium or Blooming! Default is an incredibly versatile profile because you can get amazing results regardless of what type of grinder you have and get a great representation of what the coffee should taste like. I like to think of Default as that "clean slate" good profile no matter what coffee or setup I'm running. Once you taste a Default shot you will know what profile to pick next.
Default allows me to figure out what a coffee tastes like under high pressures (intensity), higher flow rates (clarity in the notes), and under a lever style shot (body/texture). I get a great baseline of how the coffee tastes under these three key variables and then I decide what type of profile to use next! I use Default now to dial in my preferences for all coffees. In my case, I have a slower-flowing grinder (Niche) and I will pull a shot of Default and taste. I'll then determine which of those 3 key variables I want to try out next and pick a profile from there. Example: If I want more chocolate I will grind finer and use a profile such as Londinium or if I want more sweetness I will run Gentle & Sweet.
Your results will vary depending on what roast level of coffee you're using and what grinder you are running so I suggest you try each profile out and have fun! Default is just the most versatile regardless of what your grinder situation is and will always provide a competent shot.
IMO There are no bad profiles on the Decent. I suggest you try Default, Londinium, and Gentle & Sweet. You'll most likely enjoy shots coming out of all of them but Default in my opinion gives you great flexibility in determining what direction to head in. If you have a slow-flowing grinder (conical) Default shots can bring out nice fruit while Londinium shots will be massive chocolate. This is because Londinium requires you to grind finer (20-30 microns) and has a longer PI hold. Londinium on slower flowing grinders can result in massive chocolate with good clarity. On the other hand, if you have a fast-flowing grinder (large flat burr) you may find Londinium shots become bitter (chocolate notes extracting too much) due to the longer PI hold. This is where Default comes in where there's a shorter PI hold and you will end up getting that chocolate back while also getting great clarity/fruit.
Thank you Joe D. for providing me notes on slow vs. fast-flowing grinders.
There is also a thread and an answer by Charles in Diaspora about why LRv3 is not the Default profile! I'll be adding in this later when I can find it.
Follow me on Instagram:
@thgbrian
/ thgbrian
Amazon Affiliate Links -Support me by buying products through the links! (you don't have to buy the exact linked item)
Machine: Decent Espresso DE1 1.3 Pro
Grinder: Niche Zero
Grinder 2: Fellow Ode fellowproducts.com/products/o...
Scales: Acaia Lunar / Timemore Black Mirror amzn.to/3jqTzEq​​
Tamper: Decent V3 Tamper + Decent Tamping Cradle
Pitcher: WPM Pitcher 15oz Brushed Steel
Knockbox: Generic Knockbox amzn.to/2YX3W9z​​
Cups: NotNeutral Vero amzn.to/3q1PLvT​​
Fellow Monty: fellowproducts.com/products/m...
Containers:
Airscape amzn.to/3q5KWlu​​
Coffee Gator Canister amzn.to/3aH44zy​​
Cafiza: amzn.to/2MAeauf​​
Thirdwave Water Espresso Profile: amzn.to/36S3TQM​​
BRIPE: amzn.to/3jtS9sZ​
Filming Equipment:
Sutefoto P80: amzn.to/3rpiwT5​
Sony ZV-1 amzn.to/3okAZ3k