Tried pre-ground espresso from the grocery store and actually liked it better than my home grinder

I've been grinding my own beans for 3 years now. Freshness is everything right? Last week I ran out of beans and grabbed a bag of Illy pre-ground from Safeway as a backup. My first shot pulled way slower than usual and I figured it would taste stale. But the crema was actually thicker and the flavor had this smooth chocolate note my usual setup never gets. I'm sitting here wondering if my Baratza grinder is producing too many fines or something. Has anyone else had better results with a quality pre-ground versus their own grinder?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakota47929d agoMost Upvoted

Had the same thing happen with my Virtuoso and a bag of Lavazza pre-ground. Turned out my grinder burrs were worn way past where they should've been. Those fines really mess with your extraction, pulling way slow and killing the sweetness. Replaced the burrs and it was night and day better, but I still keep a can of pre-ground around for when I'm lazy or running late. The Illy stuff is no joke, they have that nitrogen flushing process down pretty good. Check your burrs though, that chocolate note you're getting is probably just a more even grind size delivering what the bean actually has.

lindagreen29d ago

Read somewhere that burr wear on the Virtuoso is pretty common after a couple years of daily use. Dakota's right about the chocolate note - that's the grinder being more consistent. Makes me want to check my own burrs now.