We figured with a big Saturday (today) coming and the barista party happening here Sunday night, it would be smart to switch out the gaskets on the Linea. One was starting to give anyway.
We always have gaskets on hand and we switched one group out. The portafilter handles were going well past 6 o'clock. Then John noticed that the shot times were different between groups and the shot quality on the group where we changed the gasket was off. To see if it were just the one group, we replaced the gasket on the other. Same thing. Now we were in trouble.
Turns out the gaskets were off by a millimeter. There are two thicknesses made for the Linea, and for whatever reason our source shipped us the shorter one. The result was that pucks were getting squashed because of lack of headroom. This led to espresso pucks cracking with creates channeling and uneven quality - noticeable in the cup.
There was no chance of getting brand new correct gaskets for opening this morning since our sources were all closed, but Todd-Michael and Mike down at Espresso d'Milan were able to help. We ran down there well after normal hours. Todd had some "spacers" in his car which would do the trick. He also gifted us with a special 90-degree awl designed just for removing gaskets.
Johnny removed the gaskets and installed the spacers just before closing time. All is fine. Whew!
If you've got an espresso machine at home that ever needs servicing, Todd-Michael and Mike at Espresso d'Milan are the best friends you can have!
John is my hero!
Posted by: michelle | December 01, 2007 at 12:15 PM
They've helped me out several times too with tools, parts and staying open late. I've nothing but good to say about them as well.
Posted by: Chris M | December 01, 2007 at 04:38 PM