This is to help anyone who's just bought (or is considering) one of Quick Mill's consumer-level espresso machines. You know, the ones that use the thermoblock water heating design rather than a small single boiler (like Gaggia, Solis, Le'lit, Saeco, etc.). These Quick Mill machines use a mono-bloc (single casting) design, rather than the bolt-together thermoblock design used by many other makers. I've got Quick Mill's basic model, the 0930, or "Quick Espresso Plus."



I'll start with what I think will help new users, but would appreciate other Quick Mill thermoblock users adding their experiences to this thread.

The breakdown of items is relatively simple:
1) Water
2) Coffee
3) Grinder
4) Tamper
5) Cleaning
6) Brewing Processes

All of these items are important to varying degrees. I'll touch on some only briefly, since the main purpose is to help with brewing good shots (#6).

1) Water: I only drink water filtered through a solid carbon block, since that's what tastes best to me. If you're using unfiltered tap water, then you're adding flavors to your coffee that will affect it negatively.

2) Coffee: I've tried a number of Single Origin coffees, as well as a number of espresso-specific blends. A friend has a $9,000 custom machine in his home, & he can coax flavors from coffee that you could only read about in a steamy summer pulp romance. But with my machine - uh, not so much .... But, what I have found is that "traditional" espresso blends (i.e., Italian-styles that include some high quality robusta in the blend) provide many of the complex flavors that would not otherwise show from these machines. This is similar to the idea proposed in Dan's "Playing to an espresso machine's strengths" thread.

3) Grinder: Start with an adequate grinder, at least. I know that means different things to different people, & I don't want to start a debate here. Blade grinders simply won't cut it. I tried using my $120 Solis 166 conical burr grinder, but it could not grind well enough for espresso. I had to "upgrade" to the $250 Quick Mill 031 grinder to get my extractions under control. For espresso-specific grinders comparable to my 031, I think there are probably at least a half dozen capable models in the $200-$275 range. As with any machine, the better your grinder, the better your shot.

4) Tamper: I've had the best results using a convex-faced tamper. I don't care if it's a cheap plastic one that's too small, or a work of functional art with a precise fit. The dispersion screens on these machines are not flat, and they have a huge hex-head screw sticking out in the middle. A convex tamper will allow your puck to clear the screw head, & will provide a nice ramp of coffee up the sides of the filter basket. If you don't clear the screw head, then you end up fracturing the puck when you lock in the portafilter. The extra bit of coffee ramp also gets more coffee in the basket, & presents a better surface area for the pressurized water.

5) Cleaning: Be sure to clean out the grouphead every few months. This is simple, once you get the stupid hex-head screw un-done the first time. Coffee oils & solids will collect behind the dispersion screen & all over the parts behind it, tainting the flavor of your espresso. Be careful not to lose the little flow restrictor that sits inside the hex-head screw (it looks like a very small, silver rivet). After you've wiped everything down, be equally careful threading the screw back into the grouphead. The threads are very fine, so cross-threading & stripping are easily done if you're not paying attention. My suggestion: use a drop of vegetable oil on the threads, then carefully hand-thread the screw into place; finish by using a quarter (or similar sized coin) to lightly tighten the screw.

