Hey all, fairly new to the espresso game and would really appreciate you're feedback. Using a breville barista express and smart grinder pro. Have a calibrated spring tamper and using redbird espresso 10 days post roast. This was a 16.5g shot at grind setting 18. The shot was drinkable but getting slight bitterness and sourness which is throwing me off - not really any sweetness. It is programmed to +2 degrees from standard on the PID on this machine.
I think my distribution needs work. I fill the basket first and try to do the stockfleth method then ramp. I'm not great at it! The smart grinder pro seems to also be very clumpy which doesn't help.
Thanks

I'm no expert, but with 16.5 grams of coffee I would weigh the output and aim for 33 grams. I think you might want to try a bit finer grind too.

Rocky

Finer seems to bring out more bitterness and dryness to the taste. I pulled another shot and got 32g in 30 seconds from 16.5g in. The shot is a little on the bright side. Not sure where to go from here because flow rate seems perfect. Should I be increasing or decreasing temperature or stopping the shot quicker?

Flow-rate seems too fast in the video. From the first drops in the cup until you finish the shot is only about 20 seconds. Like Rocky I think your grind should be tighter. But of course, your taste and how you like the shots is what matters most.

If you get clumpy grounds and/or you think distribution is not good, try just stirring the grounds in the portafilter with a toothpick to even things out before tamping lightly. The effect of +/- a couple of degrees in the water temperature is much less important than the flow-rate through the puck when pulling a shot. I fiddle with water temperature only if I feel the need to fine tune a coffee after getting everything else good (dose, grind and consequently flow-rate, weight of shot and of course finally the taste).

You said in last post it was on the bright side, so I guess you mean it was quite acidic and lacking balance and sweetness(?) which are signs of underextraction. I don't know what type of blend redbird espresso is and what the tasting notes are, but I recommend to first try dosing slightly less and grinding finer to extract more from the coffee.

There is a built in pre infusion so it takes 10 seconds to see the first drop of espresso hit the cup. Should I reduce the preinfusion time? If I'm getting the correct weight in 30 seconds and a 1:2 ratio why would I adjust finer? Still trying to understand this!

It's hard to give very exact advice on where to go with this coffee, I was just basing my recommendations on the video and your description that it was on the brighter side. 10 sec preinfusion sounds good. I still would maybe grind finer and in turn extend both the pre-infusion and brewing phases a few seconds to extract more from the coffee. In general, darker roasted coffees are more soluble and so don't need a long pre-infusion or brewing phase and they work well at a ratio of around 1:2. Lighter roasted and more acidic coffes are in general less soluble and usually need longer pre-infusion and brewing to exract well and might work better at a 1:3 ratio. Speaking very generally of course, this all depends on type of beans, their origins, hardness, processing method, roast level...there are so many variables.

I recommend reading this guide: Espresso 101: How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste

I own the same machine. From what I see in the video is the extraction runs fast at the beginning... it should ideally start with a few drops then develop into a pour. The first thing I would try would be to dose at 18 grams and see how that goes. I would do a flush at the beginning of each shot to clean the screen as the old grinds can make your shot taste bitter.
After that I would grind a little finer to get the proper time.
I start counting the shot as soon as you get the first drips. I don't worry to much if I am off a couple of seconds as I find the output weight makes more of a difference.

Let us know how you make out!

Good luck

Randy

Here is today shot. I'm keeping the dose constant at 16.5g. Adjusted the grind finer to setting 16: 30.5g output and the machine stopped itself - I could stop it manually I guess. More ashy/dryness to it but still some bright undertones. Def not a seeet extraction but drinkable. Where to go from here?

http://www.vimeo.com/230684404

Next I ground finer to setting 14 - again 16.5g dose and got 23g out - the machine stopped itself, perhaps I should have let it run longer, tasted more on the bitter end. Sorry I started the video slightly late:

http://www.vimeo.com/230686222

you might want to take a look at:

https://baristahustle.com/blogs/barista ... -20-method

https://baristahustle.com/blogs/barista ... so-compass

Endodude wrote:Here is today shot. I'm keeping the dose constant at 16.5g. Adjusted the grind finer to setting 16: 30.5g output and the machine stopped itself - I could stop it manually I guess. More ashy/dryness to it but still some bright undertones. Def not a seeet extraction but drinkable. Where to go from here?

http://www.vimeo.com/230684404

Next I ground finer to setting 14 - again 16.5g dose and got 23g out - the machine stopped itself, perhaps I should have let it run longer, tasted more on the bitter end. Sorry I started the video slightly late:

http://www.vimeo.com/230686222

Even if you choose to have the shot run manually it will automatically shut off around 30 seconds

Randy