I am trying to troubleshoot an issue. Using Eric's thermocouple, I discovered my brew temp is consistently low and a likely reason why my espresso doesn't have much flavor or dimensions to it. It is averaging around 196 throughout the extraction process.

This includes letting the machine preheat for 1 hr on a timer and with the portafilter in machine. My pressure is hovering around 10-10.5.

Is it possible to bump up the brew temp without increasing the pressure?

I understand that there underneath the warming tray are two 'stats that can be adjusted. One on the far right and left respectively. The left hand one looks like a D and the other has a red cap/slot.

I apologize for the newbie question.