Rather than post these separately, I thought it would be more efficient to put them into one post.

I have now had my new Crem ONE Infuser for a full month. I have pulled about 100 shots of espresso with it and have worked a lot of things out, but some questions remain. The caveat is that the Turin DF64 grinder I pre-ordered in April is delayed even further, so I have been limping along with a stock Baratza Virtuoso while I wait. So, some of my issues might be due to the sub-par grinder. That said, I much prefer dark roasts, so I have actually been pulling some pretty consistent shots with this grinder. I'm using an ECM naked PF with a 20gram basket. Homemade WDT followed by leveling and tamping with St. Anthony Industries kit. 20g in and 40-42 out. I roast my own coffee and have been using primarily Ethiopian Yirgacheffe washed, but also have been experimenting with some espresso blends from Sweet Marias. All of my roasts are working pretty well. I have not tried anything light roasted.. just don't like the flavor profile. Here are my questions.

1. My pucks are soupy. So much so that when I knock them out, I can't just wipe the PF out with a rag and move on. I have to carry it across the kitchen to the sink every time. This is a pita. Will this improve with a higher quality grinder, or is this what I can expect going forward?

2. After every shot, my group head water screen is dirty. Even after flushing a bit, I feel compelled to wipe it off with a rag. It's messy and i'm wondering if this is typical? When I watch videos I don't see people routinely wiping off their group head water screen, so should I just leave it or will better grinding take care of this also? I have done the Cafiza backflush routine twice so far.

3. I'm using a Penguin pitcher that I got from WLL when I bought the machine. As I suspected, I'm weary of filtering and filling the tank. It has been my plan all along to plumb - this was a factor in choosing the machine. My home water is very hard, so my plan is to use RO water from the grocery store + plus the Pavel water treatment recipe. I am looking at the Flojet bottle/pump/coffee cart system.. the problem is, a 5 gallon carboy won't fit in my cabinet I built my coffee bar on. I could cut a hole in the shelf at the bottom of it, but I'd really rather not do that if possible. So, I need a smaller or at least shorter water bottle scenario. Anyone have any ideas on that? I've read at length the "Coffee Cart" threads and haven't seen anything on there as easy to put together as the Flojet system, so I would really like to go that route. I'd rather not filter my home water and I'd rather not install and maintain an RO system, so buying water from the grocery store near me seems to be a good fit for me. But, because of my sloppy pucks, I am going to also need to install a pitcher rinser. Can you use a pitcher rinser on a portafilter to clean it or is it too small to keep it from spraying all over? I've never used one. I'd hate to waste treated water for the pitcher rinser, so would I need a separate water bottle and flojet for that? It's possible to plumb it to the house water line, but I'd have to hire a plumber to do that which I'm actually willing to do if that's the best solution. Is there a pitcher rinser that would work better in my scenario? I have room on my bar for the bigger one if necessary, but the smaller "square" one appeals to me more just from a size perspective. Also it looks like those are a bit deeper than the rectangular shaped rinsers which seem to be more on the surface.

I'll save my questions about steaming milk for another time.. I've found that to be the most frustrating part of the entire process. So much so, that I'm mostly just drinking straight espressos. I've watched ALL the videos and I'm just not getting better. My plan is to post a video of me doing it so that I can get some critique.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me so far. This forum is a God-send!

B

Just for reference, here is a pic of my coffee bar. It will change when I get the new grinder. The Crem will move right a bit and the pitcher rinser will be to the right of it grinder and test tubes and tamping station on the left. There is a sink in the wall in the next room, so plumbing to that will not be such a big deal.

Regarding your question #2. There is always puck residue on my screen once I remove the portafilter. I run a couple seconds of water through it & wipe it off after every shot. I thought this was "normal".

Let's see what others think.

1., 2. Try using less coffee for more headspace. Also, just in case you're not doing this, leave the basket in the group for a couple minutes after pulling the shot to dry out. The E-61 system is designed for cafe use where the spent puck/basket/portafilter stays in the group until the next shot is prepared (letting the puck dry out).
3. I'll use a cloth or Espazzola after every session, but this is probably excessive.
For dirty showers, some shower screen designs get dirtier. However, shower designs that look cleaner can pass more coffee grounds back up into the group. For example, (not saying you should buy these), IMS precision screens come in two designs, one with a 35um mesh, and one with 200um etched holes (no mesh). The etched cleans off with a quick flush, but passes more grounds back into the group. The mesh style blocks much more grounds, but, being mesh, will get dirtier faster and grounds will stick to the mesh.
I use a rinser to clean baskets, etc.

baldheadracing wrote:1., 2. Try using less coffee for more headspace.

I started by using 18g and nothing was different with the messiness. HOWEVER, when I got the St. Anthony tamper, even with it set all the way out.... in other words, BARELY on the threads and it wouldn't tamp the coffee enough. So, I switched to 20gr and it was able to properly tamp. This is the basket that came with my ECM naked portafilter and it is a 20gr basket. I tried the double basket that came with the machine and it was terrible...

ALSO, I'm using 10 seconds of gradual pre infusion which is one of the great features of this machine. Perhaps that's why the screen is getting coffee on it?

B

baldheadracing wrote:1., 2. Try using less coffee for more headspace. Also, just in case you're not doing this, leave the basket in the group for a couple minutes after pulling the shot to dry out. The E-61 system is designed for cafe use where the spent puck/basket/portafilter stays in the group until the next shot is prepared (letting the puck dry out).
3. I'll use a cloth or Espazzola after every session, but this is probably excessive.

When I leave the PF in the group head for awhile it becomes hard to knock out. More grounds stick to the sides. I'm googling "Espazzola" right now.

I think a pitcher rinser is going to be the best solution for me at this point. Thanks!

B

They're called knockboxes for a reason .

I should have added, there's no need to buy an Espazzola either. A (cotton, not microfibre) cloth does just as well.

Soupy pucks are ugly, but I haven't seen any convincing evidence that they are bad. There are a lot of theories, but nothing that has seemed strong and supportable to me over a range of machines and conditions. I think the group geometry and the mechanics of the group's exhaust path have something to do with it.

Yes, I've read multiple posts about that. It's just a pain to have to rinse it every time. Otherwise, it's a huge mess and my coffee bar is not outfitted yet with a rinser.

Given sufficient headspace, I've never seen a consistently soupy puck coming from a commercial machine. No café would put up with the extra workflow.

Domestic groups and/or their internal plumbing can be another story, but doesn't this machine have an E-61 group? The mechanical 3-way circuit on E-61's would be pretty similar across manufacturers, no?

Maybe try turning off the GSP and seeing if it makes a difference? A conventional tamping pressure and 9 bar hitting the puck ought to compact the puck nicely.

Good luck!