Hello everybody,

I am a new member of the forum.

At my work we have the Rancilio Classe 8 DE.

Recently, we have not been getting great espresso from the machine.

So we pulled a double shot and examined the different parameters during the brew.

It took about 45 seconds for the double shot (way too long). The brew pressure never exceeded 4 bars (Shouldn't it go up to about 8-9 bars?). We observed only a very thin layer of crema (It looked kind of blonde?).

The temperature was about right and the tamping was done properly with about the correct force.

So at this point, we're not sure if this is caused by:

1) The espresso machine not being able to produce the 8-9 bars of pressure (would this be caused by some mechanical failure in the internal components of the machine?)

or

2) Espresso fineness (We have tried a couple of different fineness and still about the same result was noticed, but not sure if we can further improve on this)

Anybody with experience in this machine and/or espresso have any ideas?

Thank you.

Do have a water filter AND softener installed?

jjeon wrote:The brew pressure never exceeded 4 bars (Shouldn't it go up to about 8-9 bars?). We observed only a very thin layer of crema.

Low crema production is the classic symptom of stale coffee or low brew pressure. Have you tried increasing the brew pressure (instructions)?

Limescale is a likely culprit. But, if you are using this class of machine, I assume you are using it in a coffee bar or restaurant and will need to get it fixed pronto. Don't wait for us amateurs to speculate on a solution. Call your service tech.

absolutely
call an authorized repair facility
( one than know rancilios of course is a plus since there are some particularities from other machines)

If you're sure of beans freshness and coffee preparation technique then I say what marshall and stefano said. I personally saw an example of how much damage an unauthorized person can cause. A barista thought backflushing was not enough so he decided he can thoroughly clean the machine (2 group classe 8 DE) by himself, ended up 2 complete group changes. And all he did was disassembling the machine's group heads, group gaskets, screens etc. when he saw he won't be able to, he decided to put everything back in place but lost both bolts for the groups, then instead of calling an authorized person, he went out and bought similar sized bolts from a no-name company. 2 weeks later both bolts rusted and broken "inside" group head, authorized technician had to work more than 24 hours to fix. In the end they had to cut open the whole top since there was no other way and it cost almost a brand new high-end consumer machine.

besides this machine is fully computerized, it can be anything from not backflushing regularly to an electronic or software failure. let professionals do their job, it will save you time and headache. There's not a price tag for time and headache

Thank you everyone for the replies.

I will keep your advice in mind.

Nice forum I have found.