Newbie help!! Lelit mara

[kaboose]

Just bought a Lelit Mara and macap m2m grinder, it looks fantastic but I just cant seem to use it properly. Spent a while trying to get the grind fine enough as the expresso was running out really fast and was extremely bitter, was also only getting 4 bar at the machine. Tried again this morning with a slighlty adjusted grind, I noticed it went up to about 9 bar and it came out a lot slower, coffee tasted great! Tried my afternoon coffee with the same grind and the coffee came out really fast and watery again, only 3-4 bar at the machine, I notice the shower screen has wet coffee grinds all over it too?

[toorakwa]

I suspect that you are not using beans roasted within the last 21 days.

Either that or you have not dosed and tamped the same each time.

[>Casa Espresso]

Just bought a Lelit Mara and macap m2m grinder, it looks fantastic but I just cant seem to use it properly. Spent a while trying to get the grind fine enough as the expresso was running out really fast and was extremely bitter, was also only getting 4 bar at the machine. Tried again this morning with a slighlty adjusted grind, I noticed it went up to about 9 bar and it came out a lot slower, coffee tasted great! Tried my afternoon coffee with the same grind and the coffee came out really fast and watery again, only 3-4 bar at the machine, I notice the shower screen has wet coffee grinds all over it too?

A wet or sloppy coffee puck shows under doseing, i.e. Not enough coffee. That would also explain why the pressure showed 4bar and your grind was the same. As the M2M is a manual stop/start you need to try to keep your dosing consistant

[kaboose]

Beans were fresh but I was dosing by a digital scale at 14g, I'll dose closer to 20g and see if this helps, thanks.

[>Casa Espresso]

Beans were fresh but I was dosing by a digital scale at 14g, I'll dose closer to 20g and see if this helps, thanks.

Can I suggest work by eye, not by the scales. Dose to a mound in the basket and then tamper, 99% of the time this will give you the right amount for the basket. Then watch the flow , looking for the "mouse tail".
Sometimes we can over complicate the process.

[dumiya]

Be patient. It looks simple but there is a learning curve. That curve can be quite steep. There are a number of things to get sort of right. Getting those things consistent is the next step. Then I look for 50mls in 25 secs, but the, beans, amount, grind, tamp, temp, need to be sort of right. Finally, if there is ever a "finally", make small adjustments. Have fun and laugh.

[trentski]

Or 60ml in 30 seconds. It's an art not a science.

[kaboose]

Thanks for the replies, a slight adjustment of the grind and filling my basket till its level seems to have worked in making a really nice latte, way better than my fully automatic machine!