What’s on your coffee bench?

[jtferraro]

Originally Posted by MikeD

What's the purpose of backflushing an espresso machine?

Cleans the grouphead (shower screen, gasket, and north) of old coffee debris, grime, etc.

[fmradio516]

Ciao fellas,

I was wondering if anyone is using a La Pavoni with the Breville Smart Grinder Pro

I have always used one of those cheaper Capresso grinders with my Pavoni and the pucks were always smooth as glass after pulling the shot.

I thought id splurge on a better grinder and now my pucks are SUPER rough. Nothing else has changed except the grinder. I first had the setting at 10 but I thought maybe it wasnt fine enough, so i went down to 6, then 4 and its still not great. See pic below.

Any ideas?

[fmradio516]

This pic was when the grind size was at 10, but i assume you, settings 6 and 4 arent that much better.




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[rwsaunders]

I've had the same grinder for 4 years and not an issue. I grind at 4-5 depending on the two types of espresso beans that I use. Check to see that the burrs are tight and locked in.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by rwsaunders

Check to see that the burrs are tight and locked in.

^ This. That grind looks inconsistent. It's coarse and fine together. It should be closer to all of one or the other, not both. The grounds look more like what a blade grinder would do.

Did you try doing a dry seive to see what is being produced from the grinder size-wise, before brewing?

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by tctyres

^ This. That grind looks inconsistent. It's coarse and fine together. It should be closer to all of one or the other, not both. The grounds look more like what a blade grinder would do.

Did you try doing a dry seive to see what is being produced from the grinder size-wise, before brewing?

Im not sure i know what that is, but in case i do know, I dont have those mesh strainer things unfortunately. Or is it just done by eye?

I just got the machine and the burrs were installed from the factory. i can try to get in there and see if theres anything wrong.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Im not sure i know what that is, but in case i do know, I dont have those mesh strainer things unfortunately. Or is it just done by eye?

I just got the machine and the burrs were installed from the factory. i can try to get in there and see if theres anything wrong.

Yes ... just the mesh strainer thingies. A simpler way to do it is just to rub the grounds through your fingers to see what you get. You can do this for both of your grinders to see what the difference is.

[froze]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Im not sure i know what that is, but in case i do know, I dont have those mesh strainer things unfortunately. Or is it just done by eye?

I just got the machine and the burrs were installed from the factory. i can try to get in there and see if theres anything wrong.

If you just got the machine from the manufacturer I wouldn't take it apart, it probably would void the warranty, so I would contact the manufacturer and let them warranty it.

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by froze

If you just got the machine from the manufacturer I wouldn't take it apart, it probably would void the warranty, so I would contact the manufacturer and let them warranty it.

Good call.. Funny thing is, I bought this because my italian father in law got the same model for his Breville espresso machine and he loves it. After I bought it, i noticed the puck change and showed him. He said the same thing happens with his same model grinder. but he figured it had something to do with his espresso machine because its a semi auto and hes used to his old Pavoni.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by froze

If you just got the machine from the manufacturer I wouldn't take it apart, it probably would void the warranty, so I would contact the manufacturer and let them warranty it.

For sure!

Send them the pictures of the puck and ask what's going on. I'm sure their tech support has seen this before. They love coffee, and they want you to love the coffee you're getting.

[jkbrwn]

Irrespective of grind quality, does your FIL use a pressurized portafilter with his Breville? And do you use a naked PF? You can get away with a less consistent grind using a pressurized PF than a naked - which I am sure you might know.

I know the SGP can do espresso, but it's not reeeeeeeeealllllyyy designed for it. 60 points of adjustment is a lot but still not that much for espresso. E.g. the Baratza Sette 270 has... 270.

With all of that said, I agree with other commenters about grind consistency. That ain't right. Also vote for checking the burr tightness if you can or just contacting Breville.

[froze]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Good call.. Funny thing is, I bought this because my italian father in law got the same model for his Breville espresso machine and he loves it. After I bought it, i noticed the puck change and showed him. He said the same thing happens with his same model grinder. but he figured it had something to do with his espresso machine because its a semi auto and hes used to his old Pavoni.

I would have thought that an Italian coffee lover would have thought the grind consistency was a bit off. But anyway, you can't have grind consistency with the type of coffee you make, if you were making coffee for a cheap Black and Decker drip maker well then who would care! but then you wouldn't need a nice grinder for those either. So, you need to contact the manufacturer, and if after it's warranted and you get the same results with a replacement then you will need to send that one back and get a different grinder. Personally, I have a feeling since both your father-in-law and you get inconsistent grinds you're probably going to end up with a different grinder. The problem you're having sounds like a production issue, and since no one has ever called them on it they never bothered to fix the issue. Not trying to sound mean to Italians, but knowing people, and myself included, who had issues with warranties and production problems from bicycle frames made in Italy, I don't have a lot of faith in their stuff, or in how they handle issues. So, you will probably end up going to a different grinder.

Let us know what happens, we'll be sitting on the edge of our seats waiting! LOL!!

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by froze

Not trying to sound mean to Italians, but knowing people, and myself included, who had issues with warranties and production problems from bicycle frames made in Italy, I don't have a lot of faith in their stuff, or in how they handle issues.

Literally what are you on about? Breville is Australian. Nothing about this has anything to do with Italian's other than fmradio's FIL being Italian.

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

Irrespective of grind quality, does your FIL use a pressurized portafilter with his Breville? And do you use a naked PF? You can get away with a less consistent grind using a pressurized PF than a naked - which I am sure you might know.

I know the SGP can do espresso, but it's not reeeeeeeeealllllyyy designed for it. 60 points of adjustment is a lot but still not that much for espresso. E.g. the Baratza Sette 270 has... 270.

With all of that said, I agree with other commenters about grind consistency. That ain't right. Also vote for checking the burr tightness if you can or just contacting Breville.

I dont think he uses a pressurized PF. Its whatever comes stock with the Breville espresso machines. And mine is whatever comes with the Pavonis stock Nothing too exciting... yet!

I was under the impression that the SGP was the "Best bang for your buck" at that price point for espresso grinders, but I guess i was mistaken. I'll do more research and try to figure out what else is out there around that price. Thanks!

[jkbrwn]

The duo temp pro and up come with both pressurized and non pressurized baskets. The Bambino plus and down come with pressurized from reading the breville site. Anyway, details, details!

I didn’t meant to dunk on it, btw. At that price point maybe, but I think most people recommend spending a bit more as far as entry level motorized espresso grinders go. Have you considered hand grinding or is that out of the question? I cannot recommend the 1ZPresso JX-Pro enough if you would consider it. It’s literally so great and cheaper than the SGP. Takes no longer than 30 seconds to grind an 18g shot and it has like 280 points of adjustment I think.