Pardon me if this is the wrong forum. I'm new, it's my first post, and it seemed a reasonable place to start.

After the expected adjustment period to get the grind, tamp, etc. right, I have been making my espressos on my two-month old Gaggia Classic the same way with consistent results in extraction time, flavor, and crema produced. I'm using Intelligentsia Black Cat and what I know would be considered an inferior $30 Cuisinart burr grinder, but all has worked well until now.

A couple of days ago, my extractions changed to the - if I weren't desperate for my latte - undrinkable. The extraction became very fast and voluminous, black, bitter, with no crema. This seemed the result of too coarse a grind, so even though I was using the same I'd been using all along, I took it down one level of fineness, to the very finest. Made no difference. A harder tamp slows the extraction a bit, but does not change the result. I can't imagine what happened, but here are the only things I have done or noticed in these two days.

I did do a casual manual cleaning of the grinder while waiting for my shipment of Grindex to arrive. I thought maybe somehow the settings on the grinder got screwed up, though a I can't imagine how, and a second more serious cleaning has made no difference. It seems (I can't recall for sure) that the Gaggia is getting much hotter than before. It also seems (I don't recall for sure) that when I run some water through the brew head before the extraction that a rush of steam comes out greater than any previously. What I do know definitely is different is that during that water run, the water is much darker, with many more grounds than was the case before.

I will be very grateful for any insight. I've had a terrible run of luck with three different machines over the past six months and was feeling so pleased with my Gaggia.

ajadler wrote:I'm using Intelligentsia Black Cat and what I know would be considered an inferior $30 Cuisinart burr grinder, but all has worked well until now... I've had a terrible run of luck with three different machines over the past six months and was feeling so pleased with my Gaggia.

Despite your early success, I'm nonetheless suspicious of the grinder... because espresso is all about the grinder. Is yours one of these "fake burr" grinders?



If so, it's game over.

A high temp will blow water through the coffee puck, stale coffee will also behave that way but given your grinder, my money lies on it as being your root issue. I had a kitchenaid grinder (still have it actually) that uses the same kind of fake burr set. It works more like a hammer mill than a cutting grinder and will not produce a grind suitable for espresso (or anything else). You may want to look into a good hand grinder to keep the cost down.

Echoing what I've read 100 times and personally experienced...upgrading your grinder will make a much more measurable difference than a similar upgrade in your espresso machine.

I don't know why you are having sudden issues, but I know that a bad grinder will exaggerate any other minor changes in your process/setup.

All that being said, let's say the that the grinder isn't the issue then i'm thinking pressure or temperature!

Thanks, all, for the replies. They all make sense. That photo of the fake burr grinder is spot on - that's what I've got, and while I knew some of the info at the grinder link, it was an education. It doesn't seem that would lead to the sudden problem, though. What Eric S. wrote about steam thermostat control is making sense, too, given the high temp now and the rush of steam when I run water. In addition to looking into a better grinder, I'm going to try Eric's suggestion of steaming in the brew setting to test his hypothesis. If he's right, I am under warranty.

It's incredible, though. In the past six months, I had a the boiler on an eleven-month old Breville fail, then the boiler fail within two months on the warranty replacement, then my first Gaggia Classic delivered "dead on arrival" - it didn't turn on. Now this.

Well, that was it. Just steamed milk in the brew setting. Makes no difference. Time to contact Importika. Amazing.

Thanks again.

erics wrote: I'm guessing that your Gaggia brew thermostat has failed closed and the machine is constantly under steam thermostat control.

ajadler wrote:Well, that was it. Just steamed milk in the brew setting. Makes no difference.

Eric strikes again. I just had to post and say Thank you Eric. I've been watching forums for past year and you helped countless people. Somebody should send this man some coffee! Thank you.