# Newbie struggling with Gaggia Viva



## Marushka82 (Jan 28, 2020)

Hi everyone, I'm super super new to brewing coffee but sick of drinking instant and just received a Gaggia Viva. Followed set up instructions, did a manual rinse and I wanted to try and brew the first coffee but ... nothing came out and the machine shut itself off - I'm guessing it happened because it overheated. I don't have a grinder yet so bought some coffee from Pact (and selected a grind for coffee machines - the pack says it's a fine grind). 
When the portafilter is in with no coffee in it it's fine and water pours out. I put one measure of coffee in the basket and tamped it gently and still no coffee comes out. Should I pack it in? Fill it to the brim?

I'd be really grateful for tips - please be gentle I'm really new to all this!!!


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## ArisP (Dec 17, 2019)

Hi there,

Sounds like the coffee has been ground too fine for your machine. The Viva uses pressurized portafilters, so you need a coffee ground a bit coarser.

If you want to make sure that there is nothing wrong, go to the supermarket and buy a ground Lavazza or Illy espresso, those are usually ground more coarse and should be fine for you.

Finally, no don't fill it to the brim, and don't tamp hard. Alllow the coffee to sit about a finger's worth of thickness below the top of the portafilter after light tamping.


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## GrowlingDog (Apr 10, 2016)

The Gaggia Viva is not designed to be used with a proper Espresso ground coffee. Pact will have done an Espresso grind.

A coffee machine needs to pump at high pressure, about 9 bar, to push water through a puck of coffee ground really fine, the Gaggia Viva can't do that.

You will need to use a much a much coarser ground coffee, something from a supermarket would probably get you going.

To be really honest, if you've bought it, send it back and get a secondhand Gaggia Classic from someone on this forum. It will make much better coffee.


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## Marushka82 (Jan 28, 2020)

Thank you so much everyone! I'm grateful for the advice and really annoyed with myself that I didn't do more research ? I want to eventually get a grinder but for now will need to use pre-ground and return the Viva. And make sure to get something with a non pressurised porta filter!


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## Marushka82 (Jan 28, 2020)

I'm now paranoid the retailer will make it difficult to return the machine. I have only done a manual rinse and didn't use the frother or didn't really use coffee - have the original packaging still (though obviously cannot package it exactly like it was packaged when it arrived!) Really angry with myself now (but once I get a refund I'll look at getting a Gaggia classic ?


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