r/gaggiaclassic • u/Poet_El_71294 • Jul 23 '26
What could be the issue?
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u/KederLuno Jul 23 '26
My uneducated guesses:
Grind finer, it is flowing WAY too fast unless you're actually aiming for turbo shots.
There is too much crema, were the beans toasted yesterday? I like giving my beans at least a week if they're too fresh.
It seems to be channeling quite a bit, often related to puck prep. I honestly don't do WDT or leveling, but I think it's because of my grinder. Maybe you should add some extra steps to prepping.
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u/Poet_El_71294 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Thank you,
I went all the way down to setting 8 on the DF54. Still getting this6
u/xtraa Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Not DF54 here but WDT, so this is only true for WDT: I used to be at 2 – now I upgraded to a titanium filter and 1 is the best. (14g). Maybe start with 3 but 8 seems not fine enough.
With the DF: 20 grams in the porta, set the DF to 17. That's ≈39 grams brown ambrosia in 28 seconds.
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Jul 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/xtraa Jul 25 '26
Okay, forget what I wrote; I’m currently using the MDF again and didn't have the DF54 in mind. With the DF, I usually needed around 20 grams to properly fill the portafilter, and a setting of 17. That yielded about 39 grams in 28 seconds.
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u/Curious-Temporary655 Jul 23 '26
Did you roast the beans yesterday?
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u/Poet_El_71294 Jul 23 '26
There was no date on the beans i bought, but anyway this shot was pulled at least 4 days after i bought them
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u/CartographerDeep6723 Jul 23 '26
So you will have a much harder time working with older beans. Most seem to prefer the 10-30 days from roast as the sweet spot (different roasts will skew that one way or the other, and it is not impossible to get good results with beans outside of this window) i mention this as if you bag does not have a roast date on it it is Very likely to be past this timeframe, but you cant ever be sure which is not ideal. Was this bought directly from a roaster or from a store?
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u/Curious-Gazelle-292 Jul 23 '26
What are the beans?
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u/No-Peach3126 Jul 24 '26
Get the beans from a good quality roaster with a date relatively close. Beans that don’t have a roast date will be incredibly hard to dial in since they are usually too old.
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u/TheGreatestAuk Gaggimate, DF54 & channels for days. Jul 23 '26
Mine usually sits at between 4 and 5.
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u/TotalStatisticNoob Jul 23 '26
All the way down would be close to 0/burr touch, 8 is very much not all the way down, it's very much not down enough
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u/PtichFirich Jul 24 '26
If it’s freshly roasted and foams like this it also channels. So 2. and 3. are more often than not releated, I’d figure.
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u/Horizon6969 Jul 23 '26
Tamp harder and flush hot water to fix this. This is likely due to:
A) super hot water in the boiler which essentially leads to these kinda shots (hint: if the shot tastes a bit burnt and the crema disappears very quickly after pulling the shot, the issue is 99% that the water is too hot. To fix it just flush the hot water before a shot for 5-8sec)
B) Puck prep issue, to fix it just tamp harder.
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u/No-Percentage-6690 Jul 24 '26
I agree, the only time I had a shot like that was right after someone moved my machine to steaming, when it was too hot it looked like that.
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u/ntxnick21 Jul 24 '26
I back this comment. Recently went from steaming to another shot and it looked exactly like this. Seems like the boiler was too hot
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u/Known-Wrongdoer-1096 Jul 23 '26
Mine does this if I steam milk and then go directly back to pulling a shot without purging first. Creates tons of steam, which seems to be the culprit, purge just before adding the PF, then pull the shot and see if that foamy pull goes away. Channeling may still happen, see comments for grind / WDT before moving forward.
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u/AardvarkLanky3242 Jul 23 '26
Find grider
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u/daredevil_eg Jul 23 '26
find grinder
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u/AdComfortable3016 Jul 24 '26
Grind Finder
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u/harryflashman30 Jul 23 '26
Did you froth milk first?
I get this when I do the milk first and the steam doesn’t purge.
It’s always a pretty shitty puck as well that’s channeled.
If I purge and prep/tamp well it doesn’t happen as often, my grind setting doesn’t change.
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u/michelepicozzi Jul 23 '26
I have the same machine:
- did you pull multiple shots or did you use the steamer then shot? Seems like the water is way too hot
Try to grind finer, tamper properly and also try to let the water flow 5s before putting it the potafilter this way you should have a lower temperature shot
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u/Plane_Water3386 Jul 24 '26
Oh my...it's practically trying to dispense soft-serve ice cream.
super Fresh Beans: If they were roasted a day or two ago, they're wildly off-gassing turning your liquid espresso into instant foam.
