Hi folks!

I have recently upgraded from a Breville Barista Express to a Profitec Go. A year ago, I had already upgraded my grinder to a Eureka Mignon Specialita, which had made a big difference. However, I wasn't very happy with the fact that the Breville produces 15bars of pressure; even after doing an OPV mod, I wasn't able to reduce the pressure to less than 11-12 bars, and found my espressos, whilst having great crema, often tasted a bit harsh.

The Profitec Go is a really pretty machine and I love the experience overall: it heats up way faster than the BBE; it stays nice and quiet during warm up (no noisy pump activation when you switch on); the PID and shot timer make it a joy to use; the externally adjustable OPV is really nice. I don't use the steam wand, so can't comment on that.

There are a couple of small things that I don't care for and that I am still puzzled by: firstly, I find it much more difficult to pull a single with the Go than the the BBE. The 58mm portafilter just makes it more difficult to get a good tamp and the puck is very wide and shallow. Secondly, the distance between the portafilter and the drip tray is really small: where before, I could fit a scale and a bigger cappuccino cup, I barely have space for the scale plus an espresso cup, if I use the dual spout portafilter. A bottomless portafilter has improved that somewhat, but I still can't fit the cappuccino cup and scale.

The final thing is how the pucks come out: on my BBE, the pucks were pretty dry. On the Go, they come out pretty soggy - more so on the single than on the double basket. This made me wonder if the OPV is acting as it should, because the pressure gauge also doesn't return to 0 after I end the shot, but stays close to 9 bar, and only drops very slowly over several hours.

Thanks for any tips on the soggy pucks and pressure dial!

Cheers

Soggy pucks generally have to do with the dynamics of the group exhaust. All pucks are wet during extraction. The difference comes after the shot in that some exhaust paths suck more of the water out than others. It usually isn't a sign of a problem.

Pulling 7 g shots with a 58 mm machine reliably usually requires a special basket and often a special tamper. Here's one thread on some of the options 7 gram single shot?? Mission impossible!

Just to add, the gauge behavior is normal for that type of machine (Single boiler dual use, SBDU).

Thanks both. Good to know about the exhaust path point.

RE singles: I usually pull 18.5g doubles and have taken to making 11g singles. Below that I find the risk of channeling goes up a lot, at least with my technique and the beans I currently use.

Yep, agree, looks really pretty. nice.

Try a thin scale. I like this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SJTXGN7/

baldheadracing wrote:Just to add, the gauge behavior is normal for that type of machine (Single boiler dual use, SBDU).

Seems odd to me. I added a pressure gauge to my ViaVenezia (SBDU) which does not have a 3-way solenoid, and the pressure drops to less than one bar (effectively zero) within a couple seconds of ending the shot.

I think that is because the Profitec Go additionally has a check valve (non-return valve).

Also it depends on whether the gauge is reading at the boiler or the group head, it seems the former in the Profitec Go. You should be able to release the residual pressure by turning the pump on again without the portafilter in the group head.