[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":352},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fdocs\u002Ftroubleshooting":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":344,"extension":345,"meta":346,"navigation":347,"path":348,"seo":349,"stem":350,"__hash__":351},"docs\u002Fdocs\u002Ftroubleshooting.md","Troubleshooting",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":334},"minimark",[9,13,22,27,149,153,156,181,190,194,197,217,224,228,244,247,278,285,289,304,308,328],[10,11,5],"h1",{"id":12},"troubleshooting",[14,15,16,17,21],"p",{},"Most bad shots come down to a handful of causes. The trick is reading the symptom correctly, because the fix for a recipe problem is very different from the fix for a puck-prep problem. ",[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Taste first, then change only ONE variable at a time"," — otherwise you can't tell which change did what.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"quick-diagnosis-table","Quick diagnosis table",[28,29,30,46],"table",{},[31,32,33],"thead",{},[34,35,36,40,43],"tr",{},[37,38,39],"th",{},"Symptom",[37,41,42],{},"Likely cause",[37,44,45],{},"Fix",[47,48,49,61,72,87,96,105,116,127,138],"tbody",{},[34,50,51,55,58],{},[52,53,54],"td",{},"Sour, sharp, thin",[52,56,57],{},"Under-extraction",[52,59,60],{},"Grind finer, lengthen ratio, or brew hotter",[34,62,63,66,69],{},[52,64,65],{},"Bitter, harsh, dry",[52,67,68],{},"Over-extraction",[52,70,71],{},"Grind coarser, shorten ratio, or brew cooler",[34,73,74,81,84],{},[52,75,76,77,80],{},"Sour ",[18,78,79],{},"and"," bitter at once",[52,82,83],{},"Channeling",[52,85,86],{},"Fix puck prep (see below)",[34,88,89,92,94],{},[52,90,91],{},"Spraying\u002Fsquirting from bottomless",[52,93,83],{},[52,95,86],{},[34,97,98,101,103],{},[52,99,100],{},"Visible holes\u002Fcraters in the puck",[52,102,83],{},[52,104,86],{},[34,106,107,110,113],{},[52,108,109],{},"Shot too fast (\u003C 20s)",[52,111,112],{},"Grind too coarse",[52,114,115],{},"Grind finer",[34,117,118,121,124],{},[52,119,120],{},"Shot too slow (> 35s)",[52,122,123],{},"Grind too fine",[52,125,126],{},"Grind coarser",[34,128,129,132,135],{},[52,130,131],{},"Watery, weak",[52,133,134],{},"Grind too coarse or ratio too long",[52,136,137],{},"Grind finer or reduce yield",[34,139,140,143,146],{},[52,141,142],{},"No crema",[52,144,145],{},"Stale beans or grind too coarse",[52,147,148],{},"Fresh beans, grind finer",[23,150,152],{"id":151},"under-extraction-sour","Under-extraction (sour)",[14,154,155],{},"Sour, sharp, and hollow means the water didn't pull enough — it usually ran too fast.",[157,158,159,167,174],"ol",{},[160,161,162,163,166],"li",{},"Grind ",[18,164,165],{},"finer"," to slow the flow and increase extraction.",[160,168,169,170,173],{},"If still sour, ",[18,171,172],{},"lengthen the ratio"," (pull a little more yield).",[160,175,176,177,180],{},"If still sour, raise ",[18,178,179],{},"brew temperature"," slightly.",[14,182,183,184,189],{},"Change one lever, re-taste, then decide. Work through it methodically in ",[185,186,188],"a",{"href":187},"\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fdocs\u002Fdialing-in","dialing in",".",[23,191,193],{"id":192},"over-extraction-bitter","Over-extraction (bitter)",[14,195,196],{},"Bitter, dry, and astringent means the water pulled too much.",[157,198,199,205,212],{},[160,200,162,201,204],{},[18,202,203],{},"coarser"," to speed the shot.",[160,206,207,208,211],{},"If still bitter, ",[18,209,210],{},"shorten the ratio"," (pull a shorter yield).",[160,213,214,215,180],{},"If still bitter, lower ",[18,216,179],{},[14,218,219,220,189],{},"If you want to understand why these levers work, revisit ",[185,221,223],{"href":222},"\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fdocs\u002Fespresso-fundamentals","espresso fundamentals",[23,225,227],{"id":226},"channeling-not-a-recipe-problem","Channeling: not a recipe problem",[14,229,230,231,234,235,239,240,243],{},"Here is the one that fools people. If a shot tastes ",[18,232,233],{},"sour and bitter at the same time",", or you see spraying and squirting from a ",[185,236,238],{"href":237},"\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fproducts\u002Fbottomless-portafilter","bottomless portafilter",", or there are visible holes in the spent puck, you are not looking at an extraction that needs a grind tweak — you are looking at ",[18,241,242],{},"channeling",". Water found a low-resistance path and blasted through it, over-extracting along that channel while under-extracting the rest of the bed. That is why you taste both faults together, and why chasing it with grind changes only makes things worse.",[14,245,246],{},"Fix the bed instead:",[157,248,249,257,264,270],{},[160,250,251,252,256],{},"Use a ",[185,253,255],{"href":254},"\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fproducts\u002Fwdt-tool","WDT tool"," to break up clumps and even out the grounds before tamping.",[160,258,259,260,263],{},"Tamp ",[18,261,262],{},"level and straight down"," — a tilted tamp leaves a thin edge that channels.",[160,265,266,269],{},[18,267,268],{},"Don't thump or tap"," the portafilter after tamping; it cracks the puck.",[160,271,272,273,277],{},"Consider adding a ",[185,274,276],{"href":275},"\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fproducts\u002Fpuck-screen","puck screen"," on top of the bed.",[14,279,280,281,189],{},"The full method is in ",[185,282,284],{"href":283},"\u002Fbrewcraft\u002Fdocs\u002Fpuck-prep","puck prep",[23,286,288],{"id":287},"shot-timing","Shot timing",[290,291,292,298],"ul",{},[160,293,294,297],{},[18,295,296],{},"Too fast, under ~20 seconds:"," grind finer and re-pull.",[160,299,300,303],{},[18,301,302],{},"Too slow, over ~35 seconds:"," grind coarser and re-pull.",[23,305,307],{"id":306},"watery-weak-or-no-crema","Watery, weak, or no crema",[157,309,310,321],{},[160,311,312,313,316,317,320],{},"A thin shot that isn't sour usually means the grind is ",[18,314,315],{},"too coarse"," or the ratio ",[18,318,319],{},"too long"," — grind finer or pull a shorter yield.",[160,322,323,324,327],{},"No crema at all usually means ",[18,325,326],{},"stale beans"," (buy fresh, rested a few days off roast) or, again, a grind that is too coarse.",[14,329,330,331,333],{},"Re-taste after each single change, and lean on ",[185,332,188],{"href":187}," to keep your adjustments disciplined.",{"title":335,"searchDepth":336,"depth":336,"links":337},"",2,[338,339,340,341,342,343],{"id":25,"depth":336,"text":26},{"id":151,"depth":336,"text":152},{"id":192,"depth":336,"text":193},{"id":226,"depth":336,"text":227},{"id":287,"depth":336,"text":288},{"id":306,"depth":336,"text":307},"A symptom-to-cause guide with step-by-step fixes for bad espresso shots, separating recipe problems from puck-prep problems.","md",{},true,"\u002Fdocs\u002Ftroubleshooting",{"title":5,"description":344},"docs\u002Ftroubleshooting","oukolULdC2B9l0YpIi0nSIA6kAo5QT84ffYnoiunhyM",1784149344555]