HB wrote:Tea leaf espresso?

I assume Scott meant beans purchased from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Thanks Geoff, I missed that detail. Looking at the site and its prominent reference to franchise opportunities, I wonder if the coffee they sell is roasted dated. If not, find another roaster; there's too many good ones to suffer warehoused coffees.

The way you adjust flow rate (and extraction time / volume) is primarily by changing grind (additional methods include altering dose - the amount of coffee in the portafilter basket).

You really don't adjust the espresso machine to change this.

Obviously I would suggest you read the various docs in the FAQs and Resources section. But fundamentally, the issue is 99% likely to one or a combination of:
- your grind,
- your coffee,
- your burrs (in the grinder),
- your shot prep (grind, dose, distribute, tamp).

In general - if you shots are pulling too quickly, you need to tighten up the grind (and if it's pulling too slow you need to loosen the grind). If you're using very stale coffee - this still might not address your issues (just as if you're dosing far too low it might not help). Finally, if your grinder burrs are very (very) dull or damaged you might struggle to get proper extraction.

scottyhana wrote:ok... My grinder is a commercial mazzer, I put it to the finest setting, filled the group and tamped it tight, it still brewed in 7 seconds....

Mazzer is a fine grinder, excellent even...but you were not at the finest setting by any stretch

To find the finest setting you need to remove the restrictor screw from the collar (if it is still in there), and then run the grinder empty and adjust the grind finer until the burrs just start to chirp from touching. Back off just slightly and mark this spot as "true zero". That is the finest setting.

Now adjust the grinder about 1/4 turn from that spot and try again. If you still get a 7 second shot then adjust 1 whole number finer and try again. repeat the process until the machine chokes and nothing comes out. Then start backing off slightly to get the desired flow.

And remember, the Mazzer adjustment is reverse-threaded so counterclockwise tightens the grind.

I hope this is helpful.
-Jon

It doesn't really matter what pressure the machine is set at - you are grinding too coarse. There is no realistic pump or boiler setting that could be giving you a 7 second shot with a correctly prepared basket.

One other suggestion. Make sure you aren't over dosing the basket. Elektra machines are very sensitive to high doses. The consensus is that you don't want to put more than about 14 grams in a double basket. So you'll need a digital scale that measures to tenths of a gram so you can check that you aren't overdosing. Otherwise, you can get channeling from having the puck hit the shower screen.

Sounds like the machine was a mess. It could be somthing mechanical, but it is doubtful. Is the machine plumbed in or are you running it from a bottle? With a blind basket in the portafilter, your brew pressure gauge should be around 9 bar. Grouphead pressure will be slightly less. If it is plumbed in, what is your input pressure? Max input on a sixties is 2-4 bar.

Coffee, regardless of where you got it, the first question is when was it roasted? You should have a roasted on date on the bag. If not toss it and get some coffee that does. The roasted date should be no more than 10-12 days ago, 3 or 4 days would be best. That is not a 'scooped on' or bag opened date but when the coffee came out of the roasting drum.

Mazzer, the adjustment stop screw is probably still in the adjustment color. Take it out, it is a small phillips head screw. The ground coffee should have a consistency close to table salt or a little finer to get started.

Dose, elektra does not like a high dose. Do you have scale good for 0.1 gram's? You should get one to make sure you are dosing consistently to start with. Elektra likes around 14-15 grams of coffee in the stock double basket. You sould not see an imprint of the shower screen or shower screen screw on the puck after the shot. Dosing should be slightly below the rim of the basket before you tamp.

Flushing, the elektra needs no recovery after the cooling flush. 1.2 bar on the boiler pressure is a bit high. You should turn it down to around 1 or 1.1. Flush until the flash boil finishes, then go another 5 seconds. Stop, lock in your portafilter and pull your shot.

You may want to look at Dialing in a new espresso machine, a step by step guide as well.

I have nothing to add, other than to echo what's already been said . . . and definitely read Dialing in a new espresso machine, a step by step guide that Dave referred you to -- and wrote. He has an Elektra A3, the semi-auto version of the T1 that you (and I) own. I found it very helpful, not just for the Elektra, but for every machine I own.

Cheers,
Jason

I just wanted to thank everyone for your help... I ordered new blades for my mazzer grinder, set it as fine as possible without hitting the blades and was able to choke the machine... I didn't realize how bad my blades where until I received the new ones today. I brewed about 30 shots adjusting the amount of espresso and the setting on the grinder. with a setting about 1/4 turn from finest and a pressed poratfilter at the fill line it brews a beautiful shot in 23 seconds...

thanks again for all your help

Whaddayano, I need to add "are the burrs sharp?" to the list of diagnostic questions. Thanks for the follow-up.