lolgun wrote:Hmm - I wonder if I've been doing something wrong then for the last 2 years. I've never had a shot that was 80-90% crema from my bottomless PF.

In my experience, every shot should pour as virtually 100% crema. This has been true for a wide variety of coffees and every "real" pump machine that I've used.*

Although the crema begins to dissipate immediately, my finished extractions run 80-90% crema. Without exception. The crema is finer with a regular spouted portafilter, but still in this range.

If I pulled a shot that was only 30% crema, I would wonder what went wrong. Sure, you can always ask "how does it taste". But that begs the question: why is crema production so low? I am not going to bury my head in the sand and ignore compelling visual evidence. When two pours look dramatically different, there is a strong likelihood that they will taste different as well.

* Levers are a different animal when it comes to crema.

RapidCoffee wrote:In my experience, every shot should pour as virtually 100% crema. This has been true for a wide variety of coffees and every "real" pump machine that I've used.*

Although the crema begins to dissipate immediately, my finished extractions run 80-90% crema. Without exception. The crema is finer with a regular spouted portafilter, but still in this range.

If I pulled a shot that was only 30% crema, I would wonder what went wrong. Sure, you can always ask "how does it taste". But that begs the question: why is crema production so low? I am not going to bury my head in the sand and ignore compelling visual evidence. When two pours look dramatically different, there is a strong likelihood that they will taste different as well.

* Levers are a different animal when it comes to crema.

Same here, and I have a Silvia.

That said, I recently read that high brew pressures can lead to more crema.

But yeah, my shots are at least 80% crema, before the dissipation process. And I have no idea why there are such large bubbles in the crema. The crema I get is extremely fine and smooth. Maybe you let it rest for too long?

Looks like fizz from coke or something... I would try coffee from another company and see if it produces the same result. I've never produced crema that looked like that...

I have a Silvia like you, so here's my advice.

First off, you're using too much coffee. 22-23 grams of coffee is too much, even for a triple basket.

I use a triple basket, and I dose to 18 grams generally. My max is 20 grams, because anything beyond that, and the nut on the shower screen will fracture the puck on contact.

Second, it would help if you can film a video of the extraction. Somehow, I get the feeling the extraction's not gonna look that appetizing... I've pulled some bad shots on the Silvia, and I've never gotten crema that looked like the second photo...