Buyer's Guide to the Quick Mill Alexia - Page 2

[jesawdy]

From the photo, the PID is going to be exceedingly close to the uninsulated boiler.

Care to stick a TC in that space on a closed machine and report the temperature after an hour of operation?

As part of the PID installation, the boiler is insulated and a small piece of flashing (over the insulation) is installed to further shield the PID controller from heat. This is all part of the PID kit that Jim Gallt put together for Chris. I believe the Alexia's case was also further modified with additional ventilation slots in the bottom of the case (and perhaps the top). From conversations with Jim, I know that he tested this with a thermocouple as you suggest (and apparently the PID controller has some sort of internal temp monitor as well, cool!). Beyond that, the specified controller was chosen because it has an increased operating temperature range in comparison to some other PID units.
(But we're getting ahead of ourselves a bit )

More interior pictures to follow.

(And I need to get some cheap thermocouples!)

[jggall01]

From the photo, the PID is going to be exceedingly close to the uninsulated boiler.

Care to stick a TC in that space on a closed machine and report the temperature after an hour of operation?

Done during testing and development of kit (which includes boiler insulation and reflective shield). Click the link for measured ambients over 2-hour period.

http://www.pidkits.com/alexia/05050035-ambient.pdf

Shows steady state ambient temp is around 120F in brew mode. Temps rose to a little over 130F after 30 minutes with steam switch continuously on (not recommended).

Jim

[jesawdy]

The Quick Mill Alexia bench test is my first hands-on experience with the E61 grouphead, and I've got to say I really like it. It's probably too early in my "E61 honeymoon" to make very broad statements, but it just seems so easy to use. Silvia never treated me this well (this consistently at least).

The drinks are coming along nicely. Here's a shot from the first few days:

Mmmm - Kid-O from Intelligentsia

This is the first milk drink from Alexia from day 2 of using the machine. It looks pretty good, my (lack of) latte art skills notwithstanding.

The first milk drink from Alexia, about 8 ounces

The following video shows a shot of Caffe Fresco's Daterra Estate from the other morning, and my tamp style. The shot blonds a little early (hard to see it in the video). I have since adjusted my grind a little finer and my dose a little heavier. I am still using Rocky for now, but I will drag out the Cimbali Max for the TGP soon.

[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1854737357421137418&hl=en[/gvideo]

[jesawdy]

Quick Mill Alexia - Temperature Surfing and the Stock Thermostat

One of the first things I did when I received the Alexia was to break out my new Scace thermofilter and test the machine a bit (it was clean after all).

As delivered, I was observing temperature measurements of 199-201°F at the high side of the heater cycle. I used the machine as delivered for the first week with good results as I finished up some Intelligenstia Kid-O Organic espresso blend.

After a bit of testing with the thermofilter and visual observation of the temperature measurements, I have determined that the thermosyphon and group need some waking up from a long idle period. If you just walk up and pull a shot, the shot will be cold (I have seen as low as 185-186°F at the thermofilter). I find that I need to flush about 3-4 ounces, wait, and maybe flush again and wait until the heater cycles on (Tip: I use the warming flush water to heat my cup). Once the heater light goes off, I wait 40 seconds, pull another 1 ounce warming flush, and then lock in the portafilter to pull the shot near the top of the heat cycle.

When I had the covers of the machine for the previous pictures, I adjusted the thermostat ever so slightly up. At the adjusted thermostat setting, the highest temperature I have registered on the thermofilter has been 203°F, and that wasn't for very long. The above surfing procedure results in a fairly consistent 202°F thermofilter measurement at the current thermostat setting.

These two videos show this temperature surfing procedure. The second video is just for confirmation that these steps are repeatable.

[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-500276248917745588&hl=en[/gvideo]

[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6489232501144198220&hl=en[/gvideo]

[Marshall]

Flush to warm the group. Before you grind for your shot, lift the brew lever and flush about 3 ounces of water.

...

Brew. You may wish to do another brief spritz (1 ounce or so) of water from the group by lifting the lever, and then immediately lock in and lift the brew lever.

I think that's a lot of flushing for a non-HX machine, Jeff. Although not as dramatic as with an HX, these machines do have a thermosyphon effect, which keeps the head pretty close to brewing temperature. In addition to requiring more frequent refills of the reservoir, a 3-oz. flush will introduce 3 oz. of cold water into the boiler, which will pull down your brew temperature. I flush just enough to have some water come through the brewhead, and I do it immediately before locking in the portafilter.

