Ok, I'm clearly doing it wrong

As mentioned in my previous post, I got my new Virtuoso and 28mm convex tamper today. I was also very happy to find a local roaster, and picked up some beans that were roasted 3 days ago. Armed with everything, I came home to brew my first non-PPF shot with my Sirena. The disaster unfolded as follows;

Removed the back-pressure gasket and peg, set my Virtuoso to 7, packed a double, tamped it to what I think was around 30lbs and let 'er go. That promptly choked the machine. Scratch that batch.

Grinded more at setting 10, tamped much lighter, and tried again. I didn't give it a chance to choke the machine because the PF was about to explode and hurl itself across the kitchen Carefully removed the PF and tried again...

Put the gasket and peg back in, packed a loose basket and tried it as normal. The shot was sad and weak, and left a very soupy puck.

Ok, I'm not one to give up, so I grinded more beans at setting 11, removed the gasket and peg again, and gave a medium tamp. It pulled a double in around 22 seconds, not bad. The shot was mediocre, not much crema, and again I had very soupy puck.

I know people have successfully got decent shots out of the Sirena (Wayne, are you around!! ), and I'm not sure what else I can try. Any suggestions?

Soupy pucks are typical of low-dosed shots on machines with 3-way valves for pressure relief after the shot finishes. I am under the impression that your machine is not equipped with such a device, so I am not sure whether the diagnosis will fit your machine. However, I don't think it's very relevant in any case.

It sounds like your Virtuoso will work tolerably for espresso if you have plenty of play-room in terms of choking your machine. To clarify what I mean: If you drink espresso at Starbucks or similar coffee establishments, I think you will find that your setup can beat what you're used to when you go out by a significant margin, as soon as you figure out how to use it properly and consistently. If you visit higher-end artisan shops and you're used to that, you may find your setup much more frustrating. As far as the Virtuoso goes, you will have to tolerate some lack of adjustability, but it should get you an espresso that you'll probably enjoy a great deal when you pair it with some really high-quality, fresh coffee and learn the basics of shot preparation. If "10" on your grinder is a choke, and "11" is a 22s shot, you are going to have to learn to control your shots by dose. That is, if you're grinding 2 level scoops of coffee into your basket and pulling 22 second shots, try putting in just a little more coffee. If you can't fit any more coffee into the basket without it touching your screen, you need to tighten the grinder setting and use less coffee. this will get you in the 25-30s range for shots--or wherever else you want to be, depending on what you enjoy.

You haven't mentioned to us what coffee you're using yet, and I suspect that this might be the reason why you're getting bad results with little or no crema. Crema is mostly associated with the freshness and presence of oils in the coffee. Stale coffee will produce dramatically less crema, and also will lose its nuance and balance, favoring boring and rather bitter flavors. There are certainly other possible causes for why you're having problems (for example, if the bed of coffee in the basket isn't evenly distributed, or your temperature is far too high), but I believe stale coffee is the most common. So, what are you using?

Alas, our old friend Puckology comes to visit!

I believe that all there is to know about wet pucks is covered in one of the half-dozen related topics show on the bottom of this thread: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Thanks Nicholas. The coffee is from a local roaster and was roasted 3 days ago, so it's pretty fresh. Not sure what it is, exactly.. it's their own South American blend that is popular for espresso. I do have the odd Starbucks (only because we really don't have any good artisan shops nearby), but I'm used to making my own espresso (this is my 5th machine), and always enjoy mine more. This is a whole new setup.. and admittedly not exactly high-end stuff.. so I'm just trying to find a combination that works with my equipment. It seems to be quirkier than other machines I've used. I think you're probably right about under-dosing, I do have a bit of room to play there.

HB, thanks for the references. I did search out a few other threads but the equipment being used were all quite different than what I have. I know some methods will work better on some machines and not others.

However, I will keep playing..

I would agree that you're probably under-dosing. My Gaggia Baby has the same portafilter as your Sirena, and very likely the same (or similar grouphead). The Sirena is made by Saeco, who now owns Gaggia (or maybe it's the other way around).

I find I get much better shots if I dose so that the grinds come into contact with the shower screen. 19-21 grams on my current grind setting (5 on the Virtuoso), depending on how old the beans are. Shots come in around 35 sec. Dark, rich crema. Tiger striping, flecks, the whole bit. And a dry puck.