Hi,

I am using a used HX with vibratory pump (Izzo vivi). I have Ceado e5p grinder. It seems be a nice setup.

Unfortunately I cannot get decent coffee stream, no matter what I try to do.

When grinding fine (maybe too fine), the stream is slow and unsteady resulting in coffee on the edge of over extraction, and thin fast disappearing crema. When grinding less fine, it is too fast, unsteady and under extracted, with lighter color and flat taste.

The grinder is stepless. No matter how I set it, it seems the water does not have enough power to extract the coffee properly. The extraction is never with big oily drops or steady dense stream resulting in strong crema with the right color.

I thought the issue was related to brew pressure. I measured it using a portafilter with gauge. It was a bit less than 9 bar. I changed it to show 10 bar.
I saw in one of the tech tips videos that this should give me the correct 9 bar pressure at the group.

Doing this did not help and the stream is still the same. I don't know what else I can do. I even consulted with a professional tech and he said that if brew pressure shows right, it should work.

I hope someone can help me identify the problem.

One thing you haven't mentioned - the beans. How old? What kind?

Agree - sounds like stale coffee.

Thanks for the comments.
My last test is with a coffee bought less than a week ago. It was a bit better fist time I used it but since then it was like this.
It was never in the level of a real good extraction. I also keep the beans in a sealed vacuum container. It is happening to me for sometime and with different kinds of coffee even ones that completely fresh.

I will give it another chance with fresh coffee I will buy, but my feeling is something else is wrong.

Are you weighing your bean dosage & espresso?

Assuming yes to the above and you're not using stale beans it sure sounds like a grinder issue to me.

sbenyo wrote: My last test is with a coffee bought less than a week ago.

Just because you bought them a week ago does not mean they are fresh. Check the bag for the date they were roasted on. If it doesn't list the roast date and only a "use by" date, you should switch to beans to ones that do list the date so you can be sure are less than 2 weeks from When they were roasted.

Another factor you may wanna consider is the pump. If you have a group pressure gauge (not the boiler pressure gauge) take a look at it and see if it flactuates. I had a similar issue when I first bought my used Musica and the pump was messed up.

mkrissel wrote:Just because you bought them a week ago does not mean they are fresh. Check the bag for the date they were roasted on. If it doesn't list the roast date and only a "use by" date, you should switch to beans to ones that do list the date so you can be sure are less than 2 weeks from When they were roasted.

This. Beans on the shelf of even our local boutique roaster can be a month or more old. Most people don't know or care. When I bought locally (versus online), I would have to dig to the back of the shelf to find fresh roasted. Ironically, I get fresher beans by buying online. Most the places I buy from get the coffee to me 3-4 days post-roast.

Thanks a lot! I will definitely going to try fresh beans. I will make sure roast date is correct.
I hope this will work even though I am skeptical. It's been like this for too long and with different beans.

Other options are either the grinder or pump. This is also a possibility. I will get another grinder to see if I can rule it out.

I will send and update after experimenting again with fresh beans and grinder. I hope it will work so I won't need to deal with the machine itself.

What kind of beans? One good tip offered to me lately was that darker (med to med-dark) give a much more creamy looking shot. Once you go to a light roast, "third wave" type of bean then the extraction becomes a little more finicky/difficult and that includes visually.

This doesn't necessarily address your tasting issues in the cup, but light roasts are definitely more difficult to nail.