Friday, June 26, 2009
Revenge of the fallen
No, not the Transformers, but the squirters have returned! So pay little attention to my previous post, I am having to continue the troubleshooting. The tube may just be another problem that developed around the same time as the squirting. Back to the drawing board.
Fight the squirters
My portafilter is naked.
Yes naked. That means, instead of having spouts to easily, and cleanly dispense espresso to my demitasse, I removed the spouts... using a hole saw and power drill. This allows me, the operator, to witness first hand the espresso gently fall into the demitasse. It should look like a funnel of golden-brown, thick, viscous liquid flowing down. A vortex of pure, unadulterated, liquid form of deliciousness.
Lately it has looked like a brown, watery, thin rain fall down from the basket, with random squirts of this stuff shooting in random directions, usually all over the espresso machine. Overall, making just a huge mess. I've watched this disaster everyday over the last 4 or 5 days in disgust as a cup of crema-less, "espresso" (at this point I use the term loosely) is formed. I am used to consuming a delicious, amber-colored, thick treat with a "head" of crema on it like beer, and a complex flavor of fruits and spices like a fine wine.
What I got was unfortunately, very disgusting.
If I made coffee for a living and was producing this swill for customers, I would have to resort to Hari Kari in shame. I am enough of a man to drink it at home until I solved the problem for now though (I am cheap and HATE throwing away food).
My problem strangely enough was my pump's suction tube being pulled down too far in the reservoir. It didn't allow a static head of water to sit on the suction side of the pump, supplying insufficient net positive suction head to the pump when running. This caused SEVERE pressure pulsations on the discharge end of the pump due to cavitation and caused the random spraying of espresso-swill all over my coffee command center.
I repositioned the tube, and on the next shot, pulled a mighty fine serving of the drink I have come to know and love in the morning. I must have just misaligned the tube the last time I pulled the reservoir to clean it.
All is well in my kitchen now. As for the squirters? Vanquished!
-Friendly neighborhood coffeegeek
Yes naked. That means, instead of having spouts to easily, and cleanly dispense espresso to my demitasse, I removed the spouts... using a hole saw and power drill. This allows me, the operator, to witness first hand the espresso gently fall into the demitasse. It should look like a funnel of golden-brown, thick, viscous liquid flowing down. A vortex of pure, unadulterated, liquid form of deliciousness.
Lately it has looked like a brown, watery, thin rain fall down from the basket, with random squirts of this stuff shooting in random directions, usually all over the espresso machine. Overall, making just a huge mess. I've watched this disaster everyday over the last 4 or 5 days in disgust as a cup of crema-less, "espresso" (at this point I use the term loosely) is formed. I am used to consuming a delicious, amber-colored, thick treat with a "head" of crema on it like beer, and a complex flavor of fruits and spices like a fine wine.
What I got was unfortunately, very disgusting.
If I made coffee for a living and was producing this swill for customers, I would have to resort to Hari Kari in shame. I am enough of a man to drink it at home until I solved the problem for now though (I am cheap and HATE throwing away food).
My problem strangely enough was my pump's suction tube being pulled down too far in the reservoir. It didn't allow a static head of water to sit on the suction side of the pump, supplying insufficient net positive suction head to the pump when running. This caused SEVERE pressure pulsations on the discharge end of the pump due to cavitation and caused the random spraying of espresso-swill all over my coffee command center.
I repositioned the tube, and on the next shot, pulled a mighty fine serving of the drink I have come to know and love in the morning. I must have just misaligned the tube the last time I pulled the reservoir to clean it.
All is well in my kitchen now. As for the squirters? Vanquished!
-Friendly neighborhood coffeegeek
Anatomy of an espresso machine
So you understand the inner workings of an espresso machine, a very integral part of my morning routine. This post is the glossary of many of my future posts.
First, the machine is turned on which energizes a heating element in a BOILER. The boiler does one thing and one thing only, it heats water. To near boiling temperatures. Typically about 203-206F (water boils at 212F). A thermostat will ideally, maintain that temperature range of the water inside. The boiler will be refilled and pressurized by a pump. The pump is plumbed between the boiler and a source of water such as a reservoir. The pressurized boiler will send water to a GROUPHEAD. The grouphead is the interface between your boiler water and coffee grounds.
When you grind coffee. It is then DOSED, that is, dispensed into the basket. A BASKET is a stainless steel filter with a tall lip to hold grinds. The basket sits in the PORTAFILTER. The portafilter is the "thingy" with a handle that gets inserted into the espresso machine. The portafilter locks into the grouphead. Coffee grinds once dosed to the basket are then smashed together using a TAMPER. A tamper is just a heavy metal cylinder with a handle that compresses grinds together forming a PUCK, a compressed coffee grind mass resembling a hockey puck.
That puck then has hot water, from the pressurized boiler, infused through it into a small cup or glass. The small cup is called a DEMITASSE. The water dissolves soluble ions, gases, acids, and organic matter, it entrains insoluble oils and some fine coffee grinds (very few grinds). This water is now thick, rich, smooth, and slick, butter like in texture. It has a head on it like beer called 'crema', and has undertones of fruit and spice like wine, in a volumetric quantity of hard liquor. It is the pinnacle of coffee flavor, it is espresso! Or a ristretto, but we wont get into ristrettos...
-Greg
First, the machine is turned on which energizes a heating element in a BOILER. The boiler does one thing and one thing only, it heats water. To near boiling temperatures. Typically about 203-206F (water boils at 212F). A thermostat will ideally, maintain that temperature range of the water inside. The boiler will be refilled and pressurized by a pump. The pump is plumbed between the boiler and a source of water such as a reservoir. The pressurized boiler will send water to a GROUPHEAD. The grouphead is the interface between your boiler water and coffee grounds.
