one1speed wrote:Wanted to jump in, as I did finally receive my CT1. Took a while, but has been fun to start to learn. Very nice machine in build quality and visual appeal. I am trying to address one thing at a time. First was to try to figure out the grind and pressure on the lever (still a lot to sort out), then this morning I messed with temp a bit. Apparently the temp was set really low. In addition, I've started messing with raising the lever part way, as the shots seemed a little thin extracting the full 40 g (which makes sense). I've ordered the MCAL double basket to try that out, see how that effects a longer shot.

Next is to pick up a lighter roast. I've been pulling Redbird 1/2 Caf on the Bezzera pump machine and got that pretty well dialed in (nice shots with an 18g VST basket). That bean choice is due in part to convenience. But the Strietman is a different beast, and I do prefer a lighter roast anyway.

Very cool machine, fun to explore. I had been planning to clean and ship the Bezzera off, figuring my wife would want that out the door. However, she wants to be sure I have a machine to make her a big cappuccino, so I'll be hanging onto that for a while, it seems.

Figured I had better share a shot pic. Recently made some new porcelain cups, and I'm glad I did, as my older ones barely fit under the group, to the point where I can't see into the cup at all to see what's going on.

Cheers.

Congrats!

In regards to the low temp setting, mine arrived set a bit low, as well. Did you see the post earlier in the thread showing how to set the thermostat a bit higher? It's not difficult to do.

RyanP wrote:When I want to clean it up I use Howard Copper and Brass Polish, which seems to work well enough for me, and then I follow that up applying a thin layer of Super Lube multipurpose to keep it clean of fingerprints and dirt. The Super Lube goes on clear and somebody earlier in this thread confirmed with the company that it is acid free. As an aside, Wouter mentioned to me to not use Dow 111 on anything but the piston seals, due to it being a silicone based lube and making it hard to remove.

Thank you both, Ryan and Erik. Appreciate the info.

Ryan, I did see the post about changing the temp range. Now that I have the machine, I've started to re-read the thread to try to pick up any tips.

Appreciate it!

Awesome. In regards to shot volume, I usually just do a full lever raise and pull the cup when I hit the weight I want and then pull the remainder of the espresso into the drip tray. I do often find the higher ratio shots beneficial for the lighter roasts. Not always the case, but I find with the 40g shots the sacrifice in body and mouthfeel is made up for by softer acidity and better clarity and integration of flavors.

I'll be interested to hear about your experience using the MCAL basket for higher doses. I wasn't a fan when I had a Cremina. I felt like it often led to uneven extractions compared to just using the stock basket, but think the CT1 is a bit more forgiving of a machine and it might've just been a problem with my prep and dosing.

RyanP wrote: I find with the 40g shots the sacrifice in body and mouthfeel is made up for by softer acidity and better clarity and integration of flavors.

Exactly. I find the acidity to be softer, gentler, with the harshness removed. Flavor is "rounder", and clarified, compared to pump shots of same coffee.

RyanP wrote:I'll be interested to hear about your experience using the MCAL basket for higher doses. I wasn't a fan when I had a Cremina. I felt like it often led to uneven extractions compared to just using the stock basket, but think the CT1 is a bit more forgiving of a machine and it might've just been a problem with my prep and dosing.

I pulled a couple of shots this morning with the MCAL basket. I weighed the grind used in both baskets, I had about 14.7 in the stock basket which made a fine shot, just pulled it a little short, raising the handle just past horizontal. I had about 17.7 in the MCAL basket with a slightly coarser grind, full pull. I thought this shot was particularly tasty and pulled just fine. The deeper basket does lower the height just a bit, and using the double-walled Bodum 2.5 oz espresso cups, the cup actually pulls the remaining coffee off the bottom of the basket. Made me chuckle, no harm done.

I also picked up the 49mm dosing funnel from Orphan Espresso. With the small baskets and my dosered grinder, things are definitely a little messier than with a 58mm basket. The dosing funnel really cleans things up, highly recommend it.

Will follow-up on the MCAL basket if things change as I have more time with it. Cheers.

