If you feel your shots are too watery, use less water. I.e. Tighten up the grind and pull less liquid, more into the ristretto range of 1:1 or 1:1.5 brew ratio.

Beans certainly make a difference as well.

^+1 That

Follow mentioned guidelines first then start trialling different coffees and roasts. Correcting primary variables, stay consistent and change only one variable at a time.

SonVolt wrote:Try something like Kimbo Extra Crema, or if you want to stick with a higher quality bean something like CC's FORTY-SIX which seems to produce much more crema than lighter roasts "3rd Wave" style beans.

I don't think that more crema is the answer - mouthfeel seems to me to be in the liquid below it. I've often wondered if it's a confluence of brewing parameters, rather than any single factor. It does seem as though the fuller shots might have more emulsified content in them, almost as though the crema were suspended within the liquid rather than just sitting on top. But I get a great crema cap on my shots, and stirring it in doesn't result in the same feel. Maybe it's the sum total of all brewing parameters, from grinder burrs and speed to time and temp to basket and hole size to pressure profile to height of the drop from PF to cup. Maybe it's something none of us has yet discovered.

Some espressos just feel fuller and softer than the rest when you drink them - I've had some great, full and tasty shots at several well known places like Four Barrel as well as a few dives where it was totally unexpected. I'd love to duplicate that at home, but I haven't figured out how yet after decades of trying. I've sacrificed enough beans to create a buildable landfill in that pursuit, but I've never pulled a shot at home that was as syrupy and viscous as the really great ones I've had.

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