Hello, First of all, thanks for this amazing forum! In a previous thread, you helped me select which new espresso machine to buy - the Lelit Bianca. I have now had the machine for some weeks and am starting to learn to use it. I have tried attaching a video recording of when I brew a cup of espresso, however, the forum does not seem to allow video files even though the size is very small. Instead, I have uploaded the video file here: http://ifile.dk/d/2fJJ8LdYX8PeAt8bd1dk0x In this video, I am brewing 1 cup of espresso. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AHqpRHvcRIQ I use the brewing basket that is rated for 18g of beans. However, using 18g of beans will cause the water to run through it way too quickly. So I tried putting in 22g and tamping them fairly hard. This produces an acceptable brew, however, I still think the flow is a bit too quick. I notice that the lower manometer says that pressure at the pump is 10 bar while the manometer at the brew head says 5 bar. Is this normal? I would expect a higher pressure at the brew head, right? I think the total brew time here is about 20 seconds. That is too quick for a double espresso, no? Also, the cup is placed on a scale so that the total weight of the brew can be seen in the video. So what am I doing wrong here? Should I try going for 23g beans? Should this really work with 18 g beans? Or is it normal to have to put in extra beans? Is my grinder the problem and I need a finer grind?

hi, whats your grinder, and how old are the beans and where from, 18g in the basket is fine theres a screw under the machine to turn the pump to 8 or 9 bar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh-VUwnMd_g

Grinder is Gaggia MDF. Beans are probably 12 days since roast. Will check in a bit.

@"larsg"#p17212 Just checked. The roast was 16 days ago.

@"Cuprajake"#p17211 I just watched the video. This seems to be about adjusting the pressure at the pump. This is currently about 10 bar, so I guess that should be fine, right? What I am concerned about is the pressure at the brew head. Here it is around 5 bar. Is this normal to have a pressure drop of about 5 bar? Or do I just have to use even more finely grained beans in order to increase the pressure here?

Have you tried tightening up the grind?

@"dutchy101"#p17216 Tightening up the grind? Does that mean grinding more finely?

@"larsg"#p17217 Yes - go back to 18g dose and grind finer

@"dutchy101"#p17218 OK. I think this is the finest my Gaggia MDF will grind. Maybe I need to modify the MDF in order to become stepless. Would that allow me to grind more finely? https://coffeeaspirations.blogspot.com/2006/07/barista-guild-of-america-and-how-to.html Or am I just at the end of the line with what I can do with a Gaggia MDF grinder and have to invest in a better grinder?

When I upgraded my machine from the Sage Bambino Plus to the ACS Minima and started using VST baskets, I was initially quite surprised how much finer I needed to grind than I had before (using the DF64 Solo grinder). On some roasts I am down to setting 5 which really felt like a bit of a worry at first - not a long way to go from there but I've got used to it now. I think you'll really need to consider a new grinder to get the most out of your Bianca - as @"Cuprajake"#144 says, it will be limiting you

Too quick flow - what am I doing wrong?

CafeNoir

You’d be very disappointed at the least by this happening to your new shiny, but some very good advice here. The video clip is a good assist.

Surprised the grinder wasn’t set up in the ballpark for espresso by supplier, to me it’s elementary customer service.

Someone less cautious could have killed their grinder.

I’m hoping that you’re all good and exploring the capabilities of your grinder today mate.

Cuprajake

The clump breakers prob blocked. Inside the shoot. Esp if you have ground Turkish haha

larsg

Thanks for your input. I called the store and they walked me through some exercises tightening/loosening the screw. Suddenly it works. I lost track of what we did.

Now the grinder seems to work well.

It seems somewhere between the 1 and 2 mark on the grinder is the sweet spot for grinding for espresso. Is that your experience as well. (closer to 2 than 1. Maybe 1,7-1,8)

CoyoteOldMan

larsg Now the grinder seems to work well.

That’s the main thing! Now, the $500 question - has it cured your ‘fast flow’ issue?

larsg

CoyoteOldMan

Yes, this did solve the fast flow. I needed some time to get to know the new grinder and get it set right for my beans. But I think it works fairly well now. I still need to fine tune it a bit…

Cuprajake

yeah iirc i was around 1.5 so sounds in range :)

hows it working out

dutchy101

I opened a bag of Kenyan Mwiria AAA the other day (roast date of 30th April) and I am practically at zero on my Solo and the shot is still pouring through the puck. I have never ground any coffee this finely before, but I am apprehensive to go any tighter as I am already down to 1 on the grinder and zero is touching point.

