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Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

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  • Toad
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 4774656664757374626A6473010 link=1250979468/5#5 date=1250987838
    Thats what I was wondering about the book instructions - do you really need to turn the steam wand on after 5 minutes? You cant do that by timer. Also how much of a cooling/warming flush do you need to give it initially, between shots and after its been idle for some time?
    I always assumed that the instruction to turn the steam wand on after 5 mins referred to when you start the machine for the very first time only, to purge air from the system.


    Originally posted by 4774656664757374626A6473010 link=1250979468/5#5 date=1250987838
    Also, washing out the water tank with detergent every day seems a bit excessive. Maybe once a week, if that, Id have thought. I just top it up with a jug leaving it in the system. The only thing that bothers me is the gaping holes on top allow muck to fall in. You wouldnt want that to accumulate. Thats the trouble with bottom-feeding water systems.  
    Ive never washed out the water tanks on any of the machines Ive owned, except when doing a descale. This instruction sounds like those in your car logbook - check oil, water, tyres daily - who does that???
    Ive never noticed any muck getting through the holes in the tank lid.

    Leave a comment:


  • Fudgetrucker
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 487F796962730A0 link=1250979468/20#20 date=1251023333

    My 11 year old daughter has just gotten into photography. I gave her an assignment   . Each square is 5mm.
    Tell her she did a fantastic job. Ta!

    Leave a comment:


  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    In Lucas case it didnt catch the plural.

    Leave a comment:


  • linnaen
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Sometimes, it doesnt even work when you type portafilter until you do a "quote" and work out how its done

    Leave a comment:


  • Buschy
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 4370616260717770666E6077050 link=1250979468/14#14 date=1251011579
    Originally posted by 1D2A2C3C37265F0 link=1250979468/11#11 date=1251002857
    9 times out of 10 I can get away with the number 2 on the Giotto. Its the one with just a very slight curve. The curve increases as the tool number increases. Ive used a straight edge a few times but prefer the very slight curve.  
    I like the sound of them. Ive roughly trimmed an old credit card to sort of do the job, but couldnt say how the curve compares to your number 2. How much do you sweep out of the basket in mm, do you reckon?

    My 11 year old daughter has just gotten into photography. I gave her an assignment   . Each square is 5mm.



    I purchased the small half dozen home set and ended up using 4 out of the 6 with my VBM Piccolo. Not sure whether because I struggled a bit more to get it right with the low showerscreen or because I had quite a few more SOs in the cupboard at the time and was also experimenting a lot with my roasting times , etc. Anyways, I think theyre handy to have around and fun to play with. Lately the #2 is the most popular. The home set isnt that expensive and look pretty swanky.   Good Fathers Day or BD present!

    Oh... P_O_R_T_A_F_I_L_T_E_R  

    Leave a comment:


  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    The word filter didnt catch your use of "portafilters" instead of group handles. :P

    Leave a comment:


  • luca
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 063A273C363720353D36520 link=1250979468/17#17 date=1251014741
    Originally posted by 20392F2D4C0 link=1250979468/13#13 date=1251010617
    I havent swapped portafilters
    :question :question :question
    The portafilters that came with the giotto at work are fairly shallow.  It may be necessary to switch to deeper portafilters in order to accommodate deeper baskets.

    ... or are you saying that I should be calling them "group handles" :P

    Cheers,
    Luca

    Leave a comment:


  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 20392F2D4C0 link=1250979468/13#13 date=1251010617
    I havent swapped portafilters
    :question :question :question


    Leave a comment:


  • luca
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 5063727173626463757D7364160 link=1250979468/15#15 date=1251011722
    Originally posted by 332A3C3E5F0 link=1250979468/13#13 date=1251010617
     I havent swapped portafilters to use a bigger basket to deal with the low showerscreen, but Im getting good results at the moment, so Im not too fussed.
    I dont really have a concept of how low this showerscreen is in comparison to other units, and whether it matters. Should we be sweeping and tamping lower - or would make life easier to replace the stock double basket with another?
    I havent really done any extensive measurements. The showerscreens on prosumer machines seem to me to be lower than those on the commercial LMs and Synessos that I like to use. I also had to change my dosing on the giotto from my dosing for my bfc thingy at home so that there was more space. I havent tried putting one of the baskets that I use at home in the portafilter at work; maybe I should. Generally speaking, I think that its always going to be easier to work with a machine with a higher showerscreen and a portafilter capable of taking larger baskets. You can always dose less coffee in a larger basket, but obviously the size of the basket and how far the showerscreen sticks into it sets the upper limit. For what its worth, I have read that the giotto can apparently take 20 grams or something in its double basket. That may well be the case, but my impression is that its maximum capacity is less than some of the other machines that I have used - I had to change my dose. Like I said, though, I havent done any real measurements or experiments and this is all a matter of impression.

