waxnyc wrote:I'm a relative newbie (six months into the obsession) and getting relatively good results with my Livia semi-auto. I've tried a lot of the HX flushing/cooling techniques on this site, but still getting a little sourness in the shots.
I'm using a Gaggia MDF grinder and have no problem hitting 20-25 second doubles. I primarily use illy whole bean and go through cans about once a week, so the coffee is relatively fresh. I've got a good quality tamper and have been practicing various distribution techniques.
But I can't seem to hit a "god" shot. The crema always seems a bit blond. Can't seem to ever get any real tiger striping going.
Any quick tips on the first things to try to get a great shot out of Livia?
Mark Prince was one of the first amateurs to get an HX machine, and he chose a Livia. Well after the fact he reported it took him a very long time to get up to speed on it. There's some how-to hints on Marks coffeekid site, and I got what I'm writing below from chatting with him. I know of no website that gives a full how-to for the Livia.
While E61 machines have a much shorter learning curve; Mark thinks the Livia, once learnt, is as good or better. The same would apply to the old Bezzera 90 or the new 02 (being sold at 1st line for a killer price), which have the same internals.
First off, get a deeper basket -- the LM doubles are apparently best for this machine -- the Bezzera baskets are very shallow and sensitive to overloading. Alan Frew in a long test found that many so called machine differences were really differences in basket size. There needs to be ample headspace between the top of the puck and the screen, since there is no room behind the screen for water to steep. Even after the puck has expanded, there should be no shower screen marks on it after the shot. This also means you'll need to tamp very meticulously, so the puck doesn't disintegrate.
The Livias have a high water debit and large gicleurs; therefore they are quite sensitive to grind. You may need to do in-between grinds on the MDF, either by holding the setting wheel between two stops, or by starting the grind at the finer stop, and clicking it to the coarser one half way through.
The thermal setup on the Livia is a largish 6 ounce or so heat exchanger in a vertical boiler, with much of the stored water in the steam, feeding a light weight brew head bolted to the boiler. The brewhead will run about 10F to 15F too cool on idle. This design is sized so that the flush of overheated HX water will heat the head and cool down the HX at the same time -- it requires the famous "blank shot," a 1 to 2 ounce flush rather than the extended ones used by the E61s. This is actually more convenient for the first shot from idle; although the design is not as temperature stable for a long series of shots. The cooling flush may only take 3 to 6 seconds -- all the water dance stuff described for the E61 machines does not apply. Use a measuring cup to find out how long it takes to get this amount of water.
There's lots of consumer reviews of the Livia up on the coffeegeek site; some have user tips.
