I gave Chris's suggestions a go this morning and voila! Turns out that preheating the Presso really does give quite a different result. While I doubt I'll ever be able to consistently achieve the 93C temperature that David Schomer recommends using my Presso, it really made a difference to the shot as I remember it previously coming out at a rather bland temperature.

Also, I experimented with increasing the water pressure. The first few drops were disappointing to say the least, probably due to leakage of water from the top of the basket and a grind that I felt was too fine for the water to flow through. However, I quickly switched cups after about 5 seconds, brought up the levers and pressed down again. The next 30 seconds gave me the best shot I've pulled thus far - reddish brown with a thicker texture. The crema was the disappointing part though, mainly forming around the edge of the cup.

I guess practice makes perfect, and I'll keep working on it, but I feel motivated after getting more promising results today. Regarding the crema... it seems from everyone's opinion to only be possible with freshly ground beans. Unfortunately I currently only possess a blade grinder that's about 10 years old so I choose to have my beans ground in the cafe at which I purchase them due to their superior burr grinders.

I'll be going down again tomorrow to pick up some Terra Firma beans and request for a slightly coarser grind (about 5?) after experiencing a pretty tough time with my overly fine Colombia beans. Since I stay pretty near the cafe, I'll have the beans ground for me again and try to use them immediately when I get back home to see the results.


Btw, if you're ever in Singapore, I'd strongly recommend http://www.papapalheta.com/page/home. They're the ones that sparked my interest in coffee!

When I took the time to measure I managed 89C water in the cup out of the presso and I have since improved my pre-heating technique. I wouldn't think that low 90s for brewing is out of the question...
I'm glad that you are finding some improvements!

I used a presso for about 5 years. There's no easy way of saying this but it has serious limitations. I tried everything under the sun to improve results...anyway, I liked it for long enough.