IMAWriter wrote:Ah...forgot that..
So if I had PI set for 3 seconds, but held the manual button in, as opposed to immediately releasing, it would ignore my PI time (and pressure, or just time?)
I could see that as WAY useful.

Roberto! Correcto!

Full manual control, no matter what you have programmed. If you want to play with a profile where you want to pre infuse until you begin seeing beading on bottom of the screen just press and hold the manual button until you see what you wanted to see and release. It will then shift to full power. It will however obey the pre infusion power setting you have programmed, while you are pre infusing.

-Peter

Awesome, thanks.
The "World's Best" espresso blend from Klatch is behaving beautifully, especially with the Nano 18 gram basket.

There has been discussion, regarding shots with extended pre-infusion as to lacking "mouth feel." Obviously , lighter roasts really benefit from slightly lower doses and extended pre-infusion, which (as was said and is true) present more clarity and tame the acidity.

For grins, I've ordered an old standby from my Strega lever days, Malabar Gold. It's a very low acidity, all Indian varietals blend, including a bit of HIGH quality Robusta and some Monsooned Malabar. It pours gooey thick, even from a Spring lever. I'm curious to see how it works in the BDB...with pre-infusion and not. I'm just posting this for anyone seeking that sort of low acidity shot, 18-29 grams in, 26-30 grams out in around 26 seconds (@ 9bar). To my mind, 26 seconds isn't enough time for any pre-infusion...maybe at most 3-4 seconds.
https://josuma.com/

Malabar Gold is one of of my go-to roasts. I've had good results from abandoning the ~30 sec pulls needed for busy cafes, grinding finer, and pulling loooooonng slow drippy shots that take 60+ seconds at 9+ bars with no preinfusion. I swipe a small spoon thru the initial super thick and dark drops from the bottomless portafilter and dayam they taste great.

The shot sort of seems like a slow motion version of a normal shot.

ha...slow motion...yes! Dr John pulled a few shots for me at a SCA a while back. He and Melind are great folks. the high brew temps..203-206 (!!) scare some folks off...I go 203-204f, depending on the freshness. I like 9-10 days post roast.
Back on topic, The BDB is REALLY good at temperature change...a fairly short wait going up. Coming down, I wait 15 minutes, to be safe, especially if it's from 201 to 199.

Eye opener:
Medium roasted "Mokha Java" from Happy Mug, pulled at (for me) a low temp of 199. MUCH more balanced. The Sumatran component sang with sweetness, and the Ethiopian component didn't seem to mind.
The temperature is the thing. At 201, it was almost undrinkable. A HUGE hole right in the middle of the 2 components. I simply waited 25 or so minutes after dropping down the temperature 2 degrees f.

A 2nd shot verified the temp drop was accurate. I'm starting to think that years of thinking shots should be @ 200 or above..that almost mystical #...robbed me of some want to experiment. The BDB's rapid temperature deployment, and smaller, stainless boilers makes such experimentation a joy. I'd think that the stainless boilers might make temperature changes more problematic...especially going UP...but that doesn't seem to be the case.
So, those of you having issues with a 2 component, MEDIUM roasted blend...even a melange...should perhaps give a lower temperature brewing a chance. Hope this helps!!!

Edited..I meant " that years of thinking shots should be @ 200 or above..that almost mystical #...robbed me of some want to experiment

Lately I'm feeling somewhat distant from the BDB community that has helped shape me for the last nearly nine years.

Cue The Heart of Darkness or Apocalypse Now, (which is the same story)... As I journey further and further up the Congo River (or Mekong River) as the case may be... And into the darkness away from the BDB community.

Why?

Because of where I am on my barista journey right now. I'm working these Londinium profiles and adoring them. And in order to get there, I've abandoned or bypassed everything that is BDB except for the chassis and the multi-PID temperature control system. This distances me spiritually from the rest of you. Though it also keeps me from lusting after a Londinium as I think I can do a close enough representation as makes no difference. It takes me two hands, (three would be better), as I have the solenoid switch in the left, the pump switch in the right, and at some point I do the needle valve (Slayed), with the left also.

