The "warm up" shot phenomenon - Page 2

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
Al deHyde
Posts: 138
Joined: 14 years ago

#11: Post by Al deHyde »

I do almost the same thing.

Prior to shutting down for the day, I pull several 'double shots' of water through the group and portafilter into a pure white porcelain cup. A few minutes between shots. The first one usually has the color of weak green tea, subsequent shots get lighter. Finish with a good water backflush, and shut down.

Prior to pulling the first shots of the day, I repeat the above procedure without the backflush.

This seems to greatly reduce the 1st shot phenomenon - it does for me, and it may apply only to my setup.

I suspect that coffee oils coating the grouphead, shower screen, basket and portafilter oxidize and become very rancid. A warmup shot may be effective in dissolving these for subsequent shots.

The grinder is another source for bad taste if ground coffee that has been sitting overnight is purged along with fresh ground coffee coming in behind it. I use a doserless machine which is emptied of old grounds at the end of the day.

Just another point-of-view.

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espressme
Posts: 1406
Joined: 18 years ago

#12: Post by espressme »

I have a Cremina. I switch it on at wake up time and then pull a partial warmup shot when I have finished my ablutions. I then crack the steam wand to bring up the pressurestat to the new pressure/temperature. By the time I get milk ready to steam, The light is out and I do a quick partial shot into the tray. A lever can also be dry stroked to get the group to temperature. The first real shot is good.
Since I live alone, the method above works best for me and is useful when i have some company.
~Richard
richard penney LMWDP #090,

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cafeIKE
Posts: 4704
Joined: 18 years ago

#13: Post by cafeIKE »

mitch236 wrote:Since I use a bottomless pf, why couldn't I put the blind disk into the pf, run the pump to fill the basket with water and then leave that? I wonder if it would improve the temperature stability any? I haven't experimented with it since I think it will have minimal benefit but maybe I should?
I've been doing this for a long time if not pulling another shot in a very few minutes, but not for temperature stability. If the puck is removed from the basket any residual coffee is going to bake on the back side of the screen and group proper. Water is such an excellent solvent, it's my feeling that keeping everything moist is better than letting it bake.

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