Espresso consistency Amateur just getting started with a Breville - not happy with the results but I know I have lots to learn so I'll start with an aspect I am curious of - consistency. The Breville guide says the consistency of the shot flowing down should be of honey. First thing I say with my experience is no way, no how - mine flows through the filter like standard liquid. Things I know I need to ensure:


a better grind - I am not using a burr grinder (yet)
getting the grind right - not too powdery
water temp - not sure what to do about this - the machine has control of that


But let's start with the consistency - should it really be like honey? If so, I'm no where near that and how can I be? 



This is what I'm talking about - how the heck is it so thick; and the color...
It's not really about consistency but more about getting the right extraction time for the coffee/water ratio. 

The rule of thumb is to get a shot in approximately 25 seconds, with a 1:2 ratio of coffee/water. So you'd have 16g of coffee in your portafilter, to get a 32g expresso shot. 

That's the baseline. When you achieve that, you can start experimenting with different ratios and times. 

How are you grinding your beans? If you don't have a grinder you only have the dosage to play with, and it's gonna be really difficult to get to that baseline.