Good afternoon,

I'm wondering if there was any problem with my machine...

I have a Saeco Aroma, and a grinder Baratza Maestro Plus.
My machine never makes any crema whatsoever... which is kind of strange.

Ok, yeah, I questioned myself before the machine. Here is everything I tried:
- I grind the coffee just before using it. It is all fresh roasted coffee and high quality.
- I also tried with pre-ground coffee
- I tried from the thinnest grinding to the bigger one.
- Tap water, filtered water, or even mineral water.
- I waited 30, 20, 10min etc... for the machine to warm up.
- I tried 15 different sort of coffee blends.
- I tried to tamp it myself (this machine is supposed to do it for you)
- I tried from just a little to a lot of coffee in the portafilter.
- I even tried with very fresh roasted Indian Malabar coffee (famous for giving a lot of crema)
- I descaled the machine.

I have had this machine for 18 months, and I'm doing all those tests since then. So it is not like I tried once or twice only. I acted like a psychopath doing all those tests It's been 6 months that I'm searching for answers on the Internet now.

From what I understood; not having crema can come from: bad coffee, not fresh coffee, wrong grinding, not enough coffee in the portafilter, machine not warm enough... And with everything I tried, it eliminated all those options. So I'm really questioning my machine now... it was an "open-box" product (exposition model), so perhaps I bought a deficient product.

I know the Saeco Aroma can do good express (a friend of mine has the same one; and does big and nice crema with a pre-ground and not fresh coffee ).
But I'm wondering if there is not a problem with mine... Unfortunately it is no longer on warranty. So I'm wondering if I should just change machine...

I am very desperate, I really hope you guys will be able to help me

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS : I apologize if I'm not always using the correct terminology, but english is not my first language, and I have to admit that I don't use coffee-espresso terms in a regular discussion every days !

How long are your shots taking? if I were to guess, I suspect that the grinder is inadequate, as the Maestros are borderline for espresso.

The Maestro seems borderline, I noticed that too.
However, I also tried with the coffee freshly ground by my coffee-store. They have a very good one that makes a very very small grinding.



... I just tried with the thinnest grinding (smaller than the Maestro). It's taking around 15s for 2 espresso (and not short ones).

This is something I do not understand : with a very fine grinding, and a manual tamping, my shots are always quickly done.
Is there something on the machine that can explain that ?

I made great espresso with a Saeco Via Veneto and a hand grinder for years. 100% crema every time. It did not work with the cheap La Pavoni burr grinder I had, which is how I got on to hand grinders in the first place.

In the meantime, try dosing very full and tamping a little harder. If that doesn't work try grinding the coffee twice - grind it and run it through a second time. It's an emergency measure, but it might be better than the coffee you're drinking now.

PC

Here's a link for parts and operating manuals for your machine: http://www.partsguru.com/SaecoAromaHomeEspresso.html .

That machine has a pressurized portafilter (of some sorts) and is inherently designed to work well with grinders of "lesser" quality. I owned a Rio Vapore about 12 years ago and it worked wonders at school fairs, dinners, etc., where dozens of shots in a row were the norm.

Does your friend's machine have the same exact portafilter as yours? That's an ideal situation to easily resolve problems whatever the root cause.

I tried a few time already with the portafilter full and tamping hard.
When I do that, I have a very thin yellow crema (like in the picture I have attached).

Unfortunately I can't grind twice, the machine is not taking it.

erics wrote:Here's a link for parts and operating manuals for your machine: http://www.partsguru.com/SaecoAromaHomeEspresso.html .

That machine has a pressurized portafilter (of some sorts) and is inherently designed to work well with grinders of "lesser" quality. I owned a Rio Vapore about 12 years ago and it worked wonders at school fairs, dinners, etc., where dozens of shots in a row were the norm.

Does your friend's machine have the same exact portafilter as yours? That's an ideal situation to easily resolve problems whatever the root cause.

That machine has a pressurized portafilter (of some sorts) and is inherently designed to work well with grinders of "lesser" quality.
Does it means that my Maestro grinder should be ok ?
So what's happen if there is a problem on the portafilter and it is not pressurized anymore ?

My friend has the same machine (Saeco Aroma). I imagine that the portafilters are the same for all of those machines. Unfortunately my friends is at 600km, so not easy for me to do some tests

EDIT : new question : if there is a problem on my pressurized portafilter, is tamping hard the cofee would compensate this problem ? Or should I buy a new portafilter anyway ?

I have been using a Baratza grinder for years with good results. I find that what affects crema most is the freshness of the beans, but you've ruled that out. The fact that even with your coffee shop's very fine grind, results in a 15 second pull would seem to indicate your machine. Generally a very fine grind and a hard tamp would cause the machine to "bog down" with only a small trickle of espresso. Also, I've never heard of this before but try checking your filter basket and porta filter for any small cracks or holes that shouldn't be there.

I imagine that the portafilters are the same for all of those machines.

You imagine incorrectly . Some of those portafilters have an elaborate pressurization scheme and others simply have a drilled hole of "x" dimension in the basket or beneath it.

Did you read/look at some of the docs in the link I sent? A phonecall to your friend might be a worthy adventure. Can your portafilter handle rotate about 30 degrees (from right to left) after you have locked it in? If so, some instructions say to leave it in this position until you hear the pump "go quiet" and then enable flow by moving the handle slightly to the left. Is this how your machine operates?

Does it means that my Maestro grinder should be ok ?

The machine was designed with grinders of that class in mind.

Yes, my portafilter does exactly that (the 30 degrees).
However holding it on the right position then releasing it does not work : holdind the handle on the right does not block the water.

Yes, I read the links you sent. Thank you.
Unfortunately I'm doing exactly as they said. Even when I check their troubleshouting document, I'm doing the correct steps.

I'll probably have to wait a couple of months for my friend to come over with his own portafilter so I can try it. Hopefully there will be a problem only with the portafilter (easy to change).

The more I search, the more it seems to be a material problem
I'm very close to just sell my machine a buy a new and better one. I must resist !