I have upgraded my shower screen to to nano tech but find the coffee puck now often doesn’t remain in the portafilter on release from head. I.e. sticks to the shower screen! Using anything from 15 g to 18 g coffee in a 18 g basket. Any ideas?

Perhaps the new screen sits lower than the old one so will require a corresponding reduction in dose?

As @"MediumRoastSteam"#p6445 has said - you’d need to let us know what machine you’re using to get the most helpful feedback. I know that before I adjusted the OPV on my gaggia to 9bar this was happening to me all the time but haven’t had this since (touch wood). Different beans also fluff up more/less than others so will sit higher/lower in the basket.

@"Andreclan"#p6441 The screen will have a finer mesh than your stock one and blocks up when the puck touches it as it expands when pressure is released at the end of the shot. You've already eliminated dose height as an issue so that's nothing to think about. It means nothing and is not a sign there is anything wrong or that you need to change anything. If your shots are good changing things to try and stop this from happening will only be detrimental. Just touch the puck with the portafilter/basket and it'll release then clean the group as usual. Some beans will absorb more water and expand when pressure is released more than others so you won't always see this.

Probably is a problem with tamping & disc preparation. Occasionaly i had it with my old espresso machine.

I “upgraded” my stock Minima gasket and shower screen to a cafelat and IMS (not nanotech). Immediately had stuck pucks which I very rarely get with stock, even with the same bean. It is a relatively fine grind. I also noticed more water than usual on top of the spent puck. Tried different beans and no issues so far. Will see how it goes - I have no issue returning to stock if need be. What @"Rob1"#171 said makes logical sense as to the cause.

Does anyone bother with a puck screen? I'd never considered one until I saw a Hoon video where he compares a Nomcore and Bravo tamper and it did pique my interest

@"dutchy101"#p6598 There’s a thread already here: https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/80-puck-screens tl:dr - some people saw a big improvement in extraction and taste. Others didn’t but either way it keeps the shower screen clean which everyone considers a bonus.

Cool. Just taken a look. Personally bot sure I'd want one for anything other than keeping the group clean and a nice puck. Mine tend to be a little soggy.

> @"dutchy101"#p6627 Personally bot sure I’d want one for anything other than keeping the group clean and a nice puck. Mine tend to be a little soggy. Yeah I’m in the soggy puck brigade as well and let’s be honest, have a habit for buying accessories I can probably do without (£20-£40 is about the sweet spot for those kind of things!), so I’m sure I’ll end up with one at some point.

Puck sticks to shower screen

HVL87

dutchy101 in theory they perform different functions. The thinner screens (first link) don’t seem to impact extraction and taste. I have the second screen (thicker) from shades and from limited testing it seems to improve the extraction and taste of lighter roasts at a straight 9 bars. More testing is definitely required although I wouldn’t use it with a medium or dark roast.

If you only want to keep the shower screen clean and prefer a firmer puck, I would go for the thinner and cheaper screen. Not sure of the impact if any of the solid border.

Your pucks should knock out relatively easily on the Minima though?

I forgot to mention, and this will be relevant to @PortafilterProcrastinator as well, the stock Minima basket is ridged and a lot of coffee can get stuck behind it when knocking out the puck - another reason to upgrade to a ridgeless precision basket.

dutchy101

HVL87 Your pucks should knock out relatively easily on the Minima though?

They’ve been quite soggy so far. Perhaps this is more to do with my prep which I’m still working on with the Minima. Maybe I need to look at a precision basket too.

dutchy101

That’s great - thanks @Doram

HVL87

dutchy101 what dose do you use? I often get water on top of the puck, depending on the bean but it dries relatively quickly and knocks out ok.

hornbyben

@Doram and @DavecUK, fair enough. If you can tell a difference and think it’s not too much hassle then fair enough. If you soak the puck screen in cleaner and it doesn’t go brown then I agree that’s proof your day to day cleaning is good enough.

I know you some muck behind the screen, but on my machine at least it’s never that bad, although I do tend to drop and clean it weekly.

dutchy101

I’m going with 18g doses although I tend to try to knock it out straight away as opposed to letting it dry in the basket, which may be why.

Not sure if it could be a feature of the Solo grinder / flats. I never noticed this when I had the Sage SGP before which tended to always give me dry pucks that knocked out all in one.

@DavecUK did you experience this with the Solo when you used it with the Minima at all?

Rob1

It’s a feature of a fine grind or a group that needs backflushing. OR a low dose.

dutchy101

The amount of coffee in the basket does look a little low at 18g - which might mean I could try taking the grind a little looser. In any case I’ve ordered a puck screen.

With my Bambino Plus I would do a 19g dose in a 54mm basket and there was no way near as much headspace in the basket as there is now.

My Nomcore tamper has arrived today so will hopefully be getting more consistent puck prep from now. The coffee tastes great in any case so it’s not really something I’m too worried about - would just like a cleaner puck to knock out

HVL87

dutchy101 With my Bambino Plus I would do a 19g dose in a 54mm basket and there was no way near as much headspace in the basket as there is now.

With a 54mm portafilter you would expect less headspace, especially with 19g.

Even when grinding very fine, the puck may be more wet, even with a small pool of water on top but you should be able to knock it out, although there will be some wet grinds left behind.

I had a Sage Barista Pro previously and the pucks were very dry as you said, so it could be a matter of adjusting expectations as I had to? Would be interesting to see how wet your pucks are though.

Rob1

You aren’t making pucks, you’re making coffee. Don’t change anything for the sake of a dry puck or one that doesn’t stick to the shower screen. Only make changes if you want to change the coffee.

dutchy101

Yes it’s only a minor annoyance more than anything else to be honest. I typically need to clean the basket in water to get wet clumps of grinds left behind after I knock out the puck. Could be because I’m trying to do it too soon after pulling the shot

HVL87

dutchy101 I typically need to clean the basket in water to get wet clumps of grinds left behind after I knock out the puck.

That’s normal. You can use a paintbrush with stiff bristles to brush it out into a knock box. It’s dries up pretty quickly. Ridgeless basket will help too. Otherwise use water from the group which helps to clean the shower screen and basket.

dutchy101

Thanks - good to know

dutchy101

Ridgeless IMS competition basket ordered

dutchy101

So I loosened the gring a bit this morning and used the new Nomcore tamper. Puck was definitely dryer but still not a great knock out

HVL87

That looks normal to me. Can you see most of the coffee left behind is stuck underneath the ridge? That will improve with a ridgeless basket, although you will still have coffee left behind depending on the bean, roast level, how fine you grind etc.

I have had the same thoughts as you don’t worry 😄

dutchy101

Haha well IMS ridgeless basket and puck screens are en route. Just hoping my wife isn’t in when they arrive as she’s not impressed with all the accessories I’m buying at the minute lol

Edit: Just had a notification that the puck screen should be here by 1pm, so will be giving that a whirl on my next coffee (and it has slipped in under the radar - result lol)

PortafilterProcrastinator

dutchy101 Which Basket did you go for? Would be interested to know how well the Normcore tamper fits it. I seem to be getting very (ignorantly) hung up on whether a tamper needs to be 0.1mm narrower in diameter!

P.S. having the same issue on the accessories front. Might be getting them sent to work!

dutchy101

Aaaaand with the puck screen. Job’s a good’un

dutchy101

Haha. Still using stock basket but have this one on order from Bella Barista:

https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/competition-ridgeless-double-filter-basket-by-ims-28-5h.html

I was looking at VST baskets too but at half the price, I think the IMS should be fine

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