Hey guys,

New to the hobby here, finally got a lever machine and need some help/advise. I may have figured out my problem as I was getting some pictures ready to add to this post.

My "new" Sama Export...


The problem is I don't seem to be getting that creamy espresso shot I have seen depicted coming out of some of these lever machines. I actually am getting very little out on the 1st pull of the lever. I have to take a 2nd pull, then a 3rd pull to actually fill the 2oz up. (see pics below).

Now I suspect my grinder, and the pics of my puck may support this. But I thought I would post and get advice from Peace Cup and others that use this machine. My grinder is a Capresso Infinity, it is a conical burr grinder (not stepless). I am using fresh beans and grinding one step above what will choke the Sama. At this grind level, a strong tamp will still choke, a medium tamp will get the results shown below, and a weak tamp will get water flowing on the down pull.

Photos of the pull...

Start...


End of 1st pull...


End of 2nd pull...


End of 3rd pull...


The puck ends up with what looks like a "crater". The photo below shows this. I had to overexpose to show the crater, in doing this I was how I had some very coarse grounds mixed in. Is this ultimately my problem? Inconsistent grind from my grinder?

Puck...


Puck closer...


Any help would be great...

Thanks

First off, congratulations on a beautiful machine.

I have a Lusso, but I think the two are similar enough for these comments to be pertinent.

First, make sure you have fully bled off false pressure. This will probably require a couple of false pressure bleeds to make sure. Otherwise the boiler will be at a low pressure and water will feed slowly or not at all to the group upon your first pull, and the pull amounts will be anemic.

I don't know how far one step from choking is on your grinder, but I think you are grinding too fine. With a full piston of water, when the pull starts it should flow between drops and a stream, just between the two. You can favor one side to the other to suit your taste, but there is no need to begin to stall out the machine, or to have the flow go so freely that there is under extraction.

As for the tamp, I prefer a light one, as this is easier for me and the results are great, with less potential for damage to the puck. I adjust the grind to get the flow I want with the tamp I prefer. If I want a firmer tamp, for example, I will accordingly loosen the grind.

The grind does look a little uneven. The Export likes fresh coffee best, less than two weeks after roasting, although I currently use commercial Italian beans with good results. You'll get less crema after the beans are more than 3-4 weeks old, possibly two weeks.

Regardless, the piston only produces about 15 ml per pull, which means 3-4 pulls to fill the Bodum glass you're using. Although I still sometimes use three pulls, I most often use two for straight espresso. You'll find that these have more body. Most of the videos I posted used a 1-oz shot glass, and two pulls. With good beans these should pour as all crema, then settle out with a nice layer on top.

You can probably get good results if you experiment with your current grinder. I like to dose the PF quite full and tamp firmly (10 lbs?) but be careful not to grind too finely if you try this. If the first pull pours very slowly don't fret, just interrupt it by pulling the lever down again (treating the first as a pre-infusion), and taking two more pulls. Forget the 30-sec rule. You can get fine results with shots that last 45-sec or longer.

With a little trial and error the pucks will look better because you'll be getting more even extractions.

Thanks for the responses so far.

What is the proper procedure for bleeding off the false pressure on this machine?

Any feedback on the "cratering" in the puck? It is always in the exact same spot. At about "11 o'clock" looking straight down on it when it is locked in.

I will experiment with the grind and tamping some.

The grind does look a little uneven.

It really does, from mud to coarse.

Bleed off false pressure by opening up the steam valve, let the steam run out for about 10 seconds, then close up the valve. When the boiler comes to a rest, repeat the procedure. After awhile you can forget the number of seconds required and you will bleed off the right amount of false pressure by instinct. Still, this usually requires more than one time on my machine.

Any feedback on the "cratering" in the puck?

Have you cleaned the dispersion screen—it might be clogged? I pop mine off with a screwdriver every four or five days and clean it in Joe-Glo along with my portafilter and baskets. It snaps right back into place.

I have not tried that. I will give it a shot in a little bit...

Thanks

Another question...

What about my pressure/temp... The only way I have to measure it is with a digital thermometer as it comes out the portafilter. If I test it with no espresso in the basket, steam straight water into the espresso cup the digital thermometer reads about 191f... Is that about right? Should it be a little hotter? It so what direction do I adjust the pressurestat?

I also have a red Export. Looking at your shot, and trusting that you are using fresh beans, it does look like your pressure might be a bit high. Without a pressure gauge, the only way to know is by taste.

If your espresso is bitter, regardless of what you do, then you should try reducing the pressure. This is very easily done. Unplug the machine, drain it, and place it down on its side. Remove the feet, open the bottom plate, and try turning the p-stat counterclockwise by about 1/8 of a turn (it does not take much). Then go by taste.