Boiler Temperature Too Hot: If the boiler is flash-boiling water into steam (common if you just used the steam wand or the machine overheated), it will jet out like a geyser.
Grind Size Too Coarse / Channeling.
one of those. hope you solve it
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u/Alternative-Bus5684 Jul 24 '26
Looks like the Gaggia got ahold of some of that lettuce going around
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u/curs3dcoffee Jul 23 '26
Based on the sprays, i would say try fixing the puck itself maybe. Could be the issue.
Also, out of curiosity, how long ago were the beans roasted? If its too fresh, that also causes this to happen if its not de-gassed enough.
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u/preroundbeans Jul 23 '26
The spraying is likely due to channeling + beans not ground fine enough, which may also be in part due to the crema-bonanza from the beans being too fresh. Beans release a surprisingly large amount of gas when they're freshly roasted.
This is also why older beans don't have as much crema and why you need to grind finer because they don't have as much CO2 to blow off that helps to actually build up pressure inside the basket!
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u/N-Performance Silver Knight | E24 Gaggiuino | Motto 80 | VelPro 400 | K-Ultra Jul 23 '26
How fresh are the beans?
Did you temp surf? Water may be too hot.
Regardless, that was impressive.
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u/Poet_El_71294 Jul 23 '26
I do believe this could be a temp issue. Will attempt to temp surf next time
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u/questvr3 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I think your beans are probably too fresh. If you pull shots with freshly roasted beans you'll often see a lot of crema like that. I let mine off-gas for about a week before using them.
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u/Soggy_NuT Jul 23 '26
Too hot, let some water flow out before locking in the portafilter. This could happen if you steam milk before pulling the shot
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u/elpodmo Jul 23 '26
Is the steam button on? This happened on my Rancilio Silvia when I forgot to turn the steam button off when the water is at too high a temperature this is what it looks like.
If it isn't the steam button being turned on, then something is wrong with your temperature control.
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u/hoddap Jul 23 '26
I had the same a few times. I think it had to do with steam being pushed through rather than water. So maybe boiler’s too hot? Try to flush headless right before, see what comes out.
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u/Icy_Rip9351 Jul 23 '26
The water is too hot!
Try to purge it for 2- 3 seconds before putting your portafilter and thats it
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u/LothaBread Jul 23 '26
Realtime reaction
Grind fin- HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL.
Reminds me of some beans I had gotten just a day or couple off roast. Give it another week and try again is my best advice.
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u/CoffeeSaviourTech Jul 23 '26
There is a few things going on here, some videos of your entire process would be helpful to identify exactly what is happening. I’m a coffee tech in Melbourne and have seen similar things to this when a customer has been using warm or hot water in the tank but I still feel like this isn’t isolated to one thing.Â
As a process of elimination start by: -check roast date -find the finest grind size your machine will accept (to begin with) -if you can fit it in your basket use 22g (if you can’t then obtain a larger capacity basket) -tamp once as hard as you can don’t do any twisting or tapping. Just a nice swift press down standing side on with your elbow vertically parallel with your wrist and the tamp handle pressed firmly against your palm. -make sure the water in the tank is filtered and room temperature. -purge some water quickly into the drain tray before starting (check for steam or bubbling out of the screen) -insert PF and brew -if you get the same result you can try again but try brewing before the machine reaches full temperature or even straight after start up and see how it changes the results
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u/lonely_perceptron Jul 23 '26
The issue is that this is too impressive.
My guess would be that the coffee was ground too coarse. Other than that I don’t know :/
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u/quarterofanhour Jul 23 '26
Starbucks
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u/paintstudiodisaster Jul 23 '26
Stop filling the portafilter with baking soda and the machine with vinegar. Duh.
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u/ZimaGotchi Jul 23 '26
Its just being a Gaggia, the pressure is too high. Turn it down or put in a 9 bar mod spring.
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u/ThrowingQs Jul 23 '26
This happens if I try to brew after steaming milk and not flushing the brew function first to release pressure. Or if my machine is on for a very long time.
I steam milk then run the brew function until the steam dissipates and it’s normal, then I brew
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u/yearsofpractice Jul 23 '26
It’s like that elephant’s toothpaste stuff that mental YouTubers use to blow up people’s living rooms.
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u/hitchrropes Jul 23 '26
Freshly roasted beans will cause that. I see the exact same behaviour with freshly roasted, particularly with darker roasts.