    Cheers,
    Luca

    Leave a comment:


  • Fudgetrucker
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 332A3C3E5F0 link=1250979468/13#13 date=1251010617
     I havent swapped portafilters to use a bigger basket to deal with the low showerscreen, but Im getting good results at the moment, so Im not too fussed.
    I dont really have a concept of how low this showerscreen is in comparison to other units, and whether it matters. Should we be sweeping and tamping lower - or would make life easier to replace the stock double basket with another?

    Leave a comment:


  • Fudgetrucker
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 1D2A2C3C37265F0 link=1250979468/11#11 date=1251002857
    9 times out of 10 I can get away with the number 2 on the Giotto. Its the one with just a very slight curve. The curve increases as the tool number increases. Ive used a straight edge a few times but prefer the very slight curve.
    I like the sound of them. Ive roughly trimmed an old credit card to sort of do the job, but couldnt say how the curve compares to your number 2. How much do you sweep out of the basket in mm, do you reckon?

    Leave a comment:


  • luca
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 5B68797A78696F687E76786F1D0 link=1250979468/12#12 date=1251004592
    Originally posted by 736A7C7E1F0 link=1250979468/10#10 date=1250994613
     Theres no point fussing around about the difference between a 10mL flush and a 30mL flush, down-dosing vs updosing,  
    So what dosing ritual are you preferring these days, Luca?
    I use the giotto in the office with a timered macap m4d, mainly to make milk-based drinks rather than espresso. My concerns are making a good quality drink quickly and keeping the area clean, rather than exploring the extraction space. I tend to dial in the grinder to grind basically the right amount to fill the basket if I grind, rap twice gently and strike off level. The M4d doesnt have a PF holder, so whilst Im holding the PF whilst grinding, I tend to do a cooling flush and wipe down the drip tray, or I pour milk into jugs. Chris has set the machine to what tastes to me to be a mid to low temperature. I tend to buy coffee that likes a mid to high temperature, which means that it is next to impossible to burn the coffee. I just do a short flush and dont tend to fuss too much about it. I tend to cut the shots at about 20mL each; this isnt a setup that I have found conducive to long extractions and cutting the shots short gives me a lot of leeway so that I dont have to focus so much on what Im doing. I havent swapped portafilters to use a bigger basket to deal with the low showerscreen, but Im getting good results at the moment, so Im not too fussed. I usually steam two small jugs of milk, rather than one with milk for two. First, half of the time I end up using two different types of milk. Second, the giotto steaming action, which is superb - might well be the best steam wand/tip of any prosumer machine, is far better with a small jug of milk than with a large one. Sometimes with a 600mL jug, the boiler pressure will drop below 0.7 bar before Im done, at which point there isnt much point continuing, so Ill shut it off and wait for it to reach a higher pressure, then start steaming again. Easier to just do two small jugs. I can make two great milk-based drinks and be back at my desk in a little over two and a half minutes, so it works out really well. The important thing, of course, is to run awesome coffee through the machine, which leads to awesome results.

    Cheers,
    Luca

    Leave a comment:


  • Fudgetrucker
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 736A7C7E1F0 link=1250979468/10#10 date=1250994613
     Theres no point fussing around about the difference between a 10mL flush and a 30mL flush, down-dosing vs updosing,
    So what dosing ritual are you preferring these days, Luca?

    Leave a comment:


  • Buschy
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    Originally posted by 6754454644555354424A4453210 link=1250979468/9#9 date=1250992945
    Originally posted by 4F787E6E65740D0 link=1250979468/6#6 date=1250988513
    sweep with my number 2 dosing tool (sort of NSEW, or WSNE, or ...), and tamp.
    I take it you mean Scottie Callaghans dosing tool - do you use a bigger number on the single portafilter?
    Yup.
    Actually, Ive only used the single basket once. I tend to stick with a double basket and my bottomless "group handle", or the Giottos stock double spout. 9 times out of 10 I can get away with the number 2 on the Giotto. Its the one with just a very slight curve. The curve increases as the tool number increases. Ive used a straight edge a few times but prefer the very slight curve.

    Leave a comment:


  • luca
    replied
    Re: Your Giotto (Premium Plus) bootup routine

    First of all, there really isnt anything special about the giotto and I dont really see how anyones routine using it will differ very much from using any other OK prosumer HX machine.

    I have a giotto at work. Its not on a timer, so I tend to throw a tea towel over the group head and flick it on as soon as I walk in the door. The tea towel seems to cut the warmup time in half. Fifteen minutes later, I draw a good 50ml of water through the portafilter and into a cup to warm things up, then Im good to go. The first shots can taste a touch cool, but they are pretty much fine in milk.

    The machine has its quirks, but, as with all machines, the important thing with it is to feed it the best coffee that you can get your hands on, be consistent in your routine and to clean and maintain it well. Theres no point fussing around about the difference between a 10mL flush and a 30mL flush, down-dosing vs updosing, the number of angels that you can fit on a tamper head, etc, if you are using cheap coffee that, is, say, over-fermented and metallic, your doses are out by 3 grams each time and you havent chemical backflushed your machine for two weeks.

    Cheers,
    Luca

    Leave a comment:

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