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Yesterday my Pasquini Livia 90 arrived to replace the trusty old Solis =
Crema SL 90 which I have used for the past 2-3 years.  The Pasquini is a =
dramatically different instrument and the change might be likened to =
moving from a Toyota Corolla to a Ferrari.  Whew! Therefore I have a few =
questions - hoping for some opinions.
The Solis 'primes' the coffee in the portafilter, pauses - then goes on =
with the shot.  The primer event typically takes about 10+ seconds.  I =
always included that time in my overall shot length of aprox. 21 =
seconds.  
The Pasquini does not prime the shot.  I'm OK with that, however, the =
Pasquini seems to process far more liquid in the same 21 seconds =
(haven't actually measured it yet).  Is this caused by the larger =
portafilter size?  Stronger pump (boy it feels powerful)?  I've always =
been comfortable with the 21+ second shot but the amount of liquid with =
the Pasquini has me disoriented.  The subsequent taste has been all over =
the board from divine to disgusting.
Mind you I burned through 1/2 lb. of Moka Kadir blend last night at =
different grinds, tamp pressure, pull times, etc. and I'm very happy =
with the Pasquini.  A clear step up from the Solis SL 90.  I just have =
to get through the learning curve.
Along that note, the first thing I did this morning was order a Rocky =
grinder from Maria (we all know who runs the place) to replace my Solis =
Maestro as it was clear I needed more control regarding the grind.
I have other questions - but will string them out over time.
Regards - Thom

First Congrats on the Livia! Question, had you been using the stock SL 90 PF
with fake, I mean "enhanced", built in crema device or after market normal
style PF? If the former (built in crema faker outer) grind and tamp was not
that important, or put another way varying tamp and grind had limited effect
of the shot time, the PF itself did it. In which case you'll now have to
learn how to do it the "real" way:-) If the later yes I believe a larger PF
would also make a difference. You'd need more grind and get a
correspondingly richer shot.
I don't have a Livia but Silvia, which doesn't prime the shot either. Normal
shots (using LM double basket for about 18gr double shot) in 20 to 25sec
range controlled by grind and tamp. You should be able to adjust grind and
tamp for as little as .50 single shot super ristretto or 1oz double basket
ristretto. Grind fine enough and tamp hard enough and actually ought to be
able to stall I believe. At least I can Miss Silvia. But the Maestro may
well not be up to the grind challenge, especially if a couple years old. I
too had a Maestro the first couple months with Silvia and could get shots in
proper range but it wore out the burrs in no time flat. Mucho better with
Rocky, good decision.
Kona Konnaisseur miKe mcKoffee
URL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer etc.http://mdmint.home.comcast.net/coffee/Rosto_mod.htm