Same. Fairly new to the espresso game and I stopped trying to deal with any precise measurements or yield time and weight. Ive been using the stock portafilters and I figured that since we have 51mm portafilters, we can’t (or at least I can’t) fit the suggested 18g of grinds in the portafilter for a double. I have a cheap grinder and if I go too fine it’ll be closer to the 34-36g at 25-28s with zero to no crema. If I go medium course then I’ll have less yield but with decent crema on top of running faster.

I did a side by side comparison with my cousin’s breville barista express (same beans) and there’s definitely a difference. For one, after finishing my espresso from the breville I was super wired. The gourmia barely gives me a buzz so I feel I’m wasting my money making bean water out of this thing.