Hi!
First post.
Been doing this a little over a month so still real new.
My apologies if this has been addressed before or is posted in the wrong section.
been looking around for a little while for some sort of answer.
I'm working with a lelit PL41TQE and a Mazzer Super Jolly.
My coffee is roasted locally and rarely more than a week old.
Sometimes lighter, sometimes darker but pretty consistent in regards to a small volume shot.
Dosing somewhere around 14g - 16g
Got the grind down to somewhere within a 4 - 5 notch range.

OK, so it seems like sometimes i can get a good shot within a 20 - 35 second range before it blondes, but the shot volume ends up being less than a fluid ounce.

I've tried grinding finer and tamping lighter.
I've tried grinding coarser and tamping harder.
It seems like to get a 1Oz or higher finished shot volume or more I have to run it in to the blonde stage and then it tastes either sour or bitter (depending whether it's ground coarser or finer)
Any thoughts or suggestions?

I don't know if that makes any sense...

Thanks!

Welcome to the wonderful world of HB!

I would advise you to start weighing your in- AND output rather than measuring its volume, because the CO2 in the espresso and its crema mess up the volume. There are some good threads etc on brew ratio, think you may wanna start reading that stuff.
You may suffer from channeling, which will lead to early blonding so you also may want to read up on distribution or WDT (stirring the grounds in the PF with a thin object before tamping).
Concistency is also important, I would start using a fixed dose , like 14g (weighed), do WDT and tamp with a standard force, having many variables makes it so much harder to zoom in on the potential issue at hand!

A standard double's worth of coffee should get you like 30 g of espresso, a fl ounce is about that Imo so you may not be that much off if the weight is correct...but in the end the taste is what counts, not weights or volumes.

Your setup should enable good results, is your super jolly broken in already ? (if not the grind setting will gradually have to change as the burrs get seasoned)

Similar thread: Is 32g espresso really a double?

Thanks Marcelni

I really appreciate the input

I agree, this sounds like problems in basket preparation. I'd suggest reading through (and following the tips) the Easy Guide to Better Espresso at Home, article 12 under "how to" on http://www.espressomyespresso.com