Argh!! Constant under extraction.....

[David8]

Cinders already has them

My mistake. =) That's good to hear.

[Steve82]

And invest in some single walled filter baskets. That will also improve your coffee. But make sure you fix the bean freshness issue first, don't try supermarket beans with single walled filters.

Cinders already has them

This morning I changed from using a single wall filter to using a double wall filter, thinking that even though I am grinding my own, that not being the best beans it might be the problem (states in the manual that dosing / tamping etc is not as important with these as they help to regulate the pressure better then the single wall ones) Right! I thought, if I am the problem then surely using the double walled filters will get me somewhere........wrong. Still watery, sour and crap (and only raised the pressure gauge slightly, no where near the "ideal" zone). Last effort, for experimental purposes, was trying with some crap pre-ground coffee......didn't even register on the pressure gauge.

[blend52]

don't try supermarket beans with single walled filters.

I agree Beanbay or a local roaster is your best choice, but...
At risk of beinghunted down & burnt at the stake... if you really have no other option but the supermarket, they will work fine if you are careful and only buy packs with the correct "Roasted on",.. "best before".. or "use by" date.
Its complex,.. but you are looking for beans that have been roasted and packed within a week or two ( 3 max).
Some packs have a "use by" date that is 12 months forward of the date packed, others have an 18 month period so be careful.
Gloria Jeans actually have a roast date and often are the freshest , as do Coles "select" beans.
Harris and Vittoria have a 12 month "best before" period.
For example, if you were buying today, you would want a best before date NO LESS than May 1st 2014
If they have an April 2014 or earlier date, they are more than 2 weeks old.
Pick a busy Smarket with a high turnover and you will find beans less than 2-3 weeks from roasting.
Not the ultimate , but they will brew well and can give better coffee than the majority of cafe offerings.

[David8]

And invest in some single walled filter baskets. That will also improve your coffee. But make sure you fix the bean freshness issue first, don't try supermarket beans with single walled filters.

[Yelta]

Yep, what Steve said.
Bypass the supermarket.

[Steve82]

Well you just answered your own problem = supermarket beans.....

Go onto beanbay and order yourself a bag of Espresso WOW, roasted fresh to order then see how you go.

Alternatively source some beans locally, find a local roaster and only by the beans if they have a roast date stamped on them. Anywhere from 3 - 5 days post roast up to 3 weeks you should see a dramatic improvement.

[Cinders]

Thanks for your story. But you need to give some more specific info for anyone to be able to help.

What beans are you using? How old are they?

What grinder are you using?

EDIT: Oh and welcome!

Sorry Steve, the Barista is the model that comes with a built in grinder. I am using beans bought at the supermarket at the moment (Café Aurora) as I haven't been able to get to a proper coffee place yet (three kids 5 and under in tow.....yikes!). I would have thought that although they aren't the best, I would get some change in my extraction if I changed a few things, especially using the double walled filter?

Thanks for the welcome too :-)

[Steve82]

Hoping to get some advice on issues with my new machine. Got a Breville Barista Express for mothers day, based on reviews and feedback, seems like a good machine for price and fairly easy to use, however I haven't had a decent cup since getting it because of constant under extraction (insert poking knife into eye smiley face here!).

I have changed the grind, put it on the finest setting to see if at least I would go from under to over (at least then I could tinker with the grind to get it right) but that didn't change a thing (still sour, watery and fast shot, and incredibly low registering on the pressure dial). Have looked at numerous U-Tube videos to check my dose and tamper and that seems to be okay (level of the tamper in line with the portafilter correct etc) but STILL no change (once again, sour, watery, shot of only about 15 sec from start to finish).

This morning I changed from using a single wall filter to using a double wall filter, thinking that even though I am grinding my own, that not being the best beans it might be the problem (states in the manual that dosing / tamping etc is not as important with these as they help to regulate the pressure better then the single wall ones) Right! I thought, if I am the problem then surely using the double walled filters will get me somewhere........wrong. Still watery, sour and crap (and only raised the pressure gauge slightly, no where near the "ideal" zone). Last effort, for experimental purposes, was trying with some crap pre-ground coffee......didn't even register on the pressure gauge.

I am wondering if I have a faulty machine??? Is there any way to test this?? Any tips that any of you more experienced people might have, that I haven't tried?? I would have thought that tinkering with the grind, dose and tamper would at least change the extraction a bit (like I said, even if I get over extraction) but next to no change is bizarre. Next step I guess is to contact Breville for advice.

Thanks for your story. But you need to give some more specific info for anyone to be able to help.

What beans are you using? How old are they?

What grinder are you using?

EDIT: Oh and welcome!

[Cinders]

Hoping to get some advice on issues with my new machine. Got a Breville Barista Express for mothers day, based on reviews and feedback, seems like a good machine for price and fairly easy to use, however I haven't had a decent cup since getting it because of constant under extraction (insert poking knife into eye smiley face here!).

I have changed the grind, put it on the finest setting to see if at least I would go from under to over (at least then I could tinker with the grind to get it right) but that didn't change a thing (still sour, watery and fast shot, and incredibly low registering on the pressure dial). Have looked at numerous U-Tube videos to check my dose and tamper and that seems to be okay (level of the tamper in line with the portafilter correct etc) but STILL no change (once again, sour, watery, shot of only about 15 sec from start to finish).

This morning I changed from using a single wall filter to using a double wall filter, thinking that even though I am grinding my own, that not being the best beans it might be the problem (states in the manual that dosing / tamping etc is not as important with these as they help to regulate the pressure better then the single wall ones) Right! I thought, if I am the problem then surely using the double walled filters will get me somewhere........wrong. Still watery, sour and crap (and only raised the pressure gauge slightly, no where near the "ideal" zone). Last effort, for experimental purposes, was trying with some crap pre-ground coffee......didn't even register on the pressure gauge.

I am wondering if I have a faulty machine??? Is there any way to test this?? Any tips that any of you more experienced people might have, that I haven't tried?? I would have thought that tinkering with the grind, dose and tamper would at least change the extraction a bit (like I said, even if I get over extraction) but next to no change is bizarre. Next step I guess is to contact Breville for advice.