Extraction time and preinfusion - have I been getting it wrong all this time?

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• askthecoffeeguy

  August 2013

  and incase you're wondering, yes, that's a chopped down lawn mower blade acting as a backing plate for the front panel, pop riveted to hold the brew switch in place - a necessary quick fix from a camping trip over new years! I've had a custom front panel made, it just needs to be fitter, and I've replaced the crap plastic sides panels as well on the Rancilio Epoca - so It should have an all stainless finish - which is both more hardy and better looking than the plastic original!

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• Brett H

  August 2013

  Great video Pat! I especially like the new and improved Epoca!!

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• UNM

  August 2013

  When i read that, my first thought was 'who takes a lawnmower on a camping trip?' I suppose some people might find going camping with a commercial espresso machine equally odd though.

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• askthecoffeeguy

  August 2013

  found the spare blade in a shed on the property we were staying on it was old and rusty so i assumed that it was not being used - kudos for taking an angle grinder on a camping trip though to cut the blade down to size!

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• C-man

  August 2013

  Pat I thought is was the S24 you took camping? I am having a good run with mine these days

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• askthecoffeeguy

  August 2013

  on 1376020255:

  Pat I thought is was the S24 you took camping? I am having a good run with mine these days

  some, er, unpleasant person passed comment on the S24 at a fund raiser for the local school last year, that, "its amazing how you can make such great tasting coffee from such a rusty old machine!" which wasnt rusty by the way but it was pre-loved and not in a nice way (although always very well maintained), so I thought its about time I trade in for a more recent machine the Epoca was only 18 months old when I bought it and  it hadnt had much use (or a good clean!) and supposedly the internals are the same except for the insulated boiler)  - but the build quality is nowhere near as good the plastic sides snapped off as soon as I picked it up and a quick check when I got home revealed that this wasnt the first time that it had happened - as theyd been hastily glued back into place before, so I replaced them with stainless but it still continues to make great coffee - which is the main thing! P

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• C-man

  August 2013

  My S24 is making really good coffee, about 6-10 a day with all the tradies wanting some. I had a coffee today at Lacehims with his big lever, I noticed his shot looked just about the same as mine, a nice slow 2mm dark stream but his shot is a bit hotter in temp. so either mine is a little cool or his is a little hot? most likely mine being the older cheaper machine. Pat did you ever check the temp the S24 was producing? Maybe I am running a little on the cool side?  I must admit I thought his coffee tasted better as it cooled, maybe just because that is more what I am used to? C-

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• Kelsey

  August 2013

  Different beans and blends can do better at different temps. In another thread I reviewed a Bolivian done on a fluid-bed roaster from Londinium and noted that my usual operating temp of 92 or 93 was too high for the bean. It tasted flat and unremarkable at the temps I usually extract at. By dropping the PID down to 91, I brought out a great deal more flavour out of that particular bean. But there's usually a sweet spot for your typical brew - mine's usually 92. I've had the BZ07 sitting on 93 for a Lamkin Lane blend I've been drinking recently. If you can find that sweet spot for your typical bean/machine combo then you should be OK. Then again, that's apparently one of the primary benefits of a lever - declining pressure and temperature profile over the duration of the shot.

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