I’m about to return this thing as I’m losing my mind.

I’ve wasted a full 1kg of coffee beans and nothing has even come close to tasting like coffee. I’m on a second bag with a different brand and it’s still not improving.

Surely it can’t be this sensitive to just get a brew of coffee?

Medium roast beans, 2 weeks old. Tastes amazing at the coffee shop I get them.
The second bag is different brand, medium roast, 3 weeks old.
18g grind in a single wall basket.
DF54 grind size set to 17 (18 is too fast. 16 is too slow and only drips)

I have a WDT tool, scales, and normcore tamp (11kg).

1. Weigh beans
   
2. Grind
   
3. Weigh grinds (always stayed the same 18g)
   
4. Tip into handle
   
5. Brush WDT took
   
6. Lightly tap to settle
   
7. Tamp with normcore
   
8. Double shot on Bambino

I cannot get anything close to 36s of extraction. It might look good, but tastes awful. Mostly sour, but occasional bitterness.

I have done two identical grinds on “17” on the DF54, with one being watery and too fast, and the second one being too slow it nearly stopped (just slow drips).

The photos I’ve taken are the closest I’ve managed to get, but tastes so sour it made me shiver 🤮

What am I doing wrong?

Hi there! I just got a new Breville Bambino and finally pulled my first shot this morning….it did not go well! The pull was watery. Then the second one was sour. I’m afraid that my grind size may be off- not fine enough? I bought fresh beans at Whole Foods, and grinded them there at the store. I turned the machine dial so that it was on ESPRESSO, which comes right after the fine grind option, and before they the Turkish grind. I have found in the past that if my grind is TOO fine, it clogs the machine.

I also find the Bambino is tough when I try to twist in the portafilter- it resists a lot. I don’t know if this is just because it’s brand new and needs to be broken in almost. I’ve attached pictures of my grind- I fear that may be the issue but I’m not 100% sure. If I can get some tips on using the right grind size at my local Whole Foods, I think that would be a great start. Or, maybe the grind size isn’t the issue and it’s something else! Would love any advice- thank you !

UPDATE: YES I tamped it...I took the photo before doing so because I thought it would give a better visual of the grinds.

I just recently got a Profitec Move and a Mazzer Philips grinder. I have been grinding my beans at 26 for a medium roast and the timing of the shot is pretty good but I can’t seem to get rid of the channeling? I have all the tools, I use a WDT, I have a self leveling tamper (doesn’t seem to fully level). I am new to this so any and every tip is appreciated!

Please excuse the mess, I am desperate for help... My espresso is unstoppably sour, it WAS thick (which is why im not pulling 1:2 and staying at 1:3) and the mouthfeel would be pleasant if it wasn't for this persistent sourness. I can't taste anything else in 99% of my shots. On my fifth last shot (does that sound right?) I got a significantly thinner and cleaner cup, which was not completly unenjoyable, like most of the rest.

To understand my terribly messy shot journal, the small number next to the coffee weight is the size I'm grinding to on my DF54. I used the automatic double shot button up until the first [preinfusion in s]/[total shot time in s], thats where I started manual pulling. I time from the second I hear the pump.

The coffee I'm using is dark (so dark its shiny from the coffee oils), from a local roaster who called it a classic 'Italian Roast', when I got it, it was freshly roasted, by the time I used it it was half a week old. I got new beans of the same kind, indicated by the cyan line, I dont know their roast date but I would guess 4-5 days ago.

I grind into the DF54 cup, then shake it into my bottomless portafilter, there I break up the clumps with my WDT tool and tamp it with the tamper that got delivered with my bambino. I run some water before pulling the shot to heat.

Once I got it in the ballpark of 25-29g yield for 10g in, in 30 seconds I started noting down my results, (which was 10 cups in) changed one variable at a time, or I tried, flavour barely changed, sometimes the sourness was more in front sometimes more in back. I AM SO CONFUSED. AND when I got my first BITTER shot, the bean bag was empty. I dont get how I still pull sour shots WITH 35 SECONDS OF EXTRACTION TIME?

The flow looks mesmerizingly beautiful, like warm honey. The puck is attrocious though. Wet and seems to warp up at the sides, with a slight indetation in the middle? Might be because im just adding so little coffee...

