# Perfect extraction one day, choked machine the next



## Noodle (Jul 11, 2019)

I have a barista express that i use daily and always clean well and keep in good working order. The last week I've been having a perfect 2:1 ratio extraction at 30 seconds and have enjoyed coffee heaven every single morning. Until today.

Same warm up time (half an hour), same grind (setting 3), same dose (19g). But when I hit the button today to extract I get drip drip drip.

I have no idea why, and it took adjusting the grind setting up 3 notches to get anything close to the proper extraction I was after.

Is anyone able to shed any light on why this might be happening?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Noodle said:


> I have a barista express that i use daily and always clean well and keep in good working order. The last week I've been having a perfect 2:1 ratio extraction at 30 seconds and have enjoyed coffee heaven every single morning. Until today.
> 
> Same warm up time (half an hour), same grind (setting 3), same dose (19g). But when I hit the button today to extract I get drip drip drip.
> 
> ...


 Ageing of beans - tamping and distrubution . The way the water moves through a coffee puck and how long it takes are effect by all of those . Some people will say taping pressure but it's unlikely to be that to the degree you are talking about.

Other than that is your machine displaying any odd noises or straining while working that it wasnt before >


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## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Mrboots2u said:


> Ageing of beans - tamping and distrubution . The way the water moves through a coffee puck and how long it takes are effect by all of those . Some people will say taping pressure but it's unlikely to be that to the degree you are talking about.
> 
> Other than that is your machine displaying any odd noises or straining while working that it wasnt before >


 Could also be if there's any old grinds left in the chute. The distance it has to go is quite short, but still retains some, in my experiences. I used to purge (and still do) about 5g of coffee before my first shot.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Cooffe said:


> Could also be if there's any old grinds left in the chute. The distance it has to go is quite short, but still retains some, in my experiences. I used to purge (and still do) about 5g of coffee before my first shot.


 For sure , although you would think older coffee mixed with new would speed the shot up a bit ..


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## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Mrboots2u said:


> For sure , although you would think older coffee mixed with new would speed the shot up a bit ..


 Definitely. I just thought that... Wonder if OP loaded it with new beans, and they've just made their way through?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Cooffe said:


> Definitely. I just thought that... Wonder if OP loaded it with new beans, and they've just made their way through?


 Could be , I mean if in your espresso life , if every shot comes out the same weight, in the same time, with the same bean, then your doing better than 99% of people.


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## Noodle (Jul 11, 2019)

Thanks for the responses everyone! The beans were the same, I've been using the same beans for about a week. So ageing could be an issue I suppose but for them to change so fast is strange?Perhaps I should work on my tamping technique. It'll be interesting if tomorrow I try again and it comes out far too fast. The machine itself seems to be performing just fine, no weird noises.

I'll update tomorrow after I do a better job of distributing, tamp with a little less pressure and purge the grinder!


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Noodle said:


> Thanks for the responses everyone! The beans were the same, I've been using the same beans for about a week. So ageing could be an issue I suppose but for them to change so fast is strange?Perhaps I should work on my tamping technique. It'll be interesting if tomorrow I try again and it comes out far too fast. The machine itself seems to be performing just fine, no weird noises.
> I'll update tomorrow after I do a better job of distributing, tamp with a little less pressure and purge the grinder!


Did you rest the beans before first use?


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## Noodle (Jul 11, 2019)

They were roasted on 29th June, and I first used them on 5th July so I suppose they've had long enough?

Updates! 19g coffee gave me 40g in 17 seconds... on the same grind setting as yesterday that just about came out quick enough. One thing I did do last night was give my machine a thorough clean and used a cleaning tablet.

This morning I also tamped with less pressure and spent more time distributing the grounds evenly.

I could expect tamping and distribution to have a significant impact but could it really be so much?


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## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Noodle said:


> They were roasted on 29th June, and I first used them on 5th July so I suppose they've had long enough?
> 
> Updates! 19g coffee gave me 40g in 17 seconds... on the same grind setting as yesterday that just about came out quick enough. One thing I did do last night was give my machine a thorough clean and used a cleaning tablet.
> 
> ...


 19g dose? What machine are you using and do you have a 20-22g basket?

EDIT: Just noticed it's a Barista Express. 19g is a lot in one of them. I found the sweet spot at 17g dose


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> For sure , although you would think older coffee mixed with new would speed the shot up a bit ..


 You would think that if the coffee is older it should run faster not slower


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Noodle said:


> They were roasted on 29th June, and I first used them on 5th July so I suppose they've had long enough?
> 
> Updates! 19g coffee gave me 40g in 17 seconds... on the same grind setting as yesterday that just about came out quick enough. One thing I did do last night was give my machine a thorough clean and used a cleaning tablet.
> 
> ...


 Impacts, tamp pressure not so much. Trust me, 5 to 10lbs less or extra pressure isn't changing the shot thst much. Getting it even in the basket definately has an impact


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Are you weighing the grind manually?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## Noodle (Jul 11, 2019)

urbanbumpkin said:


> Are you weighing the grind manually?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


 Yes, i grind and then put the portafilter on my coffee scales. What other method is there?


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## Noodle (Jul 11, 2019)

Cooffe said:


> 19g dose? What machine are you using and do you have a 20-22g basket?
> 
> EDIT: Just noticed it's a Barista Express. 19g is a lot in one of them. I found the sweet spot at 17g dose


 Ooo ok thanks for the tip. What ratio do you go for?


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## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Noodle said:


> Ooo ok thanks for the tip. What ratio do you go for?


 Dependent on the bean but normally 1:2 as a starting point. Yirgacheffes I went as high as 1:3, and some very very dark beans I had I think I actually did 1:1.25


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Noodle said:


> Yes, i grind and then put the portafilter on my coffee scales. What other method is there?


Sorry I just wondered if you were single dosing (weighing bean then grinding) or grinding beans the weighing the grinds.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## Noodle (Jul 11, 2019)

urbanbumpkin said:


> Sorry I just wondered if you were single dosing (weighing bean then grinding) or grinding beans the weighing the grinds.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


 Ahhh ok! No i grind and then weigh and then add or remove with a small spoon


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