So a quick overview of setup:
(brew boiler PID'd) Brewtus II
Mazzer Major grinder

Beans:
Home-roasted on a PID'd poppery to Jim's recommendations
as well as Pro-Roasted Cafe Fresco beans, Black Cat, others

Baskets:
-Stock Brewtus [double]
-Stock Rancilio [double]
- Ridgeless LM [double]
- Rancilio single (never use it)
- Triple

I have read a ton here about all sorts of different techniques: WDT, NSEW Tamp, Light tamp + Hard Tamp, Nutating Tamp, etc

On the Major clumping isn't really an issue so I only used WDT a couple of times to see if it would make a difference (I don't believe it did)

I generally try to fill the basket and level with a straight edge, then soft tamp (getting the edges) followed by hard tamp.

I am currently pulling at 9bar [using brewtus gauge] and we set the boiler temp to 221F (measured 200F at the puck)

Lattes generally taste pretty delicious, but when trying to get a nice straight espresso shot (with any noted characteristics such as nuttiness, chocolateness, florals, etc) I'm having no luck.

It's usually bitter or acidic. Now I know the first thing that comes to mind is temp, I played with temperature both raising and lowering and it does have an effect, but still cannot produce the flavors im looking for.

The shot does seem to blonde early (before a full 2oz) usually ~1.5oz give or take.

When I examine the puck, I often find that the edges may have some channeling (holes).

I am going to try to shoot a video of an extraction tomorrow for you guys (I use a naked portafilter) so maybe that will help.

The one thing I haven't really played with too much is the dose.. I do have a scale that is +/- 0.1g, but havent really played with it that much (is that probably my error here)?

You seem to suspect channeling is the problem, go ahead and combat that. But I'd also suggest you play with lowering your brew pressure, down to between 8 and 8.5bar, and see if you like the result.

See Finger Swipe Dosing ==> Sub-Par Shot?

Try giving the PF a gentle side to side to even out the distribution.

Try using the scale, dosing to 15 or 16g double and adjust grind finer. Depending on the coffee, you may need to up the dose slightly so the puck just contacts the screen.

Lowering the brew pressure can make things easier, but may not result in the desired flavor profile.

Hopefully you're using a double basket!
You might try skipping the extra tamping stuff especially if you suspect edge channleing

What I do is grind fine, overload the basket a bit, then WDT, levelling off with a straight edge.
Then Tamp. ONCE, straight down. No tapping, no twisting, no multi-tamping.

Seems like everyone has some kind of tamping ritual and most often the extra steps have potential to cause problems.

After that, maybe be sure to regularly mix in pro-roasted beans to check your roasting consistency. Roasting is an art and I find it's helpful to make regular reality checks on myself against the pro's

I am still what I consider a beginner but I have had very good success with my straight espresso. Take this for what it is worth but my experience given that you have basics such as your potential channeling and temperature control taken care of is

Dose is critical is extracting the distinct flavors you mentioned and it changes for each blend or single origin tried. My guess would be that you are over-dosing.

Use your scale and vary the dose with a "reasonable temperature" until you get what you like once and then try reproducing that over and over. Then you can if you wish play with the temperature to define better what your tastes enjoy. You can search for older discussions of predicted effects of dose and temperature on specific flavor extraction profiles to use as a guide.

You will get it with a bit of effort.

Dear Mr. Godly,

You live in NYC. There is no need to rely on remote advice, when personal training is so readily available to you (and so much more effective). Here is Intelligentsia's. Other roasters may have similar programs in New York.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/sto ... ct/id/2052

For L.A. area readers, Chuck Jones offers a very nice bring-your-own-machine training class in Pasadena at his roastery.

http://www.thebestcoffee.com/index.php? ... cts_id=769

And I'll testify to the efficacy of the Jones home barista workshop. Although my little Caravel was rather the odd man out at the workshop I attended, I'm pulling better shots now, than I was before.

200 dollars is kind of steep for an espresso class especially when you don't need to be taught the basics... I will definitely consider it though.

Here are a few pictures of my pucks:


I consistently see these side holes^


This one sucks a lot^

I am going to try to shoot a video and post it up as well

Here's a quick video:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v257/ ... CF4785.flv

47 secs of pump time seems quite long. To me, it looked as if the flow rate was too slow. Also, looked to me like the distribution was either off, or a non-level tamp. Seemed to be flowing out the RHS more than the left, although hard to see clearly on the video.

Examine your Distribution for an even coffee bed. Make sure your tamp is level. Either dose a little less or coarsen the grind to speed up the flow rate.

That my armchair guess, good luck.

Chris