What's the hottest temperature that some coffees can take without turning burnt and ashy? My PID shows 205.7. The coffee that I'm pulling does not seem to exhibit any of the classic signs of a shot pulled too hot. I'm wondering if some beans are just much more temperature tolerant than others or if there might be a problem with my machine or the offset. The boiler shows 210F. No Scace to confirm temp at the group, unfortunately. I'm just very puzzled. The beans I'm pulling presently are Colombia (unsure of exact origin). I also noticed that Metropolis Redline pulled really well at this temp.

Any sort of cutting flavor: peel, wood, spice, is going to get very ugly at high temperatures. If the coffee doesn't have these, it might be fine. Smoky flavors can fool you though. Some get terrible at higher temperatures, but those in Robustas for instance, can sometimes work better.

Bottom line, the feedback from a coffee you do not know inside out and in your sleep is not going to tell you much of anything about a new machine.

I cannot speak to your machine, but if you like its flavors Malabar Gold seems to like temperatures around three degrees Celsius higher than pretty much anything else roasted to a similar degree. Don't know whether that's the robusta, the monsooned malabar, or the combination, but it gets some forest floor tastes that I really enjoy on an occasional basis, when pulled that hot.

Best,
David