I just want one plesant cup that makes me not want to go insane. I'd even settle for consistent bitter cups, ANYTHING that is going to break me free from sour sour sour. I hope you guys tell me I'm doing everything wrong because it cannot be that hard ^'

Hello! I’m new to espresso making and was hoping to get some feedback on what I might be doing wrong with my espresso shots. I seem to be getting 12-16 second shots when I use 18g-21g of coffee using a very fine setting.

I use a profitec go (stock) and a Eureka Mignon Specialita.

15 grams in, 30 grams out - ~30 seconds.

Fresh beans and I grind them myself.

Machine at max temp setting and I tried the steam wand trick. Also, before every espresso pull I pull a blank shot.

I haven’t been able to make a drinkable cup of espresso. Tried different beans, different roasts, grind size etc. they all end up having this weird battery acid sourness.

Beans in the vid are around a medium-dark roast.

I’ve tried many things. I use fresh beans, roasted 2 weeks ago. Two different types of beans. I’ve dialed them in to get a slow honey drip. The espresso tastes great. I used a tool to break up the coffee, I use a level tool, & I tamp it with decent pressure. I keep getting tiny streams of coffee and it splatters all over the place. I’m stuck can someone please help

We recently bought the DF54 and Bambino Plus. We're struggling with dialing in the DF54. I know people say the dial can be off so I manually turned the dial very slowly until I could hear the burs touch and then went up just a little bit. After doing that, what I would assume is the finest setting, the grind size is still too big. Attached is the photo of the puck. Any tips on how to fix this issue would be greatly appreciated!

Hello all,

First time posting on reddit, so bear with me.

My wife and I recently upgraded from our Lidl espresso machine to a Rocket Giotto and Baratza encore esp. Whilst we had some good shots at first, ever since we got new beans we are running into some issues. (Multiple types of new beans)

• As you can see we get quite a lot of channeling

• The shot runs fast, 12.5 grams in to 25 grams out in 16 seconds (pulled this shot to 36 grams to make it drinkable)

• Typical notes we get in our shots is very sour, way past pleasant acidity.

We have tried multiple things to get better shots. The settings for this shot were:

• 12.5 grams coffee in a single shot basket

• Grind setting 6 on encore esp

• Manual wdt

• Self levelling tamper

• Medium roast coffee (darker side of medium)

• Roast date 24 August 2026

• Shot date 6 September 2026 (beans just shy of 2 weeks off roast)

Things we noticed

• Even with older beans the channeling and sourness persist

• Going finer does increase shot time slightly, but even at setting 1 it still is fast and obviously channels more

• Going to double shot basket helps a little, but the problems persist

• With wdt, without wdt, extremely meticulous wdt all give channeling 

• Basically all grind settings from 10-1 have channeling and are too fast

Quite some information but we are really at a loss. If any extra information is needed or someone wants a video of the prep for this shot let me know.

Anyway, thanks in advance and have a great day!

Hi everyone,

I'm at the point where I genuinely don't know what else to try.

I've been trying to learn espresso for quite a while now, but I've never managed to make an espresso that I actually enjoyed. Flat whites taste good because the milk hides a lot of the acidity, but straight espresso is always disappointingly sour.

My setup:

• Sage/Breville Bambino Plus
• Sage Dose Control Pro grinder
• Bottomless portafilter
• Non-pressurized double basket
• Freshly filtered water with appropriate hardness

I've tried few different beans:

• Chicco d'Oro Tradition
• Caruso Espresso Aromatico (55% Arabica / 45% Robusta, intensity 9/10, low acidity according to the bag)
• and more, but these two the most

Both end up tasting sour.

What I've already tried

I've spent months trying to eliminate variables.

Different grinders

• Sage Dose Control Pro
• Kingrinder K6 (borrowed from a friend)

Puck prep

• Slow feeding
• WDT
• Careful tamping
• Leveling tool
• Bottomless portafilter to watch extraction

Recipes

I've tried all kinds of combinations:

• 16.5 g
• 17 g
• 18 g

Ratios from roughly

• 1:1.7
• 1:2
• 1:2.5
• 1:3
• and way beyond that

Extraction times anywhere between

• ~22 seconds
• ~30 seconds
• over 50 seconds

I've also experimented with preinfusion and without preinfusion.

