Hi,

I just purchased my first espresso machine, so a little disclaimer... I have no idea wtf I am doing.

The machine was used for about a year (apparently rather occasionally, but who really knows). I think I sort of have the grind and dose dialed in to a coarse #10, 10 second grind on my Vario. I give it a good tamp and let her rip, but I notice that the espresso sort of comes out in pulses instead of a constant drip. Is there something I'm doing wrong, possible equipment issue? Any ideas?

Thanks!

If you can't figure it out here I am in boulder so I'd be happy to help. What was the condition of the machine? Descaled?

Maybe a finer grind, pulsing sounds like the pump pushing through too coarse a grind.

Not to ask the obvious, but how does the espresso taste? That said, if you post a video of a bottomless portafilter extraction, we can evaluate whether this is idle musing or problematic. Off the top of my head, the only thing that comes to mind is possibly pressure drops due to a cycling PID controller. Some PID controllers cycle the heating element every second, which can lead to brew pressure fluctuations.

Video would help a lot, even if it's not bottomless.

Are the beans fresh?

If brew ratio and taste are OK, i wouldn't worry too much about it.

This is a HX machine, no PID.

My portafilters are not bottomless, but I can try to grab a video tomorrow morning.

Beans are local, but store-bought. Freshly ground of course. Will try to adjust the grind to be a bit finer and not tamp it down as hard.

I think I might know what you are talking about. When using a spouted PF with VST baskets it does looks to me like the stream is pulsating sometimes when I am going for full doubles. I also happen to have a manometer on my group head so I know it is not pressure fluctuations.

I believe it is simply turbulence from the filter letting through coffee fairly quickly and the shape of the bottom of the PF and the spout itself.
Definitely tighten up on the grind to slow down how fast the coffee is coming out. Try making some true ristrettos just to see if that pulsing goes away. (you want the pour to take at least 25 seconds without filling the espresso cup)

Get a scale and measure how much ground coffee you are using and how much espresso you are making in 25-30 seconds.

Boxcar down on Pearl has some decent beans, usually within the week roast dates. Luna is out of Denver and is my favorite medium roast and they'll make them available just after roasting. Both work nice in both the Hx and the levers.

Thanks for the tips.

Going to buy a metric ton of box car beans today to practice.

Funny how fast I went from nespresso to coffee snob.

damadama wrote:Hi,

I just purchased my first espresso machine, so a little disclaimer... I have no idea wtf I am doing.

The machine was used for about a year (apparently rather occasionally, but who really knows). I think I sort of have the grind and dose dialed in to a coarse #10, 10 second grind on my Vario. I give it a good tamp and let her rip, but I notice that the espresso sort of comes out in pulses instead of a constant drip. Is there something I'm doing wrong, possible equipment issue? Any ideas?

Thanks!

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but a 10 on the macro on the vario is a super coarse setting. They are calibrated to work espresso more in the 2 macro range. Am I missing something?

Yeah, I meant coarse 2 or fine 3