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Breville Barista Express

I just replaced a DeLonghi machine I had for about 6 or 7 years b/c it was leaking water all over the counter. Got the Breville Barista Express and have made about 8 drinks so far using Starbucks Christmas Blend Espresso. The espresso is still bitter and my double shots are coming up a little short but its still been pretty darn good!
 
The bitterness can come from a number of sources.

1) Beans are old:

Try to buy un-ground beans from a local roasting company that puts a "roasted on" date on their product. try to use beans before 2 weeks past the listed "roasted on" date. Grind your beans just before you make your espresso. Grind only enough beans to fill your portafilter and grind each time you make espresso. Don't shortcut. The fresher the better. Rule is brew within 15 minutes of grinding beans for the freshest taste.

2) Machine is too cold:

Give your machine enough time to get to brew temp. with an espresso machine the entire system must be at a stabilized HOT temperature not just the water in the boiler. Don't rush. Wait.

3) Brew water is too cold:

You can try to "temperature surf" by switching to steam temp until it heats to steam then switching back to brew temp and dumping some water through the portafilter to drop the temp back to what it needs to be at to brew properly. Check your temp with an instant read digital thermometer and make a note of how much time it takes between steam temp and brew temp then flush for the same amount of time and wait this amount of time every time before you brew.

If you can't get the machine to temp there is not much you can do about this if your machine has been on long enough to get HOT and the boiler is still too cold and you have temp surfed to find 200 +/- degrees (195-205 should be your target temp on a home machine). Use an instant read digital thermometer and stick it in the flow water coming out of the portafilter when making coffee. If it is below 190 even after temp surfing to raise it, contact the place you purchased the machine as you have one with an internal problem you can not "adjust out".

3) Extraction time is too fast:

It should take between 18 and 24 seconds for a double pull to complete. Use a stopwatch and time how long it takes the machine to make 2 oz shot. If it is too slow you need to grind the beans finer. If it is too long or the machine chokes the grind is too fine. The time of a 2 oz shot is determined by the grind which is why a good grinder is important in espresso making. A couple seconds each way will effect the taste in your cup.

4) Tamping is too light:

Like #3 above the time of a pull is dependent on the fineness of the grind and the tamping of the grounds. Shoot for 30 psi but the tamp your machine "wants" may be more or less depending on the beans, how they were roasted (dark or light), and how fine they are ground. The finer the grind the lighter the tamp can be. This is a basic rule of thumb but no numbers to give you. You just need to develop a "feel" for your grind and how much to tamp to get the pull you want.

Always work with a stop watch and a 2-3 oz shot glass (with 1/2 oz increments marked off on it) when learning a new machine. Time, volume, and proper temperature make a good shot if you have fresh beans that are ground properly.
 
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Thank you Turtle! Great information, and I took notes for when I try again tomorrow morning! I've had fun with it soo far. And it does milk much better than my old machine.
 
I just got the same machine as a Christmas gift. It's my first espresso machine and like you I am having a few problems, but I am making slow progress - and drinking more coffee than normal :) I tried the single wall but switched to the double wall, and that has helped a bit. I am still getting some problems with grind and tamping. I have tried to "dial" it in but so far I get close but not quite what I want. I am going to try a different coffee next time. But, at this point I am using a finer grind and a lighter tamp.

I am getting really nice micro foam and trying my hand at latte art. So far it looks like blobs :) But, the blobs are getting better.....
 
In my opinion, and I've been doing this for over 20 years, the freshness of the whole beans is the very first thing to check out and the simplest thing in your control. Try to find a local roaster, and there may be many like there are here in the Twin Cities, that has the freshest beans available. Like roasted that day, or the day before. Start there first. Hopefully that will give you better results.
 
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