Strietman CT1 - Page 3

#21: Post by **weebit_nutty** » January 1st, 2016, 4:48 pm

erik82 wrote:I used the same tricks you mention with the Strega. The CT1 needs some time to depressurize as it isn't possible to pull the lever up and depressurize in that way due to the design of the piston opening when you do that and water flowing in the brew chamber.

After about 30s or less you can take the portafilter out without portafilter sneeze but maybe still a wet puck. Once you've ground the beans for the next espresso and prepared the second filter basket you're safe to pull it out so I don't see a problem with that. Right after the pull the lever comes up a little bit but if you pull it down right away it should be possible to take the portafilter out right away with just a wet puck but no sneeze.

Great write up, Erik. Thank you for this -- I've been patiently waiting

I like that that the piston enables pull swith a full solid column of water. This gives you the most responsive direct feel in the shot. Other direct levers have some air at the top of the chamber so there is a bit of a spongy compression between the water and piston, so it's not as direct. The advantage though is that by the time all the air has been pushed out, so has the water--thereby giving you very dry (relative) pucks.

I wonder if the piston design unique to the Strietman. In any case I am in love with the CT1. I just recovered from two bouts of upgraditis in the past few months. But I think feel another one coming on...

January 1st, 2016, 4:49 pm

redpig wrote:Makes sense -- thanks!

I only have one other burning question: is there is an extra seal inside the piston in addition to the exterior ones to seal the hole in the middle? (Is it custom or a normal o-ring or W/V seal?)

There are 2 seals on the exterior of the piston and one seal in the middle of the piston. Just search in google and you'll find an exploded view like the one below. No magic here

.

#23: Post by **kwantfm** » January 1st, 2016, 5:57 pm

weebit_nutty wrote:I just recovered from two bouts of upgraditis in the past few months. But I think feel another one coming on...

Nice thing about this machine is that it doesn't feel so much like upgraditis as opposed to additionitis!

#24: Post by **grog** » January 1st, 2016, 5:59 pm

Bluecold, is your Peppina PID'd? I have sold my Peppina, but I recall it came to a rolling boil fairly quickly and stayed there until I switched it off. I would have expected it to boil dry, even with the 'steamer' style lid fully screwed down, after a couple of hours.

But, I never left it on to see. Have you left yours on for hours at a time?

#25: Post by **yakster** » January 1st, 2016, 9:54 pm

I had a PID on my La Peppina and left it on sometimes for a couple hours. I found that the PID was overkill (and took too much counter space) and just stuck a thermometer through the lid. It heats up so quickly and with the aluminum group doesn't need to soak any heat so there's not much need to leave it on as it'll be ready to go in a couple minutes.

#26: Post by **mfortin** » January 2nd, 2016, 10:07 am

redpig wrote:Would it be possible to see/hear about the full routine? I've seen the videos for making and enjoying shots on the ES3, but I've never seen the PF removed after a shot. Do you have to wait for it to depressurize? Are there other tricks/differences?

+1

#27: Post by **mfortin** » January 2nd, 2016, 10:10 am

Thank you Erick,
Can you do a Fellini move whit it?

January 2nd, 2016, 2:10 pm

I've never understood why you'd want to do a Fellini move but I guess you can do it with the CT1. I don't see a reason why not except that it's useless. The CT1 has a bit over 30gr of water in the brew chamber and you can fit 15gr in the filterbasket so enough for a brew ratio of around 50% which is enough so that you don't need to do a Fellini move with all the downsides it has.

Because you don't have so much air in the brew chamber you don't need to push the air out to get the maximum volume of water. This way you don't need to disrupt the puck through a Fellini move. So in short you don't need a Fellini move on a Strietman.

#29: Post by **ilker** » January 2nd, 2016, 10:21 pm

Hi Erik,

I was also thinking like you. But many people still like 1:3 ratios. It means there should be 45gr yield for your 15gr dose.
Without Fellini move, its not possible.

I was also thinking like you. 1:2 ratio should be good enough, never understood until I try 1:3 ratio. Now I only do 1:3 espresso drinks for myself. I kind of like the clarity of flavours and smoother taste. But when I do latte/cappuccino, I prefer 1:2 (kind of under extracted) shots.

January 2nd, 2016, 11:19 pm

I was also thinking like you. But many people still like 1:3 ratios. It means there should be 45gr yield for your 15gr dose.
Without Fellini move, its not possible.

While this is true for other levers, the Strietman group, when raised fully, will hold much more water than you might assume. With the lever completely raised, I've measured 81g of water between the piston and the dispersion screen. And if you wait to allow the basket to fill to capacity, even more.

A complete pull will typically produce 60 or more grams of espresso, depending on how much you presaturate/preinfuse your basket before pulling. So You can pull any size shot you want without the Fellini, unless for some reason you can not raise the lever all the way up.