Coffee Appreciation

Is the pouring into another jug necessary/contributes to incorporation of microfoam?

I've only found this useful when making milk for multiple drinks and while pouring one (using milk that's been decanted into a smaller pitcher), the froth in the original pitcher's milk has started to separate.

I guess if you steam milk first then pull the shot you might find yourself in a similar circumstance.

Currently when steaming the pressure drops half way through and I need to stop and wait till it gets up to temp again.

Not used a mod but what’s your your steam routine? I used to get that until someone on here pointed out that the way the boiler works is kind of counterintuitive to the way you want to steam.

So, you flick the steam switch, wait 45 seconds or so for the light to go out to come on (whatever) and start steaming. It steams well for 10-15 seconds but then the pressure drops off to no more than a trickle.

What has happened is the boiler has stopped heating when the light comes on and it won’t heat again until the temperature has dropped back down below a certain point. But you started steaming and used up the head of steam, and it now won’t pressure up again until the boiler temperature has dropped and the heater kicks in again.

What you need to do, is start steaming within about 10 seconds of flicking the switch. That way, the boiler stays on all the time you’re steaming and the pressure stays high. Yours is a later machine than mine but hopefully it’s the same boiler setup 👍

No, but...

A few years ago I had a Classic that I fitted a diy PID to, only on the boiler thermostat, so the steam wiring was untouched (sans PID).

I learnt a lot about the existing steam thermostat and how it operates as the PID would read out the boiler temp.

When the steam switch was turned on, the temp would go to around 145-150 degrees, then the light would come on to indicate steam was ready. As soon as the steaming started, the temperature would plummet down to around 110 degrees and fizzle out. It would then take forever for the thermostat to kick in again and get steaming.

So I learnt to start steaming around 140 degees ish, whilst the light was off and boiler still getting up to it's 145/150 degrees cut off. This meant that the thermostat would stay on and the steam would be continuous.

The Gaggia stock thermostats have massive swings and a long time to kick back in again, but a bit of trial and error works a treat! You may even be able to get a cheap digital thermometer that you can attach to the boiler somehow from the inside and get to know a bit more before splashing out on any other upgrades.

Oh amazing. Thanks both. Looking forward to trying that tomorrow now. Sounds like it could be a game changer. I've only had the machine 5 years, so you'd think I would have asked this question a bit sooner!

Edited my wording a bit but, yeah, hopefully that will do the trick.

How easy would it be to retrofit an on demand, dose by time or weight unit to an older grinder.

How good are you with a 555 timer, transistor and a relay?

I've finished fitting my PID kit and pressure gauge to my Gaggia classic. Few questions.

Adjusting OPV. I've adjusted it to about 9.5/9.75 bar when backflushing, hoping it will land around 9 when brewing - is this about right, or do I want it set higher? I just fired some shit old beans through it to test, and it was brewing around 7 bar. Will brew pressure go up with fresher beans as more co2 is produced? The shot was too fast as well (not dialled in and old beans), am I right in assuming brew pressure will increase as I grind finer to slow the shot down?

Also, how will the OPV setting affect steam?

OPV shouldn't affect steam at all. Steam comes from boiler pressure, not pump pressure.

You're right about pressure increasing with a finer grind. The reason you only got to 7bar was because that's all the resistance the puck could create. Greater puck integrity would push it to 9bar and then the OPV will kick in.

Also, how will the OPV setting affect steam?

Generally it doesn’t, but if you have the OPV pressure set low, you can find the machine occasionally ‘burps’ the excess steam pressure into the water tank.

Ah - the OPV was set really low (2.5 bar) when I initially tested it, and I’d been having trouble with steam beforehand - noticed it was doing exactly as you described, burping into the tank and generally steaming badly. Hopefully it’ll be working a bit better now.

I can solder something to something else.

Formally posted my JX Pro for sale right here in this FS thread should anyone be interested!

Messy and a bit fast. Puck prep was meticulous. Dampened the beans before grinding, used a WDT, used a leveller, but still spraying all over the place. Any suggestions?

The shots have been tasting good tho. Even being too fast or too slow, they’re not coming out massively sour and thin, or massively bitter. Nice fruity notes and generally tasty.

The milk steamer. Shit the bed. What a change. Boat loads of steam, made a really really delicious milk drink with great texture (and that’s at the hands of someone with no fucking clue how to do milk). I might not have dialled the espresso in, but the milk drink was probably the nicest I’ve made. Was sad spitting it down the sink!

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Watching videos online, I think I may be tamping too hard. Which is leading to lots of channeling. More experimentation tomorrow!

Messy and a bit fast. Puck prep was meticulous. Dampened the beans before grinding, used a WDT, used a leveller, but still spraying all over the place. Any suggestions?

Sounds like you still need to go finer. I’m tempted to say put the WDT and leveller aside for now and use a conventional tamper until you better understand what’s going on.

Back to basics:
Heat the portafilter: run a bit of water through for 5 seconds or so, so that you’re not pulling your shot through a cold portafilter.
Static reduction: grind the beans dry into a jam jar or metal cup
Clump breakup: gentle shake side to side.
Even dose into the portafilter: wipe the basket dry. Pour the coffee in directly and evenly. Use a dosing ring, but don’t use a teaspoon.
Even the distribution: level it out by knocking the sides of the portafilter with your palm until it’s level.
Tamp: tamp evenly, gently at first, check, then tamp again firmly. If the tamper goes in at an angle it’s probably due to uneven distribution.
Clear the side walls of the basket: quick tap on the sides of the portafilter with the tamper will knock the loose coffee off the sides of the basket. Then just lightly tamp to smooth the top and re-seat the puck of coffee.

Gaggia Classic likes a big dose and to pull a big shot IME. Don’t leave too much (if any) headspace.

Really enjoying the pact coffee advent Calendar.

Only one so far was a big weird, super oily. But that’s my grind more than anything.

Having just started with home espresso, I can't comprehend how you can get a good shot first time with a different coffee every day. I just opened a new bag, and keeping the grind the same as I was reliably getting 25-28s shots before, I got a 15s shot this morning.
How can I try new coffee without repeatedly wasting 2-3 shots of every bag?

Filter

Yeah...

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To be more constructive: after a while you get a sense for what grind settings based on origin/roast level which speeds up the process but doesn't eliminate it. You'll need to adjust the grind as beans age anyway so constantly chasing the 'perfect setting'.

Never buy beans again?

^ clickbait wanker.

I’m ticking most of those boxes. Heated portafilter, grinds into metal cup.
I’m really making sure it’s even in the portafilter, and tamped level etc.

Will try again this afternoon. But I think finer is the key.