# Diagnosis - Am I right?



## mraddersuk (Jul 22, 2012)

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106109727546703748016/albums/posts

Above is how I pulled a double shot of Illy pre-ground coffee. The pour is really slim and it takes a while. Normally I get a nice shot with nice crema but it is quick and thick. I normally use freshly roasted coffee ground in my bottom-of-the-range burr grinder.

My diagnosis is this...

With the freshly roasted coffee I have been tamping quite hard as the finest setting on my cheap burr grinder is not fine enough. I get an OK shot. The Illy is preground but probably ground with a top notch grinder and is at the near perfect consistency. As I am tamping hard, I've tamped the Illy down too much.

Diagnosis... Get a better burr grinder for the fresh coffee and tamp the pre ground stuff a little lighter. I will try the latter later and report.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Yeah I think most would agree that fresh beans and a good grinder are essential, also grind fine and tamp light. Works best for me that way.


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

How long does it take: over 30 seconds?

How does it taste?

Usually you will want the extraction to take 25-30 seconds although sometimes you may want to venture outside this for certain coffees.


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## repeat (Nov 14, 2009)

It looks like it did when I had to buy pre-ground (even from hasbean), thin and fast. Too many variables with coffee, age, machine, etc, etc and being able to adjust your grinder on fresh coffee helps greatly to improve chances of producing something nice.


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