# First time electric grinder - channelling horror



## jpd99 (Mar 1, 2021)

First off - I now love my new electric grinder, even after a frustrating first date (all on me). The machine in question is the Eureka Mignon Specialita (nod to @Bella Barista  for the rapid delivery), paired with a Gaggia Classic. Couldn't have been more excited when I opened the box, before spending three hours trying to understand how to get a shot that was an improvement on my manual Aergrind. I managed to plough through almost a kilo of coffee, turned my kitchen into a Jackson Pollock, took a video for you fine folk and was about to go to Café Nero before I decided to try and choke the Gaggia. Eureka! (punderful)

So the issue had been chronic channelling, despite using a grind size that seemed to feel similar to the one I'd been using on the Aergrind. Coarser or finer&#8230; neither way seemed to stop jets flying from all angles.

Since I was getting pucks with a deep screen bolt imprint I tried getting the dose right by using a coin - made very little difference. I used all possible combinations of the WDT, a spinning distributor tool, and tamper strength ranging from a quick glance to a handstand. Swapped out the IMS shower screen for stock... and back again. I think even my gasket got put on the bench for another.

FINALLY I remembered reading about choking the machine and so made the grinds as fine as possible - first shot of the day that didn't spray the floor. Maybe three more shots and got to something that timed well with a decent crema (not as much as I'd like but that can wait).

So an embarrassingly straightforward answer. I suppose my lessons were...

1. Don't try and wing it - start from something concrete and work back.

2. Have a bag of coffee on hand that you don't really care about (if you're a rookie) - this bag was a lighter roast than I'd have liked anyway... adios.

3. Wear a t-shirt that you don't really care about, too.

4. A cheap Amazon electronic scale might not survive a sustained deluge of hot coffee.


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

Have you tried it with a single outlet portafilter


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## jpd99 (Mar 1, 2021)

Instant no more ! said:


> Have you tried it with a single outlet portafilter


 Do you mean this sort of thing?

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/Mobile/en/Rancilio-Single-Spout-ø-38-OEM---21102601/m-m-4355.aspx?PartnerID=22&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl9GCBhDvARIsAFunhskffKTWv44_gQzBAM_pTCb_7Yy1_6x5FHy4ZEvgsDH8CFB2bYinm64aAjduEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom

I have a conventional double spout but was quite keen to see what was going wrong in the puck. I actually tried the double spout too a few times, mainly to save on the cleaning up. Still a light coloured, bubbling mess!


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## Instant no more ! (Feb 17, 2015)

Re the light colour , This is due to the beans you are using , A light roast , If you want a dark coffee you need a high dark roast, this will also taste stronger

Re the portafilter duel outlet , If you can un screw this then yes the single should fit as long as the thread size is the same

Frothing mess ? When the coffee comes out it will include a quantity of froth ( Creamer ) if thats how you spell it ?

This is normal , On the Classic you can't adjust the pressure

Best have a look at this video for some pointers on use


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## jpd99 (Mar 1, 2021)

You're right. I'd like to try darker roasts.

The crema's fine - this was just a spluttering mess from coarse grinding. Better now!


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## Tinkstar (Nov 27, 2020)

jpd99 said:


> You're right. I'd like to try darker roasts.
> 
> The crema's fine - this was just a spluttering mess from coarse grinding. Better now!
> 
> View attachment 55212


 I too work from a chocked point of view and work back, I cant deal with the shot of dark hot liquid lava 🤣


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## jpd99 (Mar 1, 2021)

Tinkstar said:


> I too work from a chocked point of view and work back, I cant deal with the shot of dark hot liquid lava 🤣


 Yeah the spraying was wild! Just couldn't tame it. Wish I'd thought of choking about 2hrs before I did.....


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