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The only way to know is to get hold of a Scace meter which is not really within reach of the home user.
Now I'm wondering how accurately a digital temperature probe poked through a portafilter spout could be hacked to be...
kkg337-
Accuracy isn't going to be the problem, sealing in the pressure is. A waterproof DS18B20 will cost you pennies, is quite easy to use with an Arduino and shouldn't be too hard to incorporate in a portafilter. Maybe buy separate sensor sleeves, see if you can bond (or braze?) them into a portafilter with an airtight seal and then insert the sensor afterwards.
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Yeah people have made their own versions of the Scace on coffee forums, plenty of knowledge available there. Just depends whether you’re wired that way to put yourself through it, my inclination would be to just work within the limitations of the equipment and adjust grind/dose/time according to taste and just follow general temperature management good practice.
Tijmen
Stevethecoffee
Difficult to say, domestic espresso machines generally struggle with temperature stability, so temperature from the boiler is often lost on its way to the shower screen and that rate of loss varies according to how well pre-heated the machine is, how long it’s been idle, etc. Add to that the variation in starting temp at the boiler depending on where the pressurestat is in its cycle if it’s not PID controlled, plus not knowing what temp it’s been setup for from the factory or if you’ve adjusted the pstat or PID, and it’s not really under your own control. The only way to know is to get hold of a Scace meter which is not really within reach of the home user.
Basically hotter water gives more extraction because it is more effective as a solvent at higher temperatures. If you can’t fully control the temperature then you can increase extraction by other means like grinding finer and increasing contact time.
That was a long answer.