HI could anybody tell me how to get a nice thick foamy layer on my espresso my shots are mostly black.

The pressure is now at 1.2-1.3.bar
I'm using lavazza espresso coffee

Others, please chime in if you disagree or to add info that I missed!

The answer is Fresh Coffee, Fresh Coffee, Fresh Coffee! Any canned or processed ground coffee will last about a day from opening or grinding. This is ok for a maker that does not extract under high pressure. ie. Vacuum or pourover pots. The high pressure releases aromatic oils and fine particles that make-up the crema. A coffee that has been ground for a bit of time has dried out and many aromatics have escaped.

If you are using the Riviera, try pulling at a pressure of 1 bar. Just shut off the power at a bit before the needle gets to 1 bar. I set my lever machines to .9-1 bar for use. For a electric pump machine, that may be raised a bit to allow better steaming. Some machines should run at a higher temp due to internal considerations and use the the group to cool the water to the PF.

It took me a while to learn that the coffee beans in my local market were far from the roasting date and piled upon the beans that had sat there for months. I even found a roaster that would not sell the fresh roasted beans but told the attendant to sell me what was in the bin. I have not been back. Most beans should rest for a couple days to a week to allow excess carbon dioxide to escape. Lots of crema but a slightly acid taste from fresh beans. Buy Arabica rather than Robusta if you can. They make a milder more flavorful cup.

If you go to "Too Much Coffee" the European forum someone local to you may be able to help locate fresh roasted beans in your area. Many of those folks hang out here also.
You may consider getting about a quarter kilo at a time if you only have a couple pulls a day. That lasts me a week.
Many Happy Pulls!
-Richard

Tnx for the tips!

i'm learning everyday!!

An alternative to buying freshly roasted is to buy green beans, perhaps through some seller with a web page, and then roast at home.
It is not as hard as you might think. Well... making an absolutely perfect coffee roast is probably rather harder than you think.
But simply making a good roast of, say, a Colombian or an Ethiopian coffee, for yourself with your oven, a frying pan or any of the small scale coffee roasters - that is easy. If you want to try home roasting and want help with it through this forum, just ask. There is even a whole sub-forum on H-B dedicated to it.