This is my first post. I've been reading this forum for a while now seeking for advice on which machine to buy to upgrade my Breville BES400XL/Capresso Infinity setup.

After 4 years of ownership, and a bunch of small upgrades (unpressurized basket, tamp, etc) I finally developed a routine that allowed me to get what I though was a good shot. However, after moving to Seattle, and after a few visits to Seattle Coffee Works, I discovered that it was possible to raise espresso to a whole new level. Suddenly, what I considered a good shot was a barely decent shot when compared to the delicious ristretto doppio available at Seattle Coffee Work.

I was about to buy the Silvia/Rocky combo, but after all the those posts about temperature surfing and how to adapt one's technique to the Silvia, I decided that I wanted my mornings to start with a delicious coffee, not a science experiment. I felt like if I went with with Silvia/Rocky I would really want another upgrade in a year or two, so I skipped the Silvia and jumped to a HX machine.

I really didn't have enough counter space to fit anything bigger than a Vario. The grinder choice was easy.

Next I looked at the Quickmill Anita. However, with the recent price increase (now around 1.5k USD) it seemed like the Andreja was a better deal (plumbable+ no burn steam wand + prettier for 15% more expensive).

I settled on buying the Andreja and the Baratza Vario from Seattle Coffee gear. Despite all the advice on this board I decided against buying from Chris Coffee Service and bought from Seattle Coffee gear, mainly because they are local.

Here are my questions:

Grinder settings
Can anyone with this setup (vario + andreja) post their grinder setup to help me dial in my grinder faster? On the capresso there wasn't much room (3 espresso settings). On the Vario its a different story. I know it depends on temperature, blend, humidity, but I am looking for something to help me get started without being lost in those 230 settings.

Cooling flush
I've read more than a few articles about the cooling flush/water dance for HX machines (among the HX love article). The worry I have is the margin I have if I do not do it right. I moved away from single boiler machine to get a better consistency and avoid all that temperature surf. Basically the idea seems to be "flush water until there is no more steam coming out/when the water is flowing correctly, then wait for the group to heat up again (heuristic seems to be wait around 30 seconds)". What if I wait 15 seconds, what if I wait 1 minute? The Andreja has an E61 brewhead which is supposed to have great stability. Does that buy me some extra margin?

Ristretto shots
I've never had a successful ristretto on my Breville BES400XL, the pump seem to choke after a quarter once. Have people attempted to raise the group pressure on the Andreja to have better Ristretto?

Descaling
Unless I missed something in the "Simplified HX descale" article, it seems like descaling a HX machine is a lot of trouble. Some say it's not needed, but I'm not sure I believe that. The way I see it a boiler is a boiler and it will build up scale. The Andreja has a boiler flush valve at the bottom of the boiler. Did anyone attempt to descale by flushing the boiler using the boiler flush valve at the bottom? I don't want to take the machine apart every other year to manually descale it and would rather have a routine descaling. Is there any easier way than the method described in the HX descale article (Simplified HX Descale [PourOver])? Also, if using a in-tank softener, will there still be scale buildup? The latest water quality report indicated that the water is "soft".

Other than that, to other Andreja/Vario owners out there, is there anything you wish you would have known when getting this machine?

Thank you,

Eric

I will try to answer a couple of your questions.

Temperature management is quite easy on an HX. If you did not order it, get a group head thermometer. For me it is indispensable. You will then work on some of the techniques described on this site. I use a Flush-and-go technique, flushing to about 202.

Descaling is not difficult, and instructions are readily available. I don't disconnect the autofill, but tilt the machine to fill the boiler higher than normal, allowing descale solution to get above the scale line. No worries.

You will have no difficulty pulling Ristretto shots.

Get yourself an inexpensive digital scale with 0.1 gram accuracy. Mine can weigh up to 1000 grams, so I can weigh the entire portafilter. These are available on eBay for less than $15. Also, get a naked portafilter.

To answer a few more

ericb wrote:

Grinder settings
Can anyone with this setup (vario + andreja) post their grinder setup to help me dial in my grinder faster? On the capresso there wasn't much room (3 espresso settings). On the Vario its a different story. I know it depends on temperature, blend, humidity, but I am looking for something to help me get started without being lost in those 230 settings.

It depends on how it is calibrated, but many people get it calibrated so that the macro setting is one from the top for espresso and the micro setting is the only one that moves. This allows you to grind for espresso on the finer settings and drip on the coarser settings (although I prefer to use an espresso grinder only for espresso since even with the Vario I find I can dial it in better and faster if it doesn't serve double duty).

ericb wrote:Cooling flush
I've read more than a few articles about the cooling flush/water dance for HX machines (among the HX love article). The worry I have is the margin I have if I do not do it right. I moved away from single boiler machine to get a better consistency and avoid all that temperature surf. Basically the idea seems to be "flush water until there is no more steam coming out/when the water is flowing correctly, then wait for the group to heat up again (heuristic seems to be wait around 30 seconds)". What if I wait 15 seconds, what if I wait 1 minute? The Andreja has an E61 brewhead which is supposed to have great stability. Does that buy me some extra margin?

This depends a little bit on the specific machine, as some machines require longer flushes and others shorter, but if you wait way too short a time after the flush it will be too cold and you will know because the espresso will be sour. If you wait too long it will be too hot and the espresso will be bitter. From there let your taste buds tell you when you've nailed it. A great way to do it is to get 4 baskets and pull shots and try waiting progressively longer and tasting all the shots.

Also for the water dance, I find if you don't have the portafilter on, or you have a bottomless one on you can hear when to start counting before you cut the flow as well as you can see it.

I just finished enjoying a Cap, from my 3 week old Andreja and Vario. Damn, it sure was good.

Get the thermometer for sure. If you are going to be pulling a singe shot at a time, then I say for the "flush-n-go" as it seems to offer the flattest temp curve and the best tasting shot. However, for multiple shots, the flush-n-wait seems to be the best method.

Without the thermometer, I would shoot for a cooling flush that lasts 4-5 seconds beyond the "dance" and pull the shot within 10 seconds. Seems like I have read that somewhere before lol.

My Vario (with Black Cat) has the macro all the way to Espresso, the left side about in the middle.

Good luck.

Thank you all the great advice!

From what I hear the next steps for me would be to get a naked portafilter, scale and brewhead thermometer.

I will post more once the machine arrives.