to bad - so no real time read out while actually pulling a shot- would it possibly provide some useful info after a couple of shots or after flushing water through the head of water temperature in the group head?

i've had both, strietman for me by a mile. I was pretty new to making espresso when I had a Cremina, but I never got the hang of temp management and never got consistently good shots. The Strietman is the first machine I've used with precise temp management and i wouldn't ever want to be without it now. I never liked straight shots until I got my Strietman, now it's all I drink!

I'd probably be a lot better at managing the Cremina now, but only because the Strietman has shown me the way...I actually know what espresso is supposed to taste like now.

Question for the Strietman owners/users: Are you happy pulling light roast beans (1st crack to City)? Or do you prefer medium roasts and darker in general?

This is one area where the Strietman made a big difference for me. I had never pulled a lighter roast that didn't taste like battery acid on my HX machine or cremina. If I was buying beans at a coffee shop I'd always ask what the roast level was like because I didn't want to buy a lb of battery acid. If I coffee had "citrus" in the description I wouldn't buy it. With the Strietman I can adjust the temp to get the right flavor and I don't worry about roast level any more, I can buy a light roast ethiopian and make a shot that tastes like fruit instead of acid. It's really opened up a lot of different coffees for me to try.

Trevin, what is the lowest brew temperature you have needed to use for good results with light roasts? Apparently the CT1 is easy to adjust and stabilizes in just a few minutes?

Rocky

spressomon wrote:Question for the Strietman owners/users: Are you happy pulling light roast beans (1st crack to City)? Or do you prefer medium roasts and darker in general?

I find it excels with med-light to light roasts.

RockyIII wrote:Trevin, what is the lowest brew temperature you have needed to use for good results with light roasts? Apparently the CT1 is easy to adjust and stabilizes in just a few minutes?

Rocky

It varies from bean to bean so it's hard to say...but generally I'll err in the 202-203 range if I have a lighter roast, it's just really easy to change the temp if I need to.

For example, I got a bag of Mountain Air's Black Balsam, tried pulling it at around 200, got acid. Bumped it up to 202-203 on the next shot and it was like an entirely different coffee where it tasted how it's described. I had tried this blend a year or so before on an HX machine and ended up throwing most of it out because I got nothing but sink shots. I thought I got an off roast at the time, but I now I know I just couldn't hone in on the right temp.

Yes it stabilizes within 10 minutes or so, faster if you put the dust cover on, but if I leave the dust cover on past the pre-heat phase it will be too hot at the settings I put mine at. I set it so that it will usually it will idle in the 198-204 range at full without the dust cap on. If I leave the dust cap on and it's too hot i just turn the machine off and prepare my basket, by the time I'm ready to pull the water is at the right temp, I just keep an eye on it. If the temp is too low I can put the dust cap on and it heats up a few degrees in the same amount of time.

RyanP wrote:I find it excels with med-light to light roasts.

It mellows the acidity, taking the harshness and softening it to a delightful component, not an overpowering tongue-killer. I don't have any experience with the Cremina, but the CT-1 is a delight.

buddalouie wrote:It varies from bean to bean so it's hard to say...but generally I'll err in the 202-203 range if I have a lighter roast, it's just really easy to change the temp if I need to. .

Similar story here. I've been pulling a light Costa Rican from Slate roasters and a Kenyan from Elm roasters, and 203F with a 30 sec pre infusion has been my sweet spot with both of them.

erik82 wrote:User bas has a CT1 and bought a C2011 Cremina a couple of months ago. Long story short he sold the Cremina and kept the CT1. It's in dutch but the whole story can be found here http://koffiepraat.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=7726.

Yes I definitely prefer the CT1. Same reason others mentioned. Far more easy temperature management and brewing in the lower temperature range possible. Even with newer model Cremina's the sweet spot is even with low pressure settings in the medium hot range (although no overheating). Extracting cooler shots is difficult and hard to reproduce. And with max pressure lower than 0.8-0.9 bar preinfusion is a problem without assistance and steaming capacity is greatly reduced. The CT1 has in my opinion better preinfusion and an bigger shot volume. So no need for half pulls.

As much as I like the looks, build quality and steaming option of the Cremina regarding shot quality the CT1 suits me better. No doubt. It is just about being in tune with the beans. Such a nice and direct experience!