Thanks all. Appreciate your good words. The Bianca has arrived today and I am thinking my game plan to test drive it. May I leverage this thread to get some beginner advice? In particular, as a manual lever user, I can control flow, preinfusion time, amount of pressure freely manually. I do not understand how I can work with these with the Bianca. Suppose I can achieve the same control via the flow control(?). At the moment, I imagine the workflow can be: 0/ wait for temp to buildup, usual puck prep. Any flushing needed for the group head? 1/ while keeping the flow control closed, the pressure will build up slowly after I press the button. Then preinfusion starts. 2/ when I see the first drip, I pull the flow control all the way to the right to start the extraction. (Note: so I think I have no control on preinfusion time at this stage? I can only affect the preinfusion time via grind size.) 3/ during the extraction phase, I can monitor the pressure. So I think I have no control on the amount of pressure at this stage (instead I should change the grind size to change the pressure)? Or I can play with it by controlling the flow control? 4/ once I have the desired amount of liquid, I close the flow control. 5/ Remove the PF and clean up. Any flushing on the group head needed?

@"Knluk"#p28346 GL and we look forward to your setup, photos and first impressions. Sure, you are going to love it. You will get plenty of assistance from Dave, Jake and a lot of past and current Bianca users. Please do watch some of the YT from Dave! All of them are a few years old and I won’t know if anything has changed since then! *Normalising Grind settings on Bianca* https://youtu.be/dAvY8Om77-0 *Internal tour* https://youtu.be/XW72A1SmQZ4 *Lelit Control Centre* https://youtu.be/Fr8YvPD9ij4 *Long PI Shot* https://youtu.be/MDTGHr9lL8g Dave has a YT video showing 8 types of shots on Bianca. I guess it’s a BB guide. I can’t find it on the YT.

@"Knluk"#p28346 - I've only used the Bianca a few times (At Dave's) so my advice here is limited, but: * You don't need to flush the machine before hand; You can if you want, but I wouldn't bother; * If this is your first E61 machine, I advise you to leave the flow control valve alone, fully open, and see how the machine behaves/works for the first week or two; * Once you understand how the machine works, start with the valve fully open and try reducing the flow gradually to reduce the pressure gradually as the shot goes. Aim to finish the shot at 7 bar, for example. There's a lot of parameters with the Bianca. Don't let all of those get in the way and frustrate you right at the start. It's a lot to take in. Start simple, and progress gradually.

just check the pid setting dave asks you to change, after that use it normally for a while flow control open, then you can start with the valve, its great for slowing shots if you grind wrong

@"Cuprajake"#p28350 @"LMSC"#p28348 @"MediumRoastSteam"#p28349 Thanks all. Lots of useful info to study on. I also like the idea to start from simple and learn from there. Will keep everyone posted here 🙏

Just came to reply but everyone has already sent better tips than I could! The BB guide in the box (written by @"DavecUK"#1) Is incredibly useful and had loads of great info. Thanks again for a smooth transaction and enjoy many great coffees!

> @"Knluk"#p28346 1/ while keeping the flow control closed, the pressure will build up slowly after I press the button. Then preinfusion starts. The paddle for the flow control can be adjusted so that in the closed position you can have no flow at all, or that you have some flow (e.g. a trickle). You can easily check by lifting the lever without a portafilter and seeing if any water is coming out of the group. If in the fully closed position your valve is completely closed (no flow at all), then if the paddle is in the fully closed position there will be no water entering the group and no pressure will build up (so no pre-infusion). As for changing the pressure with the flow control - once the group is under pressure during a shot there will be water going in to the group and water coming out (through the coffee). As long as the flow into the group is the same or higher than the flow out through the coffee, the pressure will be maintained. As soon as the flow in becomes slower than the flow out (by closing the paddle), the pressure will gradually reduce. This is how you can change the pressure by closing the valve to slow the flow of water into the group.

@"Knluk"#p28346 Welcome to the club, really enjoying using mine since getting hold of one last month My favorite shots so far have been by bringing pressure up slowly to 2bar with paddle half open then maintaining at 2bar for about 5 sec, opening gently to about 9bar then gradually tapering off towards the end of the shot Here is one I did earlier, I am sure someone more experienced can point out if I am doing anything wrong https://youtu.be/vMd3YtdfHyU

Thanks all for the advice and tips. Always find helpful support here! it is here now. With my previously injuries but recovered back, I had to ask my wife to help to lift out from the box. It also looks much much bigger in real life. I was kind of admiring the compact size but worried about it is not solid built before I saw the real thing. I off to start reading and learning now. [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/qo0acxc.jpeg]

@"Knluk"#p28411 It's heavy enough to be solid….

Everyone must now know that I always have too many questions. So let me fire away: 1/ I used some stale bean to try a couple of shots. The first one I used same grind size as that for my Robot. Almost choke the machine and got 18g in and 35g out in 75s. For the second shot, I tried two dot coarser, similar result. Wet puck too. I will try to go coarser. But do you think the soupy puck is due to the choking? 2/ I dose 18g and mess up with coffee ground spilled around. Do I need a ring or the dose size is wrong or my technique is bad? [URL=https://i.imgur.com/tMmScgE.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/tMmScgE.jpg[/IMG][/URL] 3/ between shots, I followed the instruction to remove the PF, left for 15sec, then flush the group head and clean it with cloth. Do I really need to use the brush every time? 4/ I found two scratch in the inner wall of the PF. Don’t think it is deep enough to cause channeling. Was it design like this or did I do anything wrong to scratch it? [URL=https://i.imgur.com/v7YFQub.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/v7YFQub.jpg[/IMG][/URL] 5/ how do I know the machine is ready for the next shot? 6/ when standby, the pressure is 1.4 bar for the steam boiler but zero for both the group head and boiler pressure is it normal?

