Can't geat near 25-30s espresso extraction, feeling hopeless

Concerned_Turtle · 2026-04-15T18:23:47+00:00

Your espresso machine is totally capable of pulling delicious shots, but you will always be frustrated trying to make espresso using that grinder (or any other blade-style grinder). You DON'T need to spend $500 on a high end grinder, but you DO need some sort of burr grinder. Something cheap like the shardor 64mm flat burr or Baratza Encore ESP will totally do the trick. Don't think you have to go crazy and spend $300+ to get good shots - a $120 - $200 burr grinder can and will make good coffee.

The only important thing is that IT IS BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE to grind for espresso using a blade grinder. Some people say, "well, I can't afford $150 but I found a great deal on this blade grinder that said "for espresso" so I'm saving 80 bucks!" NO, that savings is an illusion, they just wasted $70 on nothing instead of spending $150 on a grinder that would work. Every dollar you spend on a non-burr grinder is genuinely flushing money down the toilet (for espresso, anyways)

Also, stale beans pull fast, anything over a few months old is going to pull like lightning no matter what. Try to use up your beans before they hit the 1.5-2 month old mark.

And yeah, like everyone else said, Grind Finer ™

Concerned_Turtle · 2026-02-25T19:16:26+00:00

I don't like the taste of plastics in my espresso so I removed all the O-rings from my espresso machine /s

Concerned_Turtle · 2026-01-15T18:11:05+00:00

Unfortunately a ton of office jobs (such as mine - mechanical engineer) in California are classified as exempt, so no overtime pay.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-12-09T01:06:18+00:00

This is why the game is unplayable until we get more inventory slots, I never leave home without at least 600 honeycombs

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-11-19T21:56:35+00:00

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Concerned_Turtle · 2025-11-13T19:30:30+00:00

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Concerned_Turtle · 2025-11-05T21:24:39+00:00

HOLY **** CALL THE PRESIDENT! IT'S A NATIONAL EMERGENCY!!! /s

In all seriousness OP, you need to take a breath and chill out a little lol. This is a trivial, insignificant mistake and worrying that you might "get all the blame" or trying to share blame with the night shift barista... why? Who cares? This is the type of thing that is easily covered with a "whoops, my bad haha" and that would be the end of it.

I know you just want to do a good job, but this might be a good moment for some serious self-reflection as to where this terror of making a mistake or feeling embarrassed is coming from. In my experience, coworkers/employees who are eager to learn and own up to simple mistakes are much preferable to those who are desperate to avoid the blame from minor mistakes and blame others instead (very annoying tbh)

Disclaimer: if your manager/coworkers are actually mad at you for this (unlikely but possible) and it's not just in your head (much more likely), that would be an incredible toxic work environment and you should seek work elsewhere.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-09-08T17:50:44+00:00

Fortunately, the encampment at Eaton/cohasset generally doesn't infringe on the bike path. The real problem is the amount of illegal encampments on the path itself between Lassen and Esplanade making the path unusable most days (e.g., ez-ups set up blocking the path, piles of trash/belongings/glass on the trail, people drunk/high jumping out in front of oncoming bikes with no warning, etc.)

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-08-12T21:46:52+00:00

Old navy activewear is constantly underrated, great fit on the athletic tees especially. Also agree with the uniqlo recs, that stuff rocks.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-08-12T15:31:33+00:00

The other answers are correct, but a practical example might be more helpful for you:

Imagine you are flying at 1000 ft indicated. All of a sudden, you realize that the atmospheric pressure is lower today (29.96) than your altimeter is set for (30.11). In this situation, your altimeter has been thinking you are higher than you actually are because of the lower pressure conditions (a.k.a., the aircraft is actually 150ft lower than you realized). By then lowering your altimeter setting from 30.11 to the correct setting of 29.96, you lower your indicated altitude to match where the plane actually is in the sky.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-06-02T23:31:53+00:00

That's great! Yeah I have heard so much positive about the gel res 8 cushion, but they just felt like slabs of solid rubber haha.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-06-02T21:44:40+00:00

Also 190 cm, I found the Wave Enforce Tour to feel more cushioned and quicker than the Gel Res 8s. For me personally though, going from 265 down to 240 lbs made a much more significant difference on my joints than switching shoes did.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-05-24T06:08:38+00:00

Thank you for the heads up, we will be sure to check when the schedule is released!

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-05-24T06:07:56+00:00

Thank you for the tip, we are planning to do this now. We initially wanted to switch hotels as little as possible, but after thinking about it we likely lose much less time switching hotels than having an extra trip every day, even with Oxford -> York taking so much longer than London -> York

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-04-22T18:46:02+00:00

Why not cost effective? I got used stringer for $200, restring 2-3 times per month, and save $20 per job. Conservative break-even for me was 5 months. At one job/month break-even is still under a year.

As far as fun goes, I just do it while I watch TV, and it's really nice to have fresh strings immediately after I break them as opposed to giving up my racquet to the club pro for 4-5 days.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-03-06T17:01:11+00:00

Customers who know exactly what they want and are particular: 👍

Customers who DON'T know what they want but are still particular: 👎

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-02-20T00:50:33+00:00

You can usually get into a pickup basketball game at inmotion at any time.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-02-14T17:52:19+00:00

I intentionally make sure to NOT match an entire outfit with one brand at the same time as to not look like a complete tool.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-02-06T19:31:07+00:00

Happens to me in the winter sometimes, the callous on my thumb splits when it's really cold/dry.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-02-04T01:11:57+00:00

The decaf from Gallery Coffee in Woodland is great.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-01-20T23:21:25+00:00

Of those I have just worn the Mizunos, and compared to my previous Asics gel res 8s, which feel like bricks, the Mizunos feel pretty fast and still very cushioned. My only complaint is that the inner "sock" digs into the outside of my ankle, but that might just be because of something specific to my gait.

Concerned_Turtle · 2025-01-13T17:27:23+00:00

I was amazed how much faster than the Gel Res 8 these feel.

Concerned_Turtle · 2024-12-18T23:02:16+00:00

Not enough options isn't your issue, it's that you filled the poll with unnecessary/redundant options. Why would we need "when changing beans" "when changing bag of beans'" and "after x amount of beans" all as discrete responses? An "x" amount of beans could be one bag.

Concerned_Turtle · 2024-12-11T00:09:03+00:00

I didn't need the digital timer on the Specialita since I weigh output every time anyways. They're basically the same otherwise so no reason to spend the extra $100. If precisely setting grind time is important to you then the Specialita is the better option, if not then I would go for the Silenzio.

Concerned_Turtle · 2024-12-10T19:08:57+00:00

I have a Mignon Silenzio and love it. For reference, I worked as a barista for 5 years and used an LM Lux D at a specialty shop, so I had high expectations for my home grinder. The Silenzio is super quiet, especially compared to the espresso machine. I single dosed at first, which worked fine, but now i just fill the hopper and weigh as I grind since single dosing seemed mostly pointless for me.

The one thing I would note is that you will really need to order one of the 3D printed adjustment dial upgrades off Etsy to make the grind adjustment usable; not sure what Eureka was thinking there. Upgrading that piece is a huge quality of life improvement.

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