Stopped using a pressure gauge on my espresso machine for 2 months

I kept seeing people online obsess over hitting exactly 9 bars of pressure and I figured it mattered way more than it does. After my gauge broke back in July I just went by feel and taste and honestly my shots got better. I got a new gauge last week and checked it out of curiosity I was running at like 11 bars the whole time. Anyone else found a hobby metric that everyone swears by but turns out not to be that critical?

2 comments

2 Comments

paigeg2218d ago

Going by feel and taste is the way to go. I have a friend who stresses out trying to hit that perfect 9 bars and his shots are always sour. Meanwhile I just pull by sound and how the water flows through the puck and my coffee tastes way better now. Those pressure gauges feel more like a crutch than a tool after a while.

daniel21418d ago

Wait, are you saying you can actually hear the difference in the flow @paigeg22? I've been trying that too but my machine is kinda loud so I can't really tell. Still trying to dial in by taste though, it's way more reliable than numbers for me.