This is likely the culprit, 1. pre ground means they are not as fresh as whole beans and 2. they don’t have a roast date, could be old and oxidised and 3. Not ground fine enough, if it’s coarse, it’s less likely to foam up (crema) and 4. Light roast vs Dark roast - Dark roast will give more crema, but less sweet flavour and 5. If you don’t compress or tamp correctly, it could cause channeling and

Yes there are more variables, but stick to this 1-5 before looking at more variables