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If you can't grind finer you can try increasing the dose a little bit (up by 1 gram?), are you sure the distribution/tamping is good though? ie. are there any holes etc. in your spent puck, is it possible to get a naked portafilter to see how the thing develops?
It could be the beans, some machines (cough Sage cough) need really fresh beans. How does it taste?
disq-
It tastes actually pretty good, considering they're fairly cheap beans from Solimo bought in 5kg batches and just a medium-dark roast. Grinding finer is my next step as I don't want to go too big with the dose. I wondered if it is the grounds swelling during the pull, which means the gaps get bigger and there's less restriction for the water.
Machine is a Gaggia Classic with filtered water. I haven't noticed it being too fussy needing really fresh beans unless it is a light roast.
Jonny69
Dialling in. I’m down to a grind which begins flowing at what I would say is the correct rate, but after around 15 seconds it starts to flow very quickly and I end up with a large shot. I am going to go finer, but I’m pretty sure I’m close to choking the machine. These aren’t freshly roasted beans, they’re a cheaper bulk-roasted bean that I’m using to get a ballpark setting for my machine before I start using more expensive beans.
If you had to diagnose that shot, would you say it’s the less fresh bean causing the rush at the end?