Yesterday, after my usual Saturday espresso cleaning session I made myself an espresso. Everything went well, the milk steamer hissed and bubbled as steamers do and the hot water flush was perfect. Then it happened, the pump pumped as a pumping pump should. It went on pumping but no coffee came through the portafilter but still it pumped. I looked inside the tank, plenty of water so I tried again. Having just spent the equivalent of the Fiji national debt on repairs to La Valentina, I was ready to eat the carpet when it failed again. Then I fount the fault, some unidentified idiot had fitted the internal plug in filter to the wrong tube, when water was sucked in, the proper tube vacuumed itself to the base of the tank and no water was allowed through.
I may be approaching the time when I need to check my zip before leaving the house.