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Funny/horror shot extraction stories!

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  • simonsk8r
    replied
    Originally posted by Leaf_Bean_Machine View Post
    Oh dear! Hump day coffee madness Sounds like a trip to your local cafe is in order.
    Hehe, after removing the piece the grinder worked fine. And the subsequent coffee was delightful! Just hope the burrs haven't been damaged, but they look okay.

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  • Leaf_Bean_Machine
    replied
    Oh dear! Hump day coffee madness Sounds like a trip to your local cafe is in order.

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  • simonsk8r
    replied
    Not a shot extraction story as such... but was just grinding up the last of my Colombian beans to give it a go in the Aeropress, ground about 13 grams and then the burrs just cut out! Had no idea what was going on, had a look inside and lo and behold, a bit of what looks like perspex was caught in the burrs! (Pic below)

    I have no idea how it got in there... something caught my eye in the bag earlier but I just thought it was the light reflecting off it. I removed it, cleared it out a bit, ground up the rest and still had my coffee, just popped two filters on just to be sure XD.

    Not sure if the burrs are damaged, they look okay to the eye. And also when brewing, I flipped the Aeropress and gave it a swirl, the top compartment popped off and bit of coffee exploded about and in my face!

    Looks like today I just wasn't meant to have coffee... XD

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  • simonsk8r
    replied
    ....... ugh XD.

    Note to self: REMOVE lid to hopper BEFORE tipping beans in. NOT after, but befooooore.

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  • TampIt
    replied
    Originally posted by simonsk8r View Post
    Haha wow, now THAT would be a fun thing to demonstrate, it reminds me of that YouTube vid where the title is something like best espresso, and they do everything possible to completely ruin the shot (poking finger holes into the grounds etc. Just looked for ages but couldn't find it... but I could totally see a competition in that XD

    (If anyone can find that video that would be much appreciated haha)
    My effort: Glad it amused you. I wished I had taped it at the time (using my "new tech" VHS camera). I reckon it was a "one of a kind" effort. Every other time I demonstrated it I just got a minor squirt, mostly onto the back panel. Still I had constant long term reminder every time I used that fridge a not to be a dick...

    Your video: I think that video may have been an early Seattle Coffee Gear. I can remember one of their demonstrations of "how to pull a shot" had a whole bunch of embarrassing newbie errors - culminating in hitting the knock box hard enough to drive it halfway into their bench (if you get your shot texture correct the puck will fly out with a wrist flick / no knock box contact at all). Their problem - they were serious at the time. They have little street cred from this dude.

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  • simonsk8r
    replied
    Originally posted by TampIt View Post
    My best effort - about 30 years ago when demonstrating how a naked p/f* shows up bad technique I set it up to channel deliberately.

    The shot sprayed close to 10 metres horizontally and instantly (and permanently) stained the door of my fridge on contact... Oops. I only replaced the fridge this year and the only really good finish "on its final exit" was that stain on the door - it preserved the original slightly gloss effect really well.

    TampIt

    naked p/f*: yep, they go back to the '60's if not earlier despite them being "invented" in about 2000 in the good ol' USA.
    Haha wow, now THAT would be a fun thing to demonstrate, it reminds me of that YouTube vid where the title is something like best espresso, and they do everything possible to completely ruin the shot (poking finger holes into the grounds etc. Just looked for ages but couldn't find it... but I could totally see a competition in that XD

    (If anyone can find that video that would be much appreciated haha)

    Leave a comment:


  • TampIt
    replied
    My best effort - about 30 years ago when demonstrating how a naked p/f* shows up bad technique I set it up to channel deliberately.

    The shot sprayed close to 10 metres horizontally and instantly (and permanently) stained the door of my fridge on contact... Oops. I only replaced the fridge this year and the only really good finish "on its final exit" was that stain on the door - it preserved the original slightly gloss effect really well.

    TampIt

    naked p/f*: yep, they go back to the '60's if not earlier despite them being "invented" in about 2000 in the good ol' USA.

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Originally posted by degaulle View Post
    I don’t think he meant “backflush”, more like just pull the lever down without the PF in.
    Yep, knew that was the meaning intended...
    I suppose some non-techies might not realise that though.

    Mal.

