[The Systemic Kid]

So far, and it's very early days, finding shots working to my personal tastes around 25 secs where, previously, I'd been pulling 35 -40 secs on the LR. Grind setting on the EKs is around setting 2 where I had been using 1 on the LR. Latest shot was 18.5grms > 39grms with 10 secs PI and the shot completed in 25 secs. Group temp set to 93.5c. Once the lever is released, everything moves quickly, extraction-wise. Will try retarding the lever a tad later with same set up and see if it makes any difference. Was expecting the 25 sec shots to be under-extracted. Tasting notes said tangerine which was evident in spades but without any unpleasant sourness. Will stick with same ratio and extraction time for time being and try some other beans.

Puck shows good even extraction - no dark patches.

 

[Like Medium Strong Coffee]

arbitrary preference after spending the best part of £3k?

Thank you Mark! Beautifully explained and simplified.

I knew you will bring this up! 😊 It does appear arbitrary, although I always wondered if I should go an extra mile, if it is going to be mainly espresso, if it is worth the cost, and if it will be in the diminishing returns area.

Of course, I only have a JX pro. I am mindful of this and something like Niche or something else for convenience may take a precedence over the refractometer in the medium term.

Thanks!

 

[Denis S]

@The Systemic Kidfor your grinder, when you do WDT, do a mound to the center, grabbing the coffee and pulling inwards towards the center, and then tap/tamp. This will avoid the concave puck you see in the picks and will extract more.

Fast shots are normal out of lighter roasts on unimodal burrs, or finer grinds. 16-25 sec.

One question, I know I can be silly sometimes, what happens if you bring down the lever and dont wait for the entire pressure hit on the gear pump and you proceed to raise it? (not with a dry puck but with a partially pre infused puck)? Does the pump stop once you lift the lever? no matter what pressure you have in pi? let's say you hit 2 bar and your presostat kicks in at 4 bar to kill the pump.

 

[MW11]

Well after reading the whole thread and emailing Paolo I am officially on the queue for a 110v US version in batch 2.

Now to decide if I want a La Marzocco style steam wand or the other type. What kind have you gone with?

Congrats Gus I think you're the first from the US to own one. I chose the LM long wands but I'm second guessing my decision! They are the best looking but are they as functional? I want to move them around freely

 

[DavecUK]

@The Systemic Kidfor your grinder, when you do WDT, do a mound to the center, grabbing the coffee and pulling inwards towards the center, and then tap/tamp. This will avoid the concave puck you see in the picks and will extract more.

Fast shots are normal out of lighter roasts on unimodal burrs, or finer grinds. 16-25 sec.

One question, I know I can be silly sometimes, what happens if you bring down the lever and dont wait for the entire pressure hit on the gear pump and you proceed to raise it? (not with a dry puck but with a partially pre infused puck)? Does the pump stop once you lift the lever? no matter what pressure you have in pi? let's say you hit 2 bar and your presostat kicks in at 4 bar to kill the pump.

It's a good question, the answer is simple, but I want to ensure no confusion.

The little rod/'button at the back is depressed when you pull the lever down. It's adjusted so that when the piston passes the entry port the pump kicks in, because the pressure in the sealed brew circuit drops. If you don't wait for the entire pressure hit and raise the lever, the pump will stop as the lever reaches a certain point and the valve closes (very close to the usual bite point).

Once the valve closes pressure builds and the pump stops...the gauge measures what's in the group and that isn't affected by the pump running against the closed group valve. So yes, the pump stops once you lift the lever.

 

[Eiffel]

For what it's worth I couldn't decide whether to get the Vesuvius or La Mazorcco style water and steam wands, and went with both (I understand from Paolo that switching is fairly straightforward and doesn't require special tools). I suspect the Vesuvius style wands are more practical for home use, but that's only one factor in the decision process.

 

[cuprajake]

as long as they don't use whatever they used on the minima steam arms

 

[GrahamSPhillips]

Sorry - not intending to hijack but oh how I wish we could have an equivalent Vesuvius thread.. I'm still struggling to get consistent good shots out of my "V"

 

[Elephantoplasty]

Mine has the Minima short steam arm. Went for this as it can be tucked away over the drip tray when not needed. When in use, protrudes just enough and at an angle of around 45 degrees to allow your steam jug to fit over it.

Could you post some photos of it? Trying to decide on this setup or the regular steam arm....

Thanks

 

[Eiffel]

as long as they don't use whatever they used on the minima steam arms

While I didn't go for the Minima steam arms, could you explain why you don't consider them to be a good choice for this machine ?

 

[cuprajake]

the minima steam arms were welded on, nearly destroyed taking off to change

 

[The Systemic Kid]

Could you post some photos of it? Trying to decide on this setup or the regular steam arm....

Thanks

This is my choice of arm works fine for me - just. As the Evo is set pretty close to the wall steam wand side, can't steam to the side. With the arm raised to its max around 45 degrees, I can put a 300ml jug into it and steam away. There's enough clearance between the jug's base and the top of the drip tray. Works fine for me but it's tight. The long arm would make it easier to steam with the wand facing front and over the drip tray but, for me, it would be in the way when I don't need to steam. If you've got space to the steam wand's side on your work area, you will have more options than me should you go with the Minima arm.

 

[Like Medium Strong Coffee]

As the Evo is set pretty close to the wall steam wand side, can't steam to the side

Can't you swap the arms ?

 

[danielpugh]

Can't you swap the arms ?

You can at the build time - it's a factory option, along with arm type. After despatch - presumably possible but trickier as requiring change to internal copper piping.

 

[The Systemic Kid]

Can't you swap the arms ?

Like this?????​

 

[The Systemic Kid]

As @danielpugh points out - it's a factory job really. In my set up, the EKs set close to Miss Evo on the hot tap side. They both sit on a 60cm wide cupboard set into an alcove that measures 75cm.

 

[4085]

This compares directly to me, who could not give a monkeys toss about steam and water arms! I took the minima option......why? Simple, Patrick told me!

 

[Like Medium Strong Coffee]

I have also taken the minima option with steam on the right, which has got a plenty of free space over a window!

 

[The Systemic Kid]

This compares directly to me, who could not give a monkeys toss about steam and water arms! I took the minima option......why? Simple, Patrick told me!

We've got the Vesuvius steam wand

This is the Minima arm option

 

[Like Medium Strong Coffee]

As @danielpugh points out - it's a factory job really. In my set up, the EKs set close to Miss Evo on the hot tap side. They both sit on a 60cm wide cupboard set into an alcove that measures 75cm.

Not sure if you have a flexibility to relocate the machine elsewhere to give a little more space.