satishouse Senior Member Joined: 16 Oct 2012 Posts: 10 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Thu Oct 18, 2012, 5:07pm Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
This may seem like a dumb question, but is mine definitely a pressurised portafilter? Do commercial machines such as these ever come with non-pressurised portafilters? I have no rubber componants to this, other than that black rubber disc (so does this provide the pressure)?
zedex Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 126 Location: B.C Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Spaz v2 Grinder: vario
Posted Thu Oct 18, 2012, 6:49pm Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
yea. A non pressurized machine will have no rubber disk. My starbucks machine had a plastic contraption that had a lever mechanism that opened at a certain pressure. It was weird but i didnt know any better. It was all new to me and a great starter machine.No complaints. If your happy with the coffee, thats all that counts.
That's perfectly all right. You could brew decent espresso with that DeLonghi, once you got rid of the pressurization device. What you really need is a capable coffee grinder.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
satishouse Senior Member Joined: 16 Oct 2012 Posts: 10 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Oct 19, 2012, 3:08am Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
zedex Said:
yea. A non pressurized machine will have no rubber disk. My starbucks machine had a plastic contraption that had a lever mechanism that opened at a certain pressure. It was weird but i didnt know any better. It was all new to me and a great starter machine.No complaints. If your happy with the coffee, thats all that counts.
Yep, I guess! Good to know about the technical stuff too I find!
NobbyR Said:
That's perfectly all right. You could brew decent espresso with that DeLonghi, once you got rid of the pressurization device. What you really need is a capable coffee grinder.
With some machine removing the rubber disk turns a pressurized portafilter into a regular one. Other require different filter baskets, but you can just go ahead and try.
You have to dial in the grinder, i.e. find the right fineness of grounds in order to reach an extraction time of around 25 seconds, all the while keeping all other factors (dose, tamping etc.) constant.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
satishouse Senior Member Joined: 16 Oct 2012 Posts: 10 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Oct 21, 2012, 10:54am Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
I really appreciate everyone's kind help and knowledge on this forum, so thanks to all.
Just wondering about the portafilter once more. Does the hole at the bottom of the metal bit of the portafilter act to pressurise the coffee at all, or is it simple the rubber disc that contributes to the pressurisation? The basket has many holes, but eventually the coffee comes out of one hole as you can see from the picture.
I have tried using this without the rubber device, and there are no other rubber parts to the set up, and a foam was produced on the shot - wondering whether or not this could be legitimate crema?
Just for reference, your machine is designed to use ESE pods, not freshly ground coffee. (Look at the front of your machine. See the logo on the top right?) You can try to use freshly roasted beans, freshly ground, in your machine and see if it works. It might, but then again, it might not. If you're using pods, the only way you're going to get any creme is with the rubber disc. If you have a grinder and access to freshly roasted beans, try using the portafilter without hte disc, and see how it goes . . .
satishouse Senior Member Joined: 16 Oct 2012 Posts: 10 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Oct 21, 2012, 11:29am Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
JasonBrandtLewis Said:
Welcome to Coffee Geek!
Not a dumb question, and YES, that is definitely a pressurized portafilter!
Yours is NOT a commercial machine by any stretch of the imagination.
Commercial machines never have pressurized portafilters, only entry-level home models do. They produce what's commonly referred to as a "false crema."
Yes.
Just for reference, your machine is designed to use ESE pods, not freshly ground coffee. (Look at the front of your machine. See the logo on the top right?) You can try to use freshly roasted beans, freshly ground, in your machine and see if it works. It might, but then again, it might not. If you're using pods, the only way you're going to get any creme is with the rubber disc. If you have a grinder and access to freshly roasted beans, try using the portafilter without hte disc, and see how it goes . . .
Yep, sorry about the "commercial" slipup- I meant machines you could buy in a store for home use, without realising commercial machines are actually a type of machine.
In my comment, above your one, I wrote that I indeed tried without the rubber disc, with (quite) fresh ground coffee, and I got quite a lot of 'foam' at the top (which I now hesitate to call crema). So I wonder whether this is crema, because it is now a non-pressurised system without the rubber disc, or whether again, it is "false crema" because of that hole at the bottom of the portafilter which stops it from ever becoming a non-pressurised system? For reference the only rubber componant of the whole setup is that disc.
zedex Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 126 Location: B.C Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Spaz v2 Grinder: vario
Posted Sun Oct 21, 2012, 3:03pm Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
I would hazard to guess that what you got there was indeed some type of foam due to under extraction or no extraction. The hole at the bottom of the PF does not impede crema. It basically directs the flow of liquid into a receptacle of some kind or 2 receptacles depending on the PF. The rubber disk in your machine is what is pressurizing your PF. It is there to act as restrictor and restricts the flow of water through the PF. So the water has to saturate the grounds. With a non pressurized PF the coffee grounds need to be ground just so and very fine so the grounds themselves are the restiction. With this you get the properv extraction and is why you need a very good grinder. The rubber disk in your machine is so you can get away with bought coffee grounds or a lesser quality grinder. What grinder are you using BTW?
satishouse Senior Member Joined: 16 Oct 2012 Posts: 10 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Thu Oct 25, 2012, 6:56am Subject: Re: What is this DeLonghi model?
zedex Said:
I would hazard to guess that what you got there was indeed some type of foam due to under extraction or no extraction. The hole at the bottom of the PF does not impede crema. It basically directs the flow of liquid into a receptacle of some kind or 2 receptacles depending on the PF. The rubber disk in your machine is what is pressurizing your PF. It is there to act as restrictor and restricts the flow of water through the PF. So the water has to saturate the grounds. With a non pressurized PF the coffee grounds need to be ground just so and very fine so the grounds themselves are the restiction. With this you get the properv extraction and is why you need a very good grinder. The rubber disk in your machine is so you can get away with bought coffee grounds or a lesser quality grinder. What grinder are you using BTW?
Thanks for your reply. I don't own a grinder, just using the one that my neighbour has at the moment.
What is the correct term for the drink made with this machine then? Does it make actual espresso, and can real espresso be made with a pressurised portafilter? Or does this aspect just affect the validity of the "crema"?
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