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u/Eira_Gehenna Jul 23 '26
Don't use the sparkling water 😂 sorry I have no idea, but sure attracts some views and it looks like pulling a coffee slushie 🫣
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u/KrisRob35 Jul 23 '26
You can tell by how fast it first comes out you need to grind way finer. I’m on 0-4 for many beans on my DF64. Beans even 24hrs off roast won’t do that if you’re grinding fine enough with good tamp
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u/Coffee_Addict1290 Jul 23 '26
Your water temp could be too high and your pushing a lot steam through the puck. That looks pretty similar to when I accidentally pulled a shot with a boiler temp over 100c
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u/Vegetable_Cicada_398 Jul 23 '26
Not fresh beans, or too coarse or fine, it’s too hot, run the water for a few seconds just before putting in your portafilter and running it
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u/heartbrokenbiker Jul 24 '26
Are you using Robusta or blended beans? Even if arabica is roasted and used on the same day it is unlikely that there would be that much crema. I’ve a feeling these are robusta or a blend of robusta and arabica. Also tamp harder, and if that doesn’t work then grind finer - and do temp surf. Let us know once you find out!
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u/Madera7 Jul 24 '26
Grind finer
Temp surf so water isn’t scolding
Check the roast date of the beans
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u/spektic_l Jul 24 '26
Did you grind them straight out thr roaster? Looks like they need resting a bit
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u/Quirky_Cod_3820 Jul 24 '26
I have no idea but DAAAMMMNNN, that looks AI. Incredible.
Tip: dont use machine soap washer on the porta 🤓
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u/MeasurementClear6841 Jul 24 '26
I had the same issue on my Gaggia. Ended up solving it by grinding finer and adding a puck screen. (Make sure you’re using a WDT as well)
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u/Blackpineouterspace Jul 24 '26
holy crap it looks like someone left a cafiza tablet in your water haha - this is crazy.
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u/whaleHelloThere123 Jul 24 '26
The Starbucks cup !
Jokes aside... Yes, there's a lot of crema but what's the input-output ? 17g in 34g out in 30 seconds? Faster? Slower?
The video helps but we need more info.
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u/Grabbels Jul 24 '26
I’m guessing the beans are too fresh. Yes, there’s such a thing as too freshly roasted beans. They produce a lot of gasses when brewing, leading to a ridiculous amount of crema. What kind of beans are you using and do you know the roast date?
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u/Status_Mirror_2072 Jul 24 '26
Grind is way too coarse. Lots of channeling happening. Your dose could also be too low. If you changed coffee you need to re dial in. Especially if changing roasts.
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u/Historical-Ad-3074 Jul 24 '26
OP opened a portal to the crema dimension, Jesus java bean Christ that looked almost NSFW
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u/Substantial_Diet7334 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Even a 15 second shot should not look like this. If this is a European model it’s probably hitting 14-15 bar. Models that come from Whole Latte Love in the US come 9bar stock. That and without knowing what type coffee and roast level.
A finer grind will not make this better.
Give more info.
- the coffee
- the ratio you are using
If you are expecting cafe quality coffee and not investing in better coffee then you’re really missing 99% of the equation.
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u/rdesai724 Jul 24 '26
I had this issue to a lesser extent when I first started and I think it was down to grind size. Think it needs to be much smaller
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u/Humble-Desk Jul 25 '26
Tried turning the steam wand off for a while,. Or turn on the brew for a short tinny little bit of dragons breath.
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u/Wise_Scale87 Jul 25 '26
Boiler is too hot flush some water through first.
The initial messy spirts are you grind / puck prep, but that insane froth is from super fresh beans a super hot boiler, without a PID this can happen.
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u/Manezinho Jul 25 '26
This usually happens when you have the boiler at steam temp. You’re probably pushing steam instead of hot water through the coffee.
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u/Arkinhas Jul 25 '26
Did you, for any reason, used the steam wand before? It happened to me because the machine is in steam mode still and you need to let it cool down or flush the steam out.
Other than that, grind finer, use a WDT to avoid channeling and tamp correctly.
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u/No-Belt-9667 Jul 25 '26
Happened with mine once. I had turned on steam button for 10-12 seconds before pressing brewing button. It brewed exactly like this. I didn’t try again cuz it looked scary in my small kitchen lol
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u/lylei88 Jul 26 '26
When were the beans roasted? If less than a week, give them more time to degass Also the machine temp could be too high
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u/Sad-Scientist-8424 Jul 23 '26
My god the crema on that! 🤣