Grinding too fine for 3 years until a barista set me straight

Went to a small shop in Portland last weekend. Guy behind the counter asked what I was brewing on. Told him my setup. He watched me dial in and just stopped me mid-pour. Said my grind looked like powder. He was right. I was pulling 45 second shots thinking that was normal. Turned out my burrs were almost touching. Backed it off 4 full numbers on my grinder. Now my shots finish in 28 seconds and actually taste like fruit instead of ash. Anyone else spend years chasing bad numbers before someone fixed it for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_patel13h ago

Man, "taste like fruit instead of ash" really hit me. I spent two years on a similar setup thinking my espresso was supposed to taste like burnt rubber. Turned out I was grinding so fine the water barely made it through. Felt like an idiot when a friend finally showed me what a real 30 second shot looked like. It is crazy how one person can just flip your whole world around like that. But hey, at least we finally got there, right? Better late than never.

gonzalez.anna11h ago

Oh yes, the burnt rubber phase! I did the same thing with my old Gaggia. I was so stubborn about my grind setting, thought finer was always better because that's what the internet said. My shots took like 50 seconds and tasted like licking a campfire. A barista at a shop near me finally pulled me a shot on their machine and I almost cried. It was like a completely different drink, sweet and smooth. Now I tell everyone who starts out to just watch the clock, not the grind size.