2nd try I pulled some nice looking shots....bitter though. I am using single origins for now.
Tried an Ethiopian and a Rwandan. Bother were bitter. Finally went to a Brazil and all was good. Am I better off going by looks or tastes...to start with. What is the most probable reason for bitter?

I am using 14g consistently, that seems to be what I have read mostly. I am thinking my shots are taking a little too long, 30 secs. If I loosen the grind, it comes out thin, no crema to speak of. Should I use less than 14g?

I know there will be a lot of experimenting before I get it right. I like it so far. The Brazil was surely drinkable and it looked great to boot.

It sounds like you should make a faster flowing shot bitter is usually overextraction....if you're grinder is up to the task you should be able to grind a little bit coarser without going into the no resistance, no crema range.

but it's easy to confuse other aggressive flavours with bitter and you might want to try decreasing the dose and grinding finer....I've been using 12g with good results in my pre-millenium LP.

either way it's probably the grinder you'll have to fine tune to get the taste you want.

Right now I am using a Skerton, so its up to whatever I want for grinding. I am thinking the 12g and finer is the ticket. I tried more coarse and that wasnt going to work. Granted, this was my first day piddling with it.

A lot of things I have watched say that I should have a few drops, when I have the handle raised. I dont get any now with 14g. Not sure if I want that to happen or not. People seem mixed on it.

I find 13g (maybe a little more) is about as high as I go. If I push 14, the coffee ends up touching the screen, and I don't get as good an extraction.

I don't worry about seeing drips after preinfusion, but I do like to pull my shots a little tight.