Is that just the ordinary double MCAL basket that holds 17g or is there another one? I know Wouter is working on getting one custom made to the same specs as the current one from IMS, but until that I'd like to pick up an MCAL to mess with.

Unsure of specifics, it is noted as the MCAL double basket on the Orphan Espresso site. Is definitely deeper than the stock basket.

one1speed wrote:I pulled a couple of shots this morning with the MCAL basket. I weighed the grind used in both baskets, I had about 14.7 in the stock basket which made a fine shot, just pulled it a little short, raising the handle just past horizontal. I had about 17.7 in the MCAL basket with a slightly coarser grind, full pull. I thought this shot was particularly tasty and pulled just fine. The deeper basket does lower the height just a bit, and using the double-walled Bodum 2.5 oz espresso cups, the cup actually pulls the remaining coffee off the bottom of the basket. Made me chuckle, no harm done.

I also picked up the 49mm dosing funnel from Orphan Espresso. With the small baskets and my dosered grinder, things are definitely a little messier than with a 58mm basket. The dosing funnel really cleans things up, highly recommend it.

Will follow-up on the MCAL basket if things change as I have more time with it. Cheers.

I hadn't even thought about the depth of the basket in regards to clearance under the group. Glad it's working out for you. My experience might have been specific to the Cremina or my own prep and dosing. I've mentioned before, I do think the CT1 is more forgiving a machine. I don't have any proof of that other than my own personal experience, but it's really pretty amazing to me how consistent it is. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've pulled a shot that sprayed in the past 6 months of using it and still have a few fingers to spare.

CwD wrote:I know Wouter is working on getting one custom made to the same specs as the current one from IMS, but until that I'd like to pick up an MCAL to mess with.

Very cool. That will be a nice addition.

RyanP wrote:I hadn't even thought about the depth of the basket in regards to clearance under the group. Glad it's working out for you. My experience might have been specific to the Cremina or my own prep and dosing. I've mentioned before, I do think the CT1 is more forgiving a machine. I don't have any proof of that other than my own personal experience, but it's really pretty amazing to me how consistent it is. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've pulled a shot that sprayed in the past 6 months of using it and still have a few fingers to spare.

This is interesting, I'm really enjoying the Strietman. I am finding it easy to use with pretty amazing (to me), results. Accidentally overfilled the stock basked this morning, had to tamp a little harder and pulled a short shot. Crazy intense flavors, but so good. Then had one out of the MCAL basket that was prepped much better and that was amazing once again. Was nice after yesterday's shots, where I wasn't paying close attention and they lacked a bit of punch and flavor.

I am loving having this control and stream never seems to even get close to blonding. I was watching a video yesterday by Whole Latte Love in which they pulled a couple shots on the new Profitec Pro 800 spring lever. Great looking machine, but I think the shots from the Strietman look much better. The Profitec shots started to blond almost right away, didn't seem to be a comparison. They were pulling an SO, so that may have had something to do with it.

After 48hours with the CT1 i can give some impressions so far, which i guess might be redundant with the large amount of information already in this thread.
First two shots sucked, everything after was great. I used a thermapen to check the temperature with different fill levels, the temperature knob is set to max. With the dustcover and filled about 2/3 way it got up to 99C, without it's getting to 90~ filled the same height, and if i fill it around half it goes to 94-95~ which has been perfect so far. I don't like the dustcover, it's hard to remove without burning yourself when the machine is warm. The basket is also a bit finnicky to remove from the portafilter. The tamper could fit a bit better, i guess. Had to clean the machine a bit after it arrived, it was still a bit greasy from the manufacturing and there was some black stuff on the drip tray grate, from cutting/lasering/whatevering the holes. This is pretty much just nitpicking, and the only negatives i can see.

The machine looks amazing, is incredibly easy to use and the shots taste well rounded. I really thought it would need a few weeks to get used to a fully manual machine coming from a strega - but i'm already happy with the shots. Gonna play around a bit with finer/coarser grinds to see if it can even taste better.
I have been pulling full shots from 15g, so about 40g extraced. Coffee used was JB Kaffee limu natural, which is still a bit too fresh.

I doubt there will be a case of upgraditis. I arrived at end game, and it's quite zen over here.