Hi

I purchased a La Cimbali Junior S (tanked, vibratory pump model) several months ago and I do the Dan's recommended large 130ml flush, wait 3 minutes, 80ml flush wait 1 minute and 50ml flush to bring the grouphead to the right temperature before starting my shot. What I'm not sure of is how long after I do the last small flush should I wait before starting my shot. I understand that some prosumer machines can take between 15 and 35 seconds after a flush to come back to temperature. However, with commercial machines like the M21 Junior it rebounds more quickly.

Does anyone know the time window (eg don't start shot until at least 5 seconds after last small flush but before 20 seconds) to ensure that the brew water temperature is in the acceptable range. If you start your shot to quickly after the last flush I understand that the brew temperature may be below the ideal range and can make sour shots whereas if you wait too long the scalding water can burn the coffee and make bitter shots. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Graham

There are answers a plenty.

Imagine if you asked something like 'how do I walk a dog'?

And the people asked how big is you dog?
Did you feed him fresh food?
What size is his neck?
What is his blood pressure?
How long do you normally walk him for?
What does he smell like after you walk him?

Would you think they were nuts?

We are

What did your dog taste like?

Dan,

Is that machine a non-syphon direct boiler bolted setup?

-C

Thanks all for your welcome and helpful advice provided.

My La Cimbali Junior's pstat deadband range is set between 9.03 bar and 1.03 bar at the peak.

Dan, I have been following the advice from your earlier Cimbali Junior review by having the basket preloaded when I do my last small flush. I then quickly slot in the portafilter and run the shot straight away. Is this the flush and go method you recommend for the Cimbali or should I be waiting at least 10 seconds for the brew temperature to increase before running the shot but ensuring I run the shot before 30 seconds?

In other words, does waiting between 10 seconds and 30 seconds after the last cooling flush before running my shot change the temperature profile and flavour of the shot or will it burn the coffee and result in a bitter taste?

In your article "How I Learned to Love HXs" you showed the temperature profile of the Cimbali Junior started at 189 degrees , after 6 seconds quickly increased to 207 degrees and then after 25 seconds reduced to 201 degrees. Why does it start at 189 degrees? Is this for a machine that been idle for a while or had it last small cooling flush? Also when you talk about the target brew temperature, what is this?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm keen to learn and get the most out of my machine?

Thanks

Graham

Thanks very much for the valuable feedback. I know what I need to do now and am looking forward to having a play around on the week-end with varying times and see what it produces. I suspect that the method I was using probably mean't that the brew temperature was fairly flat lined throughout the shot and and didn't have much or any peak at the beginning. Thanks again.