Coffee Appreciation

Samesies

Although I was sort of glad I went cos I found the ROK / Presso guys and told them I loved their coffee maker but I kept on breaking it (through use). they promised me lots of replacement bits

That didn’t last very long

How annoying. I think this has the same group head as the Classic so might be worth checking the following (assuming the pump is working):
-empty the machine and put it on its back
-take the shower screen off, which needs a short Philips screwdriver
-undo the two 5mm Allen key bolts and remove the aluminium disc. This might be stuck if it hasn’t been off before
-you’ll see a small hole where the water is pressurised out the boiler. This is probably scaled up and blocked. You can poke it clear with a small Allen key or similar, then run a load of descaler through it with those two components removed. It’ll probably spit out quite a lot of crud.

Hey @BartS

I have 2x of those machines. It is your solenoid valve that is the problem.

You could get a new one (£35) or simply pull out the old one, soak it in Caly Puff or similar descaler for a full day then if you have access to an ultrasound cleaner, put the metal bits in there (you can remove the plastic bit) and voila!

Video to show how to remove it, it is very easy to do.

https://youtu.be/9UZVYaAFR48

@Vince, @Jonny69 Thank you for the advice. I removed and cleaned solenoid valve and it still does not work. When I removed it, there was not water coming from the top (black pipe) and only when I removed it first time, there was a bit of residual water from the bottom (brass connection end). Could that be a hint where the blockage is?

if you remove the nut at the top of the solenoid you should be able to remove the brass connection from the bottom (as at 3:49 in the video). You can check if the hole is blocked by blowing air through the top and covering each hole in turn with a finger. One will provide noticably more resistance, but you should be able to blow air through both. If you can't, that suggests still blocked. On paticularly grimed up machines, descaling can 're'-clog this small hole, and sometimes need a physical (needle?) dig around to clear, if there is any scale dislodged further up in the system, you might have to repeat this process a few times.

I did that. I poked it with the needle and removed the limescale that was it. Still the result is that it does not work.

Let the solenoid soak overnight (without the plastic bits), try again in the morning!

New toy, possible lightweight camping duties although looks like pour technique will be little & often.

https://rivers.stores.jp/items/542cf1cc3cd482e2840002dd

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were you able to blow air through the grouphead side of the solenoid? as @Vince said I tend to let mine sit for 8 hours when I periodically clean. When I let my descaling routine slip, I have had to clear it as much as 3 times in a row, as any scale in the boiler that is dislodged can just flow straight in and block it again - or at least restrict flow. I know it feels tedious, but occams razor suggests it's still this..

After a bit of a mix up, I have a kilo bag of Yellow Bourbon Espresso Blend whole bean, but I dont currently have a grinder. Steve has already sorted out a replacement bag so I am passing them on for a donation to charity.

They need to be collected from Lewisham and a donation made to the 999 Club, a homeless charity in Deptford. https://999club.org/make-a-donation/make-one-off-donation/

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Suggested donation of £12.

Ever pass through Islington/Kings Cross?

@mustardbeak I need some so I'll take it and pay Steve direct?

Where are you in London?

Does anyone have spare tickets to the London Coffee Festival this weekend?

I have been before and it is not worth the £25 asked at the doors... £10 maybe. £5 definitely.

Your welcome to take it, Steve told me not to bother returning so I said i'd pass it on here for a charity donation, so he's happy with that too.

I'm in Lewisham, but could meet around Tower Bridge/London Bridge one evening.

Can I share this Kickstarter project? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/willplayford/9barista-perfect-stove-top-espresso/ ... disclaimer: I'm friends with his brother and have backed the project by buying one, so this is a bit of a spam post. But equally the idea should be of interest to all coffee appreciators, even if just to think... hmmm... will that really work? The idea is that it is a bit like a stove top espresso pot, but the coffee puck is turned upside down so it cannot disintegrate into bits as the steam comes through. In turn this allows the pressure to be much higher and the design claims to do 9bar like a proper espresso machine. They are at the London Coffee Festival doing demos, in case anyone makes it along.

fooo, over $400 bux

oops

yeah, I was a bit surprised how pricey it was. I heard about it 3 yrs ago and have been psyched for it appearing ever since, so I backed it before common sense kicked in. I really hope it works... For a few years I wrestled with and eventually gave up running/maintaining a Nuvoa Simonelli Personal 1 machine, and have fallen back on cafetiere coffee and espresso pot coffee, so it would be really nice to have a handy gadget for making something more like an espresso.

I'm ultimately not surprised at the price, just a little caught out.
I'm sure if it becomes successful, production will very quickly move overseas.
I backed it just before that 'oops' up there.

haha splendid!

Looks interesting to be honest, I imagine the relative simplicity will draw in a lot of potential buyers (considering how most pages on this thread have some mention of electrical issues in espresso machines). Also not surprised on the cost, nor do I think it's expensive for what it is (assuming it performs as the creator says of course)

Fingers crossed it gets funded, in the meantime I'll stick with my similarly basic La Pavoni!

Thanks to the Mrs for bringing me coffee in bed.

60g yield is a LOT. Even for a 20g dose.

Interesting idea though - it'll be hard to change the coffee industries perspective of a moka pot I think, especially using double walled delonghi glasses in the video...

Donation to LFGSS on behalf of @StevePeel @YBCR

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