Lelit Bianca owners: how does water from the brew head taste? - Page 3
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dunja (original poster)
Hi all,
I've been fighting this issue for months now, trying to get at the bottom of the suboptimal taste of water coming from my Bianca. I am using the Lelit's water thank. The water keeps on tasting bitter, plastic-like. To make sure the issue isn't coming from our tap water, I tried using Volvic (which Lelit recommended). After flushing 2-3l of it through the machine, the plastic taste was finally gone. However, as soon as the water stays in the tank overnight, the next day I notice a slight hint of sweet-bitter plastic taste. This is especially noticeable if I let the water cool down before tasting it.
It was previously suggested here that I try the water from the tank directly, and I did it in the past, locating the problem in the filter holder (the black piece added to the tank). I've now removed that, as well as the floating magnet and its cap, and the taste has improved, but it isn't completely gone. It seems to me that the bottom valve of the tank (in red) gives off a weird smell too and could cause this. I'll try tomorrow morning how the water tastes if I take it directly from the tank. Btw, this is a third tank I am trying (Lelit already sent me two replacements to address the problem). I am starting the suspect that it's not just the tank, but perhaps some internal components too... I really have no clue.
Could anyone, please, try some water from your Bianca and let me know how it tastes once it has cooled down?
It would be interesting to hear this both from those who use a tank, or those who have a direct water supply to the machine.
Any tests very much appreciated.
I've been fighting this issue for months now, trying to get at the bottom of the suboptimal taste of water coming from my Bianca. I am using the Lelit's water thank. The water keeps on tasting bitter, plastic-like. To make sure the issue isn't coming from our tap water, I tried using Volvic (which Lelit recommended). After flushing 2-3l of it through the machine, the plastic taste was finally gone. However, as soon as the water stays in the tank overnight, the next day I notice a slight hint of sweet-bitter plastic taste. This is especially noticeable if I let the water cool down before tasting it.
It was previously suggested here that I try the water from the tank directly, and I did it in the past, locating the problem in the filter holder (the black piece added to the tank). I've now removed that, as well as the floating magnet and its cap, and the taste has improved, but it isn't completely gone. It seems to me that the bottom valve of the tank (in red) gives off a weird smell too and could cause this. I'll try tomorrow morning how the water tastes if I take it directly from the tank. Btw, this is a third tank I am trying (Lelit already sent me two replacements to address the problem). I am starting the suspect that it's not just the tank, but perhaps some internal components too... I really have no clue.
Could anyone, please, try some water from your Bianca and let me know how it tastes once it has cooled down?
It would be interesting to hear this both from those who use a tank, or those who have a direct water supply to the machine.
Any tests very much appreciated.
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slybarman
done that before and it tastes fine from both boilers. the post is somewhere in the main bianca thread.
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dunja (original poster)
Ah interesting, thanks. Do you use the tank or not?
And which post are you referring to - do you mean, this issue has been discussed in the main Bianca thread?
And which post are you referring to - do you mean, this issue has been discussed in the main Bianca thread?
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slybarman
the issue of an off taste from the boiler came up in the main thread for someone and i recall tasting mine and it was fine. i use the tank
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dunja (original poster)
Interesting, thanks! I've just tried the water from the tank after leaving it overnight, and it tastes fine. I am wondering now if the slightly off taste could just be due to machine not having been cleaned with cafiza for a month (I do backflush daily and use espazola after each shot), but in principle that could also cause some sweet/bitter taste. Will clean the machine and check.
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DaveC
Just a reminder of something I do every few days....you wouldn't use the same cup for 4 days would you?
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dunja (original poster)
Just removed it! This video is amazing, thanks a lot! Haven't had a clue that's so easy.
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dunja (original poster)
Just to post an update. I've switched entirely to Volvic water to make sure the off-taste isn't caused by tap water. I also cleaned the machine with Cafiza, and have been cleaning the shower screen regularly. Unfortunately, the water still taste of rubber/plastic 
I've made some tests:
1) Water which stayed overnight in the tank tastes normal, even if I heat it up and then cool it down.
2) Water from both the brew boiler and the steam boiler tastes off, even after 15 l of Volvic being flushed through it. This is clearly noticeable even with a blind test (I asked others to taste it too, when it had cooled down and the reaction was "This water tastes strange... like rubber or plastic.")
I've now written to the shop where I bought the machine because I have no clue how to resolve the issue. The only thing that comes to mind (beside some plumbing in the machine being the culprit?) is that the water in the boiler is never fully refreshed but always mixes with old water (where, perhaps, the taste used to be off before I switched to Volvic). In which case, I'd have to drain the boilers fully... Would that make sense, or can I expect the water to be fully exchanged after 15l passed through?
I've made some tests:
1) Water which stayed overnight in the tank tastes normal, even if I heat it up and then cool it down.
2) Water from both the brew boiler and the steam boiler tastes off, even after 15 l of Volvic being flushed through it. This is clearly noticeable even with a blind test (I asked others to taste it too, when it had cooled down and the reaction was "This water tastes strange... like rubber or plastic.")
I've now written to the shop where I bought the machine because I have no clue how to resolve the issue. The only thing that comes to mind (beside some plumbing in the machine being the culprit?) is that the water in the boiler is never fully refreshed but always mixes with old water (where, perhaps, the taste used to be off before I switched to Volvic). In which case, I'd have to drain the boilers fully... Would that make sense, or can I expect the water to be fully exchanged after 15l passed through?
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DaveC
The best thing would be to drain the boilers completely.dunja wrote:I've now written to the shop where I bought the machine because I have no clue how to resolve the issue. The only thing that comes to mind (beside some plumbing in the machine being the culprit?) is that the water in the boiler is never fully refreshed but always mixes with old water (where, perhaps, the taste used to be off before I switched to Volvic). In which case, I'd have to drain the boilers fully... Would that make sense, or can I expect the water to be fully exchanged after 15l passed through?
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