Away from home visiting a friend in the Riverina over the past 10 days, took the LaPavoni, however, underestimated my coffee consumption and was forced to go searching for a source of roasted beans about 2/3rds of the way through our visit, could locate nothing within striking distance of our base, soooooo, visited the local supermarker and bought 1 kg of Vittoria espresso beans in the gold packaging, use by date indicated, best before some time in 2017, paid something like $35 for the kg.
Have not used supermarket beans in well over 10 years, regardless was not prepared for what I was about to experience.
The beans looked to be well roasted, nice and even, approx CS 8, even smelled a bit like coffee, that's where the wheels fell off, ground the first 16 grams for the LaPavoni at the same setting I was using for the home roasted batch I was using prior to running out, lifted the lever on the Pav and the water flowed through the puck almost unrestricted, adjust the grind down, another 16 grams, similar result, I might add the resultant coffee flowed in a foul watery looking jet black stream and tasted foul, even though the beans looked well roasted the coffee tasted as if the beans had been on the verge of incineration when the roast was stopped.
No matter what I tried could not get anything like a decent shot on the Pav.
So, back home.
Not to be beaten, have been trying for two days to pull a decent shot using the same beans in the Bezzera, hah! same result, thin watery black bitter tasting crap with a bit of crema floating on the top.
So, for them about to ask the question, nope, you cant pull anything even close to a decent shot using Vittoria espresso beans, even though your using decent machinery, your technique is good and the beans are well within the best before date, at least I cant with the batch I bought, perhaps I was just unlucky.
Have not used supermarket beans in well over 10 years, regardless was not prepared for what I was about to experience.
The beans looked to be well roasted, nice and even, approx CS 8, even smelled a bit like coffee, that's where the wheels fell off, ground the first 16 grams for the LaPavoni at the same setting I was using for the home roasted batch I was using prior to running out, lifted the lever on the Pav and the water flowed through the puck almost unrestricted, adjust the grind down, another 16 grams, similar result, I might add the resultant coffee flowed in a foul watery looking jet black stream and tasted foul, even though the beans looked well roasted the coffee tasted as if the beans had been on the verge of incineration when the roast was stopped.
No matter what I tried could not get anything like a decent shot on the Pav.

So, back home.
Not to be beaten, have been trying for two days to pull a decent shot using the same beans in the Bezzera, hah! same result, thin watery black bitter tasting crap with a bit of crema floating on the top.
So, for them about to ask the question, nope, you cant pull anything even close to a decent shot using Vittoria espresso beans, even though your using decent machinery, your technique is good and the beans are well within the best before date, at least I cant with the batch I bought, perhaps I was just unlucky.

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