# New User! Classic Pro Pouring in 30ml in 10 secs



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Hi all!

Im new to the home barista world. im finding my espresso is being made in around 10 seconds which from what ive ready is silly fast im clearly doing something wrong! any able to assist!?

Gear:



Machine: gaggia classic pro


Coffee beans: https://www.cworks.co.uk/collections/home-featured-collection/products/blend-1


Im using one of the baskets that comes with the machine (The one with most holes in the bottom for lack of a techincal term (sorry!))


Grinder: 1Zpresso JX Pro (Set to 2.0)


Timemore Black Mirror


Steps to make Coffee:



Grind coffee beans and weigh out 18g


Smack the side of the basket to try and level it out (I have a leveler coming soon)


Push down with the temper


Attach basket to gaggia


Put scale with cup underneath and basket


Hit middle button / start scale timer


Wait for scales to reach 36g and flick switch


Any ideas what im missing or failing at and Thanks for any help!


----------



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Grind finer and try again. Quite a bit finer


----------



## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

when i had my jx pro i was grinding around the 1.5 mark, so try grinding there and see how you get on, once you're close going a small step will make a difference, i could choke my machine at 1.3 clicks


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Hi Thansk for the quick replies!

My bad! just checked im already 1.x (see pic!) not 2



Cuprajake said:


> when i had my jx pro i was grinding around the 1.5 mark, so try grinding there and see how you get on, once you're close going a small step will make a difference, i could choke my machine at 1.3 clicks


 What does `chock my machine at 1.3` mean? As i guess i might be at that point?


----------



## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

choke means nothing coming out when you flick the switch

just take a pick of your basket too please

so wind the grinder all the way shut, then one full turn open it '1' ( it may not be the number one, but its your starting point)


----------



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

What coffee are you using? How old is it?


----------



## Deegee (Apr 5, 2020)

@staggerlee011 If that's the larger of the two regular baskets that came with the machine it's normally a 14g basket, that won't help reduce the time to run a shot, but might be something to remember in the future. Place a 5p on the compressed puck, lock the portafilter into the machine, then remove it without touching any of the switches, the 5p shouldn't leave an imprint on the dry coffee puck, if it does you're using too much coffee in the basket.

Re the length of shot, I'd definitely grind finer. Good luck and welcome to the forum btw.


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Hey all 

Pic of basket:










Image after coffee has been poured (Theres no water or mess after which i read was a good thing! Dont think it matters here but just to add as i dont know 












Deegee said:


> @staggerlee011 If that's the larger of the two regular baskets that came with the machine it's normally a 14g basket, that won't help reduce the time to run a shot, but might be something to remember in the future. Place a 5p on the compressed puck, lock the portafilter into the machine, then remove it without touching any of the switches, the 5p shouldn't leave an imprint on the dry coffee puck, if it does you're using too much coffee in the basket.
> 
> Re the length of shot, I'd definitely grind finer. Good luck and welcome to the forum btw.


 Thanks! will give the coin trick a go when i try a finer grain! (Today was first day trying it on fresh beans and ive had 4 already not.. not sure how many i can take without losing all hope of sleep tonight haha



Cooffe said:


> What coffee are you using? How old is it?


 Its this one: https://www.cworks.co.uk/collections/home-featured-collection/products/blend-1 arrieved yesterday and grinded same time as i did the coffee



Cuprajake said:


> choke means nothing coming out when you flick the switch
> 
> just take a pick of your basket too please
> 
> so wind the grinder all the way shut, then one full turn open it '1' ( it may not be the number one, but its your starting point)


 Thanks will do.


----------



## Cooffe (Mar 7, 2019)

Is there a date on the bag for when the coffee was roasted


----------



## scapepicture (Jan 27, 2021)

Hi, I'm also new to the gaggia classic pro and had to do quite a lot of fiddling to diall in my shots initially. After a lot of research this seemed to work:

Drop the dose to 16g, and go to the finest grind and see what happens. The standard gaggia double (non pressurised) basket that you are using doesn't seem to like more than this amount when I have tried. This helped me when I was having issues with fast or sour tasting shots. If doing this "chokes" the machine then you have somewhere to work up from by coarseness your grind gradually.


----------



## Waitforme (Dec 13, 2020)

It may be the resolution of the pic but that used coffee in the basket looks way too coarse.


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Thanks all!

will go finer in the grind tomorrow and try and take some pics see! and post results 

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies 

S


----------



## Deegee (Apr 5, 2020)

@staggerlee011 you mentioned the coffee you're using arrived yesterday and @Cooffeasked about the roast date that should be on the packet, normally roasters send coffee out within 48hrs of roasting, but it needs time to de-gas, that means the CO2 has to dissipate from the beans before you should use them, normally 10-14 days. If you use beans straight from the roaster it's common to get very sour/acidic shots that appear to "bubble" or froth coming out of the portafilter. Not sure if you knew all this, so please feel free to ignore me if you did.


