Hi Winston,

Let taste be your guide. If your espresso is pulling consistently sour and it is sufficiently rested then you are still pulling too cool. Have you tried non-espresso brewing to see how that coffee tastes at the right temperature? Can you overcome the sourness then?

Thanks Gary,

The TC location did not make too much difference, perhaps a couple of degrees. I guess the metal in the group is a great conductor. I suspect my pressurestat is set very low. The highest temperature I am seeing is about 194F. (On a couple of mornings, it cut off super early to the point of not producing any stream for false pressure release. Lifting the lever a couple of times seems to wake it up though. Will have to check for loose connection once the machine cools.)

Thanks for the dose and grind suggestions. DanoM advised coarser too, but I was making steps that were too small. At 16.2g and 2.5 to 3 arbitrary markings coarser, the nickle test shows a small indent. My cafe con leche looks and tastes much better. There is a nice layer of crema on top of the milk (3" diameter cup). Taste is better too, with some floral nuances present. Definitely the best success so far. Since I don't really drink espresso, I am not going to worry about sour or not for now. Plan to just relax and enjoy my morning coffee for a while before embarking onto the next step.

Thanks everyone!

Winston

Winston,

Glad you're having more success. Try more half pumps and really go higher in temperature to what we're suggesting and you'll see what we're talking about. You just might find yourself drinking espresso when the espresso without milk is sweet and mellow, although I understand that's not your goal. The PSTATs are usually set from the factory at about 0.9 bar. Is that what you're getting? If so that is plenty enough to crank up temperature to what I suggested.

Hi Gary,

I am sure I'll do espresso some day. Once atop a slippery slope, is there any way to go but down?

My Stradivari is the smaller version, so I don't have a pressure gauge. Retrofitting one requires an adaptor that rivals the cost of the gauge itself .

I opened up the base this morning, the pstat was pushing slightly against the baseplate. I bent the tube back some to let it hang freely. Will see if this helps. Incidentally, my pstat does not look like the ones pictured in previous posts. There is no plastic ring with paint on it. Mine has a small metal screw that is inset inside a tube. It may be less tricky to adjust. I am not going to touch is for now.

On the positive side, my LP does not have any overheating issues. With the PF is place, the temp does not rise above 190F, even if I left it on for a long time. Without the PF radiating heat way, the group temp rises almost immediately, but I have not tested how far it would go though.

I've been pulling with a starting temp of 190F. Immediately after the pull, the group is at 194F. Will try pumping to get the temp up some. I assume I'll only be able to tell any differences if I tasted the shots as espressos, right?

Winston

wkmok1 wrote:I've been pulling with a starting temp of 190F. Immediately after the pull, the group is at 194F. Will try pumping to get the temp up some. I assume I'll only be able to tell any differences if I tasted the shots as espressos, right?

Pull hotter for OCD's sake! It's much easier tasting the coffee only. You can always turn that into a milk drink afterward.

OK Doc, I went and filled the prescription .

Took a lot of half raises to get the group with empty PF installed to get to 199F. The espresso shot has some sour taste, but certainly a lot less. The were other flavors on the side of the tongue too. How long is crema supposed to persist for? Mine dissipated in 20s-ish.

Next, I did some half raises without the PF and got up to 205F. This one went straight into milk. It's breakfast time afterall. The drink tastes totally different from previous ones, more body and some sips even tasted sweet. It's like I changed coffee, wine/spices (205F) vs floral (195F).

Given how hard it was for me to even achieve 200F, I am puzzled as to why LP's have the reputation of over-heating. Is it possible the factory did their heat balance assuming the PF is installed?

Winston

PS. Grinding coarser seems to provide another benefit. I was having with a divot in the puck (and fast pulls) unless I let water in VERY slowly, to the point of having to turn the element off so that I can hear the faint hiss. Still need more experimental trials, but I think I can now raise the lever "normally" without problems. Perhaps the divot was dug by the escaping air/stream when water was introduced to a puck that was too impermeable.

wkmok1 wrote:OK Doc, I went and filled the prescription .Next, I did some half raises without the PF and got up to 205F. This one went straight into milk. It's breakfast time afterall. The drink tastes totally different from previous ones, more body and some sips even tasted sweet. It's like I changed coffee, wine/spices (205F) vs floral (195F).

Given how hard it was for me to even achieve 200F, I am puzzled as to why LP's have the reputation of over-heating. Is it possible the factory did their heat balance assuming the PF is installed?

Hi Winston,

I'm not a physician, so no Rx's. (Have to say this because of my professional ethics so no one gets the wrong impression.) Back to espresso. Try pulling a shot and tasting it before it goes into milk. Vary by two degree increments. The small sacrifice in coffee teaches you about your machine. Coarseness or fineness of grind affecting crema production is a separate variable, so test one at a time. Gain it will teach you about your machine. They are probably overheating less because maybe the factory is setting the PSTAT to a lower setting where it's less likely to overheat.