I'd be curious what your results would be, if you give that a try.

[jesawdy]

I think that's a lot of flushing for a non-HX machine, Jeff.

I agree, but to be clear, the first 3 ounce flush is only from an idle state... not for every shot pulled in a session. Perhaps more so than warming the group, I am flushing that amount to force a heater cycle, just so I know where I am at (see my temperature surf post above). The second 1 ounce flush may be superfluous, I will gladly try without and report back my findings.

I am going to guess that the PID installation will change the procedures a bit.

[Marshall]

I agree, but to be clear, the first 3 ounce flush is only from an idle state... not for every shot pulled in a session. Perhaps more so than warming the group, I am flushing that amount to force a heater cycle, just so I know where I am at (see my temperature surf post above). The second 1 ounce flush may be superfluous, I will gladly try without and report back my findings.

I am going to guess that the PID installation will change the procedures a bit.

My Zaffiro is on PID. So we may be looking at different requirements.

[jesawdy]

Quick Mill Alexia - Steaming

Steaming on the Alexia is pretty no nonsense. The machine has good steam performance and is quite easy to make good microfoam with. I was a little surprised when I actually timed how long it takes to steam, it is a little slower than I would have guessed. Anything less than 8 ounces is plenty fast, and unless you are steaming for multiple beverages, I hope that you will agree that 8 ounces of milk is aplenty for the "exceptional espresso" that you just prepared.

Getting Ready to Steam

Save your clean up for later. After pulling your shot, I'd recommend a quick rinse of the showerscreen and portafilter and save your cleaning routine until later (you do wiggle rinse and water backflush, right?). You can do the cleaning routine beforehand, but it will impair heating of the boiler and your shot is getting lonely setting there on the counter all by itself. So, let's steam!

Turn on the Steam mode. Enter steam mode by turning on the right most toggle switch. The steam indicator (right red lamp) will come on as well as the heater indicator (center red lamp). The heater lamp will go off once the boiler reaches steaming temperature. The machine should be at steaming temperature in about 2 minutes.

Force the heater on. Here's a tip - learn to start steaming before the heater goes off. Here's how:


• Initial purge. After the steam switch is on, I purge the wand a bit in the first 30 seconds. If your boiler pressure gauge was still reading the brew pressure, it will drop quickly to about 1 bar.
  
• Get ready. Get your pitcher and milk ready, and watch the pressure gauge, it should be rising.
• Purge again. I will purge the wand a bit more briefly at around 2.5 - 3.0 bar, or perhaps 1 min 15 seconds if you're watching the clock. This should get rid of any remaining moisture in the wand.
• Watch the gauge. With time, I found the heater was turning off near 3.5 bar, so I would start steaming before I got there (Note - the steam temp is thermostatically controlled, not a pressurestat control, so results may vary based on your routine).
• Steam. Start steaming at 3+ bar or somewhere between 1:30 min and 1:45 min.
Note - Watching the boiler pressure gauge is a reliable indicator of when to steam. However, if you are more overzealous with your wand purging or have different routine, the gauge readings will probably vary. If you have the PID controller, you can watch the boiler temperature and not the pressure gauge. This should be a much more consistent method. I can expand on this after I install the PID controller.

Frothing

The Alexia has a two-holed steam tip and the steam dispersion pattern is directional. With the wand pointed nearly straight down, center the tip in the pitcher and find the stretching zone, you can hold the pitcher level. Once you're ready to incorporate the foam, sink the tip a bit; depending on the pitcher design and milk volume, continue to hold the pitcher level or cant it to one side. Experiment to see what works best for you. (Refer to Jim Schulman's The Home Barista's Guide to Espresso, in the Barista Technique - Frothing and Pouring Milk section for more help.) The video below shows steaming 10 ounces of milk.

