Hi,
I've been using a Delonghi Dedica for years with the pressurised basket and found that it makes pretty good coffee (to my untrained taste buds).
Recently bought an unpressurised basket and handle for it, but having trouble getting good coffee out of it.
I'm grinding much, much finer that before (still using a cheap electric bur grinder). I've found this is the only way to get crema. If i go one step finer on the grinder, the coffee machine cant even pump water through the grounds.
Using about 10g of coffee and tamping hard to create pressure, but even with that little coffee I'm just getting very strong and very bitter coffee. Extraction time is about 30 secs.
If I grind coarser, there's not enough pressure and you get an acidic coffee with no crema. Adding more coffee doesn't appear to create more pressure. Tamping harder doesn't seem to make much difference.
I wonder if anyone here has mastered good coffee with this machine.
May try my hand grinder next time. Could be the grinder is too cheap.
Cheers
I have a Dedica and made mediocre to bad coffee for a while until I decided to hone in what I was doing. Now I make coffee that's better than Starbucks but not quite as good as most local coffee shops so I'm pretty pleased.
I would definitely say get freshly roasted beans from a local shop. There likely isn't a single bag at your grocery store with a roast date on it, so find a coffee roaster. That's how you get good crema.
10g sounds like so little. I do 15g in, ~32g out in maybe 25 sec. It's a little different from standard, but whether it's my preference or this weird machine I found what works for me. Almost no bitterness is what I'm shooting for. I have a spring-loaded tamper for consistent pressure. I also use a puck screen, it makes the puck less sloppy and delivers more consistent water coverage. Both of these are cheap on Amazon and have made a noticeable difference.
Run a blank shot before you make your real shot in order to heat everything up. When cold, it's hard just putting the portafilter in. After a blank shot, it slides effortlessly as the heat expands the slot. Then just hone in, start a little coarse and then grinding slightly finer until you get a shot that tastes good to you. Use the ratios and times as a guide but ultimately follow your taste buds.