When you grind coffee. It is then DOSED, that is, dispensed into the basket. A BASKET is a stainless steel filter with a tall lip to hold grinds. The basket sits in the PORTAFILTER. The portafilter is the "thingy" with a handle that gets inserted into the espresso machine. The portafilter locks into the grouphead. Coffee grinds once dosed to the basket are then smashed together using a TAMPER. A tamper is just a heavy metal cylinder with a handle that compresses grinds together forming a PUCK, a compressed coffee grind mass resembling a hockey puck.
That puck then has hot water, from the pressurized boiler, infused through it into a small cup or glass. The small cup is called a DEMITASSE. The water dissolves soluble ions, gases, acids, and organic matter, it entrains insoluble oils and some fine coffee grinds (very few grinds). This water is now thick, rich, smooth, and slick, butter like in texture. It has a head on it like beer called 'crema', and has undertones of fruit and spice like wine, in a volumetric quantity of hard liquor. It is the pinnacle of coffee flavor, it is espresso! Or a ristretto, but we wont get into ristrettos...
-Greg
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Missions flame - Worship
I am playing for my church in the worship band. We practice Thursdays nights, and Sunday mornings prior to the service. It is a very difficult job to do correctly. My job is not to play the guitar without missing the next chord or note, or to sing with out screeching my voice, but through music, to lead a large group of people with no collective musical experience into the throne room of God with humility and reverence. This cannot be done by musical ability at all. The only way I can do that is if I do it myself, on a stage, and lead by example.
If you have ever been involved in the music 'scene' of a church then you know how practices go. The band members wander in with instruments, clueless as to the songs, the order, the key, the roles they play, etc... We as bands worry so much about how the song goes, from the intro to the ending followed by the transition to the next song. We never plan on how to worship in song. No thought is ever made. If you are part of a church band that worships on stage, it is usually a few band members going spontaneously, which is good! That is the point, right? Or if you are on a band that doesn't worship on stage, what IS the point? Why go up there at all? I like music, I enjoy playing and I enjoy singing, but you know what? Christian music really isn't that good! It is typically 5-10 years behind secular music in lyrical creativity and musical ability generally. This is from a guy who listens to 95% of christian "praise-and-worship" type music for not only practicing but for casual listening. I know it is not as good as mainstream secular music. So their really is no point in going on stage to perform a mere concert of christian music. Save you and your congregation the time!
If you could not tell I feel as if my band is the second group described in the previous paragraph.
What can be done? I used to have a bad habit of making comments that really served no real purpose other than to vent my frustration. Do not do this! I am done doing this. Again, it serves no purpose. Be a man (or woman), an adult, and take your worship leader aside one on one and tell him (or her) your frustration calmly and politely. In all honesty its usually not their fault. It's the band's fault, and your part of the band. You've let the band build up and become use to playing in this lack luster fashion, without a purpose or vision. The band leader needs to know that YOU ALL as a BAND are failing at YOUR job. Please don't turn your grown-up conversation into a B&M/complaining/finger-pointing session. It is hard being the band leader. There is some responsibility to this position and most leaders are volunteers. So they don't get paid enough to run a band AND listen to you fume and vent at them at how they have failed. Be honest with yourself, you failed too.
Next time you have a practice, or see your band leader, or call him up, tell him! Right the wrong and steer the worship back to where it belongs.
Ok, this has been a way too serious and solemn first blog about worship. I hope all won't be this down or serious. This is a topic that I have been thinking about for far too long.
Keep focused on Jesus. As Matt Redman says, "Your fame, your renown, is the desire of our souls."
If you have ever been involved in the music 'scene' of a church then you know how practices go. The band members wander in with instruments, clueless as to the songs, the order, the key, the roles they play, etc... We as bands worry so much about how the song goes, from the intro to the ending followed by the transition to the next song. We never plan on how to worship in song. No thought is ever made. If you are part of a church band that worships on stage, it is usually a few band members going spontaneously, which is good! That is the point, right? Or if you are on a band that doesn't worship on stage, what IS the point? Why go up there at all? I like music, I enjoy playing and I enjoy singing, but you know what? Christian music really isn't that good! It is typically 5-10 years behind secular music in lyrical creativity and musical ability generally. This is from a guy who listens to 95% of christian "praise-and-worship" type music for not only practicing but for casual listening. I know it is not as good as mainstream secular music. So their really is no point in going on stage to perform a mere concert of christian music. Save you and your congregation the time!
If you could not tell I feel as if my band is the second group described in the previous paragraph.
What can be done? I used to have a bad habit of making comments that really served no real purpose other than to vent my frustration. Do not do this! I am done doing this. Again, it serves no purpose. Be a man (or woman), an adult, and take your worship leader aside one on one and tell him (or her) your frustration calmly and politely. In all honesty its usually not their fault. It's the band's fault, and your part of the band. You've let the band build up and become use to playing in this lack luster fashion, without a purpose or vision. The band leader needs to know that YOU ALL as a BAND are failing at YOUR job. Please don't turn your grown-up conversation into a B&M/complaining/finger-pointing session. It is hard being the band leader. There is some responsibility to this position and most leaders are volunteers. So they don't get paid enough to run a band AND listen to you fume and vent at them at how they have failed. Be honest with yourself, you failed too.
Next time you have a practice, or see your band leader, or call him up, tell him! Right the wrong and steer the worship back to where it belongs.
Ok, this has been a way too serious and solemn first blog about worship. I hope all won't be this down or serious. This is a topic that I have been thinking about for far too long.
Keep focused on Jesus. As Matt Redman says, "Your fame, your renown, is the desire of our souls."
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