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Oh, one thing to mention: when updosing I have some issues with consistency. 1 shot out of 3 turns out not good / with different timing. I am blaming grounds hitting the shower for it, but it may be just my tamping (however, I was getting more consistent shots with stock basket recently). Is VST more demanding regarding tamping consistency? I saw some mixed opinions on the web.

 

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Thanks for the reply and suggestion!

Thanks for suggesting tamping harder. I tried not to fine-tune my tamp but rather learn to use always the same force (as many seem to suggest). But I will give it a go.

My problem is that I indeed can get consistent 18 g shots (setting 3 on my Rocky, 29-30 sec flow for 36 g) but the taste is a bit ashy / hollow to me. When I use setting 4 with 19.5 g, I like the results more but only 3 out of 4 times. Maybe tamping harder will let me use settings 4 with 18g. I'll report back.

I am also getting a bottomless pf to investigate my tamp technique further (anyone willing to sell one for Silvia?). Maybe I am just very bad at it.

Re coin: I do not think you need a coin with Silvia, as they kindly integrated it in the construction

-- Silvia's shower screen has a protruding screw, which serves as a good indicator. So yes I do know that I touch the screen with 19.5.

Re beans: The beans are fresh (less than a week old). I am lucky to have a pretty good roaster around the corner (Artisan Roast).

 

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Stanic, so you usually dosed also about 18 g in the 18 g basket to get the best results?

I also like ristretto. I think 'fancier' coffeeshops here also serve something which is closer to ristretto than to standard italian espresso (40-45 ml yield for 18-20 g dose). I am basically aiming for this range, as, I thought, the roasters tend to optimize for this setting.

Maybe I will try some other beans while waiting for the bottomless pf. My problem could be bean specific.

 

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Thanks, Big Pete! Maybe I should indeed try between 18.5 and 19. I'll keep trying indeed. The espresso is pretty drinkable anyway and playing with it is fun

 

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Thank you very much everyone, I really appreciate your help! I'll try your suggestions for adjusting my dose / grind.

@Stanic: Yes, I use scale both for dose (weighing the pf) and yield. My scales seem accurate enough (within 0.1 g) but slightly slow so weighing yield is not very precise (but I think good enough). I am also doing temperature surfing to make the process more controlable (which is a bit annoying, to tell the truth).

@El carajillo: Interesting, I did not realize that beans can be too fresh.

 

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Re pid: Yes, I think I will be getting one. Probably Auber. I just wanted to first make sure that I like Silvia (bought it second-hand, manufactured in 2014). I think I do like it except for the temp surfing bit and the stupid screw in the shower screen. Both seem fixable luckily. Though it is too early to tell, need first to improve my skills.

 

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Again, thanks everyone for your advice! I wanted to report back: starting yesterday I am getting pretty solid shorts with the VST basket (~ 4-5 in a row). There are 3 things which I changed (at least the first two I think mattered a lot!):

1) I switched to another bag of beans. It made hell of a difference. It tastes a lot better (actually really good! I am pretty proud of myself

) I do not need anymore to updose it like crazy. It may be that was not exactly right with that batch, or I did not dial in the grinder properly (see below). Thanks @El carajillo for the tip.

2) I made a mistake which shows how naive I am: I was not stirring my espresso before tasting it when dialing the grinder in. I was lazy and did not think that it would make a big difference. However, as I was tasking it right after extraction, I was tasting mostly crema. Now, upon advice frok a friendly barista from my local Artisan roast, I stir and dialing in is so much easier. I could imagine that some pretty good espresso when into the sink in the past because of this mistake.

3) When temperature surfing, I now time seconds (30 sec) between the time heater switches off and starting to brew coffee. Previously, I was estimating it in a somewhat arbitrary way. I have not set-up a proper experiment to test if it matters, but I convinced myself that it does.

All in all, I am happy with my results and thanks for convincing me to try harder.