The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

I hope that's the right name for the big brass block above the shower screens. I was reminded again last night as i was trying to clean it that the GS3 has an all stainless steal group head/diffuser block.

Why have stainless, doesn't brass retain heat better?
The GS3 is a different animal, the boilers are larger so it retains heat better and it also has a PID controller.
And it's also more than twice the cost of an S1.

Niko wrote:Why have stainless, doesn't brass retain heat better?
The GS3 is a different animal, the boilers are larger so it retains heat better and it also has a PID controller.
And it's also more than twice the cost of an S1.

Keeping a stainless steel one clean would be way easier than the brass one.

zak42 wrote: Keeping a stainless steel one clean would be way easier than the brass one.

My goal when cleaning the diffuser is to get the coffee grounds and assorted other coffee "goo" off. I don't see where it would take any less scrubbing for stainless steel versus brass.

Now if you're talking about scrubbing the brass each time to get the oxidation off so it's as shiny as new, then I concur that you can more easily return SS to this state. However, I sure don't clean my diffuser this well nor do I think it's necessary.

It's not necessary at all.
If anything, I'd be worried if brass changes the taste of the coffee so maybe that's why Marzocco chose SS.

I googled brass vs stainless steel last night. I found some interesting articles I hadn't expected. Brass has anti-microbial properties that stainless steel lacks; i.e. bacteria sitting on a piece of brass will die. Sounds like a good thing.