Astoria Espresso?

[Monito]

I finally figure it out!!!

Machine on
Hold the "Prog/Stop" until all lights come on
click on the button you want to program
click that same button to stop
That's it!!!

I noticed that the "cont." button can also be programmed

Thanks,

Monito

P.S. I wouldn't mind the manual 

[kwksilver]

Hah, go get one. You deserve it on the principal that BW out drinks us both combined :p
I just noticed you asked how long a shot should be.

There are imho idiotic base rules:

They go something like this:

25-30 seconds extraction time  (then people say thats from pump on to pump off if u do use preinfusion, which ur machine doesnt as is.)
volume is then claimed shot basket dependent (that makes sense)
it goes something like ca. 1.5-2 ounces per shot in basket, but since most speciality houses in america (vivace, zoka, grumpy, stumptown etc.)
pull their shots extremely ristretto, that certainly isn't true in america.

At vivace they overfill the large LM double baskets to 18-19 grams (Malachi's word not mine). I can tell you that they barely hit the 2 ounce mark in their cup with those shots.

Then in terms of when you cut it off people often say 'when it blonds'.  That's sometimes hard to see when I roasted light. (going from tiger stripes to homogeneous light color)

what is de facto really easy to see, is this time point where the stream suddenly collapes into a much faster running and less voluminous stream. (on HB it was explained as a point where the hydrophobic oils stopped coming and now you have stronger hydrogen bonding and thus no crema but denser 'water'.)

That point is always obvious, and that is where I usually cut.

This shot, went very 'ristretto' and i just ended the show @ 38seconds, but it certainly had not blonded yet as you can see.



And you just gave me the mother of all excuses to also go and pull a shot.
That is where these pics r from.  ( You do not need a naked basket at all to see that stream collapsing.)
The coffee pulled there is 50/50 of Hannan's  brazil/ yemen. it really is very tasty.

Puck: (double basket in case you wanted to see how much i dosed. certainly not overdosed. that is the LM double basket)
The pic with the empty cup is so you can see size relations the shot is in a standard small demitasse not a cappa cup. So i pulled something like barely over an ounce in 38 seconds, violated all rules and it didn't taste bitter at all.
 The empty cup is just to show that I pulled the shot without going so fine that grounds went through the basket.
pressure was on the higher side possibly near ten or so. I don't bother measuring pressure exactly. You can tell when its off because the crema looks funny. I actually get more crema a lower pressures.

I hope that 6pm shot entertained :p

[kwksilver]

Oooh, i just noticed. You can see that I insulated the groupheads if you look at the grouphead in the background. That aluminum foil double bags a volume of glass wool (with plastic between the aluminum foil because I am paranoid about protecting my food from glass fibers.)

Felix

[crholliday]

Felix, I bet it would taste better about 270 degrees cooler.

 

[kwksilver]

Lol, yeah that would be some hot espresso at 483F :p

Felix

[Monito]

I'm learning and waiting for my tamper...

Monito

[kwksilver]

Hey,
looks like a good start :p
very tough to produce anything drinkable at all without a tamper.
I have a triple basket, and although it fits into regular bottomless portafilters the inner diameter is just a mm or so more (so maybe 59mm).
This makes it so that neither my 57mm nor my 58mm fit in there really tightly.
The cups come out ok, but if you look at the bottomless extraction it is really obvious that the coffee just comes from a halo shaped extraction from the edges.

I am absolutely sure that your tamper will immediately take you light years further into good espresso

In the pic you posted it is difficult to say whether the shot ran too long, or whether the water just gushes through the puck.

or whether it is doing just fine. Was the stream that homogenous (even colored) to the real eye?

 Did the stream run quickly like water or more like a staticy goo?  (it is the best way I can think of describing the way the hydrophobic crema behaves. I bet BW would have a better description of it as I am clearly not the only one who did chemistry as undergrad degree)

The stream looks blond, but that could be the flash, because what is in those shotglasses looks like essence of AWESOMENESS sprinkled with excellence. It makes me want to drink it anyways.

cheers,
          Felix

[Monito]

It took about 25 sec to get that shot. I do recognize a good shot with a bad one now! This morning a was in a rush and immediately recognize that water was coming down, so I'm in a bad mood now!!!

I will post more pictures when my tamper comes, take a look at my knock box...I took a piece of wood and stuck it in and old bowl. 

Monito

[kwksilver]

That knockbox is just my kind of piece. No plastic. simple and robust.
very functional. I can say i like that.

Felix

[Monito]

I just wasted $4 in a double shot (so he says) 

I asked for a double shot to a guy in a coffee cart.
I saw the shot coming down nice and dark, 5 sec later the shot turned brown, then water down light brown (for a long time) , as a get my shot there was no crema and it was like drinking a bad cup of coffee. The coffee had at least 50% Robusta.
I now can compare, I can say that I haven't made any espressos like that.

Monito

[kwksilver]

Oh, I know how you felt :p
Felix

[Monito]

How can I unclog the hot water wand?
Water comes out for 2 sec then steam with water, seems clogged.

I also had the water level float stuck on the top, I decided to add scale remover in the tank. It actually fixed it.
Green and brown stuff came out of the water wand.

Also I took the pressure gauge apart and fixed it, it is working now.

Thanks,

Monito

[crholliday]

How can I unclog the hot water wand?
Water comes out for 2 sec then steam with water, seems clogged.

I also had the water level float stuck on the top, I decided to add scale remover in the tank. It actually fixed it.
Green and brown stuff came out of the water wand.

Sounds like you need to break down the whole water wand supply and soak it in descaler. You obviously have some deferred maintenance that needs to be dealt with. I would trace the wand assembly to the copper pipe that connects it to the boiler. Take it all apart and descale.

Did you drain the boiler after you added scale remover?

[Monito]

...snip...
Did you drain the boiler after you added scale remover?

Yes and No, if you mean, remove the bottom pipe to drain it, No.

However, I went through a lot of water cycles, I mean a lot...

Monito

[crholliday]

However, I went through a lot of water cycles, I mean a lot...

Did you just open up the water wand and let her rip? Can you explain that?