How to Fix Sour Espresso | Breville Barista Pro

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[@kevindemsky2015]

Thanks Hoon, you've helped me achieve perfection with Barista Express. Been going for years. 18g coffee, 49g shot total, IMS basket, a good aluminum funnel, a distributor, and spring loaded tamper. Pressure is in the middle of the gauge and crema is lovely.

[@Q-Bits8]

do you need 53.5mm or 54mm basket for the barista pro?

[@legalyaya12]

I can sympathize with Thor’s frustrations. I purchased the Breville Express Impress in October and went through quite a bit of beans before I finally was able to consistently pull drinkable shots. The shots are not as sweet as I would like but after watching this video I may try a finer grind tomorrow. Like Thor, I also watched a ton of videos on KZbin. The turning point for me was purchasing a light to medium roast from a local roaster. Before that I tried a dark roast bean from a name brand purchased at the grocery store. I also ordered roasted beans from a favorite coffee house in So. Cal but those beans were dark and oily and the shots I pulled with it were undrinkable no matter what adjustments I made.

[@KingdomMindedWarrior]

Hey Hoon, I went and bought a brand new fresh bag of coffee. Roasted 4 days ago. A medium roast. 50% Nicaragua, Aldea & 50% Guatemala, Finca Medina washed Took about 2-3 pulls to dial in. Delicious. I actually reset the machine to factory settings first. Thank you so much for your help. I am so relieved and can’t wait to enjoy more of this great coffee!

[@thorritz8520]

Hoon, I was using medium roast blend. It was about 4 days old. I reviewed roasters website but doesn't say much other then its a blend of 100% arabica coffee. After your assistance i did some more research and was told for a dark roast 3 to 5 days is about a good lenght of time to allow degassing and with medium it's about 7 to 10 days. (off of James Hoffman video). So probably I used it before was mature enough. I also read a darker roast is easier to brew so ordered both a dark roast as well as another bag (12oz) of the espresso blend. I will ask roaster for more details about where beans come from, etc. When new ordered arrived the darkest roast was 3 days old and have waited to open the medium until today so its now 7 days old . With the darkest roast I am able to get brew that's ok. Not too sour or bitter so will play with temperature to see how that impacts things. When I compared the two roast, I can't see much of a difference. The medium is slightly less dark but not by much. Niether have a real oil on surface appearance. I was thinbking the darker roast would have a more oily surface then it does. I might try ordering from another roaster to have something to compare my local roasters coffee to. I am thinking my tamping is inconsistent. I say this because when everything else is same: 18 grams in, around 36 to 42 out with same 25 to 30 seconds one time espresso runs ok then the very next time I don't get any flow at all. (I am use WDT by the way) . Because of this I have ordered Normcore spring loaded tamper to see if that might help remove that as a variable. IOther details is I am pre heating filter, etc. I am using a 14-18g IMS filter. Interestingly when I put 18gm in and try using included razor there is always so much space the razor device never clears anything (maybe tamping to hard). Again loaded tamper might resolve this. Sorry this is so long. Do you have a set live chat time or do you post future times so I know when I can join in? thanks again

[@FullDudeq]

Another great video. Thank you!

[@patrickbennett439]

I learned how to adjust my shots taste with trying different length pre infusions from your videos previous. I thought my shots were like too strong but i just needed longer pre infusion. I had shortened it because i was thinking it would fix the taste, but that made it worse. Im also adjusting temps.

[@iamgriselda]

I’m never up early enough but I love watching your LIVES! I always learn so much.

[@johnrushford3803]

Thanks very much for your videos, they are very informative. I have an old barista express and have decided to upgrade to the barista pro

[@PandaAidz]

I'm a week in with my barista express pro and its been such a hard time to dial it in. Today I learned that medium roast likes high temp on the machine. I had it on default everytime.

[@crishamilton6678]

So happy for this video. I’m having the same trouble

[@AliFalahiIT]

I tried the suggestions, I’ve increased water, changed grind size, I do get nice crema but it still taste sour I’m using ceremony coffee mass appeal, I measure 18g and dial in around 30-33

[@RobG-dp3pw]

I am trying Tony’s Sugar Bee, Velton’s Bonsai Blend and Tony’s darker roasts.

[@Cenot4ph]

When the coffee is too fresh, it will be sour. Make sure to degas about 2 weeks to be sure from the roast date

[@Cruzinnv]

I remember when I got my machine, another brand, I went through a lot of coffee before I figured out that I am more of a medium blend when it comes to making an espresso. I first thought I also wasted my money before I figured things out, some what. Find a coffee that works for you and stay with that coffee until you some what manage your machine. Did Thor ever get it figured out???

[@MarketingMerc]

Hoon, I have a breville barista express I purchased before Christmas. I cannot get the temp above 176 degrees using the controls. Using Lavazza coffee, 18g, etc. I'm probably going to return/replace. Guess it's a bad unit.

[@Minwary]

Same. My pro unit doesn’t get up to temp either! My shots are always acidic/sour

[@rickhalterman6950]

My single shot is dialed in. But my double shot keeps pouring water for 50-60 seconds. I can’t figure out what’s wrong.

[@RobG-dp3pw]

Hello I have the Breville barista touch which I am having so much trouble with. I was having so much trouble with sour shots. I was told by someone at Seattle coffee gear (which I love) to turn the temp all the way up to level 4. I use medium to dark roasts. But it is still not right. I can see that the temperature also does not really get the espresso hot enough which I am sure affect the coffee as well. Isn’t that correct?

[@KingdomMindedWarrior]

Hey Hoon, I would love to try the Good Brothers coffee you mentioned. You mentioned a 25% off coupon code. Can you share that?

[@Zoozahh]

Hey what's station is that? Looks awesome

[@RobG-dp3pw]

These are all medium roasts. Also Klatch Belle Espresso- medium/dark, and a few other medium roasts from Klatch. It is impossible.

[@neetalachmandas6784]

Hoon - just bought a breville barista pro and it tastes awful. The extraction is bad. Nothing works . Either it pours too fast or just drips. The internal burr is 3. Coffee is from a great coffee roaster. Just don’t know what to do. And now the coffee is dripping too slow. And the extraction stops before there is a decent amount of espresso. Please help!

[@Zoozahh]

Yup same anything I do it's coming out sour. It's terrible driving me nuts

[@summersteele5998]

Me too!!!!! Very frustrated

[@suaverp2170]

Any updates?

[@youtubewts]

You don't read your comments?! 😮

[@Minwary]

Bet he won’t reply to this!!! 😂

[@traceylove323]

Too much waffle, get to the point 😂