Thank you for the offer, Jack, but before you send it to me, I have a bag from another roaster I respect. The stuff has been too sour for my taste so I let it rest longer than usual. It's now mellowing out. At the least, consider keeping some for longer than you think you should and let us know if it improves.

I bought two bags and will keep one.

But, that link from Robert Palvis solved the weak lever pull and increased the volume of the shot by at least a third. I have done "backflushing" - lifting the lever without the portafilter to rinse the group head. After reading his post, my thought was a consistent flow meant temperature was stabilized in the group head. So lifted the lever until the steam/water ran consistently into a discard cup, then put in the portafilter and pulled the shot.

Holy Cow!


The lever had a firm pull, all the way through.

Terrific! (We need an Applause emoticon).