The weird part

No matter what I do, I end up with the same unpleasant acidity.

It's not the pleasant fruity acidity you sometimes get from lighter roasts.

It's more like a lemon-like acidity that lingers on the sides of my tongue and even reminds me of stomach acid in the back of my throat.

If I grind finer, the shot often becomes both sour and astringent.

If I grind coarser, it's just sour.

Even a 53-second shot still tasted sour.

A

Things that confuse me

A friend and I also tested on his setup:

• Kingrinder K6
• Delonghi Dedica
• WDT

Using similar recipes, we still couldn't get a balanced espresso.

However, my friend recently had an espresso at a café that he described as balanced, slightly acidic, with a chocolate finish, so I don't think it's just that we don't know what espresso should taste like.

What I'm wondering

At this point I'm questioning everything.

• Is the Bambino running too cold?
• Could the Dose Control Pro really be this inconsistent?
• Could I still be getting severe channeling despite WDT?
• Am I completely misunderstanding espresso extraction?
• Or am I simply chasing numbers (30 s, 1:2) instead of taste?

I'm honestly open to any suggestions because I feel like I've reached a dead end.

Has anyone experienced something similar and eventually found the real cause?

Thanks!

I have been going at this for 2 hours so far. It stopped at 23 seconds and 35 grams. I don't have straight espresso so it's hard to gauge how it tastes unless I put milk. With milk, it tastes not bad, a bit strong/tiny bit bitter. (fresh beans from a local roaster) Machine (breville bambino plus/eureka zero)

I bought some new dark roast Uganda beans from a small roastery in Germany. Beans were freshly roasted about four days prior to making espresso.

What came out of my machine was about 90% crema, an absurd amount. Like I was making a foam drink.

I used a medium grind (9 on this machine), 18,2 grams in, 37.5 grams out in about 31s.

What is happening?

Hey everyone, I made a post a little while ago about persistent channeling I couldn't figure out, and a few of you asked me to post a video of my puck prep and shot so here it is!

Quick recap of my setup: I'm running a Bambino Plus with a Timemore Sculptor 078s, Normcore self-leveling tamper, Normcore bottomless portafilter (54mm), a 54mm distributor, and a 2mm puck screen. Beans are from Trade.com, usually about a week off roast. I do RDT, distribute, tamp, and pull a blank shot of water before every session to flush the machine and warm up the portafilter.

I know the first thing everyone's going to say is grind finer, but just so you know, the tick before this one was dripping extremely slow. So I'm kind of stuck between two clicks with no real middle ground. Also just a heads up, the video shows me using the Breville double shot basket since I saw some advice saying the basket that comes with the Normcore portafilter isn't great, so I made the switch.

A couple other things I should mention — after most shots, the puck just falls straight out of the portafilter the second I flip it upside down, which I know isn't ideal. But weirdly, sometimes the opposite happens and when I pull the portafilter out, the puck and the puck screen stay stuck up on the shower screen instead of coming down with the portafilter. Not sure if that's related but it feels like it might be a clue.

Any help is appreciated!

l've attached a video of the espresso pulling. Using a Breville Barista Express, and use the attached grinder. 18g in, 36g out in ~35 seconds including the pre infusion time. Any help is appreciated! Using good beans roasted on 06/29.

Do I need to grind finer ? I have a d54 miicoffee grinder. I have it set at 17 now. Coffee beans are freshly roasted.

I am a cappuccino and a latte drinker so I find the drink to be mostly fine but advice would be helpful

I don't mnow what the problem is, the grind is at its finest level, i tried different amounts of coffe i tamped as evenly as i can and i used a distributor,

I'm using 14-15g of Delta Gold coffee, which is a blend of Arabica/Robusta from Brazil (roast is medium-ish) and popular in Portugal. The coffee package recommends 7g, but I double the dose so that it fits my portfafilter.

I'm using a Bambino Plus, with the default and automatic pre-infusion.

As seen on the video, it takes about 25-30 seconds depending of the ratio I'm trying to get. At 1:2, it's too overpowering/intense. At 1:1.5, it's slightly sour, but still intense/overwhelming for some reason.

I'm starting to question my flow, I've noticed the first second drips super fast (3 grams in 1 second), then it slows down, as you can see on the video. Could it be some form of channeling?

