Just got a couple of 1 kg bags of Lavazza espresso Italiano (100% arabica) from my local Costco warehouse (regular $12.99 ea. / on sale @ $9.49).

Very typical northern style espresso, rated 5/10 on Lavazza's "intensity" scale). Definitely worth it IMHO. Nice crema even without robusta.

Note, if you buy this from Costco you should make sure to select bags that haven't lost any vacuum...I found a few while selecting my two bags. After opening the first bag I keep about 6oz in an Airscape for use over a couple of days and the rest goes into Food Saver vacuum bottles kept in the fridge till I'm ready to use them. I'll do the same when it comes time to open the second bag.

I couldn't get a good shot out of this coffee for the life of me.. You tried dialing it in yet?

I almost always enjoy Lavazza in cafes. At home I can get nice shots for a day or two but it stales rapidly.
It's nice coffee at good value if you use it fast or diligently portion and freeze (and if you like this style of Italian roast).

I purchase various Italian espresso products and do quite well with them for the most part as a "bulk" staple. I always keep an emergency bag in the pantry. They do stale quickly once opened as mentioned but I can usually compensate for the most part.

That said, I was also unable to get a decent shot from the Costco offered Lavazza. I had to grind unusually fine even when initially opened and could not ever get a consistent espresso we were happy with. Tried another one months apart and same result. Returned both.

Did you make sure you didn't pick a leaky bag? As I mentioned above, quite a few of the bags on display had leaked. I selected a couple that still felt rock hard (indicating a good vacuum inside) and the extraction was excellent in my machine. In fact my grinder setting proved to fine for the first attempt and I had to loosen it up a bit.