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Breville - Sloppy Wet Puck

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  • 29-08-2022 8:43am
    #1
    Penn
    Registered Users Posts: 33,280 ✭✭✭✭


    I've had a Breville Barista Max+ for a few weeks now, and one thing I'm having trouble with is getting the balance right between grind size, extraction time, puck and taste. The main indicator of the issue appears to be the puck. Lately, even after leaving the portafilter attached for 30-60 seconds after extraction, there might still be a few mm of water on top of the puck, or at best the puck is very wet itself.

    From trying to google the issue myself, it's said maybe there's too large a gap between the top of the filter basket and the top of the grind, so add more grinds. The manual says for a double espresso you should grind until the counter is around 2.0, so 1.8 for a milder shot or 2.2 for a stronger shot. This morning I put in 2.5, tamped it down, but there was still more than 5mm between the top of the grinds and the top of the basket so I added in another 0.5. The puck was still relatively wet after extraction, but the coffee was quite bitter.

    The manual also says optimal extraction time should be 25-30 seconds, but generally when I hit that extraction time that's when there's more water on the puck. I also keep the beans in an airtight container and only add to the basket approx. what I'd be having that day (as the basket on this machine isn't airtight).

    Does anyone have the same machine or know what the best adjustment to make might be? Should I just keep increasing the grind size, even though the extraction might go to <20seconds? This is the first machine I've had (used to just have instant coffee), so just trying to get the balance right. I don't necessarily mind if the puck is wet, but the water still sitting on it concerns me. Water does go into the drip tray at the bottom so I presume the solenoid valve is at least trying to do its job.

    Thanks.



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    #2
    Penn
    Registered Users Posts: 33,280 ✭✭✭✭Penn


    Okay, may have solved the issue. I weighed how much 2.0 of grinding was giving me and it was only about 13g. I did clean out the grinder maybe two weeks ago and the issue had definitely been happening since then, so I just cleaned out the grinder pieces again and this time 2.0 was giving me almost 20g. The reading isn't directly related to grams because it always goes quicker from 1.0 to 2.0, than 0.0 to 1.0, so I think it's related to shot rather than volume, however that meant I didn't recognise that it wasn't giving the volume of grinds it was supposed to, whether because of some sort of blockage or just build-up of grinds. Maybe I didn't do a good enough job of cleaning it out last time, or there was still a bit of moisture on the pieces while putting them back in.

    This time the puck was almost completely dry and solid, and coffee tastes great. Still a bit of adjustment required, but issue seems to be resolved. But if anyone does have any useful tips or tricks for this machine, please let me know.

    Cheers.



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