No Stupid Questions Thread

[CoffeeHack]

The trick I learned from this forum is to 'warm the cups' from the hot water tap daily as part of the routine, to ensure fresh water is drawn into the boiler on a regular basis.

[flynnaus]

Yes, refreshing the water in any boiler is good practice. Also recommended to reduce scale build up is the use of filtered water, especially in areas with hard water.

[chillipaste]

To minimise scaling, will running the hot water dispenser of a heat exchanger on a weekly/monthly basis help? Say dispense half litre. My theory is it refreshes the water tank with water, and dispenses some of the "harder" water that's left over after continued steaming.

[shortblackman]

"How do you iron the front your shirt so well?..................... Can..... I... iron your shirt?"

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

RE the portafilters, most will fit quite a range of E61s, but best to check with the merchant.

Re the baskets.....be prepared for a flood of opinions. It also depends what you mean by 'precision' baskets (VSTs, EP Precisions something else?). But these non-standard baskets can definitely make a difference (in either direction), because the distribution and size of holes in the base can affect the extraction of the coffee. Put it this way, changing the filter basked wouldn't be the first thing I'd do when learning how to make coffee.

[bakhoatran]

Hi All,

Pretty new to the world of espresso, so am full of questions... First off, an E61 naked portafilter should fit all E61 machines right?
Also, would there be significant differences between standard filter baskets & precision ones, provided that the coffee weight is measured by a scale?

Cheers

[Dimal]

You'll need to have some time up your sleeve with a Corretto so a kneading time of at least 25 minutes would be ideal...

[Westy5]

Another newbie question. I’ve started looking into upgrading from a popper to bread maker for roasting. I see a lot of people say they need to modify their bread makers to prevent it from shutting off after a set time on the knead setting.
How long would the average Corretto roast take? Would a 15min timeframe be enough or would the bread maker need modifying?

[barri]

Me too! I wash baskets, portafilter and milk jug with detergent every day!

[simonsk8r]

Am I the only one that washes their portafilters and baskets daily? I would take them apart and wash them with regular dishwater detergent. But it appears general guides suggest washing these weekly, and simply rinsing them with the espresso machine hot water. Does everyone else simply rinse them out?

Nope not the only one! I give the basket and in the portfilter a quick scrub with detergent (one if those sponge tubey things that holds detergent). If I use the double spouts, I'll even use the machine bristles to give the pathway of the spouts a bit of a scrub. Doesn't take long, much better to not have any residual coffee oils for your next shots!

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Yep. I use a naked portafilter, which makes it even easier to keep handle and basket clean. Every few weeks I might soak the basket in Cafetto.

[level3ninja]

I pull the baskets out and rinse thoroughly every time but don't soak every day. The more you rinse them the less soaking they need.

I wouldn't bother with grindz, open your grinder up to clean it.

[chillipaste]

Another one from a newbie. What are the essential cleaning consumables and replacement parts someone should keep on hand for an e61 machine? - Espresso machine cleaner - grinder cleaner (grindz) - descale liquid??? - food grade grease - gasket replacements? What other spare parts? Looking to do a bulk buy.

[chillipaste]

Am I the only one that washes their portafilters and baskets daily? I would take them apart and wash them with regular dishwater detergent. But it appears general guides suggest washing these weekly, and simply rinsing them with the espresso machine hot water. Does everyone else simply rinse them out?

[FTMAN]

ok, so I think I've got my head around the grinder aspect, thanks for the head-start! Now I'm keen to delve into the machine, but feel like the choice is even more complex...what things should i be looking for given my preference for milk-based drinks and what differentiates a con/prosumer appliance from (semi)-commercial/non-appliance in that respect?

For example, with grinders, I've understood the key differentiators are to do with the burrs - i.e. flat vs conical and the size. In the case of the machine, I'm guessing the size of the boiler and PID - am I getting warm (*edit* pun unintended!)? I think a double boiler would be overkill for my needs and not something i'm willing to pay for (in lieu of other features), but will I notice a difference between a single boiler and a HX? And throw thermoblocks in the mix, too!