Well, after a delay due to a UPS SNAFU, I finally received my new La Cimbali Junior today. It feels a solid as a tank, doses without making a mess and is easy to adjust. The grinds come out with seemingly perfect consistency and virtually no clumping. I spent the last couple of hours getting it dialed in, and my double shots are extracting in 22-24 seconds now. I'm getting good crema, and very enjoyable taste.
Since it's late, so far I've only used a decaf single origin bean (Sumatra Blue Batak from Kean Coffee) roasted about 6 days ago. In the morning I'm looking forward to trying a traditional Espresso Blend (http://www.keancoffee.com/CoffeeDetail.aspx?CoffeeId=9).
Although many here will be thinking "We told you so", it truly is amazing how much better the quality of my espresso is after switching from a KA Proline grinder to the La Cimbali Junior. When I first got the KA Proline and did the teflon tape/stepless mod, it was doing ok for a few months of light use. Then, over time, grind consistency went way down and I was constantly having to fiddle with it to get anything close to drinkable. After about 5 months with it, I found myself getting sub-Charbucks quality shots. The quality degradation was readily noticeable even in milk-heavy drinks such as lattes.
The shots I pulled tonight were much better than anything I've had from local coffee shops in a long time, with the exception of Kean's (they've consistently served me excellent espresso). I think once I switch to the full-caffeine espresso blend tomorrow, I'll have a shot at making some fantastic coffee. If my extractions continue to go as well as they did for me tonight, my next step will be to start learning latte art.
Thanks to all here who have given me advice and shared their experience; I look forward to continuing to learn from you.
