Gaggia brera coffee coming with little to no cream.

[tindamirabile]

Hi!

As you can see from the title I have a problem with my gaggia brera (it's a super automatic machine), that I've owned for 4,5 years now. It's been 2/3 weeks that the coffee comes out with barely a bit of cream on top and I don't know what's the problem because I've been using the same type of coffee grains for all these years. I read somewhere that it might be a coffee pressure issue but there's no way to regulate the coffee pressure or at least I can't find anything online that might help me fix this issue; All they say is "always use a lighter type of coffee, not too roasted" but I've been using, as I already said, the same type of coffee grains for ages and I've never had problems, so...Can anyone help me?

 

[topher]

If the coffee isn't fresh you will not get crema. If there isn't enough pressure you will not get crema. If the grind is coarse you will not get crema. If your water is not hot enough you will not get crema. If you do not tamp the coffee enough you will not get crema. What I am saying is there are loads of reasons why you could not be getting crema. Do you backflush you espresso machine with the proper cleaning tablets? This could be another reason. I would first clean your machine and try some fresh coffee. That being said....5 years is a pretty good run for a home espresso machine. Might also need some professional servicing...gaskets dry out after time. Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[tindamirabile]

Hi, thanks for the reply. The thing is, I can't tamp the coffee because it'a super automatic machine so I just put the water, the coffee grains and push a button, that's all. Yes, I can change the grind settings, and also the aroma, but I've tried different combinations with these and the result is the same, that is, very little crema. I recently cleaned the brew group but nothing...And also, I don't know about the freshness because even nearly the end of the month I still had crema back in the day, despite the coffee grains being the last remaining ones. I guess I'll have to talk to some specialist who fixes coffee machines and see what he can do or suggest. Thank you anyways !

 

[ricopronto]

What city are you located in.

 

[topher]

The point I was trying to make was that there are loads of possibilities of why you are not getting crema. The coffee is still being tamped, just internally. What brand coffee are you using?

 

[shadow745]

Something like that machine has quite a few moving parts and likely doesn't take much to throw things out of sync. If your coffee/water quality (often overlooked) hasn't changed drastically and you cleaned the brew group with no improvement, I'd say the pump might be on its way out. 4-5 years of regular use can easily tax a pump to the point of reduced pressure. Might have decent flow when not under pressure, but that can easily change when actually extracting. Good thing is that should be a simple/affordable fix to do it yourself.