If you're pulling shots consecutively it's likely temperature.

entropy4money wrote:Do you guys have any suggestions for me to improve my technique? thank you for all your answers.

you still haven't posted what grinder your using?

another_jim wrote:... If your espresso is just right, stay with what you have; if it's too blah, grind coarser and dose more coffee; if it's too strong, grind finer and dose less....

I have a prior version of the above quote ("in your face" instead of "strong") posted on the wall behind my grinder. I owe my enjoyment of single-origin light roasts to this quote. Thank-you Jim.

entropy4money,

I used to drink coffee from coffee shops.

This is a major part of your issue. You are unlikely be able to replicate espresso made using professional equipment with low-end machines. (You still haven't mentioned how your coffee is being ground. I'm beginning to suspect that you are using pre-ground.)

It could be the temperature, the grind, or my tamping (which I have noticed affects the flow a lot).

Yes, it does. Use a bathroom scale to measure your tamping pressure. Make sure your tamp is consistent as you change other variables one at a time.

I have to improve my espresso making technique first, it is much more complicated than what I thought it was going to be, and I am very picky about flavors, so it has to be excellent, not perfect, but excellent.

Do you guys have any suggestions for me to improve my technique?

Amigo, you have already been given suggestions by some of the best home baristas around, and you seem to be disregarding most of it.

Ok. thx for your help. I don't get ground coffee, I have a Baratza Virtuoso Burr grinder and a Hario ceramic manual grinder. I grind my coffee right before I brew it. And I am taking all your advice and considerations. I wasn't really surfing the temp so that's something I am going to do now, and I am going to try to get a more consistent proper tamping. After this, I will adjust the grind accordingly if the sourness is still there.

Thank you!!!

There's one answer right there, those grinders don't work for espresso. Virtuoso is for brew/coarse and is very good at doing that b/c it uses the Preciso burr set. The Preciso however adds micro adjustment which is needed to act step-less for dialing in, regular Virtuoso steps are too wide. Preciso/Vario/Forte are Baratzas espresso grinders, the Encore and Virtuoso are for brew/coarse use. The Hario doesn't work either, steps are too large and it has a world, if you have the Skerton you have to do the step-less lock nut mod and can also do the OE bearing mod to help stabilize it.

Looks like one big part of your problem is your grinders, look into a grinder upgrade, else it's akin to beating your head against a wall and you'll still be frustrated. You keep mentioning grinding fine, this is one of the biggest misconceptions of espresso, plenty of cheap grinders can grind fine and even choke machines, doesn't mean anything. Usually b/c they have poor fines/dust control, my old Capresso Infinity could choke a commercial machine, but was useless for espresso. Espresso grinders have burr sets made to grind not only fine with with the correct grind quality and consistency at the fine level and controlling fines/dust production. That, and they are step-less or act step-less for dialing in which is mandatory for espresso.

Thank you for your answer. That's the one I have, the Hario Skerton ceramic which is the one i've been using for espresso., and I have it set up with the step-less lock nut. I can invest on a better grinder, but not yet. I use the Virtuoso for french press coffee.

Gotcha. yeah here's the issue, the Skerton can sorta work when modded, I say "sorta", as you can pull a shot..... but it won't taste anything like a real espresso grinder, its a real tiny burr set and doesn't do well with fines/dust control. Its better than nothing and most are happy with that starting out as they don't know better, especially if budget is tight. However since you've had good espresso, your palate knows what it likes, and more then likely the Hario just isn't going to work in that sense. I have a Hario Mini which is basically the same just slimmer, use it for traveling if a hotel or place were renting has a brew pot.

I would stick with it for now, and save up for a better grinder, as well as PID to help with temp control which you can get cheap and do yourself. Those two things can help you immensely on that setup. How much are you dosing by the way if you haven't mentioned it? If you haven't already, pick up a digi scale that reads to .1 grams so you can know your dose.

I don't have a scale either... I am just starting, I'll get one soon. By the way, I made another espresso today. Surfed the temp, and tried to get a better tamping than last time. I got a very good quality espresso . Still a bit sour at the end but just at the very end, but just a little bit so that's not bad. I could taste all the different profiles so that's pretty good. The body tasted perfect, and crema was dark and beautiful. I am not drinking water or anything for a while, this is staying in my mouth for the next half an hr at least . It makes me very happy to have a good espresso, specially if I made it myself! very rewarding.

Thank you so much for all your help!!! next step, getting a scale as cmin suggested, then PID and after that a better grinder . But while I am learning i'll stick with the skerton. Honestly it was a very good espresso, not like the one I have at my favorite coffee shop, but something I would sit, enjoy and don't throw away.

thanks for all your advice!!!

I'm with you on the espresso from Venezuela, I lived there for a few years in the late 70's and to date the best coffee, beef, pork, and cigarettes (Belmonts) I've ever had I got in Caracas.......!