goleburn Senior Member Joined: 3 Oct 2012 Posts: 4 Location: colombia Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 1:54pm Subject: La San Marco 85 flexa E single group automatic new NOT MAKING A GOOD ESPRESSO
Hello! I have a La San Marco 85 Flexa E, single group, automatic, brand new.
It's making an overly creamy, watery espresso. the cream is too light colored. Using the exact same grind, compression, and coffee with
La San Marco 85 Sprint S - 2 Group, i get a good espresso. By good I mean at around 4-5 seconds you get a nice, thin, dark rat's tail and when i shut off at 23-26 seconds there is a nice golden cream, and a great tasting espresso.
when i spoke to the techncians where they sold me the machine, they say that that is the characteric of the machine, that it makes a creamy espresso. YUK. they don't know how to adjust the machine to produce a good espresso.
goleburn Senior Member Joined: 3 Oct 2012 Posts: 4 Location: colombia Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 7:27pm Subject: Re: La San Marco 85 flexa E single group auto new NOT MAKING GOOD ESPRESSO
Thanks for your reply Bgosselin. That's what I tried...different grind sizes, compression, etc. When I went to a finer grind or increased tamp pressure, i still got a creamy espresso, but at around 8 or 9 seconds. and it was bitter. from what i'm reading i might need to adjust the pressure. i wrote San Marco and i'm waiting for a reply.
DeanOK Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2012 Posts: 161 Location: OK Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Crossland CC1 Grinder: Vario W
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 8:08pm Subject: Re: La San Marco 85 flexa E single group automatic new NOT MAKING A GOOD..
I had similar issues with a low end automatic. I realize your machine is not low end, but everything I thought I knew about making espresso was wrong for my automatic. I had to use a much courser ground and that actually caused my time to increase greatly. I know that doesn't make any sense, but there is so much I don't know such as how the courser ground effected delivery and such. Keep an open mind and be willing to try something that doesn't make much sense when compared to a conventional machine.
Bgosselin Senior Member Joined: 26 Jul 2012 Posts: 51 Location: Canada,quebec Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Oct 4, 2012, 7:58pm Subject: Re: La San Marco 85 flexa E single group automatic new NOT MAKING A GOOD..
I checked the manual and they talk about a "palm unit" for making adjustments. Can you adjust boiler temp for exemple? Is the palm unit a separate item? Have you try the pre-infusion?
At first it was difficult for me to adjust my mini vivaldi. Instead of filing the basket i start weighting it. Was able to adjust better that way. I'm sold to weighting coffee doses instead of volume dosing now.
Just to be clear, Dean, are you speaking of your Jura when you you say "automatic"? Because the Jura is NOT an automatic -- it is a super-automatic, and there is a HUGE difference.
An automatic -- more often called a "full automatic" or a machine that features "volumetrically dosing" -- is something completely different.
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 7:57am Subject: Re: La San Marco 85 flexa E single group
Just looking at the La San Marco website and description of the machine, they tout their 'special filter design that guarantees crema no matter what', which sounds like some sort of pressurized portafilter. If a standard commercial portafilter will fit, have you tried it with something that's not some sort of gimmicked pf?
Can you get your money back and buy another brand? Why San marco only? 2 groups that is big for home use. Are you using it at home or it's business use? There is other good brand.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,684 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 11:54am Subject: Re: vender will let me replace with better (more expensive) machine
Complete rewrite:
For that money, you can buy a fantastic setup. What is it about that brand that you like?
There are many different makers of machines. What are you using for a grinder? The grinder is more important than the machine. For an espresso machine that is$2K I would advise a grinder in the 1 to 1.4K range for a quality match.
After the machine and the grinder, (grinder is more important than the machine) you need great coffee, fresh, within 2 weeks of being roasted.
The grind changes from day to day and even hour to hour so using the same grind as you had on a different machine, is not going to work, each machine requires it's own grind as no two machines and the parts of no two machines are exactly the same.
I wonder what if any preinfusion is being used in that machine, when it comes to small details, preinfusion can make a difference.
Also, the taste of the espresso is a very personal thing. You may spit out what I like for espresso then again you may curl your toes in a near orgasmic experience, as I often say, YMMV which is short for Your Millage May Vary. This is a phrase on the retail stickers of new cars when they tell the consumer what to expect for miles per gallon, how you drive man (and most likely IS) going to give you a different number. Your dream shot may be something completely different than mine!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
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