Puzzling Peculiar Pavoni Puck Problem

Equipment, technique, or just drinking the stuff

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Puzzling Peculiar Pavoni Puck Problem

Postby maurice » Thu Aug 26, 2004 6:10 pm

I’ve been trying to work out why, on my ancient Pavoni Europiccolo (early 1960s model) I get a good dark stream of coffee from one spout, and a slow very light coloured trickle of drops, several seconds later, from the other. Channelling, presumably, but nothing I do to vary the grind or tamp pressure, including maximum two handed pressdown, seems to eliminate it.

I noticed that there were signs of breakup, on the surface of the centre of the puck - no deep cracks, just a sort of ‘blasted’ appearance on the surface - but again I couldn’t eliminate it by playing with tamp pressure.

Finally today I discovered the weirdest thing. The puck is being damaged when I attach the portafilter to the grouphead. This happens before the water even touches it! The showerscreen itself is distorting the puck. This may be because I’m using a convex tamper. Unfortunately I don’t have a flat tamper small enough to try as an alternative. (I think mine is a 52 mm basket)

At the moment I’m trying to see whether I can dispense with tamping altogether. Ie overfill the basket, and rely on pressure from the showerscreen to compress the coffee.

Anyone ever come across anything like this before?
maurice
 
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