No Channeling! & Consistent Shots!

[mitchjayg]

Finally.....I traded in my Isomac Tea for a Vivaldi II the last week of April. Although much improved, not good enough. I was getting channelling the majority of the time.

The coffee mattered, but only a little.

The tamper mattered, but only a little. I swapped out my flat 53.0 mm Reg Barber for a 53.2 mm convex. A bit of improvement. I purchased a very nice Thor tamper (thanks Les!) and that was only a bit of improvement.

I installed the Programmable Preinfusion about 3 weeks ago (those side panels suck!).

After a week or so of fiddling around, it is now so simple.

• 2 blank shots
  grind and slightly overfill portafilter (Mazzer Mini)
  level with a knife (no tapping)
  tamp (either tamper) with a slight twist
  tamp again a little deeper. Now a few millimeters below the internal ridge.
  Pull the shot. Around 1 1/2 ounces or so in 25 seconds.

Results:

• Consistent!
  ZERO Channelling. Coffee expands to the ridgeline, slight indentation from bolt.
  A little soupy water on the surface. Soaks in while checking. Did I tell you no channelling?
  Tastes great!

BTW, I also purchased the slower steaming nozzle. Although the original was very good, it was just a bit too quick. This one is perfect.

I am finally happy with my Espresso Machine (until the next issue arises and I obsess again, but that is my destiny). Thanks to all of you for the advice I have found on this forum. You are making a big difference!

[chas]

Congratulations on your success and thanks for the report.