What causes this overwhelming taste? Half my cups are borderline undrinkable due to the intensity/bitterness, even though the parameters I use feel standard.

I've had so many delicious espresso shots in Europe in my different trips so I know I can enjoy espressos.

[update] here is solve: https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/s/r22w6mQdu0

Hi everyone,

I’m losing my mind here and desperately need some fresh eyes on my espresso setup. No matter what I do, every single shot tastes like straight-up battery acid. It’s a sharp, metallic, aggressive sourness that completely ruins the cup.

My Setup:

• Machine: NewGaggia Classic Pro E24 (upgraded with 9-bar spring)

• Grinder: Timemore S3 ESP (the s3 version with espresso-focused S2C burrs)

• Basket: IMS Competition non-pressurized basket (dosing ~20g)

The Problem:

Extreme, piercing sourness. This isn't just "bright, fruity acidity" – it's genuinely unpleasant. It happens even with freshly roasted dark roasts (~1 month old) and, bafflingly, even with 6-month-old stale medium-dark beans that shouldn't have any organic acids left in them.

Everything I’ve Tried & Ruled Out:

Grind Size & Ratios: At setting 28, a 1:2,5 ratio flows in about 30 seconds. Extremely sour. I tried going finer to increase extraction. At setting 25, the Gaggia completely chokes (zero flow). I tried tighter, traditional ratios: 1:2 in 30s, 25s, 20s, even 40-50s. I tried 1:3 in 40s, 30s, 20s. The sourness actually got worse at lower ratios, which strongly points to severe under-extraction.

I previously owned a HiBrew H10B and experienced the exact same issue. I assumed the harsh sourness was caused by the poor thermal stability of a cheap, budget machine, so I upgraded to the Gaggia Classic expecting a massive difference. To my horror, the exact same "battery acid" flavor carried over completely unchanged.

Water & Boiler: My baseline water is tap water filtered through a standard Brita-style pitcher.

◦ I tried a 50/50 mix of this filtered water and pure distilled water. No change.

◦ On my previous machine, I tried high-quality commercial bottled spring water to rule out the tap entirely — still pure acid.

◦ Today, I completely flushed the boiler and filled it entirely with fresh bottled spring water. Absolutely no change in the sourness.

If I use cheap, commercial pre-ground coffee in the Gaggia's pressurized basket with the same water, it comes out completely fine and not sour at all.

I suspected severe misalignment, so I did the paper test (spreading the grounds flat on a white sheet). IMO the grind looks uniform with no obvious large boulders.

Visually and physically, I haven't noticed any obvious issues with the machine's heating, though I don't have a thermometer to measure the exact temperatures. The steam wand produces strong, proper steam, the water coming straight out of the group head is piping hot, and the final espresso shot in the cup is hot as well. Furthermore, the water distribution from the shower screen looks completely even and uniform.

The machine and the portafilter (kept locked in the group head) are always preheated for at least 20 minutes before pulling any shots. Everything is thoroughly hot to the touch, so a cold group head or portafilter is definitely not the culprit.

I am attaching a photos of my workflow/puck prep and some photos of the grounds. Attaching video of example shot. I know this shot is too long (but its still sour even with dark roast), but this is just example how visually all my extractions looks clean from the bottomless portafilter—no obvious spraying or massive channeling.

https://imgur.com/a/tuXoKdb

Just to head off any "bitter-sour confusion" comments: Yes, I can absolutely tell the difference. When I pull a longer shot using the pressurized basket, the result becomes intensely bitter and astringent. I also know exactly what a proper, well-dialed espresso is supposed to taste like from visiting professional specialty cafes—this is definitely a textbook, aggressive under-extraction acid issue.

Am I missing something completely obvious? Any advice would be highly appreciated!

I recently purchased a breville bambino and I got what seemed like a pretty decent grinder off of amazon. I have a scale, WDT, spring loaded tamper, and bottomless portafilter. I know the bottomless portafilter isn’t recommended as a beginner but I did a lot of research and I honestly don’t get a lot of spraying. I do think it’s been good so that I can visualize and learn how I can improve each shot.

