I’m using this recently acquired bad boy here to brew my espresso (bought it for $40 used), after having used a nespresso capsule machine for a few years.

I have a bit of a hard time brewing a consistent Espresso with it though. Often the flow is absolutely terrible, and barely any water flows through the coffee, despite using the exact same amount of beans. I measure on a scale with 0.01g accuracy, not my regular kitchen weight.

Is the grind consistency really what’s messing it up for me? I’m using one of those “blender style” grinders at the moment and it has served me just fine for French press in the past, but I know they’re terrible for controlling the fineness of the grind.

  • Io Sapsai 🌱@lemm.ee
    1·
    1 year ago

    Blade grinders make for really inconsistent distribution. I had the same problem with a very similar espresso machine and ended up throwing it in the garage and moved on to pour over after upgrading my grinder.

    It made a whole world of difference once I moved from my Lidl blade grinder to a porlex mini (wouldn’t recommend for espresso). Then another world after upgrading to a 1zpresso JX (cost me about 140$ plus shipping). Other people might know better but 1zpresso also have a budget grinder that might fit your budget…

    Another thing I’d recommend is buying pre-ground coffee and seeing if that works for you.

    And to piggyback this post with my own related question, would I be able to brew a good cup of coffee with the machine OP posted when using coffee, ground with my JX? I don’t really have much counter space for an espresso machine but I was curious…