Thanks guys, great advice which I will play around with this week and report back.

Funnily enough I had wondered about the needle thickness too as it seems to move the grounds around more than just sifting through them. I'll try a better version and see how that plays.

I'll also try the normal tamp as suggested, the OEM seems fine for now. Is the leveler side of the one I bought worth keeping though? Or if I'm doing WTD it's overkill?

I went ahead and ordered the Barista Pro anyway to try it out. My friend has one and it definitely feels better to use. I often like a cortado, and the steamer on the Bambino just doesn't give me the control I want on the foam or temp.

At some point my wife if going to call time on the amount of junk sitting out on the kitchen counters!

As mentioned, the wires on the wdt tool you posted looks a little thick. For a bit, I was using a cut down whisk to use for wdt. It was just making a big mess. Once I bought a proper wdt tool, it helped with prep immediately. There is a thread that discusses wire thickness. Going too narrow is a possibility.

Well after more testing, I gave up and swapped out the Bambino and Sette 270 for a Barista Pro. 4 shots pulls so far and nearly everyone is great. No channeling at all. I'm using the exact same prep, just a different grind and machine. Will continue to play a little but am once again a happy coffee drinker.

I had hoped the Bambino wouldn't be that bad considering it seems to have the exact same components as the more expensive models. But there must just be more going on in the Pro.

mosstoe32 wrote:Thanks. I've had the grind finer but get a bitter shot and as you suspected, less volume in the time frame. If I change the dose to counter it, would that be more or less grinds?

Formulas from Jake_G, above, are better, yet want to address something else fundamental here. Time is not the variable to control. It is an output used for evaluation. Dosing is not usually the first variable to change.

If a fine grind produces a bitter shot, extend the volume regardless of the time. If that time is extraordinarily long (>45+sec) and/or the shot is too intensely flavored and muddy, grind coarser.

Glad you landed somewhere good for you!