Quick Mill Alexia - Steaming Milk
[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2777098372214414703[/gvideo]

Finishing Up

• Clean the wand. There will be milk dried onto the steam tip and lower portion of the wand (the Alexia does not have the "no burn" wand). Use a moist cloth to scrub the milk off the tip and wand. It is a good idea to purge a little steam; this flushes the tip and moistens the cloth for more scrubbing. Be careful not to burn yourself when you purge. Hold the cloth loosely from above the tip, purge, wipe, purge, wipe (in a class, I was instructed to hold the cloth like you would a stinky diaper, that's a good analogy). I found that I have to spend a little extra time cleaning the junction where the wand shaft meets the upper portion of the tip.
• Prepare your drink. Pour your milk (I'll spare you my latte art ).
• Turn off Steam mode. After you've prepared your drink, you still need to return the machine to brew mode and cool things off. It is not advisable to leave the machine in steam mode for long periods of time. Return to brew temperature mode by turning off the steam switch.
• Refill the boiler. Place the steam wand in a tall pitcher or mug, open the steam valve and engage the pump switch to fill the boiler. Directly after steaming, it takes about 6 ounces of water before I get a steady stream of water out of the steam wand. The boiler is full now and things are starting to cool off. (Tip - it is all too easy to get splashed with very hot water in this step. You may want to cover the pitcher/mug with your steam rag, or alternatively, I found it helpful to just remove the tip from the wand. The tip is very easy to remove and no splashing*.)
• Clean up. Time to rinse the group again, wiggle rinse and backflush with water. This will also help cool the grouphead back down to close to normal levels.
  
  * - Dan suggested the safer option of using the brew lever to refill the boiler. This will greatly raise the head temp (which is already hot). This should not pose a problem as long as you don't plan on making anything for 10-15 minutes. No chance of spraying yourself. I intend to give this a try next time I steam.

Steaming Times

Here are some steam times I have measured to give you an idea of steam performance.


From 40°F to 150°F:
4 ounces - 25 sec
8 ounces - 38 sec, 40 sec (two sets)
12 ounces - 66 sec, 75 sec (two sets)

From 40°F to 160°F:
8 ounces - 46 sec, 48 sec (two sets)
10 ounces - 55 sec, 60 sec (two sets)

[Marshall]

Refill the boiler. Place the steam wand in a tall pitcher or mug, open the steam valve and engage the pump switch to fill the boiler. Directly after steaming, it takes about 6 ounces of water before I get a steady stream of water out of the steam wand.

Jeff, I predict, with all this purging and flushing, you are going to get very tired of clearing the cups off the warming tray and refilling the reservoir. It really isn't necessary to get a steady stream of water out of the wand after steaming. Running the pump just until water starts to come out of the wand works quite well on a Zaffiro (and I assume on an Alexia). I brew 3 or 4 doubles a day and steam milk once every 2 to 4 days and only need to refill about twice a week.

Another tip, I do my steam purging into the very bottom of the (rinsed out) frothing pitcher, which eliminates splashing.

Thanks for the reports.

[jesawdy]

Since this review of the Alexia is my first experience with the E61, I am taking the opportunity to get a better understanding of use and the maintenance of an E61-based machine.

One thing I was a bit apprehensive about was removing the grouphead gasket and shower screen. This seems to be a common question and issue; it seems that people often either sacrifice the shower screen (tearing it up) to replace the gasket or, conversely, sacrificing the gasket (with an awl) to replace the shower screen.

In doing routine cleaning and maintenance, I prefer to remove the shower screen once a month or so, just to see what is lurking behind there. I do finish every espresso session with some "front-flushing" or portafilter wiggles, and usually 2 or 3 quick water-only backflushes. By doing this, and based on my coffee usage, I have been happy with only performing chemical backflushes on a monthly basis. Some people like to do this more frequently, and if you let coffee sit on the screen, you probably need to do so.

My fears of removing the shower screen were unwarranted... I have removed it three times without issue now (not because I had to), and it really was quite simple. Referring to the threads, "How to clean an E61 dispersion screen" and "How to remove the dispersion screen and gasket of an E61?", I settled on holding the portafilter with a blind basket at about the 7-o'clock position, lifting the brew lever, and letting the system fully pressurize. This seems that it may push the gasket out a bit. I follow this with the use of a flathead screw driver, two times at opposite sides of the screen, prying along the ridge or groove on side of the screen and using the group as the fulcrum (as shown here). The gasket and screen very easily pry out of a hot machine. The gasket feels a bit "greasy"; I'm not sure if this is because the gasket is hot, it is lubricated or if it just has coffee oils on it. While the ridge or groove makes it easy to pry the dispersion screen out, it does give a small place for coffee to accumulate. So far, I've only had a thin film that easily wipes off with a paper towel, both at the inside of the dispersion screen and on the underside of the grouphead on the "dispersion screw".


E61 dispersion screens - My Alexia review machine has the ridged, "groovy" style dispersion screen (right).


