I needed to rig something up to test out the LM Micra. For my grinders and coffees, I tend to use "custom mix" water. I ended up buying an Aquaflo demand pump, Watts regulator, and cheap gauge based on "Espresso Cart - Goodbye Plumbed In" I was feeding it from the one-liter jar I mix in. A half-gallon or

Wouldn't a fill rate that's too fast possibly destroy the integrity of the puck? Could it be that the real advantage a spring lever has - particularly the La San Marco ones thta have the volume inside the grouphead - is that it places a large column of water over the puck?

I think we should target this weekend or the next, if people are up for it. I think 2 different batches is good from everyone. I don't want too many in front of me. Maybe we can go to the PMs to share addresses and such. I think the two participants outside the US should

My point about the Londinium is that it is hailed as being simpler than a hyvrid lever but since it tries to affect changes in brew temperature in an indirect fashion instead of directly changing brew temperature, it is actually less simple than a hybrid lever that can change temp directly. Or change preinfusion pressure directly. Or both if one

Thanks for the reply. I took the pump off, it was seized up. The motor runs smoothly without the pump. Will be ordering a new pump

I think you might be right, I used to only use the OCD as a tamper (terrible practice, thanks Marc from WLL) and was getting channeling. Ever since I minimised its depth and combined it with the tamper, my pulls improved dramatically. At this point I am not sure if the OCD is doing anything useful. Thanks for your

If by "dialer" you mean the upper burr threaded brass grind adjustment ring, it should be fairly tight and require some force to turn via that small rod attached to it. Part of the tightness is due to 3 springs that sit in holes in the body and they exert pressure on the upper burr carrier when the adjustment ring

Sure. But if the argument presented against the Londinium is that it is only controlling one variable, so you're leaving results on the table, then surely it's reasonable to ask why, when purchasing a hybrid lever, is one satisfied to leave one variable, extraction pressure, beyond your control? I suspect the answer is because there's a certain magic in

I take that back, because we can name so many differences in the machines. Let me ask you what you think are the differences in the machines that cause unacceptable flavor differences

Point of clarity - high flow baskets don't 'like light roasts.' It's the other way around: light roasts demand high flow baskets. They need high extraction to become sweet. This leads to high doses and fine grinding, which slows the flow. High flow baskets balance against that to bring the other two variables back to order. Espresso Vivace