# Anyone for a round of hot chocolate?



## Pablo (Mar 19, 2011)

When I'm making hot chocolate, I mix some Green & Blacks powder with a little full fat milk, top up to about 3/4 mug with the milk, stick it in the freezer for a few minutes and then purge/froth/steam/clean/purge with my Classic.

What I want to know is if I'm doing a round of a few, how long after frothing and heating a mug of the stuff I have to wait before starting another, or whether the Classic can cope straight after the steam light comes back on.


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## RobD (May 2, 2012)

if you keep running the steam wand without making a coffee, if i remember rightly the boiler will end up empty, im sure one of the gaggia experts will be able to confirm or tell me im talking Bol*&ks again!!

the way round this if im not being a numpty it to press the brew switch with the wand open until you get some out of the steam spout then the boiler is filled.


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

That's what I do RobD then let the boiler come back up to temp again before steaming the 2nd lot.


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## Pablo (Mar 19, 2011)

Thanks both of you







Nice to know that I can make a round of chocolates rather than wait 20 minutes as in the case of espressos.

I really understand very little about the workings of the machine so would it cause damage to the Classic if the boiler is empty and the steam valve is open?

Actually whilst sort of on the subject, are there any simple guides that will help me understand what's happening on the inside of the Classic whilst operating it?


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

I don't know of a guide as such but its generally called priming the boiler so a search of that might yield some results.

When you're steaming you're depleting the boiler of water as it flashes to steam and if it gets empty there's a good chance of burning out the element. I would refill the boiler by turning on the pump and opening the steam wand until water comes out after every two small pitchers or one bigger pitcher.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

The basic formula behind most Semi-Auto machines is as follows: the pump which is fed by the water source(tank or direct feed) forces fresh water into the boiler via an over pressure valve which regulates the maximum pressure from the pump into the boiler(and thus ultimately the pressure at the group head) releasing that excess back to the tank or into the drip tray, the Solenoid opens a valve at the group head at the point the pump becomes active allowing water to flow through the group/brew head to the coffee puck in the portafilter. The hot water switch, activates the pump but doesn't open the solenoid valve, so the steam wand needs to be open to release any water otherwise it will just re-circulate via the OPV. The element in the boiler will work on two thermostats, one for brew temp and one for steam. when the steam switch is on, the stat will keep the boiler temp at around 130/140c, so that as soon as the pressure is released when the wand is cracked open that water turns into high velocity steam, the stat will try and maintain that boiler temp whether there is water in there or not, so to ensure you don't let it run dry and cause damage, you must activate the pump to refill the boiler.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Brilliant method is to place semi-melted , or even entirely melted 70% choc into a pre warmed glass and pour the steamed milk over the top.

In Brussels this was done in the better coffeeshops = (e.g OR Coffee) placed whole chunks of belguims finest quality choc in the glass and allowed customer to stir it together with a long spoon. Amazingly the microfoam seemed to stay intact & ended up with something that looked like a half-pint of stout. God damn they were good


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## Pablo (Mar 19, 2011)

lookseehear said:


> I don't know of a guide as such but its generally called priming the boiler so a search of that might yield some results.
> 
> When you're steaming you're depleting the boiler of water as it flashes to steam and if it gets empty there's a good chance of burning out the element. I would refill the boiler by turning on the pump and opening the steam wand until water comes out after every two small pitchers or one bigger pitcher.


Thanks











Outlaw333 said:


> The basic formula behind most Semi-Auto machines is as follows: the pump which is fed by the water source(tank or direct feed) forces fresh water into the boiler via an over pressure valve which regulates the maximum pressure from the pump into the boiler(and thus ultimately the pressure at the group head) releasing that excess back to the tank or into the drip tray, the Solenoid opens a valve at the group head at the point the pump becomes active allowing water to flow through the group/brew head to the coffee puck in the portafilter. The hot water switch, activates the pump but doesn't open the solenoid valve, so the steam wand needs to be open to release any water otherwise it will just re-circulate via the OPV. The element in the boiler will work on two thermostats, one for brew temp and one for steam. when the steam switch is on, the stat will keep the boiler temp at around 130/140c, so that as soon as the pressure is released when the wand is cracked open that water turns into high velocity steam, the stat will try and maintain that boiler temp whether there is water in there or not, so to ensure you don't let it run dry and cause damage, you must activate the pump to refill the boiler.


I had to read that a few times as I find it hard to get my head around things like this but I think I understand now. Thank you for taking the the time to explain!!











garydyke1 said:


> Brilliant method is to place semi-melted , or even entirely melted 70% choc into a pre warmed glass and pour the steamed milk over the top.
> 
> In Brussels this was done in the better coffeeshops = (e.g OR Coffee) placed whole chunks of belguims finest quality choc in the glass and allowed customer to stir it together with a long spoon. Amazingly the microfoam seemed to stay intact & ended up with something that looked like a half-pint of stout. God damn they were good


Thanks







Funny you should mention that. Last year at a fete there was a stall doing something very similar. He would steam the milk and you had a choice of different flavoured chocolates on a stick to stir in. Best hot chocolate I have ever tasted. That day I did have a look around for ideas on how best to do that at home and I found this website that I've managed to dig out from my bookmarks:

http://www.giverslog.com/?p=3290

I've not tried doing it but I will do sometime soon.


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