Hi Guys,

Need the help/advise from some of you experienced techs. We roast our own and have been using the same espresso blend for quite a while. The blend was created this year from the new crop coffees and has been excellent. Recently over the past 2 days the espresso shots have little to no crema. All fresh coffee ground as needed. The machine was service 2 weeks ago and was pulling good shots after the service call. Can someone give me some things to look at or center in on as possible culprits.

 

Thank you all.

 

Nick

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first things first, - what's the bar pressure reading on the guage?  has it changed since being serviced? typically, (with some exceptions) bar pressure should read between nine and ten bars when the pump is engaged.  (when shots are brewing)

what's the water temp?  has it changed since being serviced?

thanks for the quick reply. Bar pressure is normal, temp. i have to check but seems right but i need to check it closely.be back with an answer. thank you very much.

using a therm. in the espresso the temp. of the espresso itself right as it was done being pulled was 170 deg. if that helps. I dont have a temp. gauge on the machine

The brewing temp should be between 195 and 205 degrees F when the water comes into contact with the espresso. There will be a temperature drop by the time the espresso pours into a shot glass, approximately 20 degrees F. I would only use a good digital thermometer, analog thermometers are rarely calibrated correctly. You should measure your shot times to see if the grind is correct too. Shot times for a double shot should time between 18 to 23 seconds. Boiler pressure should be at 1.1 Bar on a traditional machine. Pump pressure should be at approximately 9 Bar when pulling double shots. Lastly, when in doubt start with a unopened bag of beans and grind per shot because pre-ground espresso goes stale quickly resulting in poor creme. There is more to know but this much will get you started in the right direction.

My first suspect is the coffee, unless you've tried a couple of different roast batches?

Also, check that the groups are assembled correctly with all parts present.

How is the flavor of the shot, by the way?

Good luck!

Hi guys, thank you all for the responses. I did use an analog them. however i calibrate them daily so they are pretty accurate. shot times are times are timed 4 times a day because we are near the beach and the weather and humidity change frequently. boiler pressure is right on and shots are pulled at 8 to 9 bars. espresso coffee is roasted  weekly and kept fresh airtight.  hope this helps. thank you all again

flavor is good btw. thanks

nick placakis said:

Hi guys, thank you all for the responses. I did use an analog them. however i calibrate them daily so they are pretty accurate. shot times are times are timed 4 times a day because we are near the beach and the weather and humidity change frequently. boiler pressure is right on and shots are pulled at 8 to 9 bars. espresso coffee is roasted  weekly and kept fresh airtight.  hope this helps. thank you all again

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