1) Please read post 14 and the one linked within it.

2) No filters yet.

Here is some of my experience. I've been a Strietman CT2 user for over a year, moving over from a pre-loved chrome Gaggia classic. Initially I planned to use both machines, but the workflow of the Strietman and the fast warm up time are so fantastic that I didn't need the Gaggia any more. Dialling in is completely different and much more forgiving on a Strietman, and its almost impossible to pull a bad shot. Yes, its difficult to pull consistent god-shots, but I almost never have undrinkable shots which I had all the time on my Gaggia. Also, you kind of know if the pressure is too much or too little without a manometer/pressure gauge (I am still contemplating a naked profiler kit though).

I use a Niche Zero conical grinder, for which I use RDT and I bounce the grinder back and forth a couple of times to get close to no retention. (Don't like the bellows look)

I prep my pucks outside of the portafilter and sometimes prep 2 baskets straight away for back-2-back. Addiction is real. I use the 14gr Strietman baskets and dose them with 13.5 normally with medium roasts. I love the smaller baskets because it means I can drink more (2-4) coffees throughout the day without having massive shaky hands. I am yet to find a good decaf, but had some success with low-caf Lovina coffee from Friedhats in Amsterdam. Any suggestions are welcome (Maybe blending a half-half myself?) https://friedhats.com/products/brazil-l ... 980f&_ss=r

I normally drink medium roasts and my favourite roaster is Workshop Coffee from London. I recently tried a darker roast coffee called Malabar Monsoon from India and it was absolutely awesome on the Strietman. It feels very classic Italian and is the most smooth, velvety espresso I ever had with an insane body/mouthfeel. I got it from coffee section at a fancy London department store called Fortnum and Mason, and you can find it at Rave coffee which quite affordable compared to the single-origin beans from hip roasters.
https://ravecoffee.co.uk/products/india ... 3903940634

I put a paper filter on top of my basket as it keeps everything a bit more clean. However, I get donut extractions during pre-infusion so I'm not sure how much better it is to add paper filters on top. I use a 2 inch circle cutter from EK tools to cut out filters (4 per cut) out of square Chemex filter papers. Its very easy and a pack of Chemex filters will last you for hundreds of cycles. While I have a cutter for paper filters at the bottom of the basket, the extractions never really worked for me as I got too fast and channeled shots. Very keen to learn how the new Mesh Strietman baskets will perform.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dimensions-Suc ... B0090JVF1A

It feels a bit like sinning, but I normally pull espressos without weighing during the shot. Not even afterwards. I don't have a fancy Pyxis and therefore often use a glass Alessi espresso cup that has an icon on it, which I use as a marker for 1:2 ratios.

I raise the lever slowly (5-10secs) to ensure no air is sucked in from the bottom. The air results in less direct feedback of the pressure and makes pulling the shot often worse. I use an Ikea vanity mirror (5x zoom) to look at the basket while pulling without squatting. Generally, I pre-infuse by wetting the puck with light pressure, and then holding some pressure without any flow for another 5-8 secs. Then I pull my shot where I focus and getting a consistent rat tail and flow rate. I use a slow ramp-up for medium roasts, where as with darker roasts I tend to shorten the pre-infusion time and I do a much more rapid ramp up. Most of the time I let in more water then needed into the brew chamber. When I am happy with my shot, I just stop it and (later) take out the portafilter and flush out the remaining water in the drip basket (which ends up at houseplants).

When I am not dialled in well, it is still possible to save the shot on a Strietman. If my shot is channeling, I just stop the pull a bit and continue straight afterwards. Most of the times this fixes the channeling straight away. If I my grind setting was too fine, I do a very long pre-infusion where I hold a constant light pressure, and every 3-5 secs increase the pressure to try and see if it can pull. Similar to a blooming profile, after 30-60sec the puck resistance will decrease so you will feel and see when the coffee is ok to pull. Generally if the shot is not extracting evenly and the rat tail is not appearing, I try to pulse a bit (not Fellini) throughout the pull as this this sometimes fixes it.

Hope you enjoyed this and feel free to ask me anything or add to this. Greetings from London.

Some more info
Be sure to check out this German lady's blog on the CT2. https://frauantje.info/kategorie/die-strietman-ct2/ If you don't understand German, It's easy to translate safari/chrome.

Lever profiles and the blooming short for light roasts https://thelevermag.com/blogs/articles/decent-espresso
Some other profiles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvAt1Dmqhpk

Thanks Nemos. Happy you are getting a nice system dialed in.

nemos wrote: Hope you enjoyed this and feel free to ask me anything or add to this. Greetings from London.

Some more info
Be sure to check out this German lady's blog on the CT2. https://frauantje.info/kategorie/die-strietman-ct2/ If you don't understand German, It's easy to translate safari/chrome.

Lever profiles and the blooming short for light roasts https://thelevermag.com/blogs/articles/decent-espresso
Some other profiles: video

Thank you for the excellent post.

I feel like a Strietman espresso meetup at Wouters factory would be a fun idea in the future

You are right, Nemos, about forgiving. I have tried slow finely ground shots and coarser faster flowing and both are good, depending on the coffee and grinder. So far, I am enjoying the longer (1 min +) since I would typically struggle with the these sorts of shots more on my Decent. Also, in theory, I like the idea of using the smaller baskets. Right now I'm enjoying the puck screens from SWORKS.

https://sworksdesign.com/Puck-Disc-Screen-p504672678

I'm currently using this for ultra-light roasts:

1) 5-8 seconds to raise lever.

2) 25-30 seconds of infusion using just lightish hand weight on lever - if the grind is right, the lever will move down a few mm every 4-5 seconds.

3) Declining 9-bar or flat 6-bar pull to the desired ratio (mostly 1:2.3 to 1:2..

The resulting brews are packed with flavor and body.

Anyone tried the 49mm Billet basket yet on the CT2 or a Cremina? These are in pre-order stage I think but perhaps somebody has had the opportunity to test one?

The only user I know of with one is a beta tester who posted in the CT2 thread on the Kafatek forums.

It's back in development, the CT2 portafilter wouldn't lock in and with either of the Cremina portafilters it was too deep and there was interference with the curve at the bottom.