James M wrote:Just had a look at the PID kit, that looks cool. At the moment I run the machine for 5-10s before pulling a shot, no idea if this makes a difference though.

It is worth doing a search on H-B, Yahoo and elsewhere for information. This thread Adjust Brewing Temperature of Gaggia Classic was one of several I found by searching for Gaggia Classic Temperature Management in the H-B forums.

Still working on perfecting the grind, pulled a few over extracted cups today.

Bit strange but the roof of my mouth and my tongue are a bit sore, is this because the espresso was over extracted?

Almost got it!

Shots are now coming out at 20-25s, will I have to change the grind much when I buy different beans or is a tweak here and there?

Shots are slightly bitter still.

Sounds like you are getting there. Yes, you will have to make some changes when you change beans, as the beans age, and even when the weather, humidity and temperature change.

Should be minor adjustments though right?

Having trouble telling when the shot is blonding, is it when it goes slightly lighter or when its very light and translucent?

The rule of thumb I use for blonding is that I try to cut the shot just before I get any light spots marking the crema. With a lot of espresso blends you'll be able to see this change pretty quickly (and clearly) in the crema, a light spot will show up all of sudden, it's a quick change - that means I should have cut the shot a couple seconds ago. Obviously, this is one of the guidelines that's more useful when I pull the next shot and know about how long it's going to run.

There was a video on here talking about the right point to cut a shot... found it When did this espresso extraction go blond? [video quiz] which is very interesting, it points out some visual clues besides just color for when to stop the shot.

For me, more important than a rule of thumb, or the color of the crema is tasting the shot as it pours, I will just use a teaspoon and grab a small sample from the pour at different stages (the first few drops, 10 seconds in, right at the end, etc.). Usually the taste changes noticably throughout as the shot progresses, all good flavors that blend together to make the final cup, but at the end it usualy turns in to overextracted dishwater. Cutting the shot before that stuff can get in to the cup makes a huge difference. Again, this is something that won't save this shot, but it will help me pull my next shot better.