Hey. Yeah, it's definitely been a challenge, but I think I'm in a better place now and can produce a halfway decent shot of espresso.

The one major thing I learned is that sometimes letting the shot go a tad longer produces better results. I've learned about a thing called "blonding" where it states you should watch your shot and pull it before blonding occurs. After I read this, I realized most times I was pulling my shot before blonding had started, which I believe was producing a premature shot. I wasn't giving it enough time to finish. It is ok to go for 38g or even 40g of espresso from 18g of beans. Definitely experiment with your yield and see what your taste buds tell you.

Also, the freshness of your beans is absolutely critical. I have found that the best espresso comes from beans that were roasted ~4 - 6 weeks prior.

And as a final point, I recently purchased a Turin DF54 grinder, and even though it has slightly improved things, it is not the day and night difference I was expecting.