# too much water



## JonoCooper (Jul 13, 2015)

Hi,

I'm a complete newbie - I have a gaggia classic with a PID fitted (just purchased second hand) and I'm using a sage smart grinder. The extraction time is set to 25 seconds on the PID. I've got the grinder set to '9' for the fineness of the grind. I can grind finer if necessary.

I'm getting about 100ml of water coming through when i pull a shot, and when i take the portafilter off there's water sat on top of the puk. Any suggestions very gratefully received!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Weigh









the dose in the pf

the amount of coffee coming out ....

oh and read ....

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?22879-Beginners-Reading-Weighing-Espresso-Brew-Ratios

Perhaps read , then weigh

or get some scales first ( if you don't ave any )

Side notes - whats the coffee your using , and how old is it


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## JonoCooper (Jul 13, 2015)

Looks like a really great article - thanks very much. I do have some scales so I'll give that a whirl in the morning and let you know. I did actually weigh the coffee prior to extraction and it was 14g. The coffee is a waitrose coffee that i bought at the weekend although no roasting date, so may be old.

Thanks very much for your help


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Fresh coffee will help....help alot


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

Hey Jono

Weighing in will definitely help.

Can you grind fine enough to choke the machine?

Where did you buy it from?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

aaroncornish said:


> Hey Jono
> 
> Weighing in will definitely help.
> 
> ...


It's "our one" Aaron


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

That is what I was getting at Jo haha. In which case I know the machine works fine, or at least it did


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## bronc (Dec 10, 2012)

Buy freshly roasted coffee: UK based roasters. To name a few: Rave, Has Bean, Coffee Compass, Foundry Coffee Roasters, Smokey Barn, Square Mile. Start with a 1:2 brew ratio - 14g ground coffee in 28g liquid in 25-30 sec. Adjust to taste from there. Make sure you weigh the coffee before and after's its ground at least a few times to see if the grinder has any retention. As far as tamping is concerned - evenness and consistency is more important than pressure.


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

Make sure you are using the right basket. I sent it with to Jlarkin with a single and a triple - not sure if you have a double - I used an 18g VST


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I didn't even take the baskets out of the packet, I bought and used a VST with it and passed the previous baskets along with the machine (not the VST ones).

Also worth asking, is the grinder the Sage Smart Grinder Pro or the original Smart Grinder? I've seen here on the forum that the original smart grinder might need a "shim" to make it grind better for espresso. I struggled with the Smart Grinder Pro as well to get the grind, I'd be using a toothpick to break up clumps in it before tamping.


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

Great stuff. What dose VST was it?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

aaroncornish said:


> Great stuff. What dose VST was it?


Sorry updated the wording, I meant that I passed the original baskets along still all nicely wrapped as I used VST ones with it, that I kept (as you would  )


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