Thanks for all the helpful responses. I will continue to practice and good to know the soggy puck is

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Hi, I am new to this forum and have been reading up information on here for a few weeks. Very informative stuff here. thank you! Recently, I got a Gaggia Classic and a Gaggia MDF grinder. I have been practicing trying to get good shots. Before, the MDF arrived, I had practiced some with Illy pre-ground in a can (I know folks will cringe at this ) I was actually getting fairly decent shots with a good tamp. 20 sec. or so shots and nice solid puck. Once I got the MDF I have been having problems with a really soggy, soupy puck that falls apart when removed from the porta filter. I am using LaColombe Nizza beans which as far as I can tell from the date are pretty fresh. I grind with the MDF at setting 6 nearly choked my machine. I moved to a setting 7 which produced casaevideo a decent 2.5 oz shot, in around casaevideo 25 sec which to me seemed like it should be ok. However the shot tasted a bit burnt and the puck was soggy and soupy looking, not solid. My inclination here is that the grind may be too fine still, causing this to happen? or tamping to hard? Does anyone have any advice for me? I go to setting 8 and the puck is still not very dry and formed either. Thanks alot, Tim chilly22   Posts: 2 Joined: Apr 11, 2014 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Welcome! Have you checked casaevideo out: Espresso 101: How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste Are you using freshly roasted beans? When you say burnt do you mean bitter or harsh? casaevideo If you experiment using the great information from above you will be able to better target casaevideo what you can do to improve the taste. The appearance of the puck is less important when figuring out how to dial in your shots. Best of luck and enjoy! smite   Posts: 185 Joined: Mar 30, 2011 Location: VA
The espresso tastes the same whether the pouck is soggy or not; so why are soggy pucks a problem? In actual fact, pucks are soggy if you use low doses; which is often a good idea. They firm up if you use higher doses; which is often a bad idea.
Until/unless WLL stops pushing the Classic/MDF combination, poor results will continue plague the owners of new Gaggia Classics. The MDF is an inadequate grinder, and WLL should know better. SJM   Posts: 413 Joined: May 17, 2007 Location: Santa Rosa, California
Thanks for all the helpful responses. I will continue to practice and good to know the soggy puck is not a big deal. I would say the shot was a bit burnt rather than sour. I will alter my tamp a bit as well see if that helps the taste. I would say i had a quarter of an inch of nice looking crema though. Seemed nice looking. BTW. Is there any ideal crema thickness? Or relative to ones preference and taste? Thanks! Tim chilly22   Posts: 2 Joined: Apr 11, 2014 Location: Philadelphia, PA
There are some really good videos of shot extractions that you can find by searching that will show you what good shots look like during extraction. But again, like with wet pucks appearances casaevideo can be deceiving. Focus on the basics and the resulting tastes. Best of luck! smite   Posts: 185 Joined: Mar 30, 2011 Location: VA
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