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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on March 11, 2011 at 7:02am

i dump as soon as possible, purge, wipe the portafilter with a dry rag, replace it clean. i've never had problems maintaining heat in the portafilter.

 

how often do you replace your group screens? they could also just be old.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Guglielmino on March 11, 2011 at 7:33am

Hi Garrett,

 If you give me a call 206-706-9104 x101 I can run you through what is occurring.

-Scott

La Marzocco USA

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Permalink Reply by Simon Ouderkirk on March 11, 2011 at 9:37am

But Scott, the rest of us will be left wondering!

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on March 11, 2011 at 11:11am

I'm with Jared on this one... I always dump the puck, rinse, wipe and lock the portafilter back in for the next extraction. I can't see how leaving a spent puck in the basket could do anything positive. All I've found it to do (forgetting to dump it right away) is clog the basket holes, requiring that much more cleaning.  

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Williamson on March 11, 2011 at 11:17am

I'm with the others.  Knock it after the shot and clean it then.  Not only does that (obviously) keep things clean and the holes free, but it also shortens the time it takes you to make the next drink because it's already done.  Worn out gaskets would be my best guess on the spitting water, but warped screens could be it, too.  The screens should be nicely domed.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on March 11, 2011 at 2:31pm

Yes! great question, ive been wanting to poll people on that exact thing(keeping the spent puck in the portafilter) I recently went to La Marzoccos out of the box(in berkeley) and was wondering why a good portion of baristas didnt clean the portafilter after pulling a shot. I wasnt sure if it was laziness or if there was a reason. Any way, I echo everyone else and say dump the puck and clean between shots.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Bedwell on March 11, 2011 at 3:20pm

Reminds me of a barista that believes cleaning the machine regularly removes the valuable coffee oils that will flavor the coffee.  Regardless of the coffee that he uses all his drinks taste the same.....rancid!

 

I am with Jared on this one.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on March 11, 2011 at 3:42pm

This one actually has legit origins... much like the now-frowned-upon portafilter tap. Mr. Schomer advocated both a while ago.

 

BTW, there was a discussion like this about 2 years ago to the day, including contributions from some people that we haven't heard from in a while. A good read that comes to the same conclusion.

 

Puck out.

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Permalink Reply by Tom DeLooza on March 11, 2011 at 6:40pm

I agree with keeping the portafilter puck free and clean between shots, as you are inevitably reducing temperature by adding the espresso for the new shots.  Additionally, a slight purging of the group prior to portafilter insertion will ensure temperature constants.

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Permalink Reply by John Gibbons on March 12, 2011 at 2:18pm

To me it doesn't make sense that the puck would maintain heat. If it's still there, then that means the heat has more "stuff" to try to keep warm. So I don't see the problem without it. Plus, if you purge before, it seems to be rendered useless. I also see a lot of value in cleanliness. But, I understand the though process. 

 

*I don't know, just my opinion

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Permalink Reply by Garrett M Esary on March 12, 2011 at 3:40pm

Thank you all for your helpful feed back.  It sounds like it is a procedure we need to change immediately.  Brady is right we have adhered to this habit because of Shomer's suggestion in his earlier book.  I, however, didn't find anything about it in the newer revised version.  As for the screens, I change them regularly (more often due to our problem) and they seem to be warping/flexing within about a day.  I'm stumped,  I will change our procedure and see if the puck has anything to do with.   Thanks for the input.

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Permalink Reply by John Gibbons on March 14, 2011 at 2:40pm

If the puck isn't the problem, could it be over tightening the screen?

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