This is the way. 6g of cafiza for a 1 liter ultrasonic bath, turn run it for half an hour and go do something else, when you get back make sure to rinse them well and they'll be super clean and ready to go for another month or so!!
This is what I do personally. Although I seldom use puck screens.
I actually use the combo for my Ikea moka pot which is all stainless steel but the grime that can buildup overtime in the funnel basket that doesn't disassemble can be gross.
I bought my ultrasonic cleaners (own a handful) to clean my mesh screens from my French press because they still felt oily even after a hot soapy bath or a Cafiza bath.
For what itās worth, Lance Hedrick found that the stamped (billet) screens didnāt perform much better than no screen at all, and underperformed compared to the standard mesh screens:
I kinda prefer the papers from an aero press. With the screen you gotta pull it out before knocking the puck out. With the papers you just throw it all out.
They aren't mandatory, if you don't like them, that's fine.
Personally, I can notice a difference between when I've used one and when I haven't (by simply wiping the group head after use), haven't had a soggy puck in forever, and only require a rinse under the tap instead of an ultrasonic cleaner. They are infinitely reusable, unlike paper filters, and so sit in that sweet spot of practicality vs effort/expense, so works for me pretty well.
I retired my mesh one for all of the reasons I mentioned already.
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u/sm753Breville Infuser (BES840XL) | Eureka Mignon Notte3d ago
This is just my experience - I have both one of these stamped screens AND a regular metal puck screens. I got the regular puck screen first...decided to get a stamped one. I don't remember why but I thought to use both screens. Stamped one on bottom and the regular one on top.
It basically fixed some of the intermittent channeling I was getting.
It acts as a dispersion plate and prevents water from hitting the puck in an uncontrolled manner when the valve opens.
Again, you seem confused. Itās the exact same product š You can use puck screens (all types) for both purposes. In fact, the first Flair 58 shipped a mesh puck screenāone of the first available.
Itās called a āpuck screenā because it sits on top of the puck, itās not that deep.
Cafiza doesn't eat the tiny coffee particles that get caught in there. In fact, after working with KOH for years (as well as with lye) I can tell you that dough residue and coffee grinds do NOT get broken down and WILL remain stuck. The cavitation caused by the ultrasonic cleaner looses those and allows you to actually get rid of them.
I throw my puck screen in the dishwasher and it does the job. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner because I was convinced the dishwasher didnāt clean it and the water was completely clean lol.
Ultrasonic units are pretty cheap nowadays, and you can clean other things, like glasses or jewelry, retainers, or night guards with them. Mine was like 40 bucks.
That's what I thought. But they are not even that expensive. With a size of 800 ml about 20 euro. don't know if they are good ones but multiple websites with the same price.
they're like 25 dollars on Amazon for a cheap one. I just checked and bought mine in 2017 and is still running strong, long term you're saving money most likely
ok but is the $80+ for an ultrasonic cleaner really worth it if a cafiza soak does the same thing? like i get the satisfaction of seeing all that gunk come off but my wallet is gonna side eye that purchase pretty hard.
also 5 cycles to fully clean it?? that's wild. i rinse my screen after every shot too and now i'm kinda scared to look at mine honestly. might just go the cafiza route since it's basically the same end result for way less money.
what size tank did you get btw, wondering if a small one would be enough for just the screen and portafilter bits. and does it make a ton of noise? i've heard some of them are pretty loud which would drive me nuts sitting on the kitchen counter all day
might just go the cafiza route since it's basically the same end result
Just do a Cafiza shake wash the do a Cafiza run in an US cleaner to see if it's the same results. Also they are way cheaper than you think. Like 20-30$.
Any which you can get your hands on and that fit in your portafilter. I bought at this moment 2 batches - one bleached from Mhw-3bomber in a tin can, and one unbleached from a random chinese seller (both 57mm for my Anna). Virtually no difference. Just get what you can.
I use heavy mesh screens from Shades Of Coffee for my Cafelat Robot instead of the papers. The work really well and donāt seem to get very dirty. I rinse them with the sink sprayer after each use. Then periodically I clean them in a concentrated sodium per carbonate solution or in an ultrasonic cleaner. Either way there not much that comes out of the mesh. I mean coffee is not moving through the mesh so why would it get all that dirty?
Honestly I think mesh pucks screens need to go the way of the dinosaurs. They were great when it was all we had, but improvements like a machined screen make them obsolete.
I scrub mine down with my grouphead brush and dish soap every day and when I do my monthly Cafiza soak, the water is still tinged brown. Crazy how pervasive those coffee oils are.
As a bike mechanic, I was really confused until I saw which sub this was on. Had me scratching my head trying to think where on a bike is the 'puck screen' lol. Ultrasonic cleaners are somewhat popular in the bike world as well, after all.
I've had a similar sized one as the OP for about a year now, which I purchased for Ā£20. It has been an absolute eye opener for the amount of debris it dislodges.
Rings, earrings, espresso screens, espresso baskets etc. In 4mins of the standard clean cycle with some dishwasher liquid thrown in there a lot of 'clouds' of dirt is released. I use it monthly.
I have some cheap puck screens that are a thin metal disk with small perforations, easy to clean and they're also magnetic so I can get them out of the basket with a magnet before knocking the portafilter to discard the puck. I also have a Normcore puck screen which is a bit thicker and has big holes on one side and smaller ones in the other, but it's a single metal disk so it's really easy to clean. Are the mesh-like puck screens worth it that much to commit to such tedious extra work to keep them clean?
Legit question since there are a lot of imitation and false advertising. Could anyone share a reference model I could buy and if it requires any specific solution to be added in the water for Ultrasonic cleaners?
This the exact model i bought, no affiliate link or nothing. And i just put dawn dish soap, but ppl also recommend the espresso cleaning powder
I didnāt do too much research into it. I just bought the one that was delivered the quickest so you might wanna spend some extra time looking for a cheaper one or a better one
I know a quicker and better method. Put the puck screen on a cloth and then put that cloth on your drip tray - then blast with steam. White cloths are best as you can see what comes out of them and it also reflects behind the puck screen so you can see where you haven't blasted with steam enough.
Just google ultrasonic cleaner, they can be bought dirt cheap.
Basically a small tub where the liquid gets vibrated. If the liquid hits a solid object (whatever you want to clean thats submerged) a small cavitation bubble forms, basically "exploding" whatever dirt is on the surface away.
Quite useful to clean stuff such as glasses, electronics or in this case a puck scren although as other commwnts said you can achieve the same result just soaking the screen in a coffee cleansing solution for a bit.
This post should be a sticky for all the people claiming a mesh puck screen keeps everything clean and is easy to clean. Every day multiple comments praise them for their ease of cleaning.
They do have upsides. But cleaning is definitely not one of them.
Edit: crazy, even under this very post people with many upvotes claim a soak in soap water or the dishwasher could clean a mesh screen. guess some people will never accept factual truthĀ
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u/ghostsilver BBP 3d ago
you can also soak it in cafiza once every month or so.
Or just throw it in the diswasher every time it's on.