I'm experiencing the same thing, coming from a Bezzera with a 3 way solenoid to a Profitec E61. I used to knock out clean dry pucks and rarely rinse the portafilter between shots. Now I'm getting soupy pucks that don't knock out cleanly, crumble into the knockbox, and mold in a day due to the moisture.

The espresso tastes great so I'm not going to get into the puckology debate, but it's a bit of an annoyance that affects my workflow.

I'm dosing 18g into an 18g IMS basket and see a shower screen imprint when done, so I don't suspect it's a headspace issue.
I've learned to just live with it for now, but if there's improvements to be made I'm happy to hear any suggestions.

I won't say that it will make your espresso taste better, but a BPlus screen hides the appearance of wet pucks and keeps the group screen cleaner for me. If that's worth the cost and time with each shot is a personal choice.

Same here. I usually just make 1 espresso at a time and rinse the portafilter holder after each shot. That way it's heated up again well before my next.

I've never had clean/dry cakes to knock out. Maybe that has to do something with that I immediately empty the PF, even before drinking the shot? A lot of people remove the puck before they make a new coffee. I can imagine the group head temperature will dry out the puck.

Jeff wrote:I won't say that it will make your espresso taste better, but a BPlus screen hides the appearance of wet pucks and keeps the group screen cleaner for me. If that's worth the cost and time with each shot is a personal choice.

Yah but, how do you retrieve the BPlus screen after the shot?

I press down on one edge with the handle of the demitasse spoon and grab the edge. As it's hot, I just flip it into my prep washcloth. At this point, it's routine and I don't think about it.

Others flip out the puck onto something and then lift it off the screen, once it cools.