I bought a new flowmeter from Michael and Angelo at Espresso Parts Source and found an electronic counter thingie on eBay. After inserting the flowmeter into the pump feed line and completing various wiring connections, I spent a priceless couple of hours cursing at the writers of the controller manual.
But finally, it works! I can now hit the brew button and Silvia will dispense a precise amount of espresso (within ~1 gram).
This is remarkably decadent. Can life get any better? In a somewhat fuzzy picture you can see the controller set to deliver 80.0 ml of water to the group.
Everyone knows that a proper barista, even if s/he is operating an automatic machine, stops each shot manually based on flow, color, and nuclear magnetic resonance. But HEY, I'm not always a proper barista, and anyway, this is PRACTICAL. I can now commence pulling a shot in the kitchen, and if I happen to notice that the batch of beans roasting in the back yard has caught fire, I can grab an extinguisher and put out the fire without worrying that the espresso shot will be overextracted.
Also, when running tests on extraction temperature, pump pressure, dosing technique, etc, it is often important to pull shots of exactly the same volume so that the comparisons are valid. At last, I can do this with precision.
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