Sink that First Shot - Page 9

by **cafeIKE** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:18 pm

cannonfodder wrote:the second shot from a machine is usually better than the first probably due to ... the temperature settling in after the first shot in a series of shots.

This premise can be proved false with a Scace or ultra stable machine GS/3 or FrankenSilvia. It's one of the things tried repeatedly to no avail. It's not possible to mirror the taste defect with temperature changes.

cannonfodder wrote:Any of the funky oils will wash out with the first couple seconds of flow.

Water, which does not touch the old oil but picks up its funky taste, flows down through the puck. This water is absorbed by the coffee. Don't think following water will clear that. It's my belief that it's the oils in the backwash that do the work cleaning the group.

by **malachi** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:05 pm

Nik wrote:On page 9 of the owners manual that came with my GS/3P there is a note at the bottom that I found some humor in. The humor is related to the commercial application and build structure of this unit and it use in a home environment. 300 per day is 108,000 pulls a year. It will take us 50 years to equal one year of commercial use. By the time I croak it will hardly be broken in!

It is in the Preventative Maintenance and Cleaning section relating to the DAILY cleaning of the machine.

"This cleaning schedule is based upon a moderate to average use (20-300) cups per day. If machine use is less than moderate then this schedule may be adjusted accordingly."

Using this as a guideline and using about 6 per day I will perform the suggested cleaning cycle every 3-4 days. We run water through the head and wipe the screen and surrounding areas inside the head after each shot.

A less busy machine needs MORE frequent cleaning (not less).

by **Nik** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:10 pm

Do you think once a week is often enough for about 6 drinks a day? We clean and run water through the screen after each shot.

Bob

by **cafeIKE** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:32 pm

Marshall wrote:I hope we're not going back to armchair machine comparisons and insults.

Most of us have been around the block enough to know that a machine change rarely results in significant cup improvement in the hands of a competent user. Of the 2175 posts relating to the GS/3, only 248 mention taste. Couldn't find 1 that says the cup is much improved over its predecessor.

Most of us upgrade our machine for additional features or ease of use or cachet, but only the deluded expect massive cup improvement.

Barista champions blend at the contest for the machine. Top flight shops tune their roast and blend for their machine. I suppose it is possible that a particular coffee could be improved significantly on one machine, but an across the board improvement on all coffees? Nah :roll:

As far as insults, it's an insult to our intelligence and sensibilities to suggest that using Folgers makes any kind of economic sense. Folgers costs ~$4/lb. If it takes an extra minute per day to manage the Folgers, at minumum wage that's ~$0.15. Premium coffee is about $16/lb, making an 8g single $0.28. The net saving, ~$0.06/day. Barely more than cost of 1 pound of premium coffee over the course of a year.

Coffee is produced by the poorest people on the planet. We support their livelihood with our purchase. When we purchase high quality coffee, we encourage the production of more high quality coffee. If we buy crap, more crap is produced.

End of sermon

by **malachi** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:39 pm

Nik wrote:Do you think once a week is often enough for about 6 drinks a day? We clean and run water through the screen after each shot.

Bob

Personally, no - I don't.
And I don't feel that it's an issue of "number of shots" per se as much as time between cleaning - and that frequency of shots allows for tuning of this to a degree.
But I'm clearly an outlier in this group.
I think not cleaning after each session results in degraded shots.

by **malachi** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:42 pm

cafeIKE wrote:As far as insults, it's an insult to our intelligence and sensibilities to suggest that using Folgers makes any kind of economic sense. Folgers costs ~$4/lb. If it takes an extra minute per day to manage the Folgers, at minumum wage that's ~$0.15. Premium coffee is about $16/lb, making an 8g single $0.28. The net saving, ~$0.06/day. Barely more than cost of 1 pound of premium coffee over the course of a year.

Coffee is produced by the poorest people on the planet. We support their livelihood with our purchase. When we purchase high quality coffee, we encourage the production of more high quality coffee. If we buy crap, more crap is produced.

BRAVO!!!!!!

by **Marshall** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:43 pm

cafeIKE wrote:Coffee is produced by the poorest people on the planet. We support their livelihood with our purchase. When we purchase high quality coffee, we encourage the production of more high quality coffee. If we buy crap, more crap is produced.

Please go lecture someone else. A week has not gone by in years that I have not worked with SCAA, CQI or IWCA to better the conditions of coffee farmers. Suggesting mass market coffee could be used as a detergent does no disservice to them. And all the smilies at your disposal do not make you any less insulting.

by **JonR10** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:46 pm

malachi wrote:A less busy machine needs MORE frequent cleaning (not less).

+1

by **Nik** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:52 pm

Thanks for your reply.

Are you suggesting that at the end of the day after making a half dozen drinks that a back flush with detergent should be run through it? Or, a water back flush with the detergent regimen once a week.

I want to keep my machine in good order and value your input.

Bob

malachi wrote:Personally, no - I don't.
And I don't feel that it's an issue of "number of shots" per se as much as time between cleaning - and that frequency of shots allows for tuning of this to a degree.
But I'm clearly an outlier in this group.
I think not cleaning after each session results in degraded shots.

by **cafeIKE** on Sat Nov 21, 2009 4:03 pm

Marshall wrote:A week has not gone by in years that I have not worked with SCAA...

Are you not General Counsel for the SCAA?
Is Folgers a member of the SCAA?
If not, I am the injured party :cry:


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