Do you brew it with cream or something? ELI a coffee noob

Nope just regular espresso, but you need a PhD to figure out the exact grind size, weight, pressure etc to get that crema - oh and an expensive machine

Much better - u might have SLIGHTLY too little coffee in your portafilter / not tamping it hard enough / or literally one notch finer grain.

Do you deduce that because my flow is still too fast, or because it started off dark? Pls teach me the ways

Yooo!! This looks much better from yesterday!

This a Breville? You getting "espresso range"? I find with mine I have to adjust the total grind amount up or down depending on the brand / roast that I buy...

Yep, exactly, it's a constant dialing in process

I recommend a bottomless portafilter, you’ll catch any channeling immediately.

Over the years I settled on a local roaster and have him bring me five pounds of one week post roast cured beans at a time. It barely needs adjustments. If different beans each time it can be a constant chase and waste. Makes you realize how many shitty shots get poured at the drive thru.

Yes, still a bit too fast. Also, seems like your beans aren't very freshly roasted, am I mistaken? Do you get them from a supermarket?

You're catching all my flaws, yes it's from the grocery store:wisp_sad: but I will listen to you and try fresher

Listen, you can use stale beans, its not a crime. The experience is nicer and easier with fresh beans tho. Dont waste more of this batch trying to dial in. If you drink it and say to yourself "mh, nice cup of coffee" then you're home free 😁 Next bag, try fresher beans. The perfect freshness is around 5 days old (actually too fresh is not great either). I find a week old works great and I want to use them within 3 weeks ish. Thats fine enough for me. Some will religiously go for 2 weeks max, that doesnt work for me logistically. When you get fresh bag of beans, run an extraction with these settings and remember to film it. We'll try to hit good settings within one or two extractions.

So satisfying!

It's gonna flow better if you give that machine a proper clean 🤣

Pssshhh but it won't have any character

Do you press the coffee hard enough? 15 kg / 30 pounds is a Baristas average. Also you want aprox 130 psi (9 bars) of water pressure. While the grain is important, the rest is equally important.

I just yolo everything and hope for the best, don't weigh or measure anything

Those machines need love Ser! See my other comment about weight and water pressure and maybe run some vinegar cleaner through it. 2-3 runs should do magic, then do 2-3 more just with water to get rid of the vinegar.

fuck the weight, when the handle is full, it's full but water pressure!!!!