Dialing in a Gaggia Classic — long thread

Dose is where I would start — 18g in, 36g out, and hold that steady. (Reply 1.)

Temperature surfing on this machine is worth the fuss, honestly. (Reply 2.)

The stock basket was the bottleneck; an IMS one changed the taste more than the grinder did. (Reply 3.)

Pre-infusion for three seconds and the channelling mostly went away. (Reply 4.)

Water matters more than anyone told me. Third Wave packets, and the bitterness left. (Reply 5.)

Tamping level beat tamping hard, every time I tested it. (Reply 6.)

Rest the beans a week past roast date before you judge anything. (Reply 7.)

A cheap scale with a slow refresh will lie to you about the ratio. (Reply 8.)

Backflush weekly and the group stops tasting like last month. (Reply 9.)

I gave up on the pressurised basket and never looked back. (Reply 10.)

Distribution tool first, then the tamp — the order changed my shots. (Reply 11.)

Grinding a touch finer pulled the shot back to 28 seconds for me. (Reply 12.)

Dose is where I would start — 18g in, 36g out, and hold that steady. (Reply 13.)

Temperature surfing on this machine is worth the fuss, honestly. (Reply 14.)

The stock basket was the bottleneck; an IMS one changed the taste more than the grinder did. (Reply 15.)