# Shot pulls with no pressure (Breville/Sage Barista Express)



## Punit (3 mo ago)

I'm hoping I've not inadvertently broken my machine. I recently purchased some beans from a shop, same brand and type as I've used before (Assembly: Assembly House Espresso), I only noticed when I got home that the roast date on these was 3 months ago.

I had been pulling good shots of coffee with other beans as well as the Assembly bean I had purchased online. I had completely run out hence I bought these from the shop.

Prior to using this new batch of beans, I cleaned out the burr and also adjusted the inner burr by one step towards a finer grind. However when I pulled a shot, the water rapidly ran through the puck, I was at 40g extraction within 8 seconds from an 18g dose. The pressure gauge did not move until after the pre-infusion when it only move slightly, barely to the first mark on the dial.

I had followed the same workflow as I had been doing. I had recently descaled the machine so don't think it's a scaling issue and at the same time I had followed the cleaning process as well and changed the water filter. It was working fine since then, until now. I used the cleaning disc and could see the pressure was there, I also used an empty double walled basket and could see the pressure gauge move as expected. So it seems it's not a pressure issue.

So I tried the following:

1. Reset the inner burr back to the original setting (6)
2. Different doses ranging from 15g to 20g
3. Different grinds from finest to very coarse
4. Different tamp pressures
5. With and without puck disc
6. Adjusted the inner burr to one of the finest settings and the outer to the finest settings. I can see and hear the difference when the bean are being ground so I can't imagine the grind size being an issue

All of the above gave me exactly the same results:
1. Shot pulled through within a few seconds
2. Pressure dial only moved after pre-infusion and even then only just to the first mark

I'm waiting on more beans to be delivered, the ones I had been using just before this batch.

I suppose I'm asking two questions:

1. Does the fact that the beans were roasted 3 months ago make such a big difference in pulling a shot?
2. If not, what else could it be?

Once I've tried another set of beans it may shed more light hopefully.

EDIT :-

I have a Breville/Sage Barista Express (purchased new in 2018). I am only now starting to really learn to properly dial in my espresso.

The problem I'm having at times (even with freshly roasted beans, within a week or two), whether I grind the beans coarsely or finely, the shot pulls through very quick, 18g in, 36g out in 10 seconds.

I would have thought changing the grind size would have made a difference but it hasn't.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.


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