Lawman How do you find the flow control on the mara? It is the one thing that was swaying me to the bianca, however if it works well on the mara it could be a more cost effective option, even if I decided to by a new one and then upgrade later.
The flow control is a very simple device. It’s a needle valve that opens and closes to restrict the flow of water, and that’s it. It isn’t rocket science. As I said, I don’t have experience with Bianca, but common sense is that a needle valve is a needle valve. As far as I know the E-61 group is the same, certainly in Bianca and Mara, and this is why generic flow control devices fit (I have the one from Coffee Sensor). You can fit a genuine Bianca flow control device in the Mara X, and as far as I know they will restrict the flow in exactly the same way.
Is the flow control device essential? Probably not, but I like having it and use it with every shot. I don’t do crazy/funky things with it (like ‘sweet bump’ or ‘drip style’ shots), but I do use it in two simple ways (most often together): 1. A couple of seconds into the shot I will almost close the valve for a few seconds to wet the puck and stretch the pre-infusion; 2. After a third or half of the shot is done, when the puck starts to erode and the flow becomes faster, I will counter that by restricting the flow. This helps to keep things together.
- The combination of those two is what people call a ‘lever machine profile’. I do it by feel, not in a scientific way. So if, for example, I have a dark roast and I want to extract less, I will skip the first stage. And the tapering down I will do based on what I see and how the shot is looking - I will play with the valve to get a nice looking flow.
The flow control device does need some maintenance (lube, new O-rings), so that is something you need to know as well (not a big deal for me).