I've had my Crossland CC1.5 now for 6 months and for the most part satisfied with it.
Although my lattes are decent and consistent, I'm still having a difficult time getting full
and distinctive flavors from my extractions. I have tried Klatch Belle, Blue Bottle
17ft Ceiling & Night Light Decaf, De La Paz Big City Blend, and Intelligentsia Black Cat.
Living in socal I'm actual able to visit local espresso cafes and taste these espresso's properly
extracted and mine are all very subtle in comparison. I wouldn't say all my extractions taste
the same but they all seem to be missing some of the more complex notes and distinctive flavor
profiles these beans are known for. Of course I've tried all the roasters preparation suggestions
but no luck.

Here are my specs:
Crossland CC1.5 (purchased Dec/2016 from SCG)
Paired with a Baratza Preciso grinder
Using an 18 gram portafilter basket from VST
Using a bottomless portafilter and getting solid extractions with no signs of grind or tamping issues

1. Machine is always turned on at least 30min prior to preparation.
2. Beans are always stored in an Airscape canister.
3. Beans consumed between day 5 - day 13 post roast.
4. Dosing between 16 - 18 grams.
5. Extractions times are 24 -30 sec includes 2 sec. pre-infusion & 3/sec pause.
6. Yield by weight is between 28.8 - 34 grams (using a .1 gram accurate scale).
7. Temperature set to 201-202 degrees.
8. Always use Crystal Geyser bottled water.
9. Backflushing about every two weeks.
10. I only make lattes with 2% milk and I can get consistent microfoam that's brought up to 68C/155f.

Not sure about getting perfect God shots but is this machine at least capable of getting shots that are
on par with the cafe's?

Any tips and suggestions... especially ones that are specific to the Crossland machine would be appreciated,


Lawrence.

Hey, Is your Crystal Geyser water filtered using Reverse Osmosis? I'm not sure your water would be the problem if it is RO water, but I know from my own research that RO water doesn't have enough mineral content to bring out flavors in the coffee. So mixing it with tap water could help. I do a mix of 25% tap, 75% RO bottled water.

I wouldn't say I have enough experience to help you with the other stuff, but your workflow and yields look fine to me.

I'm using Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water bottled from the source not processed through
RO. I used this brand as it generally seems to be recommended for espresso use. If there is a better
brand please supply recommendations.

Thanks.

You have a good beginner setup there. You should be able to make espresso that will easily beat Starbucks and the other big chains in the cup. However it will be very difficult to match the really good cafes with very high end equipment. Your CC1 is a good machine and is capable of doing better, if you upgrade your grinder. Your grinder is on the low end of beginner grinders. That is not to say you can't make good coffee with it, but it will be harder to do consistently and it just won't be up to the task of matching a K30 or Titan Conical that the high end cafes will be using.

I had a CC1 for a while, I found it best to grind fine enough to choke it and then back off a bit from there until you get your extraction in 25-35secs or so. Once you do that then play with the dose a bit until you get something you like.

It's not difficult to best the likes of Starbucks and Coffee Bean, their bar is pretty low.
Right now I'm setup with a grind setting that will give me a 1:1.8 yield in 24-30 seconds.
If I start grinding finer I would need to increase the extraction time. Is that the trick with
my current setup even if extractions take 30-45 seconds?

I'll experiment and give that a shot. The Preciso has gotten solid reviews so would rather not
have to spend $1200 - $1800 on a new grinder... at least not yet.

Hoping that's not the only solution.

The Precisio is decent grinder, but it's not a great espresso grinder. The entry level espresso grinders are the Baratza Vario or Sette. Those are what I would pair with your CC1. They sell refurbished models on their site if you're interested. You could also look for a used Mazzer Mini or SJ in that same price range. I believe you'll find the distinct flavors you're looking for.

My $.02

[quote="Calcreole"]It's not difficult to best the likes of Starbucks and Coffee Bean, their bar is pretty low.
Right now I'm setup with a grind setting that will give me a 1:1.8 yield in 24-30 seconds.
If I start grinding finer I would need to increase the extraction time. Is that the trick with
my current setup even if extractions take 30-45 seconds?

I'll experiment and give that a shot. The Preciso has gotten solid reviews so would rather not
have to spend $1200 - $1800 on a new grinder... at least not yet.

Hoping that's not the only solution.[/quote

The extraction taking longer is not a bad thing, IF you enjoy the results. I shoot for 35-40 secs personally for about a 1-2 extraction. I like low end notes like chocolate, nuts, etc. and grinding finer for a longer extraction usually gets me the taste I am after, of course depending on the beans. I like to see the syrupy drips for the first 6-10 secs or so before the stream starts.

The last few days of experimenting with finer grinding have only yielded trivial improvements. Looks like I need to upgrade my Baratza Preciso grinder. So I'm heavy leaning towards the Ceado E5P which is the same as the 6P minus uneeded bells and whistles. Seems to be a little better than the Mazzer Mini in some ways especially for single dosing and home use. Just wish I could try before I buy. Would really hate to go through this upgrade only to be disappointed with the results in the cup.

I have a crossland as well and had trouble making awesome espresso with a sette for a few months. Bought a monolith conical and can consistently make excellent espresso. I've heard good things about the ceado so I doubt you'll be disappointed.

If you're going to upgrade and want to go the Vario or Sette route, call up Baratza. They have a trade-in/buy back type program that you can upgrade through. That's how I went from my old preciso to a Vario. I can't remember precisely how much they gave me toward the Vario for my preciso, but it was a decent amount?

I had the same setup as you do currently, but I can't say whether I was making good espresso with it or not. Lol. I was really only drinking lattes at that point. I'm happy with my Vario though.