Taking delivery tomorrow: Any advice? - UPDATE

[seattlesetters]

Her mods are done and the grinder is in, so I'm going down to pick up my new Quick Mill Alexia PID and La Cimbali Max Hybrid tomorrow. I'm taking a couple o' pounds of fresh-roasted Lighthouse Espresso Blend with me, and the vendor is going to help me dial in the grinder. Then, I'm pretty much on my own. Any thoughts for when I get her home?

Any suggestions for trying to get some sleep tonight (anticipation!) and tomorrow night (over-caffeinated)?

[mgwolf]

Suggestions? Don't drink any coffee before you go to sleep tonight. Michael

[HB]

Any thoughts for when I get her home?

When I'm learning about a new piece of equipment, I like to intentionally alternate between "full-on geek mode" where all parameters are carefully measured and "Zen mode" where the focus is exclusively on enjoying the process and result, not mentally critiquing it. A little of both will get you to the best the equipment can offer in short order, and you'll enjoy the journey.

[Kuban111]

Go ahead with your bad self Dan. That's a great piece of advice.

Michael

[cannonfodder]

Her mods are done and the grinder is in, so I'm going down to pick up my new Quick Mill Alexia PID and La Cimbali Max Hybrid tomorrow. I'm taking a couple o' pounds of fresh-roasted Lighthouse Espresso Blend with me, and the vendor is going to help me dial in the grinder. Then, I'm pretty much on my own. Any thoughts for when I get her home?

Any suggestions for trying to get some sleep tonight (anticipation!) and tomorrow night (over-caffeinated)?

Get a couple extra pounds of coffee, you will blow through it dialing in a new machine and grinder.

[cafeIKE]

I'm taking a couple o' pounds of fresh-roasted Lighthouse Espresso Blend with me, and the vendor is going to help me dial in the grinder.

Fresh roasted coffee can be more problematic for dialling than some that's sat around for 4 or 5 days.

Assuming the machine is set up properly and using a double basket, ballparking the grinder is a snap, given the freshness caveat above :
- grind for about 9 seconds, whacking the doser paddle. Level coffee with pinky.
- tamp
- load
- pull
- adjust grind for 60ml in 30 sec.

Three shots should get you in the ballpark. Anything more is tweaking

[DavidMLewis]

As someone who does support as part of his day job, I'd add that you should actually read the manual, preferably before plugging the machine in. Take it to bed. I actually read manuals twice with a complex piece of equipment, once before using it and once a month or two later. I usually find there are things I missed or didn't understand the first time through, or small points I've been doing wrong. Besides, the people who write those things get so lonely, feeling that nobody reads them.

Best,
David

[seattlesetters]

UPDATE - Thank you all for your advice...it has helped! I've had Alexia and the Max Hybrid for five days. The vendor had me in for pick up and had both the machine and the grinder set up for me, plugged in and hot. They spent three hours with me teaching me how to use them, and dialed in the grinder for me (and taught me how to do it) with the coffee I brought with me. I also got several milk-steaming lessons, and they pulled several shots for me, showing me tamping and distribution techniques and they let me try them and see the results. They also pulled a couple of naked portafilter shots to show me what to look for (I bought one as a result). They showed me how to take out the reservoir, do the "portafilter wiggle" and backflush, as well. I've read the user's manual cover-to-cover three times, too.

I've been getting pretty good espresso already (I've burned through almost 2 lbs of Lighthouse!), and my milk steaming capability has grown exponentially with each day (my wife and I burned through a gallon of milk together for practice), and the no-burn steam wand upgrade has been a blessing. This machine, with the optional PID kit installed, is very easy to use and very tolerant of this beginner's feeble skills. In fact, I'm having so much fun I've signed up for a barista course with the Seattle Barista Academy to learn more. I go in a couple of weeks.

People (Seattle people who drink espresso every day) really like the espresso and my milk drinks have been getting rave reviews. So far, I'm quite happy with my decision....and so is my wife. Here they are....

[cannonfodder]

I've been getting pretty good espresso already (I've burned through almost 2 lbs of Lighthouse!)

Told you to get a couple more pounds of coffee . It goes fast on a new piece of kit, especially when the results are good. It sounds like you picked a very good vendor. I wish I had gotten instruction like that when I got my first machine.

[seattlesetters]

Told you to get a couple more pounds of coffee

Yeah.....went through it fast. However, the wife volunteered to pick up more, and she scored two pounds of Caffe Vita "Caffe del Sol" just yesterday. It should be in perfect shape when the last of the Lighthouse runs out.....