Quick Mill Alexia - Dispersion screen profile (left); Inside showing the ridge, in this case quite clean (right).

This was all quite simple, and it only takes 2 or 3 minutes to remove, wipe clean and replace. Personally, I would prefer to remove the dispersion screen on a routine basis, before the gasket hardens or the screen gets caked up or stick on with dried coffee or coffee oils and becomes a problem.

Previously, I was of the opinion that the E61 dispersion screen retained by the group gasket was a "bastard" design. I see now that it is actually quite eloquent; this design removes the issue of a screw that might seize, retain grinds or otherwise interfere with the dispersion screen or puck.

(NOTE - Dan mentioned that his review machine has the "ungroovy" spot welded-style dispersion screen shown above on the left, so YMMV)

[jesawdy]

Quick Mill Alexia - Internal Details

Here are some interior pictures of the Quick Mill Alexia.

To get to this point, 8 screws have been removed; 6 flat head screws on the outer shell, and 2 Phillips screws to remove the "Z"-panel shroud that covers the boiler and what the pour over tank rests on.


Quick Mill Alexia - interior

1 - Water level magnetic float switch
2 - Incoming water line and vibratory pump
3 - Brew thermostat
4 - Steam thermostat
5 - OPV and return line
6 - Relay (to kill pump and heat on low water condition)
7 - Boiler

Starting at the bottom of the machine we have the Ulka EAX5 vibratory pump, the power cord terminal block and a relay that will turn off the heater and pump when the magnetic float switch indicates a low water condition in the pour over tank.


Quick Mill Alexia - Ulka vibe pump and power cord terminal (left); Low water relay (right)

Looking at the boiler now, on the lower left side is the overpressure valve (OPV) and incoming cold water. The OPV is adjusted by turning the barbed portion clockwise (decreasing spring tension) to lower brew pressure and counter-clockwise (increasing spring tension) to increase brew pressure. The silicon line on the barb is the OPV return back to the pour over tank. In both pictures below, you can see the upper and lower thermosyphon lines and where they connect to the 0.75 liter boiler.


Quick Mill Alexia - boiler, left and right sides

At the bottom of the boiler are the heater terminals for the 1,400 watt heating element. On the top of the boiler are the steam thermostat, the resettable hi-limit safety thermostat, and the steam/hot water outlet fitting with a connection for the pressure gauge capillary tube. In the left picture you can see the upper and lower thermosyphon line connections to the E61 grouphead.


Quick Mill Alexia - boiler bottom and heater connection (left); top of boiler (right), blue arrow is hi-limit safety reset, white arrow is pressure gauge capillary

Looking a bit closer at the adjustable brew temperature thermosat, we have a long coiled up copper capillary tube that enters the top of the boiler in a deep thermowell. The end of this capillary has a long bulb. Of note, on my review machine, the lower thermosyphon line interfered with removing the capillary and bulb from the thermowell. In order to remove them, I wrapped the boiler with a dish towel (to avoid oiling up the boiler) and gave it a counter-clockwise twist and a small push to the right side of the machine. The copper thermosyphon lines are flexible enough to allow this slight reposition. When you do this, make sure you did not short out the heater terminals to the frame or anything else. It didn't take much twisting to get the clearance needed to remove the thermostat bulb sensor. (NOTE - pay attention to the depth of the bulb if you want to return it to the same position.)


Quick Mill Alexia - thermostat and capillary (left); boiler thermowell (middle); capillary and bulb removed from thermowell (right)

[erics]

You have taken some beautiful pictures which is an invaluable resource for anyone considering the Alexia. They compliment the review process perfectly.

[jesawdy]

You have taken some beautiful pictures which is an invaluable resource for anyone considering the Alexia. They compliment the review process perfectly.

Thanks Eric. I will have some more to share when the PID is installed.

[jesawdy]

Quick Mill Alexia - Singles Session #1

Pulling Singles, a waste of time?

If you have spent any time on the coffee forums here on Home-Barista or on Coffeegeek, you will see time and time again the suggestion that you should only use a doubles basket. This is done to the point of suggesting alternative uses of the singles basket as a coin dish, or saying that the basket has been lost in the junk drawer for several years, etc. While I will concede that the doubles basket is easier to use, if you haven't played with trying to pull a good single shot, I think you are missing out on a very good thing.