Anyway, the Londinium profile, which I find to be almost foolproof in terms of not making sink shots:
I run the pump at full power needle wide open, up "against" the solenoid, which is keeping the water away from the puck until... I flip the switch for the solenoid and a full slug of pressurized water slams into the puck. Then you shut the pump off around five bar and just keep it there, until you get first drops. Bump the pump on-off real quick if it drops below three bar. After a few drops, turn the pump needled to 7.5 bar, declining as necessary as the shot progresses. This is the famous Londinium profile. And I find it super forgiving. It's my new thing. But while the BDB is a superb platform for modifying into such endeavors, this profile would not be possible on a box-stock BDB. Though I conceived of a pretty close proxy if one was willing to take control of his solenoid (which is so easy it's almost a mod-free mod. No cutting splicing or modifying in any way).

-Peter

Well,
just don;t go to a desert island for a while.
BTW what coffee are you working with at the moment. As you know, I'm ALL about what goes IN to the grinder.

Personally, I don't want to work that hard. I'd rather spend more money, purchase better coffee, and do as little to ruin the shot as possible!!
Example...I pulled exquisite shots with an $1k 1981 Olympia Cremina I restored using OE's vids. The coffee? Panama Elida DP, the year it tasted like blackberry syrup. You could get close to the same pleasurable espresso without all the finagling, using 1 arm, and having less stress. I don't need 70 seconds to pull a superb shot on a good lever...spring lever is even easier. You have levers...I do understand they do not nearly offer you the same options.

That said, I'm sure if you tried the L24 technique on your BDB, but grinding with a Sette, or even a Niche, you wouldn't get nearly the same result as you do with your Max. Bosco owners would tell you they can pull shots...with quality coffee and a great grinder that will make you cry. I know, as I've tasted Bosco shots.

SO....PLEASE hang around. You..and the wonderful crew you've attracted have been a Godsend to the community. Your willingness to share knowledge so freely, and your patience with those who ask many of the same questions you and others have answered is uncommon. So many of us hold you in the highest esteem.

Go buy the damn L24, sell your now famous BDB...autographed...and check in on us every so often. Better yet, hang around as much as you can!!!
Respectfully,m your brother from a different mother,
IMA.

Hopping off the drama train for now... And getting back to nuts and bolts.

Roberto! You had Bezzera Witch (Strega) And near as I can tell, it's a vibe pump version of the Londinium, which uses a leetle teeny rotary pump. So Rob, the Londinium when you pull the lever down all the way, triggers the pump on to fill the headspace and start soaking the puck. You hold the lever down until you get first few drops and then let the lever up to do its thing. Is that how you remember your Strega?

There's a method to my madness in talking about other machines, since this is a tips and tricks type of thread. And that is that I find a profile where there is a sudden hard puck smashing wallop of high flow high pressure water, cut off at 3-5 bar, then held there until first drops. Then you release the lever, it goes to 7.5 bar or so, declining from there. I have been finding this to be an amazingly forgiving profile.

I have rigged my BDB so I can do this in the extreme. BUT the rank and file BDB'er can do darned reasonable facsimile with an essentially modless mod: unplug the two power supply spades from the solenoid, put on your own with your own switch. Now you can flip the solenoid on and off at your leisure. So you push the power button to turn on the pump. The pump is now pumping against the solenoid. When you're ready flip on the solenoid and the pressure should build quickly at the group. Once it hits five bar or so, leave the solenoid open but turn off the pump. Bump the pump on and off as necessary to keep pressure between 3-5 bar until you get first drops then leave the pump on for the rest of the pull. If you have done the water knob mod, you can tail the pressure off gently as the shot progresses. Click off the solenoid when done. Voila. Easy poor man's spring lever.

-Peter

As to the Strega, in normal use, yes. But guys like John Borella modified his pump usage. Can't exactly remember what he did...mainly killed the pump for other than boiler fill, I believe. TBH, the Strega was not my favorite lever...the Cremina was, followed by the Cafelat Robot, the La Pavoni. I had issues with my MCAL's PF flying out of the group (as did some others). It steamed like a little demon, though.

Back on topic, your technique, in the hands of moke like me could be disastrous!! haha. Sort of patting your head, rubbing your tummy...while your 3rd hand is scratching your head whilst wondering "what's the meaning if life?"

BTW, Did you post a link to the switch? And...couldn't you just reconnect the hot water usage, and decrease flow at the end via turning off the pump? Or would that be, in essence decreasing PRESSURE? Please forgive my obtuseness.