Machine: Gaggia Classic
Basket: 22g
Dose: 21.5g
Beans: Ethiopia Bench Maji Gesha G3
Grinder: Eureka Mignon manual
Yield: 38g beverage weight - brew ratio: 56.5%

i have been testing the new 22g basket , i prefer the taste of a heavier dose but i am having difficulties to refine it. The taste of the shot was OKAY, it's balanced with slight sweetness, acidity and bittersweet aftertaste. The problem of it is the flavor. I just couldnt get very defined flavor out it, it tasted like one meshed up of taste profiles instead instead of individual flavors (hope you get what i mean by that).

I wonder at what limitation a gaggia classic can do. I found it out here that the brew temperature drops drastically for this machine (8-10c). wonder this is the cause of the meshed-up flavor. I understand that the grinder is a major factor, but i dont think i will upgrade further and plus at this moment i dont think i have reached the limitation of my hardware yet, so far it's still my skills.

The obvious problem seems to be the distribution. beside that , am i doing at the right dose / fineness ?
Please have a look and feel free to brutally criticize my shot. thank you.

First thought: Invest in a better grinder when your funds allow you. This will give you the greatest chance at improving your shots.

Second thought: Be proud you managed something palatable. This is more than many "professional" barista can say.

Other comments:

Distribution seems uneven.
Grind should likely be finer, dose less.
Color seems light.
Lack of specific flavors is certainly a large function of the equipment.

Other than a few minor flaws, a "respectable" shot given the equipment used.
Continue to practice, (get a better grinder), and you'll be able to enjoy your espresso even more!

The Mignon is a 50mm flat grinder with stepless adjustment. Perhaps it functions much in the same way as the rocky in that you need to use a low dose to get great shots.

Nyl,

The Gaggia is a good machine. It does have a small boiler however, so the
temperature will drop quickly.
You may have to "temperature surf". There are plenty of posts on the subject.

As far as the video, I think the 1st thing to do is to make the grind finer.
Then work on your dosing and tamping.

Once you get the grind/dose and a consistent technique, then you can work on getting
the flavors with temp surfing, etc.

On a side note, I dont know anything about this bean, but Ive noticed some single origins
are not easy to get nice looking pulls out of, but still yield good shots. You may want to try
some blends that are easier to work with as a start.

I have never used the grinder you listed (Eurica Mignon Manual) but I have read many good things about it and despite it's small burrs people that have tested and used it say it's quite a good grinder.

The machine you have is one that needs to be temperature surfed to get decent results but perfect god shots like the ones you want and describe are not likely to be produced consistently on a Gaggia home machine or any machine of that type.

A PID would improve performance greatly but I have found that the Rancilio Silvia I used to own with a PID installed still could not beat my Brewtus 2 which does not use a PID like the new versions but a refridgerator temperature controller. The larger boiler and thermal mass of a heavier machine goes a very long way when it comes to keeping a stable temperature.

Your machine (Gaggia) does not have preinfusion and a gentle gradual build up to full pressure when pulling the shot, but like the Silvia I used to own, slams the puck with full force as soon as the brew switch is activated making it very unforgiving of anything but near perfect grind distribution and level tamping. If grind distribution and tamping are off you will get some bad channeling.

Judging from your video I would say because of the fast pour, delayed infusion and pour from the center you need to grind finer and distribute your grinds in a donut pattern (like the Versalab) with less in the middle. The color of the pour looks very light but since you are using a single origin I cannot be sure if you have to live with it or not.

I have used single origins in the past that would not give me a traditional dark reddish brown crema no matter what I tried or how good or bad it tasted using my Versalab and Brewtus 2. Since I am not sure of the type of coffee you are using I don't have an answer for that other than let your taste decide.

I would also opt for a microfiber towel for thoroughly drying out the inside of your hot portafilter before pulling the shot.

Why microfiber?
I have a large pack of cheap terry towels; I don't care if they get stained, I can bleach them when they do, and toss them if they get ratty. Never had an issue with lint.
But do use a towel to dry the basket. They're also useful for wiping down the machine before throwing it in the wash pile.

thanks all for the advices

in regards to the PID / temp surf , i figured these techniques can effectively manipulate the initial brewing temp but there is nothing or little to do with the temp drop during the brew, which was about 6-8c in my experience and 8-10c in some online testing. I am suspecting the drop in temp is what causes the meshed-up flavor.

i would normally grind finer when i was w/ my 18g basket. I am discovering how a 22g basket would change the flavor, so i coarsened it up to compensate the increased dose. anyhow i just ran out of beans, i will post another one with finer grind.

Hey Nell,
You seems to know most of your basic stuff already. Good job! I was a Gaggia user prior to this too. There's virtually nothing (easy) you can do to prevent the temperature drop, unless you open it up and do some heavy modification. Though, the is one other thing you could do, which is to pull a shorter volume. eg: 14g into 1.0-1.5 oz instead of huge triple of 21g. That would help a lot because the temperature swing is much lesser. You get less cold water into the boiler by pulling a shorter shot, so it would avoid cooling the boiler big time. There was one thread that I read(very long time ago) that by pulling within ~1.0-1.5oz, you don't get that much swing in the actual brew temp. It happens more significantly after that ~1.5oz point.

I can't see any solution to the the temp drop which may be due to cold water rushing into the small boiler during during the brew cycle.

This is just an off the wall idea that may not work at all but I would be interested to know if the the temperature drop would be less drastic if you preheated the water before putting it in the water tank. You don't want to make it too hot (maybe on the hot side of warm.) I don't know, it's something I never tried but always wondered about.

As far as using microfiber towels for drying the portafilter I too had reservations about using this fine quality stuff for such a common task but after using them I will never go back. Microfiber sucks up moisture and debris unlike anything I have ever used. The difference is so noticable I am now going to purchchase about a dozen of them for all my drying needs such as dishwashing etc....(I use it to dry all my dishes the decrease in the amount of work and wiping is priceless) I also use microfiber for cleaning my Brewtus shower screen after brewing each shot because a quick flush, a few dabs and wipes almost always gets my shower screen drip pattern even again.

I have found regular towels and cloths do not do as good a job as microfiber. For wiping the portafilter to increase dryness and coffee coheasion to the sides after tamping I find I get better results with microfiber.