Hey Guys, I have an interesting situation here. On my Bezzera BZ-40 I'm finding the initial pour speed is quite fast and just wondering how it compares to other Bezzera owners.

The BZ isn't fitted with any form of pre-infusion and my pours are starting very quickly after the brew switch is pushed and are somewhat "thin" to look at. I'm dosing around 18g and the double basket is level with the rim before settling and tamping. The taste seems fine and the pours are around 30 secs. The trouble is if I tighten up the grind to get what I would normally expect from the naked PF the pours blow out to 45+ secs; way too long.

I just finished rebuilding the machine and the pump is set to 8.5 Bar. No pre-infusion as mentioned, however it is fitted with a 1mm gicleur which I machined up myself and is as listed in the parts manual so I know is correct.

Any thoughts, or do I just close my eyes and enjoy the taste?

Pete

I'd be curious to know what volume you're getting in that amount of time. I've had shots run short and shots run long, and it's usually the shots that run short that turn out the worst.

Excluding grind as an issue, are you experiencing any channeling? Does the stream look good throughout the whole pour or is it turning blond prematurely?

A thin stream could be a number of things, from stale coffee of course to just the type of coffee. I've roasted some single-origins that came out really thin.

The biggest indicator here, in my opinion, would be the volume of your shots, whether or not you know you're getting channeling and whether it's turning blond early.

PeteF wrote:Any thoughts, or do I just close my eyes and enjoy the taste?

THAT'S the question . . . do you enjoy the taste? After all, it's what's in the cup that counts . . .

ChadTheNomad wrote:I'd be curious to know what volume you're getting in that amount of time. I've had shots run short and shots run long, and it's usually the shots that run short that turn out the worst.

Excluding grind as an issue, are you experiencing any channeling? Does the stream look good throughout the whole pour or is it turning blond prematurely?

A thin stream could be a number of things, from stale coffee of course to just the type of coffee. I've roasted some single-origins that came out really thin.

The biggest indicator here, in my opinion, would be the volume of your shots, whether or not you know you're getting channeling and whether it's turning blond early.

60 ml in 30 secs. I pretty much try to stick to the "Italian Standard", with the exception of slightly up-dosing but don't go crazy with that, no triple baskets etc. Yes shots that pour short look horrendous but interestingly often don't taste as bad as they look (within reason of course). Conversely I often see videos posted of stupidly long pours with people ewwing and arhing about the creme etc but with their machines chocking away for 45+ sec you just KNOW it must taste like crap

I haven't used the naked PF too much on the machine as yet. I consider that more of a tool to refine. At the moment I'm just interested in those who may have experience with this machine and can advise on the pressure ramp characteristics. I've heard the Bezzera has a steeply rising pressure profile, it's certainly what I see, but would be keen to hear from other's experience.

Pete