Hi All,
I am a newbie home espresso maker in practice but I watched and read quite a lot before getting into espresso. I can verify that theory and practice are quite different and I am living that since a couple of weeks
I am using Breville 920XL (Dual Boiler) machine coupled with Breville Smart Grinder Pro.
Let me state my problem in a short sentence: I cannot get a well balanced shot no matter what I tried.
Beans: I am using medium roasted beans around 2-2.5 weeks old bought from a local roastery/coffee shop. I tried 3 different blends with no luck of reproducing similar taste to what I have been tasting in the coffee shop.
Brew Time: This is a problem, I am using 18-20gr of coffee and trying to get 38-40gr of espresso (1:2 ratio) but the brew time is barely around 20-21 secs. I tried going finer with the grind but it gets too bitter too quickly. The grind level where I reach 25secs brewing time is painfully bitter to drink. For the shots that are "drinkable" it takes 20-21secs to reach 1:2 ratio; I am able to reach the peak pressure of 9.5-10 bars and see the creamy honey looking flow at the beginning. But it gets too fast too quick and pressure goes down to 7 bars in 4-5 seconds after the first drip.
PreInfusion: I played with preinfusion time (changing the PI pressure, getting rid of it altogether etc.) with no luck of getting the right timeframe of 25-30secs without getting too bitter coffee.
Coffee Amount: I tried changing the coffee amount from 16-20grams with different parameters above with no luck.
5 Secs Salami Shots: I tried the "5 seconds salami shot" of chris beca (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aD33p4_fJo) where I can easily produce the right chocolaty smooth taste in the first 5 seconds shot. So I realized I need to change the grind size if I like the first 5 secs portion of the shot. I went coarser it became too sour, I went finer it became bitter...
I am using filtered water and tried 93C to 91C without changing other parameters.
I started to think I am doing something wrong with a very basic thing like tamping or maybe there is a problem with my grinder's consistency?
Happy to get any suggestions or questions...
Best,
Kaan
I am a newbie home espresso maker in practice but I watched and read quite a lot before getting into espresso. I can verify that theory and practice are quite different and I am living that since a couple of weeks

I am using Breville 920XL (Dual Boiler) machine coupled with Breville Smart Grinder Pro.
Let me state my problem in a short sentence: I cannot get a well balanced shot no matter what I tried.
Beans: I am using medium roasted beans around 2-2.5 weeks old bought from a local roastery/coffee shop. I tried 3 different blends with no luck of reproducing similar taste to what I have been tasting in the coffee shop.
Brew Time: This is a problem, I am using 18-20gr of coffee and trying to get 38-40gr of espresso (1:2 ratio) but the brew time is barely around 20-21 secs. I tried going finer with the grind but it gets too bitter too quickly. The grind level where I reach 25secs brewing time is painfully bitter to drink. For the shots that are "drinkable" it takes 20-21secs to reach 1:2 ratio; I am able to reach the peak pressure of 9.5-10 bars and see the creamy honey looking flow at the beginning. But it gets too fast too quick and pressure goes down to 7 bars in 4-5 seconds after the first drip.
PreInfusion: I played with preinfusion time (changing the PI pressure, getting rid of it altogether etc.) with no luck of getting the right timeframe of 25-30secs without getting too bitter coffee.
Coffee Amount: I tried changing the coffee amount from 16-20grams with different parameters above with no luck.
5 Secs Salami Shots: I tried the "5 seconds salami shot" of chris beca (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aD33p4_fJo) where I can easily produce the right chocolaty smooth taste in the first 5 seconds shot. So I realized I need to change the grind size if I like the first 5 secs portion of the shot. I went coarser it became too sour, I went finer it became bitter...
I am using filtered water and tried 93C to 91C without changing other parameters.
I started to think I am doing something wrong with a very basic thing like tamping or maybe there is a problem with my grinder's consistency?
Happy to get any suggestions or questions...
Best,
Kaan


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