rsinger wrote:Hi John B.:I was just wondering if you've noticed and differences (taste or performance) since you turned your p-stat up a bit, compared to before you turned it up?

I can't honestly say that I have or haven't noticed a performance difference yet as I haven't done any steaming with the Strega since I turned it up. I'm not much of a milk drinker but I'll play with the steaming tomorrow & see what I think. As far as taste goes I can't say as I've been using different coffees the past few days. I was getting great shots before & I'm still getting them. The cooling flush seems to take about the same amount of time. Sorry, not much help.

Based on my experience getting the grind into a normal pump machine range makes the biggest difference between an ok shot & a great one; just as Jim has been telling us.

Thanks John... I appreciate it.

I've been keeping a log of grind setting, dosing, extraction timing (from first visible flow after the pump gets quiet) for the different beans I've been trying. Using the Pharos, I have a 360° "protractor" template around the top plate circumference, and a machined pointer (that fits into one of the knurled thumb nuts) that allows accurate reproducibility of grind settings.

At this point, just trying to decide what I like the best. I appreciate your observations.

With about 20-21 gram dosing, what kind of shot volume are you generally getting before blonding?

I seldom dose much over 18g unless I'm making my wife a mucho latte. My favorite shots on the Strega have run in the 35g range whereas my Speedster shots are closer to 22g-24g.

I let the pump run into the shot a bit cutting it off once constant flow is established. Sometimes I just let the lever go & pull the cup when it goes blond at around the 10:00 position & sometimes I play with the lever. Lots of options & I'm still playing with it but I only pull one or two shots a day with the Strega.

JohnB. wrote:I seldom dose much over 18g unless I'm making my wife a mucho latte. My favorite shots on the Strega have run in the 35g range

OK that's great... that's about where I've found I like it best too. I'm actually dosing 18 - 20g (depending on the bean) and ground coffee to espresso ratios almost 1:2.

I wanted to see if I was about on the same track.

John and all,

I ordered the HQ E61 screen and installed it on my Strega along with the triple basket from espressoparts that you recommended. First of all, I have to say EXCELLENT recommendation on the basket. I tend to only make milk drinks, so I can get some sick shots at around the 23g range. When I started using this new basket, I installed the HQ E61 screen at the same time. When I first started pulling shots, every single shot came out flat and dull. Completely lifeless, as if somebody just shaved every peak and valley from the profile!

I was astounded and immediately placed the blame on the basket. Well, turns out I was wrong. The basket was fine, but when I switched the screen back out for the original one, my shots went right back to being perfect again. This was about one month ago, and tonight I swapped the screens again and pulled another lifeless dull shot. It doesn't matter how I grind, I get the same bad results either way.

Has anybody else discovered this? How is this possible? I don't understand the physics of this, I thought that a screen would have almost ZERO impact on the shot!

I use that screen in both the Strega & the Speedster and my shots have been fine. I noticed no real difference going from the stock screen to the HQ but I did like the quality better. Whenever I've gotten bland shots with the Strega it has been because the grind was too fine.

Did you compare the taste with any straight shots or just in milk?

JohnB. wrote:Whenever I've gotten bland shots with the Strega it has been because the grind was too fine.

I have found this to be true as well. However, I'm still grinding finer than I needed to on the Silvia.

John,

I always take a sip of my shots before I add milk just to make sure. I also find that slightly brighter shots make decent milk blends with the Strega. The difference in taste is unbelievable with the screen on. It has me thinking, could the screen influence the pressure of the shot? If so, then I think this screen is 'less' restrictive than the stock screen and might give lower pressure. Is this plausible or am I just making stuff up now?

No idea what you are doing to see that difference but I will say that 23g in that HQ triple is really stuffing it.

I just pulled two shots of Redbird; one with each screen using an 18.2g dose in the HQ 18/21 basket (not the triple). Tried my best to keep everything as equal as possible. Same flush, pump run, ect. The pump runs approx. 9-10 seconds before I see the first drop, I cut the pump once flow is established & pull the cup as soon as the shot starts to blond. Shots were pulled 30 minutes apart.

The shot with the HQ screen yielded 27.8g in the cup. Rich dark chocolate & nuts.

The shot with the stock Strega screen yielded 31g in the cup. Bland flavors, slightly bitter & disappointing. As you say, "night & day difference" but the opposite of what you saw.

Since I've had really good shots with the stock screen I'm not blaming the screen. Looks like the Strega screen might flow a little better then the HQ or it just could have been my tamp? I'd say the two screens require a slightly different grind or dose to achieve the same exact shot but who knows. 2 shots don't really tell us anything.

The HQ basket is back in my Strega.

JohnB. wrote:You need to push the steam handle up as far as it will go before it locks into position.

and even then, it doesn't "lock in" very good IMO, pros/cons though I guess, doesn't take much to bump it out of that position