Hi everyone,

This is my first post although I have been lurking in here for some time now...I must say this is such an informative website...excellent.
I am from New Zealand and until last week enjoyed my coffee from a Breville 800 series machine...then I couldn't help myself, bought a new Elektra Mcal [copper & brass] and set about pulling the perfect shot...disaster!! all the reading & studying I have been doing on here has amounted to nothing as all I am getting is bitter tasting coffee with not much crema..

The machine heats up just to the top of the green on the gauge so there doesn't seem to be a problem there...I am using beans just over a week old...beans are fine with my old machine...
I am using a Sunbeam conical burr grinder, [24 settings] which is rated quite high down this part of the world..
The only way I can get about a 25 second shot is to grind at a setting of 5 with a medium tamp...all this produces is dark red bitter coffee....does not goop out just runs slow....virtually no crema..

I have tried through to setting 10 on the grinder but it produces about the same...

After more reading on here I decided that it maybe a heat issue since it seems to be over-extracting so I tried pulling a shot after I switched the machine off...to no avail..
But then I can't see why I should have to switch the machine off and on to achieve a good shot...

I am at my wits end after two days now and starting to wish this thing had never come into my life.lol
however not being a quitter I must forge on until I crack this thing and any bits of advice would be really appreciated...as you can probably gather this is first time I have come in contact with a lever machine...

Thanks in advance for any help

My thoughts (and I'm novice):

a) over extraction - water too hot, too long or channeling resulting in one area of the puck being over extracted
b) scalding - temperature of the water too hot
c) very fine solids in the shot - grinder burrs misaligned
d) coffee bean itself is bitter but the difference in machine is resulting in a different output?

Was the shot a single or a double (just trying to get an idea of how much is in the basket).

Just some thoughts to look at/rule out.

thanks Nick...

I only have a double basket...I level off to the top of the basket and then tamp from there...Top of tamped grinds at least one quarter of an inch from the top.. yes I suspect water too hot as well but not sure how to get temp down...surely I don't have to switch machine off & on all the time, that can't be good for it...Looks as though I will have do do some reading up on how to lower the presurestat...I am not expecting any more than two shots until I get the thing sorted and then maybe three shots at the most..

I will search what others are running temp at..

thanks..

After doing some reading I am convinced that the temp on my machine is set right... when the red light goes off the temp sits in the middle to end of green range...about right I reckon...

I will work harder on my grind & tamp.

Aha so you were the winner. I lusted after that machine but didn't bid. It's beautiful. I only have experience with the Pavoni lever I'm afraid but I know that it is much fussier about grind and bean freshness than my old semi automatic. Did your old machine have a pressurized PF like mine did? Those things really let you get away with pretty much anything. My only suggestion would be to try with really fresh beans from a reputable roaster. Do you have anywhere down there? The beans I like to use are Atomic's Veloce blend but I'm able to go straight to the roastery here in Auckland. I found buying their beans anywhere else was pretty risky. Of course, one other option is to give up altogether and send the machine to me I won't mind at all. Hope you have some better luck with it soon.
Sam.

Ha ha.... Sam I wish you had bid on it now...

I get my beans from a woman in Manurewa who sends them down to me freshly roasted 1KG at a time...the beans have been good up till now...I don't know of anyone around Rotorua who has them....I will call into Robert Harris or Starbucks tomorrow and see if I can buy some real fresh.
Yes my old machine was like yours and worked amazingly well...wish I hadn't sold it now because this instant stuff isn't going down too well.
Trying new beans will at least eliminate stage one..

Filled with concrete the machine would make a great boat anchor!

This little thing is not going to beat me!

I think you might be lucky to find anything really fresh from *$$$ or Robert Harris. Ideally you probably want to stick with the beans you're already familiar but just get some fresher ones. Conventional wisdom says no more than 7-10 days past roast. Don't despair though. I know these levers do take a bit of learning. It took me several weeks to get things really happening with my Pavoni. Once you do get there, then you'll not want to go back to a semi-automatic. The lever shots are just wonderful. Theoretically your learning curve should be a bit shorter as I understand spring levers are supposed to be a bit easier to use. Hopefully someone who knows this machine can help... anyone?

PS The Elektra machines shouldn't be used as boat anchors as they frighten the fish.

Kiwi wrote:The only way I can get about a 25 second shot is to grind at a setting of 5 with a medium tamp...all this produces is dark red bitter coffee....does not goop out just runs slow....virtually no crema.

Remember that brew temperature for this espresso machine is a moving target; whether you're pulling shots or not, the grouphead is going to overheat eventually and no longer act as a heat sink for the (steam temperature) boiler water. You can stall the inevitable by applying wet towels to the grouphead, locking in a cold portafilter, etc., but the real answer is learning the right rhythm.

For the Microcasa, that means letting it warm up (12 minutes), a half flush to even out the grouphead temperature, then lock and load the portafilter/basket. Cock the lever, wait up to 10 seconds for preinfusion, then release. If you want a fuller double, recock it when the lever is nearing the last of its stroke. In my experience, the first shot runs cool, the second is frequently the best, the third is acceptable, and the fourth is only "cappuccino worthy" (brew temperature too high).

Mark offers more specifics in Elektra Micro Casa a Leva - Operation and Maintenance. HB members have contributed a lot of detailed how-to information; I searched on Elektra Microcasa Leva (titles only), which led to threads like Elektra Microcasa a Leva Techniques I, Elektra Microcasa a Leva Techniques II, and Getting started with the elektra microcasa a leva.

As a starting point I would suggest you dose into a small bowl and then use a spoon to dose into the basket with a +-0.1 gram scale. Then tap the basket to settle slightly, and tamp very lightly or not at all. Once you have the grind right (more or less), just vary the dose. I'm not sure what you should be dosing on this machine, but this should help you eliminate variables in a systematic manner.

Also be absolutely sure you have fresh beans. You may want to try a different place to get beans just as a comparison.

Hi Kiwi,
Lots of different approaches seem to work for different people at different times.

I grind into a small bowl and then transfer to the group handle with a teaspoon. Half fill then tamp (I suspect lightly compared to the conventional wisdom), finish filling then tamp lightly again. Two heaped teaspoons in each half, I don't use a scale, I just judge by eye and volume and by how the last shot tasted. You might try a little more coffee in the basket, sometimes its good to have the grounds press against the shower (you can feel it as you lock it in).

I've noticed that when I go away for a few weeks, it takes a while (several days of use) for the coffee to taste good again. Something to do with flushing the machine perhaps. When the machine was new the coffee tasted quite odd for a while and it might just be some taste leaching into the water or something building up inside. Maybe you are seeing something like that.

I don't see much crema from my machine, but I would have thought that dark red was a good sign. When you say runs slow, do you mean drips or a constant stream? If its drips, a shade less coffee or a shade coarser, if its a stream, a shade more coffee or a shade finer, and you should be fine. Don't stress about 25 seconds so much as about the flow rate, and getting those long slow gloops.

Greg