6) Brewing Processes:
a) Remove the plastic "frothing aid" from the steam arm. Why handicap your milk foaming with this thing? Quick Mill provides these machines with a 58mm, non-pressurized portafilter to give the user traditional extraction processes from the coffee. Leaving this thing on the steam arm is the micro-foam equivalent of using a pressurized portafilter for brewing. Do yourself a favor & learn how to draw your own air into your milk. The result will be silky micro-foam, rather than bubbly froth.
b) Load & lock. When I first got my machine, I discovered that loading my coffee basket & locking the portafilter into the grouphead during warm-up did two things for me. First, it heated the stainless steel portafilter up so that it didn't cool the coffee during the extraction process. Second, since a slight amount of moisture escapes from the grouphead during warm-up, it provided a nice pre-infusion to the grounds. This pre-infusion gave my shots a richer flavor. Unfortunately, after about ten months of use, the portafilter-to-grouphead sealing gasket started squirting a small stream of coffee out the back of the grouphead & down the front of the machine. Removing the basket from the portafilter during warm-up solved the problem, but now I don't have the pre-infusion. As a trade-off, the portafilter gets hotter than before. (I'll probably replace the gasket in a couple of months, when I reach the 2-yr mark.) I now grind & tamp both baskets on the counter (one single & one double), then drop them into the portafilter as I brew both shots in succession.
c) Steam first, brew second. The temperature settings of the thermoblock are a bit cool for brewing without steaming first. (OCD-style explanation to follow.**) Steaming your milk before brewing your shot will bring the block temp up to the right point. If you just want a shot (without milk), steam some water for around a minute, then brew your shot. Don't steam too long, or you'll end up scorching the coffee during brewing.
d) Cafe creme! This machine makes excellent cafe cremes. For my tastes, I've found that non-espresso-oriented blends & single origin beans make better brews than espresso-specific ones. I grind quite a bit more coarse, actually using my Solis 166 set to about the middle of the range. I brew a 4 oz cafe creme from a double shot's dose of coffee. Don't forget to steam before brewing.


That's about all I can think of for now. I'd love to know if other Quick Mill thermoblock users have found other tips to share.

-Greg


** The OCD-ness:
I borrowed a friend's digital meter & thermocouple to run some brewing temperature tests on my machine. (Pictures of the setup on my Quick Mill 0930 Flickr page.) First, I ran a calibration on the digital setup. A glass of refrigerated water filled with 70% ice cubes measured 32°F, while my Bodum electric kettle measured a full boil at 199°F (the maximum on the meter).

My first measurement was at Quick Mill's recommended minimum warm-up time of three minutes. This allows the unit's thermoblock to cycle twice before brewing. The 2nd cycle happens right around 2:55 & ends about 3:15, so I pulled my first shot as soon as the warm-up light went out. Initial shot temps were low at only 165°F. Since I'd never be ready this quickly (it takes me about six to eight minutes to get out my cleanup supplies, pour my half-&-half, & grind & tamp my shots), I let it recover until the light went out again & then gave it another two minutes for a total of about six minutes of warm-up. On the next shot the temp was again 165°F. Not good.

I decided to let the machine cool down for about 90 minutes & start over. When I turned the machine on again, I ran thru all my normal prep steps, including steaming 4 oz ounces of milk for about a minute. I then cleaned off the steaming wand & pulled my double, just like I do every morning. Wow! My shot was now at 195°F! I knocked-&-swapped my empty filter baskets (& dumped the water from the styrofoam cup into the drip tray), which gives the thermoblock enough time to reheat for the next single shot. When I pulled my single, the temp had dropped a bit, but only to 190°F.

One of the unique features of these machines is the microswitch in the steam wand. It either directs water & steam thru the wand when folded out, or thru the grouphead when folded in. With this ability to steam-pre-heat thru the grouphead, I wondered if it was possible to quickly raise the grouphead temp to an acceptable brewing level. As a quick test, after pulling my second shot (the one that read 190°F), I ran the steam switch for 5 to 10 seconds. Eureka! A third shot now measured back up in the 195°F range.

Next, I wanted to find out if I could do this with a straight shot from a cold machine, as someone who doesn't steam milk might want to do. I let the machine cool down again, this time for about four hours. When it came time to test, I turned on the machine & waited the minimum recommended three minutes (actually 3:15). I already had an empty portafilter installed, just as you would for preheating everything on any other machine. As soon as the warm-up light went out I hit the steam switch for about 30 seconds, pulled off the portafilter & snapped the ThermoCup'l in place (which would be the same amount of time as removing the portafilter, dropping in your pretamped basket & reinstalling the portafilter), & hit the brew switch. My first double shot was now up to 190°F after less than four minutes of warm-up time, providing excellent espresso in a fraction of the time required from any regular boiler machine. As a bonus, the portafilter is also now around 200°F from the steam pre-heating. As previously mentioned, you can also simply steam some water for about a minute, then brew your shot. You would then use the hot water to pre-heat your espresso cup.

