Elektra T1 Heat exchanger Espresso Machine Cool espresso

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twotone

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Joined Jan 13, 2015

509 Posts

Discussion Starter · #1 · Apr 14, 2022 (Edited)

Hi, just wondering if anyone can offer some advice.

I have a 2007 Elektra T1 Deliziosa and I’m really struggle to get decent espresso.

I buy beans fresh, on subscription, from Coffee Compass, and no matter the beans I rarely get crema however I know that the lack of crema is not an indication of the beans not being fresh and the size of the cup can make the crema almost non-existent but I’m not getting any crema regardless of the beans and regardless of where I buy them from, in the recent past I’ve bought from Rave and Redber and a few other roasters who advertise on here.

I have a La Cimbali commercial grinder with, I think, 73mm burrs and it grinds perfectly okay.

I grind 14g and pull 28/30g of espresso in around 35 seconds and I have also adjusted the grind to go long and short but no difference.

I mainly drink milk based coffees so as a result I didn’t really notice this issue too much but I’ve been tasting the espresso recently and to my mind it’s not very hot and I’m wondering if this is the reason that I’m not really getting decent crema?

The machine seems to be functioning properly, the hot water dispenses at around 95degrees C in a cup and there’s plenty of steam but the coffee in the cup is only around 70 degrees C and it comes out the brew head at about 77 degrees C.

I regularly clean the shower screen or replace it and I clean the brass shower screen holder (for wants of a better description) and I clean out the eight or so holes in that I do this at least once a month or sooner.

I also flush the machine before making an espresso to cool down the heat exchanger so that the coffee doesn’t burn but and the machine is on for sometimes an hour before making a coffee and sometimes it’s about ten/15 minutes.

Thanks for any replies.

Tony

I started a thread on the old forum here guys might save me re-posting photos etc.

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/threads/elektra-t1-heat-exchanger-espresso-machine-cool-espresso.65862/#post-878175