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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 26, 2012 at 8:16pm

Yes it is possible. Lots of people have done this to home machines using a thermocouple adapter made by a guy that goes by EricS. Here's a link to a discussion on this over on home-barista.com .

You can also use a thin probe (pref bead) in a styrafoam cup to get an approx. temperature.

Is it possible your temperature is so low that you never get the flash boil? Otherwise it should be pretty easy to tell.

In the meantime, look at all aspects of your fundamentals, there's probably something that's letting you down.

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Permalink Reply by Neal on May 27, 2012 at 4:56am

Thanks Brady,

I figured it was just my ignorance that I can't tell what it is hehe. I do know it has tons of steam and goes from about .9 bars to 1.2 bars of pressure. The water spout is certainly at a flash boil when I first turn it on, then it settles down. The water coming out of the group typically has several streams of water coming out at first, using a bottomless PF I can see it. Then it seems to run into one stream in the center. I figured this was the water dance ending but it doesn't seem to make a difference in the shot much. Is it possible my machine recovers so quickly that by the time I get the shot ready it is already back to a high temperature?

So many questions, thanks again for the help!

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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 27, 2012 at 8:23am

Do your flush with the portafilter removed and listen closely. Flash-boil is done when the audible sputtering noise subsides. It should be pretty clear, though you may need to watch a couple to really get a feel for it. Play with different flush lengths and pauses to see how it responds.

IIRC, the hot water tap on the Astoria doesn't pull directly from the boiler, it is a closed pipe running through the boiler.

My gut feel is that there's something else going on though. How are your shot times? How old are the burrs on your Macap? Is everything super clean? Have you had your espresso blend prepared as espresso before?

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Demers on May 27, 2012 at 8:38am

If you are doing some temp. surfing you would get more consistent results doing the flush right before you pull the shot.  Get your shot ready, do the flush for a few seconds to bring the temp. down a bit, then lock the pf in and pull the shot.  I have gotten most consistent results dong it this way.  And definitely look into the other variables Brady pointed out as well.  Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Neal on May 28, 2012 at 6:57am

Thanks again for the help guys. Here is what I can tell you, I have new burrs on the macap, probably 3 or 4 pounds through it since then. The astoria does have the water spout that does not come straight from the boiler as Brady mentioned. The only reason I would think the boiler is getting hot enough is that the spout has a major flash boil when I first turn it on. Very distinctive sputtering and water dance. If that is running through the boiler, wouldn't it be that hot as well? When I do a cooling flush on the group with the portafilter out, I think I hear a slight hissing and the water jumps a bit, not as much as I would think though. Probably a lot of user error going on hehe.

I keep the machine pretty clean, just descaled it about 2 weeks ago and backflush with puro cafe I think it is called every time I use it. it does need a new shower screen but espressoparts is being slow getting it to me. As for bean quality, I am using a big sky blend from Ellionas right now, it is fresh roasted, as of now about 10 days old. I have tried the house blend which I really didn't like, it wouldn't even make a good drip coffee. Also tried a hawaiin hazlenut that was pretty good for drip but just as bad for espresso. I don't have a local roaster and would greatly appreciate a tip as to where I could order some good beans for espresso.

Thanks again and hope that helped!

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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 28, 2012 at 6:16pm

Ack. It is a very, very bad idea to use flavored coffee in your espresso machine. Disassemble and clean your grinder thoroughly, then follow up with minute rice or Grindz cleaner. Scrub the hopper in dish soap and dry thoroughly. Also disassemble and scrub your espresso machine's brass parts thoroughly, then soak in Purocaf. Sniff them all when you're finished and repeat until you no longer smell any trace of hazelnut.

The flash-boil sputtering varies in intensity. Some are extremely aggressive and loud (like your hot water tap) others are much quieter. If the noise you are describing stops after a few seconds, that's probably your flash boil.

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