Hi everyone,

I searched a bunch of previous posts, but could not find the exact solution to the problem. To start, I just a got a Gaggia Classic and a Rocky Doserless. I've been using Counter Culture's Rustico beans. I get a good 1.5-2 oz shot in about 20-25 seconds, however the coffee does not develop the notes I would expect. Instead the espresso seems overpowered by what could be described as burnt or charred coffee flavors.

I've made the same espresso on an entry Quickmill setup and used to get the same flavor profile I would get at the coffee shop. In my opinion, I think the temperature is too high, but I have no real way of knowing. Help and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Rocky is not a great grinder. Grinding too fine or grinding with too many extraneous fine particles or brewing too hot could be issues.

To deal with temp issues you can start with a kitchen thermometer with a metal probe. Take off the Gaggia top and feed the probe in through the vents on the back and jam the end between the posts in the top. The thermometer will give you a somewhat consistent if erroneous reading. You can then play with steam button to heat up and flushing with brew button to cool off before pulling a shot and compare flavours. Note that kitchen thermos may have considerable delays in reacting to temp changes.

On the classic, there is a steam switch which when it is on, it engages the steam thermostat which is at 125°c. Otherwise the coffee brew thermostat controls the temp which is set at around 96°c.
So check that you don't have the steam switch turned on when you are wanting to make coffee.

Thanks for the advice guys. I will do some testing with the thermometer and see where it goes. Other than running some water before pulling a shot, are there any other techniques on how to reduce the temperature?

The steam button also was not on, which is what I was hoping for. Would have been a quick fix.

I recommend this topic:

Add PID to Gaggia Classic? Worth it?

This may NOT be related to temperature. Either way, if you're using the regular (non-pressurized) filter basket, you're going to need to do the (quick, easy, painless) OPV adjustment.

Some good resources for temp control and OPV adjustment on the Gaggia Classic are here:

http://www.gaggiausersgroup.com/index.php

Welcome! And Good Luck!!!

kickitchicken wrote:Hi everyone,

I searched a bunch of previous posts, but could not find the exact solution to the problem. To start, I just a got a Gaggia Classic and a Rocky Doserless. I've been using Counter Culture's Rustico beans. I get a good 1.5-2 oz shot in about 20-25 seconds, however the coffee does not develop the notes I would expect. Instead the espresso seems overpowered by what could be described as burnt or charred coffee flavors.

I've made the same espresso on an entry Quickmill setup and used to get the same flavor profile I would get at the coffee shop. In my opinion, I think the temperature is too high, but I have no real way of knowing. Help and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

With the Gaggia OEM tstat (thermostat), there can be up to a 40 degree swing in the brew temp while the ready light is on. That means that you have to do a lot of figuring out to be able to pin down a start temperature, much less an intrashot temperature. Installing a PID is probably the only way to accurately set a start temp; intrashot temperature is a whole other ball of wax and (in my opinion only) left for after you have mastered shot start temp.

Nurk2 wrote:This may NOT be related to temperature. Either way, if you're using the regular (non-pressurized) filter basket, you're going to need to do the (quick, easy, painless) OPV adjustment.

Some good resources for temp control and OPV adjustment on the Gaggia Classic are here:

http://www.gaggiausersgroup.com/index.php

Welcome! And Good Luck!!!

+1 for that and on this:

SJM wrote:With the Gaggia OEM tstat (thermostat), there can be up to a 40 degree swing in the brew temp while the ready light is on. That means that you have to do a lot of figuring out to be able to pin down a start temperature, much less an intrashot temperature. Installing a PID is probably the only way to accurately set a start temp; intrashot temperature is a whole other ball of wax and (in my opinion only) left for after you have mastered shot start temp.

I personally found when I first got my machine I was not getting the taste I wanted from my classic. I first adjusted the OPV, it is a FREE and simple adjustment which improved the taste. The pressure out of the box is set to high at 12 bar. Should be around 9 or 10bar depending on how you measure the pressure.

After awhile I found I was struggling with temp. and found temp surfing a tad difficult 'blind'. So, I invested in a PID. Even if your not interested in setting a temp start point. it is well worth it just to have the temp displayed.

Welcome to HB and Happy brewing

+1 for sure.

Adjust the OPV - that will make a HUGE difference to those tastes. I had the exact same problem as you a couple months ago. New Gaggis Classic with CC Rustico. Adjusted the OPV and it got me half way there. Then added PID temp control which tightened up the other half of the equation.

I also backed off from 18g to 16g doses and that helped a bit to.

Best of luck!

Thanks for all the answers! Good to know that there is a way to adjust the pressure. After reviewing the OPV adjustment thread, I'm wondering where would you get the fitted pressure gauge? Is there a thread that describes this process in the same way that some have described the process of making a bottomless PF? Thanks again!

AP