Hi all - newbie here who's been reading all the guides on the site and trying to pull some good shots. So far, not a lot of luck and maybe I could get pointed in the right direction.

I'm using a scale along with a Rocket Mozzafiato V and a Baratza Encore grinder. Fresh beans from one of my favorite San Francisco shops.

18g coffee -> 36g shot is happening in about 14 seconds, pushed to about 4 bar of pressure, quick peak at 7 as I ended the extraction. That's about the most bars I've coaxed out of the machine so far. I've knocked my grind size down each time to get a longer extraction and am pretty much at the finest setting.

My tamping pressure seems to be pretty solid and even, but I'm open to being wrong about all of it! Any thoughts appreciated

The problem is likely your grinder. The Baratza Encore isn't considered a very good grinder for espresso since it lacks the micro adjustments you need for dialing in. As a stopgap solution you can try following the instructions in this video to calibrate your grinder for an even finer grind. For consistency, repeatability, and the micro control I mentioned you will need to upgrade the grinder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyQ_AywdBRQ

Sounds like a new grinder that grinds fine enough is in order. General "coffee grinders" won't do it. You'll have better success with a grinder specifically for espresso.