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OK, good to know RE the channeling. I'm far enough to have binge-watched everything James Hoffman has ever done so I have my head around the lingo for the most part, but not far enough to have made anything remotely decent myself.
I did know about the timings, which is why I was so surprised that my first shot with the classic (albeit with ground coffee and a pressurized filter) was over with in less than 15 secs. I'll start with an increased dose and test that in the morning and go from there. Thanks!
*Edit - VST basket now ordered, don't tell the wife...
mf-
one of these will help with consistency too. it's not a must-have but it makes my life 10x easier having one imo.
you stick it in the portafilter after you've ground the coffee and give it a few spins to even everything out before giving a cursory tamp and quarter-turn to polish the top of the grounds.
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I've had a classic for a few years and love it for the price. Some recommendations:
Now:
- Scales: cheap drug dealer scales will do (forum recommendation!)
- Properly fitting tamper (58.4mm)
Future stuff if you want to get more involved (though you can get decent coffee with just the above):
- Precision shower screen (I've got one from IMS)
- Brass shower-plate holder
- VST basket (done!)
- Naked portafilter
- Distribution tool
- OPV modification
- Pressure gauge
- Auber PID (get pre-infuse then too)
EDIT: a half-decent burr grinder should probably to top of the "future" list
- Scales: cheap drug dealer scales will do (forum recommendation!)
HatBeard
Never bothered trying to do any sort of pre-infusion on the Classic (it wasn't really a commonly done thing back in 2010 or so when I had mine), you could do as you suggest with a quick blast of water, let it soak, then pull the shot properly. But to be honest you'll likely just be throwing in another difficult to control variable with no real noticeable positive impact.
Regarding shot timings, you're aiming for around 26-30 second extraction time (just a ball-park figure, finer adjustments should be made on taste). Your options to increase extraction time are increase the dose and grind finer (though obviously if the coffee's pre-ground this isn't an option).
Definitely pick up a set of scales, nothing fancy required. Something like this will do the trick (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ascher-Portable-Digital-Back-lit-Weighing/dp/B01FQHE25U). Measuring by volume will be pretty inaccurate, and pretty much useless when you start adjusting grind size.
I'd recommend against increasing tamping pressure, in my experience it'll lead to an increased chance of channelling. Not sure how far along on your espresso journey you are, but channelling is when you get small cracks in the espresso puck where water can find an easy route though.
On that note, while I'd generally advise against buying all the upgrades right away until you know exactly what it is that you want, but I would recommend a bottomless/naked portafilter. It's a great tool to see what you're doing wrong with your shots (and it looks damn cool).