MarkEH Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2008 Posts: 25 Location: City of Angels Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Gaggia Coffee, Krups XP4000 Grinder: Super Jolly, Saeco Titan Vac Pot: Yama Drip: No longer a drip; Bialetti... Roaster: WB Poppery II
Posted Sat Oct 18, 2008, 3:49am Subject: Gaggia Coffee Deluxe - How clean is clean?
Hi,
I just received my Gaggia Coffee Deluxe via eBay (yeah!) and took it apart to clean. The exterior is in good shape and it turns out it's only 5 years old. But when I removed the shower screen and the shower plate they were REALLY dirty. The shower plate was not just dirty with grounds, but was stained. I soaked the portafilter head, filter baskets, shower screen and plate in a solution of Urnex Cleancaf for a long time and then diligently brushed and cleaned all the parts. Most everything cleaned up pretty well except the shower plate which retained stains in the little "pitted" (for lack of a better word) areas and in the corners. I even scrubbed with a wire brush, which I'm not sure is a good idea or not. How important is it that this plate be absolutely clean? Also, upon cleaning the inside of the portafilter head thoroughly, the stainless coating was worn away to reveal the brass underneath. Is this a problem? Will the exposed brass surface react with the coffee or impart any unwanted taste? I'm soaking the shower plate in the Cleancaf solution again but not sure how long it needs to be in there. I also cleaned the group gasket area as it was also very dirty. Once I get all the components clean I will run some Cleancaf through the entire system too.
MarkEH Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2008 Posts: 25 Location: City of Angels Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Gaggia Coffee, Krups XP4000 Grinder: Super Jolly, Saeco Titan Vac Pot: Yama Drip: No longer a drip; Bialetti... Roaster: WB Poppery II
Posted Sat Oct 18, 2008, 10:45pm Subject: Re: Gaggia Coffee Deluxe - How clean is clean?
Thanks for the info. Juanjo. I also got information regarding the Gaggia users group on Yahoo and have been looking on there. If I can't find anything I'll check back here.
Posted Sun Oct 19, 2008, 1:44am Subject: Re: Gaggia Coffee Deluxe - How clean is clean?
Mark, Congrats on the Gaggia! The yahoo group should have most of the information you are looking for. It might be a good idea to have a look at the inside of the boiler, if the shower screen and plate were really dirty you could probably assume the previous owner didn't descale it regularly. A manual descale may be in order. When you say the plate is stained, do you mean with coffee or scale? You might try using Cafiza or Joe Glo, I believe it may be more "effective" than Cleancaf. If the condition of the plate concerns you, they are relatively inexpensive, $16.50 for aluminum and $32 for brass from www.partsguru.com. I would also consider replacing the grouphead gasket. As far as the portafilter I wouldn't be concerned, all of mine had the brass exposed, I haven't noticed any "off" flavors.
MarkEH Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2008 Posts: 25 Location: City of Angels Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Gaggia Coffee, Krups XP4000 Grinder: Super Jolly, Saeco Titan Vac Pot: Yama Drip: No longer a drip; Bialetti... Roaster: WB Poppery II
Posted Sun Oct 19, 2008, 3:06am Subject: Re: Gaggia Coffee Deluxe - How clean is clean?
Thanks for the great advice David!
I'm not completely sure what is entailed in having a "look at the inside of the boiler" but I can take off the case and look around. And by manual descale, I guess that would be taking the boiler out and cleaning. The plate, which I assume is aluminum, is stained with coffee. Maybe it doesn't make any difference other than aesthetics to an anal person like me but I just want to be sure before I go brewing along my merry way. I'll get either some Cafiza or Joe Glo and give that a shot as well. As far as the gasket, it looked to be in pretty good condition, but if not too expensive I might just try to replace that. Glad to know the "brassy" look of the portafilter won't cause any nasty flavors.
Thanks again. I'll let y'all know how my first shots turn out.
MarkEH Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2008 Posts: 25 Location: City of Angels Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Gaggia Coffee, Krups XP4000 Grinder: Super Jolly, Saeco Titan Vac Pot: Yama Drip: No longer a drip; Bialetti... Roaster: WB Poppery II
Posted Fri Oct 24, 2008, 1:09am Subject: Re: Gaggia Coffee Deluxe - How clean is clean?
Well, my first shots didn't turn out so well. They were fast and with no crema. I had already dialed my Saeco Titan to its finest setting (even after I had modified it to grind finer), and it still seems to be too coarse.
That pretty well pushed me into my new grinder purchase - a quasi-used Mazzer Super Jolly! Who would have thunk it!
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