Also try loosening your grind by a notch, and putting a bit more coffee in the pf. The Export produces more crema from a faster pull than from a slow one. Don't bother trying to get 2oz. Try getting rich, dark crema from 2 pulls. Finally, a little preinfusion can help. Slowly lower the lever until you can hear the water entering the group. Slowly release the lever until coffee starts to drip from the pf. Then slowly lower the lever again and gently let it go to finish the first pull.

Mark

For my money, much of the problem is, I suspect, the grinder. Much of what's visible looks really coarse to me. Most of what I've read about the Infinity states it's OK for drip, not for espresso (I've never tried one). I have a lever and a pump machine and think you ought to look to your grinder first. If budget's a problem, find a nice hand grinder (like Peacecup uses). Michael

all the tips here are sound but I do agree with the last one: there is something wrong with that grinder- way too much variation in the grinds.

If you find that the pull is easy enough with little resistance - try packing more into the basket at the start- if there is enough packed in there shouldn't be any spare room for that 'crater' to form again...

I know from bitter experience how hard it is to get a good lever shot with a bad grinder. I never got really great shots from my Pavoni until I upgraded my grinder. The improvement was immediate and dramatic. I find with these machine you need to adjust the grind from bean to bean to get the best results. Darker beans generally need a slightly coarser grind.

In Italy we use that kind of grinding with moka pots.
with my Sama , the first pull takes about 18 - 20 seconds after the lever release.

It looks like half the grind is turkish size (the looks-like-clay layer just below the top) and the other half is vac pot size (the larger particles). Also quite a bit of channeling holes, unless I am mistaken? If the grind size varies a lot, this can be the cause of the channeling.

I would suggest to try another grinder, and preferrably a fresh (less than a month old if bought in a commercial package with backflow valve, but even better is if you can roast it at home for yourself, then you really know how fresh it is) bag of beans.
Grinders that will do are the ones that grind for espresso. Flat burr grinders are more common, but there are a couple of conical burr grinders with consumer-friendly pricing too.
Without naming any particular model or brand, when deciding what grinder to try/loan, look for the kind of burrs that cut the coffee, not the ones that crush it. Of course, you could also ask your local barista to grind some up for you, but getting the grind right will take some experimenting and several re-visits to the bar.

This great web page: http://www.kwilson.fsnet.co.uk/burrs.htm is still on the web, thanks to mr. Wilson. It has images of most of the available burr types on the home market. Good flat ones for espresso look like the Faema MP78, Mazzer Mini and Rocky on that page. Bad flat ones for espresso are the likes of the Russell Hobbs, Petra, and Gaggia MM.

Well,

Still playing around, improving a little but not much. I am probably going to buy a vintage hand gringer from Orphan Espresso, just can't bring myself yet to drop $400-$500 on a high end grinder.

In terms of adjusting pressure, the suggestion was 1/8 turn... The question is, which screw??
Red or Green?

one more tip to avoid "craters": pull the lever down slowly until you hear the water flush . Stay steady for some seconds , than go down again. wait the first drops than release the lever.

I would not give up on the grinder just yet. I think the whole business of needing a $1000 grinder is overrated. You may need to open the grind enough to be sure you don't have a lot of fine powder. Just disregard the larger grains if there are a few. (not saying a better grinder won't help make things easier and more consistent).

Try filling the basket close to the top with a grind that will allow a very slow stream the first pull. The second will be a little faster.

If you think its too hot (it says ouch! very loudly when you touch the group, or taste the espresso right after the pour), you can test this easily. Fill the machine and turn it on, and grind the coffee immediately. As soon as the machine is up to temp (light off), let out the false pressure once and wait a minute. Pull the shot without any warming of the group. A cool group will sink a lot of excess boiler heat off the brew water, getting it down to proper temperature.

I just did this a minute ago. The espresso was very good, and it reminded me of why I always like to brew with a cooler group.

Lvx wrote:one more tip to avoid "craters": pull the lever down slowly until you hear the water flush . Stay steady for some seconds , than go down again. wait the first drops than release the lever.

Hi Lvx,
I am a new Lusso user and I find your tip here to be interesting. Are you suggesting that the preinfusion process should begin with the slow opening of the flood gate with steam and gentle gush of water instead of a swift pull to the bottom? On my machine there is a slightly delayed action when I bring the lever down, only steam and droplets would be released for a split second before the shower head releases water in full force. Is that delayed action meant to help the puck to harden and expand before full pressure hits the surface?