I can try to increase the dose to slow down the flow, but not sure what else to do? Could it be that the beans need a longer rest? I kept them in the bag they came in inside a cupboard until I opened them and they are now in an Airscape container in the same cupboard. First time this has ever happened to me.

DavecUK

dutchy101 This means the burrs are not parallel, probably by quite a long way. Do you have standard burrs in it?

dutchy101

Still the original Italmil burrs, which I’ve been using since day 1 - I’ve had the grinder for over a year now. I have had to grind finder since moving to a VST basket when I got the Minima back in February, but this does not happen with any other bean. Even a decaf which is arguably stale now poured much better on setting 5.

The new Mazzer burrs have been delivered this morning.

DavecUK

dutchy101 The new Mazzer burrs have been delivered this morning.

Hopefully you will notice a big difference…especially if you can shim it more parallel.

dutchy101

Yeah, I think I’m going to have a go at installing tonight / tomorrow and then getting some cheap beans in to break them in. I am noticing the time it is taking to grind increasing, but would have thought making ⅔ coffees a day for just over a year approx 1,200 shots shouldn’t make the stock burs perform so badly.

In terms of the beans in question themselves, I took the grind down a tiny but finer and increased the dose by 2g which almost choked the Minima and slowed the pour right down.

To be fair to the retailer, I got in touch and they’ve offered a replacement bag, but I’ve declined for now, in case it is a case of dialing in

CafeNoir

larsg That’s great, hopefully as the burrs settle in things will continue to improve

larsg

CafeNoir

Sorry if this is a stupid question: but what does it mean for the burs to settle?

CafeNoir

larsg No question is silly unless it’s on its 3rd time around, imho.

Pretty much what #dutchy101 said, although depends on the burrs just how much coffee needs to go through. For example, with the Niche people experience static issues and a need to adjust grind settings a little for a few kg worth of grinding before it “settles” into being Mr Reliable.

Personally, from the reading that I’ve done, I’d avoid using anything but coffee beans. Perhaps blag a couple of kilos of unsaleable coffee from a friendly local roaster to keep costs down?

It’s all part of the learning process and don’t ever be afraid to ask, although I’d recommend a bit of research first. Wishing you lots of caffeinated happiness on your journey

dutchy101

New burrs need to be ‘seasoned’ i.e. to get a kilo or so beans run through them to get them working at optimum. Explained more eloquently here:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/coffeeadastra.com/2019/05/27/seasoning-grinder-burrs-and-grind-quality-2/amp/

If you never heard the term seasoning, it refers to the habit of grinding a large quantity of roasted coffee (or even rice) to break in grinder burrs which initially have harsh angles and corners. It is often said that this is done to prevent grind size from changing with use, and to obtain a more uniform grind distribution, which maximizes the average extraction yield of good-tasting espresso or pour over brews.

larsg

OK. Thanks for clarifying. I think I will just wait a couple of weeks and I should be through 1 kg of beans and it should be seasoned…

larsg

I am really happy with my Bianca.

One thing that is starting to annoy me a bit, though, is this: The machine seems to spend 20-30 minutes to warm up and become ready for brewing. That is all fine. However, then a few minutes later it just goes in to standby or sleep mode and effectively loses the heat. Problem is, if I work from home and want coffee in an hour. Then I power on the machine. Go to a meeting for 1 hour. When I get back, the machine has gone into standby mode and is not maybe 70 C. I will then have to wait for it to warm up again.

In the settings, I found a setting that has a moon symbol. Here, I can set a value in minutes. It can be 30′, 60′, 90′ and so on. All the way up to several hours. Or it can be “OFF”.

I thought this setting was for specifying the idle timeout in minutes. That is, the number of minutes for it to stay in READY MODE until going into sleep/standby. However, I have tried setting this value to 90′. So I would expect the machine to stay on for approx. two hours: ~30 minutes to warm up followed by 90 minutes ready time.

It does not seem to have any effect.

Does anyone know how to actually adjust this?

Also, I have played around a bit with the pre-infuse settings. What values make sense to start experimenting with? I have tried setting it to a few seconds. I am not seeing a huge difference. Do any of you have any experience with that mechanism?

hornbyben

larsg if it’s holding at 70°C it should only take a couple of mins to be back up to temp, as all the metal work is still pretty hot.

My modified Silvia beeps when the pid conditions stabilise (I.e. the system has equilibrated). From cold this takes just under 20mins, but from standby (80°C) it’s only a couple.

Cuprajake

Should be this

larsg

Cuprajake Thanks. This video refers to two concepts: Sleep mode and Standby mode. It shows how to disable Standby mode.

What is the difference between the two?

And is standby mode the one I want to disable? And then keep Sleep mode? Or would the reverse be better?

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