What is a very good Espresso machine

[floydpink]

I still have periodic explosions from turning the steam wand on too strong and have to duck from the plastic piece or hot milk. Tricky business and messy cleanup that microfoam is, and there is no sound quite like the plastic piece shooting off into the metal pitcher and the scream that comes from hot milk in your eyes.

The main things I have learned are:

1. Keep everything perfectly clean and descale monthly.
2. Leave the fancy latte art to the barristas.
3. Practice makes perfect.
4. If you steam the milk first, then pull the shots. the milk settles down into a nice foam.
5. Keep a rag close to the operation.
6. Don't take it personally if your wife and kids laugh at you.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by floydpink

1. Keep everything perfectly clean and descale monthly.

Really? Is your water that hard that you need to do this?
I choose not to use bottled water but with a brita filter that gets used only for 3 weeks before going to just drinking water my water comes down to where I should need to only descale 1 a year. A true descale cleaning is a PIA so if I had to do it 1 a month I would switch to buying softer water.

[floydpink]

Florida water.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by floydpink

Florida water.

So are you just running citric acid through the water reservoir till the boiler fills, flushing till you get it through the system,then letting it sit, then flushing till clean?
or
Tricking the boiler to overfill with water and citric acid and draining the boiler after it sat hot for awhile then flushing group head and wand and guts with more citric acid?

The problem with hard water and scale build up in the boiler is the scale collects above the water line so it doesn't get removed with first procedure.