# Hi! ... and Help! :)



## Baldo (Jun 2, 2015)

Hi, this is my first post so please bare with me.

I have a 1 month old 2015 model Gaggia Classic (bought from new), Im using this with standard portafilter / basket (with the pressurised crema device thing) and a modded wand (not applicable to this query, I know)

Im well aware that using my own grinder etc is whats best, but at the minute any grinder thats worth buying is out of my budget.

After several unsucessful attempts to use freshly ground coffee from my local starbucks, i moved to using Illy pre-ground espresso. This has worked fine, i can do singles / doubles, add quite a bit of tamp pressure etc and the espresso pulls through ok with a decent amount of crema. Basically I can be pretty lax in my prep and still get a not-bad espresso.

in my pursuit for a better tasting cup, i recently gave Pact coffee a shot...using thier 'espresso' grind, the coffee was roasted two days before delivery, and ground literally the day before it was in my house.

As with the starbucks coffee, several different tamp pressures, coffee amounts, prep methods all cause the machine to choke. The only way to get any kinf of flow is to literally put the grind in the basket and not tamp at all.

Im conscious that the grinds are perhaps too fine, but would expect to be able to pull somehting through even if its a very slow one??

Does anyone have experience of Pact, and the way they grind?

Could it be my machine (im guessing not)?

Any help or advice would be much apprieciated!

Thanks!


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## Kman10 (Sep 3, 2014)

You need to use unpressurised baskets


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Baldo, I don't know how it works with stuff you order already ground from a roaster but generally when we're talking beans we say that they have to be rested after roasting (people use them early sometimes but often it's rested for a week before using it).

So I'm wondering if the Pact stuff is too fresh, I know when beans get older that I have to gind finer (or think I know that), so you may get some flow if you try in the future. The crema device thingy is basically telling you that the basket is restricted with only one hole in the bottom which means it's likely the Gaggia is finding it too hard to push water through the fine grind of the coffee and out of that hole (you've "choked the machine"). As every machine out there will use a slightly different grind to try and get a good coffee, you're getting a generic grind from Pact so it always has potential to be hit and miss depending on the machine used.

The good thing is that Pact are pretty responsive customer service wise, so if I was you I'd tell them the coffee you had choked the machine, that you have a gaggia classic etc. and can they do a slightly coarser grind for you to try - obviously no point in you continuing if you can't get coffee from them that you can use, so they may go for it.

and as much mentioned above it could be better to try the unpressurised basket if that's an option to.

Hope that's of help.

Thanks,


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

If you use fresh coffee with a pressurised basket you could damage your machine. Here's my old Dualit with freshly ground coffee..

[video=youtube;Uv-_AJO5Vo0]






Ooops...


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

You really need to get an un pressurised basket, as has been mentioned already the pressurised one only has the one single hole underneath it and doesnt allow the flow which is why you are experiencing the restriction.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

pre ground coffee , wont be fresh for long though .....the pressurised basket is designed to be used with pre ground no.

half an hour after opening pre ground from anywhere , is started to turn


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

I will just add there have been a few others with the same \ similar issue when using pact coffee

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?24662-Intermittent-flow-pressure-issues&highlight=pact+coffee

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?24123-Using-gaggia-Classic&highlight=pact+coffee


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## Baldo (Jun 2, 2015)

Thanks for all of your replies. I've now ordered a non pressurised basket for my machine so I'll give this a go first and see if that improves the situation. If not then I'm going to stump up the cash and get myself a decent grinder.


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## Baldo (Jun 2, 2015)

A quick update for anyone interested...just tried the non pressurised basket with the pact coffee and it worked a treat. Little bit of trial and error to perfect it, but managed to pull a good shot, plenty of crema and no bitter after-taste. Much happier









thanks again.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Great stuff... but you still really need to be grinding it fresh, yourself, to get the most out of your machine and beans...

It's often said by experienced coffee geeks - but not often believed by anyone starting their coffee journey - but the grinder really is at least as important as the machine, and many (me included) would argue that it was much more important. Garbage in... garbage out...

Spend as much as you can on a great grinder, and with the loose change that you have left buy an espresso machine!


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## Baldo (Jun 2, 2015)

I can believe it









im in the process of researching which grinder to go for and then one will be on the September purchase list.

Thanks again.


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## Phoenix (Jun 18, 2014)

If money is a issue you may be better getting a hand grinder it would be considerably cheaper.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Baldo said:


> A quick update for anyone interested...just tried the non pressurised basket with the pact coffee and it worked a treat. Little bit of trial and error to perfect it, but managed to pull a good shot, plenty of crema and no bitter after-taste. Much happier
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Im glad it sorted out the problem.


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## theaaron123 (Aug 30, 2015)

If you're willing to put in the effort I've been getting good results with a manual Hario grinder. Takes a good few minutes to get a double basket out of it especially fine enough for espresso. You can pick one up for about £20 on Amazon at the moment.


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## Okigen (Aug 22, 2015)

theaaron123 said:


> If you're willing to put in the effort I've been getting good results with a manual Hario grinder. Takes a good few minutes to get a double basket out of it especially fine enough for espresso. You can pick one up for about £20 on Amazon at the moment.


I would second this. I used Pact preground before and got 2 major isssues:

1. Taste is not as good as coffee shops (of course).

2. And more importantly, extraction rate is low. Coffee turns blonde after just 10-15 seconds so you end up with very little coffee. With fresh ground you should get at least 25-30 sec. So not an economical option.

The £20 price tag above possibly refer to Hario Skerton? The Hario Slim Mill is actually only £12 - £15. It's almost the same, just smaller. It has some drawbacks but will still give you an instant and significant jump compared to preground.


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