# Noob question ahead



## DavidW (Jan 16, 2019)

Hi guys, iÂ'm new to making fresh coffee and have just bought a used Gaggia classic.

I bought fresh pre ground a few weeks ago and have tried that and it came out really good, nice flow and good taste.

However I received an order from Rave coffee last week and came to try it today (espresso pre ground) The flow was extremely slow and the taste was quite bitter. I did what I did with my last batch and used the small black valve in my portafilter, filled up my basket and tamped it down.

Is there something IÂ'm missing? Sorry that itÂ's a noob question!


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## mremanxx (Dec 30, 2014)

Hi,

You will find that it is due to a couple of things. The coffee from Rave will be fresher and most likely ground finer. If you really want to improve your coffee experience buy second hand decent grinder and buy freshly roasted beans. Night and day.


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## Inspector (Feb 23, 2017)

If you dont have unpressurized basket try not to tamp hard.


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## DavidW (Jan 16, 2019)

Inspector said:


> If you dont have unpressurized basket try not to tamp hard.


I've tried without tamping and it's slightly quicker, but still very slow. I'm thinking it's the grind that is too fine, is there any way around this?


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

DavidW said:


> I've tried without tamping and it's slightly quicker, but still very slow. I'm thinking it's the grind that is too fine, is there any way around this?


Do you have a non pressurised basket you could try the coffee in? Unfortunately with it being preground you're restricted to using tamp pressure and/or dose to tune the shot.


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## DavidW (Jan 16, 2019)

ashcroc said:


> Do you have a non pressurised basket you could try the coffee in? Unfortunately with it being preground you're restricted to using tamp pressure and/or dose to tune the shot.


I don't, I have just ordered one though. Do you know if there's a different grind level I could choose from when ordering online? Seeing as a grinder isn't an option yet.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

DavidW said:


> I don't, I have just ordered one though. Do you know if there's a different grind level I could choose from when ordering online? Seeing as a grinder isn't an option yet.


That's a tough one. I've only ever used a pressurised basket with supermarket preground & that was only for a couple of days while I waited for a grinder to turn up. Since the pressurised basket is designed to pruduce the pressure instead of the correct grind, a filter grind should work ok.

For now with the coffee you have, try reducing the dose either with a very light tamp (just the weight of the tamper) or no tamp at all so there's less resistance in the puck. Obviously it'll give you a smaller shot for the same ratio compared with a full basket but at least you can use the coffee you already have.


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