It is my opinion that single shots have a very different taste profile than a double shot. I find them to be sweeter and very enjoyable. They may also be a bit fruitier in some cases. My only complaint is that they are so small and gone in a flash; the cup has barely graced your lips and then it is no more (except for that lingering taste). If time was not of importance to me, I think I would often prefer to pull back-to-back singles versus a double. Alas, time is in fact very important in my current life situation, so doubles are the norm.

In my experiences, singles pull a bit different, and determining the "blonding point" can be more difficult. You have a much smaller surface that you are watching with a bottomless portafilter and the amount of espresso that you are looking through is thinner. As a result, I find that the shot looks blond a bit early, but in fact it still has a bit of life left in it. This is something you will have to learn and adjust for when making singles.

Singles on the Alexia

For this first discussion of pulling singles on the Alexia, I want to share some of my early experiences. At this point in evaluating the Alexia, I was using the Rancilio Rocky doserless grinder. The stock Quick Mill Alexia singles basket is a "Faema-style" tapered design and looks like this:


Quick Mill Alexia - stock "Faema style" singles basket

For my dose/tamp style, I had to find the sweet spot for the dose such that I could still lock in the portafilter, yet still have enough coffee in the basket to use a proper 58mm tamper without bottoming out on the basket side walls. For this particular session, this turned out to be about a 2 click finer grind in comparison to the double and a dose of 9 grams. I performed the WDT, and the portafilter was shaken ("jostled") level then tamped. When dosed, the 9 grams finished well below the basket rim, so I relied on the WDT and my "jostle" level to distribute the coffee as evenly as I could. (TIP - If you have never played with a singles basket, I think you will find that you will have a tendency to overdose and you will have trouble getting the portafilter to lock in. The required dose is generally in the 7-9 gram range for most baskets.)


Keep your eyes on the prize, this what you'll be watching (left); Expanded 9 gram single puck (right)

After a failed attempt or two (mostly getting the dose down), I pulled a few good looking and more importantly good tasting 50-60% brew ratio singles. As I said, I generally find singles to be a touch sweeter and they have a slightly different mouthfeel that I enjoy.


Single shot - What? That's it?!, a 16 gram beverage (cup weight is 132.1g), 56% brew ratio. Small but yummy!

After the good results with the stock basket, I thought I might try my La Marzocco singles basket. This basket does not have a tapered side wall, but rather it is a "basket within a basket" style and has a small shelf surrounding the inner portion. Ideally, I would have a tamper to fit this "inner basket", but I do not have one yet. Previous attempts with this LM basket, a plastic tamp and a bit of futzing on a Silvia had met with good results. I tried a few attempts on the Alexia and never hit it... when you see the spent puck in the picture below, you'll see what I mean .


Failed La Marzocco singles basket session (I need a properly-sized tamper )

I am using the Cimbali MAX grinder with the Alexia now and my first attempts with this combination and a singles basket did not go too well. I seemed to have a smaller margin of error in my dose.... too much and I could not lock in, too little and I could not tamp well. I finally had to switch away from using a flat RB tamp and back to a convex tamp to get a good lock in. My coffee at the time was somewhat suspect, so I want to revisit pulling singles on the Alexia/MAX combo. I would also like to try a finer grind and little to no tamp and see what I can get.

[jesawdy]

Temperature Surfing, do you have to?

After pondering some of Marshall's earlier comments in this Bench thread (see here and here) about my flushing, water usage and fussiness in details of using the Alexia, and then after some additional inspiration from reading things in the Lever forum like this...

With pump machines, much fuss and energy is expended with the temp adjustment to get the best out of various coffees.

I decided I should devote a week of my time to NOT temperature surfing, and NOT using the thermofilter. Just walk up to the Alexia and pull some shots. After all, the average buyer is not going to have a thermofilter and I suspect many may not have any desire to temperature surf (and yes, Marshall, I was getting tired of filling the pourover ).

For the past week, I have used the Quick Mill Alexia with the Cimbali MAX grinder, and PT's Coffee Roasters Bella Vita and Bella Vita #2 espresso blends. I paid no attention to the heater light, I flushed minimal amounts of water (no longer a 1 ounce warming shot, just a spritz). The only thing I did do was flush about 2 ounces of water into my espresso cup to warm it, and only if the machine had been idle for some time. While my cup warmed, I went about my business of building the shot.