----------



## Tinkstar (Nov 27, 2020)

Just 2 pennies, dont forget to purge some of the grind after changing the setting 👍


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Tinkstar said:


> Just 2 pennies, dont forget to purge some of the grind after changing the setting 👍


 Thanks will do, i saw somewhere it said to do 5-10g that sound about right to you as well?



Deegee said:


> @staggerlee011 you mentioned the coffee you're using arrived yesterday and @Cooffeasked about the roast date that should be on the packet, normally roasters send coffee out within 48hrs of roasting, but it needs time to de-gas, that means the CO2 has to dissipate from the beans before you should use them, normally 10-14 days. If you use beans straight from the roaster it's common to get very sour/acidic shots that appear to "bubble" or froth coming out of the portafilter. Not sure if you knew all this, so please feel free to ignore me if you did.


 Hi! i did not know that... There is no date on the packet but im sure i read it was refreshly roasted for the order. I literally just moved into a air sealed container (A Fellow Atmos Vacuum Canister if that matters). Based on what your saying! should i not do that and leave them out for a few days?

ie for a new bag thats freshly roasted you should:



Get a new bag


Open the bag and leave it in a stable place (ie no temp changes or sunlight) for 10-14 days


Start using it for coffee and store it in a way to try and retain refreshness


----------



## Deegee (Apr 5, 2020)

Normally you'd leave them in the bag they came in still sealed in a cool dark place to de-gas, the bags usually have a small one way valve so the CO2 can get out without inflating or stressing the bag, I'd leave them in the vac canister, but don't lock the lid on too tight, if you've got other beans you've had for a couple of weeks I'd use those until these ones are ready.

It's usual to buy and have beans stored and de-gassing in advance, then seal the valve and store them in a freezer until you want them, opinions differ on using freezers, but if they're sealed airtight they're normally good for a few months. Hth.


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Hi guys,

slightly out of context but looking at getting a bottomless portafilter:

https://www.shadesofcoffee.co.uk/bottomless-portafilter-with-walnut-wooden-handle-smooth---for-gaggia-classic-classic-pro

Based on the comments is worth getting a filter basket as well? and if so how do you choose the size of it?

https://www.shadesofcoffee.co.uk/filter-baskets-and-showerscreens/ims-baristapro-precision-filter-basket-58mm


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Size of basket should reflect the size of espresso you want to make

bigger basket , bigger dose , makes more coffee


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

but why would you have different sizes. surely a 22g can be used for 18g etc. If there a benifit for them ?

S


----------



## Tinkstar (Nov 27, 2020)

staggerlee011 said:


> but why would you have different sizes. surely a 22g can be used for 18g etc. If there a benifit for them ?
> 
> S


 No. Apparently a 22g filled with 16g would provide too much space and cause different issues. Always seems to be a 2g tolerance


----------



## staggerlee011 (Feb 23, 2021)

Ohh interesting!

But the size of the basket of you need is down to preference of taste which can change bean to bean right? Do most people have multiple sized baskets? or find they prefer it at a sized measure and always work from that?

Thanks for all the responses!


----------



## scapepicture (Jan 27, 2021)

staggerlee011 said:


> Ohh interesting!
> 
> But the size of the basket of you need is down to preference of taste which can change bean to bean right? Do most people have multiple sized baskets? or find they prefer it at a sized measure and always work from that?
> 
> Thanks for all the responses!


 I think some coffees benefit from having higher or lower doses to properly experience the subtleties that the roasters say you should taste. Adjusting the dose is not my first port of call when 'dialling' in a new coffee bean but it is supposed to be a variable. There are quite a few useful videos on YouTube about dialling in if you haven't watched them already.

Regarding your question about whether you should buy another basket with your bottomless portafilter - I recoeved a triple basket with mine but I very quickly returned to the 14g stock gaggia basket which works absolutely fine. Nevertheless, I am considering buying an 18g VST precision basket at some point as It is supposed to help with channeling.


----------



## Michael87 (Sep 20, 2019)

New basket is probably quite low down on the list of necessary upgrades. The stock basket is absolutely fine and IMO better on some cases than £25 VST ones.

Bottomless portafilfer will be very useful to help diagnose any issues. It is probably the third best source of feedback for me (behind taste and time) to tell me what I might have screwed up!

I have a few baskets and to be honest I should have saved my money because it just adds another variable and thing that can confused me. I only use one and the rest sit in the cupboard!


----------



## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Did you zero the grinder ? Cheaper model but do the same to get the zero, burrs fully closed.


----------

