Thanks Dan. I'll look into this foam cup option for something more accurate.

I suppose I'm not trying to get an accurate temp as much as I am trying to feel out a rough, comparative reference point with others to see if my temps are ballpark in line, or if there may be something wrong with my machine.

Preheated cup, fast digital thermo, 70F ambient, 11g/sec water flow. Temp in pitcher taken immediately, in the mid to upper 170s F, then, seems to indicate (since I'm high end) that I'm likely just fine and not undershooting other peoples temps significantly, I'd think? Espresso temp @ 156F 10 seconds after brewed.

In any case I ordered some foam cups that will arrive Tuesday so I'll have to wait until then to get a more accurate temp. But my initial concerns that something has gone wrong with my machine may have been unfounded, perhaps?

If I had an FCD on an e61, I might be inclined to give it a full travel or two if I'd left the machine for quite a while.

Dan - low tech 8oz styrofoam cup test w/instant read thermo got me 195F in the cup with a 199F PID temp, so it would seem things are likely right on since even with the cup there will be a few degrees temp loss?

CafeIKE - thanks for the input on the FCD. Curious, why would this matter?

Conceptually, it shouldn't. But I'd do it anyway just to make sure it felt the same as when I left it.