I've been using a Baratza Preciso and Rancilio Silvia for a few years now. Up until now I've been using roasts on the darker side - not extremely oily but definitely has some oil on it. It took a while but I got pretty good at pulling shots with those roasts.

For a long time I thought roasts needed to be a little darker for espresso because the oil helps pull the shots properly. We just moved to a new city and many of the local roasters only provide light-medium roasts coffee, even in their espresso blends. They prefer it and say it should be fine and will produce a better tasting shot.

I did some research and other people are able to use light - medium roasts with this setup. However, I can't seem to get it to work at all. I think the main problem is my grinder - it can't grind it fine enough. I've set it to the finest setting possible, and even replaced the adjustment ring and plastic burr holder in my Preciso (it's been a couple years) and fully cleaned it (took it all apart, cleaned, and then ran some cleaning tablets through it).

When I pull the shot, within 5 seconds water is pouring through the portafilter and I have to turn it off within 10-15 seconds. After some adjusting (amount of coffee, tamping, etc) I was able to get a proper puck that is wet, but it still just isn't working. It must be a grind size problem. Why isn't my Preciso able to handle it? Is there any "shims" I can use to shrink the space between the burrs to get finer grinds?

What I've done: 1. fill the basket up with coffee to the top (ground at size 1) and use my finger to even it out. 2. tamp with slightly-than-softer pressure, not too hard, goes down about until the line in the basket 3. Install it and turn the machine on. I have a PID that does pre-infusion as well.

I've attached some pictures as well. Does the grind look too coarse? How can I get it finer (others seem to be able to with the Preciso)? The coin in the picture is a nickel.

Just have to love how those roasters assume what they offer will 'pull a better shot'... a fine line between confidence and arrogance. That's a main reason I started home roasting and don't miss buying the already roasted/overpriced stuff at all.

Of course it could be lighting, but I personally would call that a medium range level, like what I shoot for and I consider it a full city.

Have you tried updosing a bit? Do you use a scale?

They did call it medium but it seemed medium-light to me, but maybe that's because I'm used to a little more oily beans.

I did try updosing, I was able to get it to pull more slowly but it seemed like that time it was a crazy amount more. I don't use a scale, I can do that and report back. I use a scale when doing pourover. But it didn't seem like adding more coffee helped a lot until it was getting into the ridiculous range (the portafilter would barely fit on)

The entry level encore can be adjusted quite a bit to shift its grind continuum so Preciso probably too. Contact baratza. Might also be YouTube videos on it.

Lighter roast = more moisture still in beans = more weight for fewer beans than darker roast = less powder to hold back water so updose (might need deeper basket)

Also stirring up grinds may be more important

Light beans can be finicky. You may find that they work best with a lower dose and hotter brew. If you have an adjustable OPV and can dial down your brew pressure you could try that. Lighter roasts are denser beans and as you are finding out take a finer grind. A darker roast is more brittle and produces more fines in the grind.

One thing you could try, put your beans in the freezer, then when you go to make a drink take them from the freezer to the grinder and grind them frozen. That makes the bean for lack of a better term, brittler. It may give you a little more fines in the grind and slow down the shot. Not really an ideal situation but something you could try. Fresh burrs also make a difference. The other big question is how old are the beans.

Have you tried updosing a bit? Do you use a scale?

Wow, I used a scale and used 18g (which is a little more than avg) and made sure to tamp it down a bit harder. It kind of worked!




Here is a video of my pull (edit: wish I had gotten closer and shown the bottom of the portafilter): https://jlongster.com/s/IMG_9941.mp4

It still seems off to me - it stutters in a way I'm not used to, and isn't clean (there's some additional dripping?). But at least it extracted an OK amount. In fact it could extract more so I have some variables to play with now.



My puck seems weird, doesn't it look like it's partially dry still? See the attached image, and also a video of me pulling it apart: https://jlongster.com/s/IMG_9943.mp4

Also, in the image of the puck, it looks like it's touching the bolt & screen? Shouldn't it not do that? Am I tightening it too hard when putting it on the machine? (see the video though, it doesn't seem like it!)

The entry level encore can be adjusted quite a bit to shift its grind continuum so Preciso probably too. Contact baratza. Might also be YouTube videos on it.

Should have mentioned this - I've already adjusted it internally to be on the finest setting. The screw is all the way on the right. I did this when I replaced the adjustment ring (the entire black plastic assembly for micro/macro adjustments) in an attempt to fix this (old one had a crack in the threading anyway). So yeah, I've already taken it apart and adjusted it. I don't think there's anything else to adjust.

If you have an adjustable OPV...

Interesting. I know I can adjust temps with the PID but not sure I can control pressure. The Silvia is entry level, after all.

One thing you could try, put your beans in the freezer...

If I become desperate, I'll try that!

Thanks for all the replies!

The Silvia might be 'entry level' price-wise, but the build quality and performance once dialed in makes it just as capable as anything out there. It will force you to be very hands-on to obtain consistency, but once you find that sweet spot for different coffees the espresso you get from it should be outstanding.

Yours should have an adjustable OPV. Mine is a V1 from 2005 or so and has a very precise adjustable OPV, which I currently have set to give me between 8-8.25 bars at the group. I prefer that pressure range, while grinding finer and tamping less. Getting 40+ second 1-1.25 oz. ristrettos, which is exactly what I shoot for. Changing to a flush mount shower screen/screw and the Rancilio OEM 18 gram basket made quite a bit of difference compared to stock configuration.

Oh cool, you're right. I didn't look before I posted, but it does have one. I hadn't heard of that valve before.

Interesting, some research shows that the default pressure set by the manufacturer might be higher overall (11 bar). I don't have way to read the pressure right now... not sure I want to spend $50 for that yet!

One of the first things I did when I bought the machine was change it to a flush mount screen/screw. I *think* I'm using the 18 gram basket, I'll double-check.

Thanks again. Looks like I need to recalibrate my whole setup and play with lighter roasts and see what works.

If you have a blind basket (for backflushing) you can set the OPV at no cost. Some will argue that it isn't as accurate as using a portafilter mounted gauge, but I'm sure it's close enough, doesn't cost anything and I seriously doubt anybody could taste any difference with a machine having the OPV set both ways.