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  • Barry O'Speedwagon
    replied
    Originally posted by degaulle View Post
    but I guess since these machines have no 3-way valve, there is less tendency for the brew path to become fouled with coffee oils in the first place (flow goes one way only).

    .
    That's right. When I pull the group apart to re-lube the seals every now and then, it is almost completely free of coffee oils.

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  • degaulle
    replied
    Originally posted by Lyrebird View Post
    Can you actually backflush the group on a lever machine? I can't see why you'd need to: I thought the pressure came off the group when you stopped pulling the lever?

    I'm not familiar wih the internals of the Strega but from the parts diagram I can't see that's there's anywhere for the "backflush" water to go.
    I don’t think he meant “backflush”, more like just pull the lever down without the PF in. On the Strega, that will activate the pump to fill the group. I don’t have the hands-on experience myself, but I guess since these machines have no 3-way valve, there is less tendency for the brew path to become fouled with coffee oils in the first place (flow goes one way only).

    That remark of not putting in any PF that seems to fit, that’s a good one as well. In addition to the stock brass PF, I bought a stainless Cafelat XT PF for my BZ10. It does fit, but since the ears are thicker, you can only use the Bezzera O ring gasket with it. Attempting to use any other gasket (flat, beveled) is probably going to have that dreaded effect.

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  • Barry O'Speedwagon
    replied
    Originally posted by Lyrebird View Post
    Can you actually backflush the group on a lever machine? I can't see why you'd need to: I thought the pressure came off the group when you stopped pulling the lever?

    I'm not familiar wih the internals of the Strega but from the parts diagram I can't see that's there's anywhere for the "backflush" water to go.
    You shouldn't lock the handle holding the blind filter fully into the group, but if you loosely engage it and pull down the lever you can give the shower screen etc a quick rinse (I don't use any chemicals). I do this between shots. My machine is prone to a thermosyphon stall, so a quick flush (even with the group empty) is pretty much mandatory.

    In general you do need to be careful with these machines. While I can easily operate the lever with a single hand, I've always got 2 hands on it. Oh, and don't lock an unkown portafilter into the group that 'seems' to fit. Good way of destroying your favourite glassware and anything else that happens to be unfortunately positioned on your kitchen bench.

    Leave a comment:


  • Lyrebird
    replied
    Originally posted by degaulle View Post
    One story I heard from a guy at a barista training I took was that he was going to flush the group on his Strega.
    Can you actually backflush the group on a lever machine? I can't see why you'd need to: I thought the pressure came off the group when you stopped pulling the lever?

    I'm not familiar wih the internals of the Strega but from the parts diagram I can't see that's there's anywhere for the "backflush" water to go.

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Very true deGaulle...

    It's the one reason I've never taken the step to acquiring a Spring Lever machine, as much as I would like to. With the weakness in my hands and arms, I'd always be afraid of something like this...

    Mal.

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  • degaulle
    replied
    One story I heard from a guy at a barista training I took was that he was going to flush the group on his Strega. I don’t remember if he forgot about the sheer spring power or if the lever just slipped out of his hand, but it hit him in the face. He thought his jaw had been broken, which fortunately turned out not to be the case. Still, scary stuff, this safety thing is something to be aware of with spring levers...

    Leave a comment:


  • simonsk8r
    replied
    Originally posted by Jono_Willmer View Post
    A friend of mine had an old commercial machine at home not sure what it was, maybe a Faema, anyway it was very dirty so I suggested that he backflush it. My mate said "oh I've got some powder for that", so we went ahead and put some backflush powder in a blind filter and preceded to start the pump, 10 secs on then off... nothing...10 secs on then off... nothing... at this stage I'm starting to get very nervous and say to my mate "be careful the pressure is building, but the 3 way valve isn't opening to backflush the group". He is like "nah it's fine" so 10 secs on then off... I moved back and away, he grabs the Portafilter and starts to turn it to take it out of the group, BANG!!! The Portafilter flies across the room hitting the kitchen cupboard on the other side and a huge plume of white and brown smoke along with dirty water fills the air!!! We both look at each other and let out a surprised, but relieved sigh, it is all over. It was seriously scary, but at least we could laugh about it afterwards.
    Holy moly haha, that's amazing, never seen a portafilter fly off like that! Must have been some crazy pressure building up if it didn't release any of it :O

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