i seem to be reading everywhere that espresso tastes better when pulled through a PF that is not chrome plated, due to the plating coming off over time/use. now as far as i know, they all come chromed, or at least mine did. does anyone have any suggestions on how to remove the chrome plating? is there anywhere i can buy one that is unplated?

thanks,
jeff

Just use it a lot, it will wear off...


New


Two months and many pounds later

But if you are so inclined (I don't buy into it) you can use a green scrubby 3M pad and scour it out.

cannonfodder wrote:But if you are so inclined (I don't buy into it) ...

I don't know if I buy into it or not either, BUT.... I can say that some people are very sensitive to different tastes and especially metals. I know that when I scrub a stainless sink or a cast iron skillet, I "taste" it, and it is not a pleasant sensation. It is the metal and not a cleanser... no detergents involved. Anybody else experience this?

is like chewing on tin foil, yes?

or the iron taste you get when you hit your head too hard?

jon

Ah yes the smell of pain.

There was a thread a year or two ago where we discussed this. I even scrubbed out the chrome on one of my PF's years ago to try it (with the above mentioned scrubby pad and steel wool) and noticed no difference.

However, I do believe you can taste metal and it does taint the espresso, when drinking from a stainless demi. I want to make one clarification here. I believe there is a difference between passing a liquid over a metal (or chrome) portafilter and putting ones lips/tongue on a hunk of metal while drinking. Your tongue/lips are in direct contact with the surface when drinking from a SS cup and you (or at least I) can taste it.

Use the above 'chewing on tin foil' example. If the foil imparted a metallic taint to the food/drink, then wrapping leftovers from dinner in tinfoil would make your chicken taste like tin, but it does not. Now take a bite of that chicken along with a piece of tin foil and chew on both of them. Now you taste metal.

If simply passing water over a metal object tainted the flavor, your espresso machine would have to have plastic plumbing, boiler, grouphead, shower screen, etc. not to mention those steel burrs you just ground that coffee with.

And through the magic of the search button, here is the thread

Removing portafilter chrome

cool! thanks for all the suggestions everyone. i think i'll just let it wear off by itself.
thanks again
jeff

Most of the shot never contacts the chrome unless it is from the spouts. By observing a shot from a bottomless portafilter, only the earliest part of the shot would contact the portafilter (before the spouts come together as one). If any taste were imparted it would be from the spouts and I don't believe there is much plating on the insides of most of them.

Kurt

I remember bringing this up in the great spirit of experimentation, and that one or two people deemed the idea "absolutely crazy." I think that is a bit harsh, but hey, call it as you see it. One thing is for certain, if you do this you will need to clean your portafilter more frequently. The raw brass tends to get a little slimy if left unattended. Good luck in your experiment.