brokemusician77 wrote:Randy G., I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to come off as snotty, or with attitude. I do apologize. I will read your article, and am thankful for resources like this.

The fact that my response didn't scare you of or cause an over-reaction is a very good sign, indeed. Very good!!

We all started at a beginning without realizing just how long this road is. As you will read on my website, back in late 2000, I started out think that spending $125 for an espresso machine and using my VERY cheap burr grinder that we had been using for flaxseed would be sufficient. Just a few short weeks later, my first invoice for the goods I bought (Silvia, Rocky, Hearthware precision roasted ) was over $800 as I remember (in current dollars I think that is about $1.3 Billion, but I was an art major). I used Rocky and Silvia for about 6½ years. When I bought them I had never even tasted a straight espresso! Now I work in the coffee industry and my current espresso machine and grinder combo sell for about what I paid for my car.

I had been a writer for some time before that, and so as soon as I started I began my website. Again, without any sense where it would take me, it is now over 100 chapters of bloggish writing, documenting the same journey upon which you now begin. What began as a fun hobby has become an obsession. Heck- I own 7 coffee roasting appliances (Had 8 but sold one... not counting the Poppery popcorn machines I have given away and sold).

In those 8+ years I have made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot... well, that's an understatement because when I started I basically knew nothing about "espresso." Depending on how much motivation you have you can go as far as you like as well.

And as far as this forum goes, you need to take into account that it is home of some scientists who apply what they know to coffee. One actually used an electron microscope to examine ground coffee in a grinder review to quantify particle size distribution! Another invented and is marketing a highly regarded instrument to measure brew temperature of water where it meets the coffee in espresso machines. me? I have written two owners manuals for two highly respected coffee appliances, and created a website for the manufacturer for a coffee roaster manufacturer, and still I consider myself on the lower rungs of the espresso ladder of knowledge, especially around here.

So if you are serious, open a cold one or pull a hot one, sit back, and relax. It's a long road and none of us are in a hurry to get to the end of it.

brokemusician77 wrote:Also, when looking at the difference in grounds between "8" & "9", I see very little difference in size. Perhaps it's not the grinder that's causing this at all?

There shouldn't be much of a difference. With a good espresso grinder, one "click" can be around 0.001" (0.0254mm) in difference in space between the burrs.

As for bean freshness, I have loads of rusty (not blonde or white) crema coming through. If the beans were less than fresh, the crema shouldn't look like that. Should it? Even with a 12 second shot, I've got about an inch of crema, even after the cup has settled for 30 sec.

Crema color and amount in and of itself is not an accurate indicator of coffee freshness or espresso quality. Sure, very pale, thin crema means there is a problem, but dark, rich, thick crema is not an indication of quality coffee beans or quality espresso. I have pulled shots with thick, dark, rich crema that I sipped and couldn't spit out fast enough.

I should mention here that, it is an unfortunate truth that the "beginners'" espresso set up such as you have (and many that are more expensive) are the most difficult to use to produce good espresso. They operate in the widest range of parameters in areas where narrow control is needed and they offer little to nothing in the way of giving the user a way to control those parameters. As you are learning, brew temperature is just one of those. So that's the bad news. The good news is that over the next year or three, if you stick to it, this machine will cause you to be very careful and precise as you hone your technique, and you will learn about the things you can control and those you can't. If and when you get a 'real" machine and quality grinder you will be amazed at the difference, and you will have the skills it takes to get the best from them.

What kind of music do you do? What do you play?
See about me here:
http://www.myspace.com/RandyGBlues
and my group
http://www.myspace.com/PhatBoyzBlu

We are working on a self-produced CD at the moment.

brokemusician77 wrote:..I'm starting to think the brewing temperature is the issue, not the grinder.

Now you're just trying to get a lough out of us!

Did it occur to you that the problem may be both... or all three? maybe four?

You need to realize that the grinder is more important than the espresso machine. The espresso machine is an accessory to the grinder. That grinder is OK, but has a lot of limitations when it comes to espresso, and as time goes along you will learn that you will only be able to do so much with that set up.

iirc, that grinder, as a refurb, your grinder sells for about what a replacement burrset for my grinder goes for. That is a comparison of extremes, but it puts things into perspective. If there are any commercial restaurant supply stores around, keep checking them for a used Mazzer Super Jolly. These are very popular in commercial use, and with the failure of business they do show up. With a new set of burrs one of those could last the rest of your life. They are great grinders, built to stand up to commercial environments, and the grind they produce is excellent.