Hi everyone,

I got myself a Gaggia Classic and I am a total beginner. I have the machine since 2 weeks and recently I ordered a Mahlkonig Vario, I can't be happier. I have the following questions:

1- I pull a blank shot and wait like a minute. When I remove the PF, there is still a lot of water floating in the PF (With very little amount of coffee particles in it, but not much). When I take it out and bring over the sink, the water begins to flow out. Is this normal?

2- After every shot, I let some hot water run out while PF is removed. I notice that the water is flowing out slowly on some holes, and fast on others. See the video:
Is this normal?

thanks in advance for your answers

Hello and welcome.

jackietreehorn wrote: 1- I pull a blank shot and wait like a minute. When I remove the PF, there is still a lot of water floating in the PF (With very little amount of coffee particles in it, but not much). When I take it out and bring over the sink, the water begins to flow out. Is this normal?

Yes. I don't know if I'd call it "a lot" but I typically see this. I just dump it in the drip tray rather than carrying it to the sink.

jackietreehorn wrote: 2- After every shot, I let some hot water run out while PF is removed. I notice that the water is flowing out slowly on some holes, and fast on others. See the video

That looks somewhere between "average" and "clean that machine immediately" to me. You might want to pull your shower screen and dispersion block off and clean them. The effect you're seeing gets more pronounced on my machine as cleaning time approaches. FWIW, you're better off if you clean those parts more frequently than not frequently enough. The dispersion block can be a challenge to remove if the machine is very dirty, while it comes off easily when the machine is relatively clean.

This could be one of those take the screen out and let it have a taste of the gas burner on the stove moments.

-Cecil

Thanks for your suggestion Geoff. Well, I have the machine since 2 weeks (it was brand new) and I already cleaned the shower screen and shower disc holder less than a week ago. To be sure, I cleaned it again today (with a little brush + water), but I cannot observe any change on the flow. Any other ideas?

Yes, your experience is very normal. The water in the filter after an empty shot occurs due to a slight "vacuum" when the portafilter is locked in. I quote vacuum because it is not truly a vacuum but that is the easiest way to describe it.

With respect to the even drops, the screen has relatively small and few holes that tend to be affected by coffee oils more than other screens I have seen. I clean the screen on mine quite often. Of course, my Classic is at the office so it gets a fair amount of use.

Are you sure the water isn't coming out in equal volume from all the holes but then kind of flowing on the surface of the filter screen, combining together into fewer larger streams?

It could be difficult to see this with the naked eye.

Doesn't it have to do with the surface tension of the water?