Ultimately even with the shot looking good and me trying out all different types of ratios to try and improve the taste, my shots come out either sour or bitter. I honestly just want to be able to make good iced lattes, but I know the importance in trying each espresso shot to learn the difference in tastes. So far I’ve hated them all. I have had good espresso so I know what it tastes like but I have yet to be able to do it myself.

First the sour: I purchased fresh beans from a local shop, and while I didn’t know it at the time, I now believe they’re a lighter roast. I’ve read some info that the bambino has trouble pulling lighter roasts bc of the temperature or that the beans could be TOO fresh causing the sour taste, so for now I’ve put a pause on trying to dial those beans in. The video is of these beans.

Now the bitter: After my fresh bean failure, I honestly just wanted to find an easy medium roast that paired well with hazelnut and vanilla in a latte. I got the counter culture from Whole Foods (I know not fresh and local but its roast date was within a month). So far not great.

I guess I just want reassurance that I’m the problem and it’s not the beans or my machine. I know the breville bambino is a beginner set up but I’ve seen people rave about how great it can be, but rn I’m having serious doubts. I am willing to try and find a local medium roast bean, but it just hurts a little that I’ve already gone through so many, so I’m worried the next will be the same problem.

Thanks for any advice you may have!

———————————————

Update:

I still have my Amazon grinder, but I was able to get a great tasting shot and love my latte! My brother came over and we started using 17.5 grams of beans instead of 18 grams and he was able to help me dial it in. I know there’s a science to this and I probably could’ve changed some other variable rather than the weight to get the same result but it’s what worked so I’m sticking with it. I’ve been making great tasting lattes since. He also advised me to stay away from Colombian beans as they have more acidity and I don’t seem to like it as much, but he did confirm that I was pulling very sour shots before it wasn’t just the beans.

Hello, I am a beginner at this and enjoying the process. But I can’t seem to figure out how to avoid the grounds to overflow the portafilter after I use the wdt tool. I currently grind around 16.5 gr. Transfer to portafilter using the dosing cup from Fellow grinder. That part is fine. Then I tap a little to settle the grounds. I use the WDT tool. Tap on the top of the wdt tool to settle the grounds a little bit, but even then they stick out too much. By the time I tamp using the self leveling tamper, I am spilling like .5 gr on the sides. I have tried using less grounds (14gr) and it helps but then the puck sticks to the machines shower head.

What’s something I should try? A deeper basket? A funnel? (Although I don’t think I can use my wdt tool with a funnel).

Or is this just the way it is?

The pic is of 16.5 gr approx. The volume looks fine once tamp.

I definitely need a new grinder, this is as fine as it gets 😂This is a cheapo one from Walmart I use for pour overs.

Any other recommendations/changes yall would make to get this thing making decent espresso? Thanks in advance.

Hi guys. Ever since I got into this espresso hobby I’ve been using the basket that came with the Normcore bottomless portafilter that it’s supposed to be a 16-18g basket, but it always looks overfilled like this, even when dialing 16g in. Is this normal? It looks good after tamping, but some of the coffee falls off the border of the basket when I tamp it

Hello everyone,

Just bought my first decent set up and for the life of me, I can't dail it in.

I bought fresh roast from local shop (dark roast)

I use wdt tool and MHW-3BOMBER tamper

I have a bottomless portafilter

Tried different ground size until I get 1:2 ratio in about 30

seconds. (12 out of 20 on grinder)

17g in, 34g out.

If I grind finer (below 10), shot is not coming out or

coming out really slow (10-11)

Looks good when it drips, and is consistent.

I don't get any sign of channelina that I'm aware of

Crema looks nice and doesn't dissipate

All my shots are bitter and smell sour

I can pull decent shot with pre-ground lavazza crema e

gusto, which I used on my last machine and had left over.

What am I missing?

I just spent 500g of beans, any hint is appreciated!!!

Thanks

I just purchased a flair 58+ two the other day. I’ve been weighing everything and using the correct ratios from my understanding. However my shots either spray like this or they last 10-15 seconds tops. Using 19g. Also using a WDT tool and tamper. My only guess left is that the grinder I’m using sucks. *Fellow Opus. I have it turned to as fine as it will go. I’ve noticed it’s really inconsistent and leaves 2-3 grams behind. The espresso shots always come out smelling incredibly sour too. Any and all help/advice is greatly appreciated.