After a Mrs Silvia and an Expobar Office Lever, I have moved up (or down depending on your perspective)
to a Gaggia Achille. Lured in by hopes of incredible taste and arm exercise, I took the plunge and got one,
yes even after reading the reviews and posts here

So, the Achille is here, I like it, looks great, no leaks yet. However, I am burning through my beans
(which is kind of pricy) trying to find the grind size that the Achille likes. Here is why I am concerned
about this... Pulling a shot takes a lot LESS effort than I see on the video on H-B.com, and I do not get a
lot of espresso out of the double basket. This is of course compared to the Office Lever. It seems
to take 1.5 times as much ground beans and I get about 1/2 of what my Office Lever produces, using
the technique described in the video and in the manual. Is this normal?

I suppose I am expecting a double out of it like I would get out of Silvia or the Lever. I tried
going finer on the Rocky grinder I have, to the point of almost having the burrs touch, in an
effort to get the pressure up (it just seems way too easy) and of course I get less espresso. Going
in the other direction yields a bit more, but then I start loosing a lot of creama. (it comes out all black,
no creama). This is a fresh bag of Lavazza super creama, and loading up the Lever produces a nice cup,
so I am thus far doubting its the beans. Does anyone has pointers on the grind I should be shooting for?

As a side note, I note in the video/review he mentions the tamp in the portafilter so that you have
about 2mm or less, and that the beans should not touch the group head shower screen. I have
to pack them WAY down for it not to touch. 4-5mm at least. This seems odd to me, but any higher
and if I pull the portafilter the screen has crammed into them.

Any ideas/help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have one as well; I don't have the same problems as you have, but I did have to play a little with it at first. I tend to grind a little coarser then I do with my Viebemme, but not much. My suggestion is to consider getting a better grinder. I haven't used a Rocky, but everything I have read suggests that a better grinder will get you the results you are looking for. Right now I have a Mazzer mini and have no complaints. Thinking about upgrading soon though. Good luck! - Jason

@number9,
try local fresh roasted beans, i mean "fresh"!
Levers are very sensitive to freshness of your beans,
been there, done that, Lavazza only for superautos.
Greets

To second the advice above: prepackaged bags of coffee beans cannot be "fine-tuned" in the way freshly roasted beans can. Also, a stepless grinder, while not de rigueur, will improve your results.

Also, a piston-cylinder holds a finite amount of water. It is not a continuous pump, unless you make multiple pulls. Your expectations should be based on the machine design, right? To increase beverage water-volume: Fellini-style preinfusion, tamp very lightly, moderate dose.

You have control over the dose.

Thanks for all of the advice. I now have a new problem with the machine...
Three times already it has "blown" the group head gasket out of the group head.
That is to say, I am a bit into the shot pull, holding both the lever and
the handle on the portafilter, and bam, water/coffee/espresso/grinds will start
flying out of the group head. I take the portafilter out and see (after I clean
it, myself, the counter, the floor, etc) that the gasket has come out of the
group head and has twisted.

At first, I thought perhaps I was using too much force, but I am your average sized
person that does not do powerlifting. It surely does not feel like I am doing 1/2 of
what that guy in the H-B video seems to be doing. At any rate, I called the place I ordered it
from, and they told me the gasket was most likely not seated properly at the factory
and to take it out and reseat it. I did that as per the instructions they gave, but
it did it again. And again. I have backed off to a much coarser grind and I am now
barely pulling on it for fear of espresso mess.

Anyone have an idea on that? :O I will make a note that when I insert the portafilter
and turn it to the right, it goes a LOT farther than the circle dot on the front (or put another
way, In most videos/pictures I see it lines up with the lever when locked, on this one
it is about at the same angle that you insert it in, but on the other side). Is that normal?
It make it a little tricky to hold the handle and the portafilter handle, as they are not in
the same vertical plane.

Anyway, wondering if I should return this for something else... On the flip side, I purchased
the optional wand as per the H-B recommendation and WOW, I am making the best foam I
have ever made. Micro bubbles all the way, soo smooth and creamy... It is painful to pour
it ontop of the espresso that has barely any crema and is very weak. Makes me think I
should make the espresso with the Expobar and froth with the Gaggia, but that would be
a very expensive milk frother.

Not sure what to do.

i've got an achille but have not experienced any of your problems. i do have a leaking steam valve but i'm waiting for the replacement. i love the machine and think it makes great espresso. i've got a grind setting near powder and use about 15 grams for a double. i think you should return and get another achille.
good luck
steve

number9 wrote:Three times already it has "blown" the group head gasket out of the group head.
----that the gasket has come out of the group head and has twisted.

I will make a note that when I insert the portafilter
----, on this one it is about at the same angle that you insert it in, but on the other side). Is that normal?

Was the machine new?
I reckon it has the wrong gasket in it.
It should line up with the lever as you mentioned, when fully engaged.
With the correctly sized gasket, there is no way of twisting it!

I love my Achille. It has produced at least 4 espressi daily for 2 years now.

With the double basket, try filling it to the top with grounds and use a scraper similar in shape to an espresso cup saucer to scrape the excess grounds off the portafilter to leave a slightly concave but full portafilter and tamp. The result is a compact puck 6-7mm below the top edge of the portaflter.
The grind is critical to a good crema result.

I would second sophiebar's suggestion of not over-filling. Leaving more room for the coffee to expand can sometimes change things very much to the better - I have never had the exploding coffee problem, but have heard others that have, when overfilling and then locking in the portafilter tightly.

But what you say about the portafilter going too far to the right sounds to me very much like you have the wrong dimensions on the shower screen gasket. Or maybe the gasket simply has gone old and hard and needs to be replaced.

Twisted group gasket? Pretty well unheard of as that Achille gasket is pretty much commercial size and very stiff. Sounds like you have the wrong group gasket in there. If you can lock the portafilter in place, this will "properly seat" most any group gasket.

number9 wrote:So, the Achille is here, I like it, looks great,----------

So after a month, how is progress? Have you resolved the problems?
Just curious. -