I own the same model and love it. I'm still trying to figure out how to get micro foam out of it.

Hi David, what's your current method of steaming?

I've noticed that different brands of half-&-half (what I use for my breves) will foam to different degrees. The local "name brand" (Meadow Gold) was the absolute worst of the four or five brands I've tried. It got kind of foamy, but then everything would collapse almost immediately after stopping the steaming process. I've also read that organics tend not to foam as well, but the organic half-&-half I tried worked okay. I've had the best luck with Albertson's "store brand."

I angle the 12oz pitcher and start the wand in just inside the milk. Once the temp gauge hits 100, I put the wand in more. At 130-140, I turn it off. I use lactaid 1% milk. I can either get foam but rarely get microfoam.

I intentionally pull shots around 195F on a regular basis, but a specific roast will often want around 202F. What does it take to bring the temp up over 200F on this Quickmill machine? Is that temp possible? Is there a chart (beyond what is given above) that correlates various seconds-of-steaming to outlet temp?

David, I foam by sound, not temperature, so I don't know if this will immediately help you or if you'll have to practice a little with it. In my 12oz pitcher (4oz of milk), I start with the wand just skimming the surface of the milk; enough so that I'm pulling in air without spattering milk (not even 1/16" under). I pull in air for maybe 20 seconds after the steaming starts, so that when I drop the tip it's quiet. If you don't pull in enough air, the wand will create a high-pitched steaming screech. If you pull in too much, it'll still be quiet, but it'll create more froth than micro-foam. Anyway, after just enough air to keep the wand quiet (15-20 seconds), I drop the tip into the milk about 2/3 of the way up the tip (1") & continue steaming (rolling the milk in the pitcher) until the sound begins to change to a low rumble (150-170F).

You might also try the store brand (or a different store's store brand) of lactose-reduced milk & see if that makes a difference.

Timo, I haven't created such a chart (yet), & don't currently have access to a digital meter & thermocouple. I'm sure a 200F+ temp is possible, but, since I live at 5,300 ft altitude, I may never see it. Water reaches a rolling boil here around 200F-205F, so that might affect my QM's output. Also, I've been told that the higher-end QM thermoblock models have internal control board adjustments that can be made to both the thermal limits & the pump's water pulse cycle for steaming. (The "default" steam setting is "Euro style," where it's less forceful but drier; adjustments can make it more "US style," so you'll get higher steam volume but it'll be a bit wetter.)

Okay David, I finally remembered to break out the analog spike thermometer & my clock, to get a more quantifiable explanation about creating micro-foam. Here it is, after several runs:

When foaming approximately 4 oz of milk, I pull air in for the first 20-30 seconds. This raises the milk temp about 30 degrees, up to around 70°F. From that point I pretty much just lower the tip & roll the milk for another minute, until it reaches about 170°F. I noticed that it looked pretty silky only after it hit the 150°F mark. I also noticed that if I initially pull air in for a shorter amount of time (15-20 sec), that I'll later pull two or three short draws of air into the milk. These short draws only last for 1/2 sec, at most, & I wasn't even aware that I was doing it until I walked thru this. I didn't notice at what exact temp these short draws happen, & I think it's more of a feeling of "hey, this needs more air..." than an actual step.

So, based on how you explained your process earlier, I'd say to pull in a little less air at the beginning, to no more than 70°F (min) to 80°F (max) milk temp. Then, roll the milk to a little higher finishing temp of at least 150°F.

Let me know if any of this helps!

Greg