Hi there, I'm new here.

I just purchased an awesome Rancilio Silvia machine, which is probably the best 500 euros I've ever spent.

I also bought a heavy Motta tamper to go with it.

So far my home-made shots have been pretty good, but I've noticed that when I remove the portafilter, I can see a slight "pitting" in the middle of the used coffee. I read somewhere that's not a good thing, because that means I didn't get full extraction.

I used a slight downward press to stack the coffee in the portafilter, followed by a couple of spins.


How do I prevent the said "pitting"?


Thanks!

Thats probably the screw on the showerhead making an impression on the puck.

Try doing this, fill your basket and tamp as usual, lock your portafilter in but then take it out. If you have an impression in the middle of the puck, you're filling the basket too full. Try to dose less coffee into the pf next time and do the same thing again.

It could also be related to spinning the tamper in the basket. There is really no need to "polish" the puck. After you check the dose (as mentioned above), try a few shots without spinning the tamper and see if that helps.

Good luck.

Thanx guys I'll give it a shot!