Took me 3 months to figure out my espresso shots were channeling every time

I kept getting sour shots that sprayed everywhere and blamed the grinder. Turns out my tamp was uneven because my portafilter basket was slightly warped. Has anyone else had a dumb equipment issue mess up their workflow for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_craig16d ago

Yeah, "replacing literally everything else first" is basically my coffee journey in a nutshell. I swapped grinders, changed beans, cleaned everything twice, and even bought a new thermometer thinking my water temp was off. Total shot in the dark, turned out the basket was just slightly bent from me smacking it on the counter to knock out grounds. A warped basket won't always look bent to the naked eye either, you gotta set it on a flat surface and check for wobble. Honestly, I bet half the people blaming their gear just have a basket that took a little hit and never got checked.

the_stella16d ago

Found out if the basket was warped just by looking at it or did it take you replacing literally everything else first? I've been there with diagnosing gear problems.