this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2026
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Coffee

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What's wrong with my daily espresso? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 1 week ago by GreatBlueHeron@lemmy.ca to c/coffee@lemmy.world
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I've used a home espresso machine, with built-in grinder, daily for at least 10 years. I'm generally happy with the results - there's some variability but most everything I make is acceptable, and I fairly regularly get something I feel is good. Recently I've been getting a lot of "acceptable" and it's been a long time (many months) since I've made one that I'd call "good". They're missing that bit of oily lustre that I feel really makes it perfect.

  • I drink a single shot over a small amount of hot water
  • I get my beans from a local (same province) roaster that say they roast to order
  • I like dark roast beans - the roaster calls it their Italian roast
  • my house water comes from a well and is naturally a bit hard, but we have a whole house softener
  • I've never de-scaled the machine because of the water softener - there's no build up or crusting at any orifices
  • I don't make any attempt to get perfect extraction quantity - I grind, tamp and trim with the tool supplied with the machine. When I first got this particular machine (about 4 years ago) I programmed the extraction time, but a can't remember the "recipe" I used
  • I've tried beans from one other local roaster (via a grocery store) with the same results

My experience says it's stale beans, but I'm buying roast to order, so I'm confused.

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[โ€“] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 3 points 1 week ago

4 things:

  • The Grinder is probably worn out - try setting it on a finer setting to see if it makes a difference, which would only be a temporary fix
  • Even if you don't see scale buildup on the outside, it will for sure look different around the heating elements - scale buildup is unavoidable, or you wouldn't want to drink the water you use for the coffee - good drinking water always contains trace elements, which get deposited where the water gets hot
  • The house water softener doesn't work as good as before / has been serviced lately and works much better than before
  • The water itself changed; any activity in your area messing with the water table? Ground water levels themselves dropping a lot?