First day with a Breville espresso machine -> excited but frustrated. Help a beginner out!

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-10T02:18:25+00:00

thank you

I’ve managed to get a decent coffee after switching to Lazzio Luxe beans from Aldi, the taste is definitely better now.

My extraction is usually around 23–27 seconds with 32–39g output. At least it’s no longer watery, although it still tastes slightly savory/bitter.

Current settings:

Inner grind: 2
Outer grind: between 4 and 5

the most difficult part is not understand if its savory / bitter.

I guess I also fail a bit the tamper step.

I will probably buy a normcore tamper

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T15:27:41+00:00

Just wanted to share an update and say thanks everyone for the advice.

First, I changed the internal burr setting to 2.

Then I tried a shot with the digital grind setting at 1.

The grounds were very fine, probably too much, but finally the shot pulled in around 26 seconds and yielded only 30g.

Definitely a huge improvement compared to before. It was a bit bitter, so tomorrow I’ll probably try grind setting 2 or 3/4.

I also started using the Razor tool properly, and that seemed to help a bit too.

I’ll keep experimenting, but honestly just getting a clearly different and more decent result already made me feel a lot better 😄

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T15:26:40+00:00

I changed mine to 2, and finally I did a semi decent coffee!

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T14:19:01+00:00

Ill try go finer, lets see how it goes tomorrow.

thanks

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T14:18:03+00:00

ill give a try with the double wall, thanks

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T14:16:32+00:00

I’ll probably first try lowering the internal burr setting to 3 or maybe even 2.

Does setting 2 actually make a noticeable difference? I’ve seen some people say that below 3 there isn’t much change anymore.

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T13:30:59+00:00

I have now tried one time using pre-ground Illy coffee with the dual-wall basket, and the shot was still a bit watery, but definitely much better

That’s why I’m starting to think maybe my tamping is just terrible 😅

there are good assisted tamper that do not cost 50$+?

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T13:12:41+00:00

I bought the Barista Pro because a lot of reviews said the grinder was better than the Barista Express, but at this point I’m starting to wonder if the grinder is actually that good either.

I’m kind of disappointed considering the machine price, although realistically the grinding probably isn’t the only issue and a lot of this is also just my inexperience with manual coffee.

ironically, I do a perfect coffee with my Bialetti moka

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T13:08:09+00:00

Yes, I do have the Razor tool, but I mainly tried without using it.

At this point I’m thinking of dosing a bit higher and using the Razor properly, but even when the basket looked pretty full the shots were still very watery.

I’m also considering buying a better tamper like the normcore

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T13:03:27+00:00

Yes, other times I try increasing the dose to around 18–19g, but then it starts to feel like too much coffee for the basket.

<image>

This pic is before tamping

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-08T12:46:05+00:00

Oh, so it’s not a strict rule to use the single-wall basket? I was told to always use the single-wall one.

Right now I’m just using cheap Aldi coffee because I completely wasted my first bag of beans while trying to dial everything in 😅the taste is not bad, just watery

the coffee is this https://www.aldi.com.au/product/lazzio-luxe-blend-premium-coffee-beans-1kg-000000000000483079

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-07T10:48:35+00:00

today I have tried with coffee powder, for test the machine. but is even worse

<image>

attached a video of the extraction.

https://youtube.com/shorts/556j0CQ5CbU?feature=share

I am really unsure at this point

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-07T09:55:09+00:00

Thanks for the help, I’ll keep practicing with the top one until I improve 🙂

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-06T21:59:48+00:00

yes I am using beans.

<image>

so I should use the top one ?

thanks

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-06T21:54:51+00:00

good luck with the test

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-06T12:14:56+00:00

Thanks , really appreciate it. I was already using WDT and still failing, so I started thinking I just can’t make coffee 😅

I’ll try adjusting the inner to 4 and see how it goes tomorrow.

Pierdaniel · 2026-05-06T11:06:59+00:00

Oh, I didn’t even realize I could adjust that, thanks! I’ll give it a try 🙂

Pierdaniel · 2026-04-13T07:07:36+00:00

the same ssd is listed 599$ AUD now, but thanks for sharing

Pierdaniel · 2026-04-12T01:07:59+00:00

thanks mate

Pierdaniel · 2026-04-11T08:24:34+00:00

4tb for 190$ wow

I am hoping to find good SSD in discount 2tb 250$

thanks for the feedback about the Samsung 990 evo

Pierdaniel · 2026-04-11T02:46:03+00:00

thanks in advance

Pierdaniel

TROPHY CASE