Morning coffee March 6

Squash risotto with sushi rice mushrooms and clams

Sushi rice is a cheap and accessable substitute for Italian arborio

Gaggia Classic Time Between Overhaul

Based on my last article in here about overhaul of the Gaggia Classic Espresso machine I am able to calculate my time between overhauls on the machine.

From April 2011 to now, this machine has been able to pull about 2,200 1 oz espresso shots.  

I am averaging slightly over 4 espresso shots per day.  2 - 2 shot lattes in the morning, with the occasional espresso kicker in the afternoon.

My normal maintenance comprises only of quarterly descaling using Urnex Cleancaf.  I use normal tap water with no filtration.  

Eventually the machine is unable to develop water flow.  It will start to slow down, and you can quickly flick the brew switch on-and-off several times to loosen up the 3-way switch.  But at some point it just needs to be taken apart and cleaned up.

Luckily I have my back-up machine in action while this one is down for service.  Expect a rebuild soon on this machine.  The only thing I am going to do differently this time is try to find the spec'ed food safe lubricant for the 3-way switch.  I hope this will keep the switch operational longer

Spelt vegan yeast bread

Delicious nutty taste and grainy texture.  100% spelt flour 55% water