Fast running espresso

#1: Post by **Phil4545** » August 28th, 2021, 7:47 am

Hi
I am new to this community and maybe someone can help me.
Since a couple of month I have the problem that my espresso is comming out of my Rocket Appartamento machine quiet good for the first seconds of the the brewing. Very nice and slow, good color. After 12-15s it suddenly starts running out of the machine very fast and wild in a thick, bright jet. Does anyone have an idea what the reason could be?
Thanks!

#2: Post by **NicoNYC** » August 28th, 2021, 11:04 am

Typically that's due to channeling - a hairline crack forms in the puck of coffee grounds through which water will flow as it offers less resistance than the coffee around it.

Possible fixes include:
- More careful puck preparation - removing clumps via grooming or more even tamping
- Lowering the pressure of your machines pump
- Updose your basket and grind coarser

Search this forum for channeling and you'll find plenty more detailed information on why it happens and how to fix.

#3: Post by **cannonfodder** » August 29th, 2021, 2:08 pm

The most common culprits are an inadequate grinder or stale coffee. What kind of grinder are you using and how long ago was the coffee roasted?

August 30th, 2021, 2:00 am

Thanks for the infos so far. I think the coffee is not the reason because it happens with different coffees. The grinder is an Eureka Mignon.

#5: Post by **Marcelnl** » August 30th, 2021, 2:56 am

Most of the coffee from grocery stores is already stale when you buy it, yet if you are using fresh roasted beans from a good roaster (I imagine Hamburg will have a few of those) that should not be the issue unless they are too old or too fresh (in the first 24-48 hr after roasting most CO2 is gone).

What basket are you using and how much grounds do you use, how do you tamp, do you use WDT, what is your final product weight?

Overdosing is great way to get channeling, 'sloppy' tamping is a good way to fracture the puck or when using too large a tamper it can suck the puck up during removal....many ways to make things go wrong.

I'd suggest you start with 14g in aiming for 30g or so out and try adjust the grind for that, try WDT, tamp once with medium pressure, if all of that fails check the pressure of your machine.