So I have slowly become immersed in this coffee hobby which started all so innocently.

The thinking now is to get more involved in the process (more or less as one would using an old analog lens on a fancy new camera) in a single leap of upgrading. Thus, I just ordered my Bezzera Strega to replace my tiny little Gaggia. Pretty sure I'm not worthy of it but, hey.

To avoid the need for descaling altogether: Which water filter would fit in-tank on the Strega? I see "bestcup" mentioned but I am uncertain as to which exact model to get, and where to actually buy some on-line.

Thank you all.

/Allan

Your retailer is the best source for advise, also with regard to the waterquality where you live. I use water softening cartridges containing ion-exchange resin that you fit to the pump suction hose. Some are regenerable, some like mine are not. Refreshing rate depends on the water quality. An alternative is to use a Brita water jug with softening and chloride filter that indicates when it is time to change the filter.

Thank you for that,
Unfortunately there's only one potential dealer in Denmark for the Bezzera machines, which don't have the Strega and are far from local anyway.
So I basically had to order it online in Germany and cross fingers.

In an ideal world I would take a stroll into the local store where I ordered the machine and ask how to best filter our local water supply in the nice soon-to-arrive Strega. Not an option for me, unfortunately.

I actually use a water jug with a Brita filter in it already, in addition to an in-tank filter in the Gaggia... Not taking any chances with limescale. So far the double filtration has worked well for me so I wanted to continue doing that.

Thanks again
/Allan

You might try buying an inexpensive TDS meter to see how hard your water is (the in tank cartridges do nothing except ion exchange softening, replacing calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ones; Brita cartridges do minimal softening after the first few weeks, but they carbon filter and remove metals). If your water is hard you can use an in tank softener, or better yet, mix distilled water into your tank to get around 75 TDS (for no scaling and decent espresso). The zerowater cartridge system does nicely for this. If your water is soft, below about 50 TDS, you can use bottled minerla water to harden the tank water. That's all you need for pour over. If you are really OCD, you can use the TDS meter to prep the water each time you fill the tank.

Aaah science. I sense there's even more for me to learn about. Thank you!
TDS meter located, "buy now".

Whatever I do, it does seem to have some effect. Without the water jug filtering, the water tank would normally get visible limescale on it rather quickly.
And, with the filtering, there's no limescale to see anywhere when taking the group head off to clean or replace the gasket etc.

Now, if the german seller would just send me the machine already....

/Allan

Bindegal wrote:Without the water jug filtering, the water tank would normally get visible limescale on it rather quickly.

Interesting. Usually scaling does not occur in cold water or on plastic. Either you have very hard water indeed, i.e. you are situated on a limestone basin, and have lots of terrific farms nearby; or your pipes are old, and you are getting suspended (not dissolved) limestone in your tap water.

So, after a bit of Ebay shopping, the numbers are in.
Tap water ppm is 554.

A new BWT filter in the water jug brings it down to 340.
A second filtering, just for fun, brings ppm down to 240.

A 1 week old Brita filter seemed to do a bit worse than the BWT; around 380 on the first run.

So for now, the strategy is this: BWT filter in the water jug, and a BWT Bestsave for extra safety in the tank.
And even better, a ppm meter to check the filters are working.
Does this sound reasonable?

I suppose theoretically it should be possible to find an actual filter for the tank. The standard mesh filter thing has a 3/8" thread.

And yes, so far loving the Strega!

/Allan