Still dialing in my new beans. My grind yesterday looked a bit course and sure enough I messed up the extraction somehow. Bitter start, earthy/woody flavors in the middle, not much of a finish.
Told myself I would tighten up the grind and drop my water temp to 96, but forgot to adjust the grind 
Initial honey notes, a bit of acidity, bitter finish. Getting closer. Next I’ll actually tighten up the grind and drop the water temp another 2 degrees or so.
Try a pitch of salt to get rid of the bitterness. Counter-intuitive I know, but works.
If your water is already at 96, then the only other cause for the bitterness I can think of is that your grind is already too fine or the water is taking too long to pass through the grounds… i.e. over-extraction.
Having a look at your earlier post, it looks like quite a dark roast? My rule of thumb is: the darker the roast, the coarser the grind.
Grind was too coarse, imo. Brew finished in under 2 minutes.
I had a Gaggia Classic Coffee. It was my second portafilter after a cheap 80€ machine from amazon which I quickly discarded.
The Gaggia a proper machine that produces good espresso. I bought mine from a friend who installed some mods. Eventually I had to replace the boiler because of corrosion. That aluminum boiler might be the Achilles heal of this machine. I read that the new models use a different boiler which has issues with the Teflon coating 
I eventually upgraded to a Rocket Cellini E61 heat exchanger and couldn’t be more happy. These machines feel so satisfying to use, despite (or because) of their old fashioned design.
It’s totally impractical. Takes 30mins to warm up and two cups of cafe latte take 5 min to prepare. But I really enjoy the ritual. It’s like morning Zen.
I also drink pour over from a Hario V60. It’s much faster but still highly ritualized.
Regarding coffee, I entered the land of diminishing returns a long time ago and never looked back 
It’s just that too often people say “coffee” when they mean “dessert” but they want to act like it’s “coffee.”
If they say they’re a big coffee drinker, but can’t even down one cup with milk and sugar (let alone black), it’s NOT the same thing.
I live in Miami so things like Espresso and coffee with milk constitute part of my daily drinking routine. I’m a very light alcohol drinker but when I do drink it’s usually a Riesling or a Bourbon.
My favorite drinks are Sonic Happy Hours Drinks
Oh man I miss half-price milkshakes in the summer.
Just an observation really, but:
Don’t mean to dilute this thread but for years now my choice of beverage is mostly: water.
I’m struck how I can seemingly tell which faucet/source the water came from (in my local area anyway). A distinction I never had before; it was all effectively tasteless. I do get some “how boring [you are]” looks when I express my preference for only that.
Now, this doesn’t mean I’m overly rigid: a single cup of coffee when I roll out of bed is mandatory; a beer when playing outdoors with friends; a quarterly (roughly) two fingers of bourbon (brand varies based on what my guests bring over) while mingling as we solve all the world’s problems - serves to keep me grounded of course
More on topic: Angels Envy is the latest entry on my list, in a glass with a round, monogrammed ice cube (a minor conversation starter).
Something like this - no idea where my wife found them:
Whisky (or Whiskey) is pretty much the only spirit I drink. Not really all that fussy whether it is made from barley, corn or rye.
I do like a nice bourbon but we don’t get the variety that is available in the US. My brother bought me a bottle of Blanton’s for my last birthday, it didn’t last very long…
A Dutch friend of mine once told me a story about ‘Tilburg tap water’. Supposedly an ‘entrepreneur’ from Tilburg was filling empty bottles with the local water and selling them for a tidy profit.
To this day I am not sure if he was serious or taking the P… @schurem might be able to confirm or deny?
Never heard that one but sure. Spa water is pretty much that.