Lelit Bianca just arrived

DavecUK

coffeealex Small parts that drop from any machine have a way of defying the laws of physics, and travel far further than they’ve any right to.

coffeealex

DavecUK you are so right! I have certainly learnt my lesson IE. to never assume that something won’t fall out, move or drop down. Assume it can and place it into a container.

Knluk

Cuprajake I just learnt how to remove it from the PF and found it was 18-21g

Knluk

Alpesh thanks for sharing this. Thanks @DavecUK

Knluk

Just pull a shot to make an affogato. (video attached). Does the shot look alright to you?

Taste wise, it is a 7.5/10 for me. Texture is nice and thick too. Spotted some channeling on the side(?) and small stream of coffee shooting out sideway. Is it normal? The flow looks too rapid to me when I look at it. And I get 40g out of 17g coffee is 20 second. As this grind size gives good taste, should I adjust the flow paddle? (It is now fully open)

DavecUK

You need to tighten up the grind a bit, that’s quite a fast shot. If you are using a Niche try two marks finer.

Knluk

DavecUK great advice. I just tightened the NZ by 2 marks and got 17in/38out in 25s, the flow from the bottom of the basket looks much better. I also lowered the temp to 91 degree to help with the bitterness I expected. Happy with the result.

Planned to schedule my first maintenance this weekend. Tried to remove the filter screen but fail. Scared that I may damage it if trying too hard. Let me watch some video and try again this weekend.

will try to play with the flow paddle next week. So far, I am very happy with the machine and the combination with NZ.

DavecUK

Knluk There is a special tool/s to remove the screen. An old spoon or two.

Knluk

DavecUK I tried with a spoon. No luck. Maybe it is not old enough :)

Amberale

DavecUK

I use an old silver teaspoon.
They are cheap to buy at boot sales and Op shops.
The silver should be softer than the chrome on your machine.

DavecUK

Knluk You may have to alternate between one side then the other.

coffeealex

Knluk

Knluk I tend to find the handle side of the spoon works the best to initially lever it out. Try different sizes until you feel it is gripping. The most important thing is that you do it regularly, maybe every 3days to a week. This will make a big difference in the ease of removing it, as not doing it regularly will make it substantially more difficult to remove it easily. That’s what I have found.

Doram

Amberale I use an old silver teaspoon.
They are cheap to buy at boot sales and Op shops.
The silver should be softer than the chrome on your machine.

Plastic is softer than silver, and a bike tyre lever tool is the perfect shape to get the screen out.

Amberale

Doram
One is elegant, stylish and a pleasure to look at and use.
The other is plastic and should be reserved for lovers of such.
You know, Breville and Decent machine owners.
😜😂

Cuprajake

were as i dodge the clip pinging across the room every time i take the leva’s out

Knluk

Thanks all for the tips. Let me explore various ways. I wonder why can’t the machine maker supply a suitable tool for that.

DavecUK

Knluk Thanks all for the tips. Let me explore various ways. I wonder why can’t the machine maker supply a suitable tool for that.

I guess they would feel silly putting a couple of spoons in the packaging. 😁

CoyoteOldMan

Amberale Coffee at 105 °C, anyone? 😁😂🤣

Knluk

Hi again :)))

I found the Bianca is very user friendly. After a week of use, I am now able to pull shots without much thinking. I feel my hands having a lot more free time compared to pulling the shot in Robot and needing to switch to the stove and steam with bellman. So handy! I can also steam some silky paint texture milk for latte art. :) I know some dislike the outlook of E61 but it does smile to me and the visitors. See if I will get bored and think it is too much of shinny solving colour and then I may consider powder coating some part of it (if I figure out how to remove some part of the outer case).

while I can pull a 7 or 7.5 out of 10 shots with my favourite bean (chatswood from Rave), I am aiming higher as I can pull out a solid 8 or 8.5 from Robot. The issue I observe consistently is the brew time is too short. I usually got 37 to 39g out of 17g bean in 15-17s(!). There is also occasionally one very small stream shooting side way from the outline hole of the basket. I tried grinding finer but even half mark bring out noticeable medicine like bitterness. Tried two mark finer and it becomes sink shot. The temperature is already lowered to 91 degree. Now I am still keeping the flow paddle all the way open. Should I try preinfusion? Close the flow paddle a little bit?

DavecUK

Knluk With the robot you probably got used to shots that were at a much lower temp made using the beans you like.

Your shot times should be longer, so you need to grind a bit finer and try dropping the temp more.

It’s also worth exploring other beans perhaps lighter ones.

I’m basing this on your sink shots being Bitter? It would help if you could describe more about what makes them sink shots.

Knluk

DavecUK yes. It is pretty bitter and very strong, also with burnt taste. I was also shocked as I thought 15s should make a bad shot. I was also thinking to lower the temperature but is lower than 91 degree too low?

will also try other beans as I need to make a new order now. Anything good on the medium/ medium dark side for Niche/ Bianca combination?

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