Why Is My Espresso Running Too Slow?
Updated
A shot that drips, or takes 45 seconds to produce a trickle, has too much resistance. Grind coarser first. If coarsening does not restore flow, check the dose, then the machine itself — a blocked shower screen or a scaled thermoblock produces exactly the same symptom and no amount of grinder adjustment will fix it.
Start with the coffee
1. Grind coarser, one or two steps, and re-pull. You are aiming to get back to roughly double the dose in 25 to 30 seconds.
2. Check the dose. Too much coffee in the basket leaves no headroom, the puck presses against the shower screen, and flow collapses. If the used puck has a screw imprint on it, you are over-dosed.
3. Check the roast. Very dark, oily beans grind into finer, more clumping particles at the same setting and can choke a shot that a medium roast handles fine.
Then check the machine
If the shot still barely moves at a grind setting that used to work, the coffee is not the variable that changed. Two things block a machine and both are cumulative.
Coffee oils in the shower screen: remove the screen, hold it up to a light, and see whether the holes are open. This is what backflushing prevents.
Scale in the water path: this is the terminal one. Thermoblock machines have narrow channels that scale progressively narrows, and the first symptom is a slow shot that keeps getting slower. Descale on a schedule set by your water hardness rather than by the calendar.
A third possibility on any machine: the pump itself losing pressure with age. That usually announces itself as a change in noise as well as flow.
Nothing comes out at all
If the pump runs and no water reaches the cup, remove the portafilter and run the group empty. Water flowing freely means the blockage is in the basket or puck; no water means the fault is upstream, and the usual causes are an empty tank, a pump that has lost its prime, or a fully scaled path. Refill, then run the steam or hot-water tap until water flows steadily to re-prime.
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Frequently asked
- Why is my espresso machine dripping instead of pouring?
- Too much resistance — usually a grind that is too fine or an over-dosed basket. If the grind has not changed, suspect a blocked shower screen or scale in the water path.
- Why has my machine suddenly got slower over months?
- That gradual pattern is the signature of scale. It narrows water passages progressively, and thermoblock machines are the least tolerant of it.
- My pump runs but no water comes out. What now?
- Pull the portafilter and run the group empty. Free flow means the puck is the blockage; no flow means the tank is empty, the pump has lost prime, or the path is scaled shut.
- Can over-tamping choke a shot?
- It contributes, but grind size matters far more. If a shot chokes, coarsen the grind before you change how you tamp.