Evening Mook, sorry about the slow response. I got a bad case of influenza and have been flat on my back for three days.

If you are getting over 20grams in a double basket, you must be grinding very fine or packing very hard. The wet soupy puck is a side effect of too fine a grind. I do not use a spoon or any other device, to measure my dose. Time has taught me when it is right. I grind and dose into the portafilter to a small mound. Then, without pressing down, I level the top of that mound and give the portafilter one thump as in the video. Then I level and tamp. That gets me 17 grams every time (or most the time, some beans are denser and hit 18 grams).

In your previous post, you stated that you were using old beans. Have you sourced some fresh roast? Stale beans will give you a tight grind, fast shot and no crema.

Hi cannonfodder,

I'm really thinking my grind is too fine, just a few setting finer and the burrs will jam! But grinding coarser results in a very fast shot time and poor crema.

It's been another few more days of experimenting where I've decided to do things differently. That is in the way I've seen it on this forum. Just before that I just needed to know once and for all how much 7 grams of coffee really was. So I went to a local coffee shop where they weigh soft drugs on very precise scales and asked the guy if he could weigh my coffee. So he did that with my beans and ground coffee and again I saw that 7 grams of coffee ain't that much. I found out that a 7gram spoon isn't that far from what it claims to be.
I went home and dosed my single filter a few times. But again, I couldn't make the pile stick out that much so I could distribute the proper way. So okee, it could be the filter that is of a different type and too deep. But I stopped wondering and threw away the spoon and the 7 gram concept.
I started dosing like I've seen experts doing it.

That's when things got better. I bought freshly roasted beans, a measuring cup and I had my stopwatch. I dosed my double shot filter w/ a little pile, pinky-distribute technique and after a few grind setting I got it. The colour looked fine, shot time good etc. Although I'd liked to see a bit more crema on it; it made up for about 10% of the drink.

But taste-wise, that most important aspect of all?... Ouii-uggg! Swallowing it fast was alright, but when leaving the coffee in your mouth for a bit longer, left a pretty sour taste right on the middle of my tongue. I don't mind a lot of body but drinking this just wasn't pleasant. So there's something not quite right. A soury taste suggests cold water, a very uneven extraction and what more. I thought my pump pressure was too high but a unloaded group leaves just about 2.5 ounce of water in 10 seconds.

Still, I will keep trying and any more suggestions a very much welcome.

Kindest regards,

Ruben