RyanJE wrote:Honestly I was assuming you were using fresh roasted coffee! You absolutely have to use coffee that's been roasted in under 2 weeks or so.. No Lavazza.

Do you have any good local cafes? Go have espresso there and if you like it, buy those beans and try what we are suggesting. Worst case, maybe the grinder is limiting factor, never used that one.

I've used 3 different types of freshly roasted beans. Then I've also tried Illy and Lavazza. No luck even with fresh roast.

When you say it tastes bad, was it just sour/bitter? Is the body thin/watery as well?

What is your baseline that you're comparing against (ie what beans)? Some underdeveloped (underroasted) beans might exhibit the pulls that you show in your video. Those can taste sour/bitter/water all at the same time when pulled as espresso..

Your barista technique side seems okay, so it could also well be the water being unsuitable for espresso extraction. Something like Volvic water is proven and it might be worth a try to eliminate the water's fault.

Though it was pretty controversial, Tom(Apogee) has covered most of the variables that could affect extraction. It's a list well worth going over. Some things like the refractometer, OCD, calibrated tamper down to 0.1mm are not strictly necessary (but nice to have if you can swing it).

Beginner's refractometry (Apogee Technique)

OR start with the HB newbie intro videos. The apogee thread I think is a bit peculiar..

Haha, his approach was in fact a bit peculiar. Looking past that, the thing he did right was listing down all the variables and attacking each of them one at a time (which is what we needed for OP here). Speaking of that, we could use a specific but comprehensive list like that with suggestion/recommendation for each of the variables (not a binary approach of do-or-die ).

I've got a bag of Red Bird Espresso on the way. Will resume my attempts when I get it.
Thanks all.

I don't want to be discouraging, but i was unable to pull anything worth while out of the last bag of Redbird I bought. Previously I had really enjoyed it and went through a few 5# bags. This one was (to me) over roasted and I ended up using to to season a grinder and throwing it out. Again, this is just my experience with the last order I made with them.

I'm just telling you this because if you don't have luck on the bag of Redbird - don't give up, try another coffee.

Thanks for the info. Only reason I went with it is because another said it was hard to mess that one up.

In the past, I would agree with that statement, just use a lower temp and ratio. However, the last bag I got was not for me and I gave up on it.

samuellaw178 wrote:Haha, his approach was in fact a bit peculiar. Looking past that, the thing he did right was listing down all the variables and attacking each of them one at a time (which is what we needed for OP here). Speaking of that, we could use a specific but comprehensive list like that with suggestion/recommendation for each of the variables (not a binary approach of do-or-die ).

Yea someone should do that, but don't change it... I'm not!

ltespresso wrote:Thanks for the info. Only reason I went with it is because another said it was hard to mess that one up.

Still think you need a benchmark of what IS Good. We've talked about what you don't like. But, what espresso have you had at cafes that you DO like? Any near to your home?