thin appearence, but long time?

[Gypsie]

hi guys

recently picked up a bes900 dual boiler

I'm having a little trouble getting the right extraction.

i'm using fresh beans each time, and after adjusting my dose and grind i'm getting around 9 bar of pressure and extraction time around 30-35 seconds. however it appears watery for want of a better term, and not the thick syrup like consistency i'm after.
if i make it fineri can get what appears to be a bit better, but then my pour time is way too long.

what's going on? and what should i do?

cheers

[Dimal]

G'day mate...

What's the roast date on the beans you're using, the basket size and the dose size?
This will give us some idea of what you're working with...

Mal.

[roburu]

Since you're saying you use fresh beans, it sounds to me like your grinder doesn't provide a fine enough adjustment for the machine. You can get a to course or to fine a grind but not in between. You can try the course grind but with a slightly larger quantity of coffee, say 1 gram extra, and go from there.

[Dimal]

Not everyone's idea of "Fresh" is the same unfortunately...

Mal.

[sbcuthbert]

Suggest you dig around the forum's, I have been able to resolve similar issues with a combination of searching for posts on 'how to guides' for espresso & youtube videos.

That being said; assuming (as mentioned by Dimal) your definition of fresh beans is fine then you need to play with the dose as well as the grind. In my limited experience (not using a top of the line grinder) getting your dose right usually leads to the result you are looking for and helps working out if your grind size is in the right ballpark. The take-away is that you want to be sure that everything you do is consistent shot to shot before adjusting just one thing (either your dose or grind in this case) until you get the taste you are after in a time you are happy with.

Remember that the 30mls in 25-30 seconds is just a guideline and not a hard and fast rule. As lots of people on here keep saying; in the end its all about the taste.