I found that I got a decent shot nearly every time. I feel that I definitely got a better shot than I would get in most cafes. If you're going to make a milk drink, by all means save your time, you'll likely never know the difference. Unless you are a hard core aficionado or espresso elitist, I think there are plenty of coffee blends out there that are forgiving enough to forego the added steps of temperature surfing.

A week ago, I would've concluded that temperature surfing was a major PITA and uses too much water and I might have gone running for the PID upgrade. Today, I would conclude that for some (perhaps even many) people, they can likely forego the temperature surfing and be happy, depending on the espresso blend used and their personal fussiness. I'm certain some HB regulars would not concur, but brew temperature doesn't seem to be the all important variable it's frequently cracked up to be (at least with my recent coffees).

That said, if consistency is your desire and if you want to nail it every time, temperature surfing or the PID option may be the way to go. But sometimes, you might just want to have a cup of coffee, not wait 3 minutes and many ounces of water later to get there. Go ahead... I think you'll be OK.

(OK, Fire missiles! I can take it. )

[Marshall]

Thanks for your efforts, Jeff.

I hope I am not giving the impression that I have a devil-may-care attitude about brewing temperature. That's why I have a PID on my [edit] Zaffiro. This morning I am trying out Heather Perry's "U.S. Championship Blend," which includes a series of 1C boiler temperature adjustments (I think I like 104.5C best).

What I am against (with tiresome frequency, I confess) is encrusting the enjoyment of espresso with ever more elaborate grinding, distribution, tamping and flushing rituals. I think they make espresso brewing look much more intimidating than it needs to be and wind up turning coffee drinking into a kind of religious rite. If people want a coffee ceremony, the Ethiopians have already written the book on that.

Marshall

[jesawdy]

I hope I am not giving the impression that I have a devil-may-care attitude about brewing temperature. That's why I have a PID on my Silvia.

You are not giving that impression, and I think I will welcome the consistency and ease of adjustability found in the PID control.

The purpose of the Home-Barista Buyer's Guides and this Bench thread is to attempt to give some impressions of the machines reviewed for a wide range of potential buyers. I think there are many more people who lurk on these forums, and they are not likely to "geek" as much as those that post here do.

For the Quick Mill Alexia, I am charged with reviewing both the stock version and the PID versions of the machine. With 4 weeks of review under my belt, I really just felt the need to give the stock machine a fair shake. I decided to step back a bit and, as you say, not overly complicate the whole process. I was happy with the results.

[atao]

Couple questions about warming up:

1. how loud is the Alexia as it warms up? if i got one, it'd prefer it to be quite quiet - it'd be close to my bedroom.
2. if, in the middle of the day, i'd like an espresso, but the machine is cold, i realistically need to wait 30 min or so before i get a fix, yes?

thanks,
Andrew

[jesawdy]

Couple questions about warming up:

1. how loud is the Alexia as it warms up? if i got one, it'd prefer it to be quite quiet - it'd be close to my bedroom.
2. if, in the middle of the day, i'd like an espresso, but the machine is cold, i realistically need to wait 30 min or so before i get a fix, yes?

Andrew-

The Alexia is quiet as it warms up. If you are standing right there, you generally know when the element is on as you get some sound as the water heats at startup, but I do not think you would find it disturbing.

As for the 30 minute warmup time, that's what I prescribe to as a minimum. I have the machine on a rather fancy digital wall timer that allows lots of programming options. I have the machine come on weekdays at 6AM and off at 8:15 AM, weekends at 6:30AM and off around 10PM. I can also manually override the timer on or off via a push button (I'd share the timer model info, but it is no longer available, I've had it for 12+ years).

You could probably "cheat" the warmup time with some work... switching back and forth to steam mode and flushing water/steam through the grouphead and wand to quickly bring the boiler up to temp and get the 7+ pounds of chrome-plated brass grouphead warmed up. See "Cheating Miss Silvia" for some ideas (keeping in mind that the Silvia does not have the same massive grouphead, although it does have a fairly heavy brass boiler).

(BTW - Welcome to HB!)

[HB]

While Jeff has been reporting on the stock Alexia, I've quietly gotten to know the PID'd version. For your viewing pleasure, below is a typical bottomless portafilter extraction using Intelligentsia Coffee's Black Cat:



Later this week I will post temperature profile data for the Alexia. From the quick check with the thermofilter, it's very consistent shot-to-shot, even if the extractions are closely spaced. It does not suffer the overshoot problems I reported for my PID'd Isomac Amica.