-
Can you turn down the pressure of the machine?
Have you purged the group head?
If you're still having trouble maybe try a puck screen.
-
In my experience, you only want to tamp down to the point where it feels "solid", without trying to force any additional compression. It's less than you might think. As I understand it, if you compress it too much then the water can't soak through evenly and builds up force in individual spots which forces open a channel.
Also, as alluded to, make sure you don't knock the portafilter head off anything while loading it into the machine as that can cause a crack in the puck too.
-
I go the exact opposite to what everyone recommends and tamp pretty hard (to achieve maximum compression, as beyond a certain point the grounds don’t compact any further) and just adjust the grind.
You are reading a single comment by @Dammit and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
Dogs
exteroceptive
Nef
@Dammit
I admit, the first puck I prepared this morning I have a very gentle tamp and it fell apart when I turned the portafilter over to get rid of the loose grounds, so I then tamped with a bit more force- likely too much.