Just an off-the-cuff question...are you doing any pre-infusion in your profile?

israguard wrote: No tip is too small..

Here goes: Water.

It's the second ingredient of espresso.
Pour yourself a tall glass of water, exactly as you put it into your machine. Take your time. How does it taste?

I agree with you: Milk covers up a lot of sin with its sweetness. When the shot is great, it's worthy of being a macchiato. Otherwise, cappuccino. But I want my cappuccino to have macchiato-worthy espresso.