Tried a pressurized basket on my Gaggia and ruined 3 bags of beans

I got a pressurized basket for my Gaggia Classic last week thinking it would fix my inconsistent shots. Instead of better crema, every single pull came out bitter and weak. I wasted about 40 bucks on three different local roasts trying to dial it in before I figured out the problem. The basket was forcing too much pressure through a grind that was way too fine for it. Lesson learned: pressurized baskets are for pre-ground stuff only, not fresh beans from a grinder. Has anyone else had a similar issue with these things?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinn_nguyen19d ago

Three bags of beans is wild honestly. I've used pressurized baskets before and they work fine with supermarket Lavazza but you gotta treat them like a different machine entirely. Could've saved at least one bag by checking the grind size on the first shot instead of burning through all three. Most people overthink this whole thing and end up chasing perfect crema that doesn't really matter anyway.

west.alice19d ago

Honestly never thought about it that way, but you're totally right.