Dear Espresso Machine friends,
This is my first post on HB so hello to all. Here's a bit of history about my coffee making set up. I purchased a Rancilio Silvia and Baratza Vario 2 weeks ago after my 13 Year old Briel Lido passed away. The learning curve has been quite steep, However, the information to be found on Home-Barista is invaluable so Thanks to everybody for their helpful posts.

Things seem to be coming together but with the portafilter in place, minus any coffee, if I hit the brew button and brew into clear shot glasses the water has a yellowy colour. I clean the brew head after every shot, use filtered water, and have probably pulled 60 double shots in total. Many have gone down the drain but considering the experience gained, it seems to be paying off.

If anybody else has seen this symptom before I would appreciate any advice. Although I haven't spoke to the store the equipment was purchased from just yet, they seem to be a decent outfit and would likely be supportive. Best to get an idea what's going on first though eh!

Many Thanks

Hi Randy G,

Not that Yellow.....more like a really pale apple juice, looked at through natural light so I don't think influenced by refraction effect. Machine was brand new. I will do ask you suggested and taste and smell it, and report back.

Thanks

If the water goes in clear, it should exit clear. Otherwise, clean it. Cleancaf or citric acid should do the trick.

I'm guessing that if you look at the water in the tank, it's the same color.

Hi All,

Having just run some water through it seems to have cleared up! Sorry for any inconvenience but perhaps there was some residue in the Portafilter or brewhead or something. I'll watch for that next time....before panicking and posting!

Thanks for the responses anyway though, Home Barista has been a wealth of information and has helped me on my way.
Cheers

John

As an aside, I always clean "new" equipment on arrival, e.g., by running a couple tanks of water through the boiler for espresso machines or a couple pounds of coffee for grinders. I want to be certain that latent manufacturing goo/grit and warehouse mold/dust are gone. Some manufacturers (e.g., Elektra, mypressi) call out specific cleaning instructions in their owner's manual.

Hopefully no one peed in it