Hi everyone
first time posting and long time lurker. Thanks in advance for all the super helpful advise I've read and has helped make my decision.

I bought a Lelit Bianca V3 a few months ago and it has been working incredibly well with me Eureka Mignon Specialita Silenzio grinder. The only change I made to the stock stuff is using a IMS Competition Filter Basket and reducing the Bar pressure to 9 rather than the stock 10.

However in the last month or so the second shot of espresso pulled has always come out very quickly. In terms of routine here is what I do and nothing changes from shot to shot. So I really don't understand what is going on.

Turn on machine wait for it to come up to temp. (Takes about 10-15 mins to come up to temp).
Grind 18g into basket. De-clump and tamp.
Insert into group head.
Open up paddle at 9.45 clock position. Wait 20-25 seconds for first drops of espresso then open up paddle to reach 9 bar and hold it there until I reach 36g out. I aim for 30-35 seconds to do this and it is pretty much always that when I am dialled in on the grind size.

I then clean out the basket and repeat all the above waiting for the machine to give me the OK to pull another shot.

The second shot has these last few months been very quick, typically 10-15 seconds with a very high flow rate no matter where I put the paddle and it only take 5-10 seconds for the first drops to fall.

Nothing has changed and I cannot figure out what is going on. It's slightly driving me mad. I use beans from Square Mile kept in a vacuum sealed chamber. I've tried cooling the porter filter down by running it under the cold tap as I thought maybe it was too hot and affecting things. That changed nothing. I thought maybe the beans were a bit funny but I'm onto the second different packet now and it made no difference.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Jeff wrote:Welcome!



E61 machines take 30-45 minutes to warm up. The boiler can come up to temperature in a few minutes, but the rest of the group takes much longer.

Another source of inconsistency is the grinder. Do you purge beans through it at the start of every session?

One way to check is to portion and grind two baskets' worth. Pull the second basket first. If the "problem" moves, it is likely the grinder.

Thanks I'll try the grinder trick.

I always let the machine warm up till it says OK. Are you saying I need to give it longer?

Jeff, my Bianca overheats the brew boilers on start up to goose the thermosyphon, so it's ready to go in 20 minutes. I think the recent versions are even faster.

Garreth, I've made multiple shots on the Bianca for years, in 45 second intervals, using multiple filled and prepped baskets, as if they were capsules. I've done the same with all my home and review machines. What you describe is not normal; even machines as basic as a Gaggia Classic are ready to go fo multiples shots inside a minute.

Off the to of my head, I'm guessing "emptying hopper syndome" aka "popcorning." You load 36 grams into the hopper, and set the grind for the first 18. When the hopper empties, the beans feed more slowly and grind more coarsely. This is especially the case for smaller flat burr grinders. To maintain a consistent grind, either keep the hopper filled, or single dose.

Thanks yes and super weird. I started off on a Gaggia Classic at university. Meant profs would happen to drop round

So was super surprised at this. Might be I need another grinder. I'll try options suggested and revert tomorrow.

A new grinfer won't help and sint necessary; they are all like this. Small flats are only more pronounced. It's more a matter of tuning the workflow.

another_jim wrote:"emptying hopper syndome" aka "popcorning." You load 36 grams into the hopper, and set the grind for the first 18. When the hopper empties, the beans feed more slowly and grind more coarsely. This is especially the case for smaller flat burr grinders. To maintain a consistent grind, either keep the hopper filled, or single dose.

I have a few baskets. For those instances where I am pulling multiple shots, I use one basket as my measuring device. I single dose via the hopper. I start the grinder, then use the "trap door" in the bottom of the hopper to slowly feed the single dose of beans into it. This means the grinder is always running at full speed/power, unencumbered by starting from zero with a full clump of beans... which I imagine ensures a consistent grind. (And, I suspect, extends the useful life of the grinder.)

I would have imagined a slower feed of beans would result in a finer and more consistent grind. Is it the case that a fuller load of beans grinding at once causes a finer and more consistent grind?

Do you run the grinder hopper full or nearly empty with no weight ? That can cause bean hopping and a coarser grind causing faster shot.

coyote-1 wrote:I would have imagined a slower feed of beans would result in a finer and more consistent grind. Is it the case that a fuller load of beans grinding at once causes a finer and more consistent grind?

Absolutelty the other way around. If you feed one bean at a time, the burrs have to do all the grinding work. If the burrs are full of beans, they grind against each other as well. The more beans in the burrs, the finer the grind, for any given setting.