I don't have the Oracle, but the next model down and have my grinder set to 6.5. It seems about perfect for me. 

I used to use the "Barista" which had the built in grinder like the Oracle, but recently upgraded to the "Dynamic Duo" which has the separate smart grinder...and we have been using Supreme for a while of various blends.

What issues are you having specifically? I found on my Barista, I usually had the dial between "8" and "4" but I did have the grinder adjusted at one point as I struggled to get a fine enough grind.

On my Smart Grinder I am using anything from "11" to "7" for the various Supreme blends in order to get the right extraction. The grind needs to be reasonable fine IME.

The way I dial in different beans is by using an espresso shot glass and adjusting the grind and grind amount + tamp pressure to ensure I pull a full 2oz worth of espresso using the double basket with an extraction time of between 25 and 35 seconds total (including the pre)

Item:

 

I used to use the "Barista" which had the built in grinder like the Oracle, but recently upgraded to the "Dynamic Duo" which has the separate smart grinder...and we have been using Supreme for a while of various blends.

 

What issues are you having specifically? I found on my Barista, I usually had the dial between "8" and "4" but I did have the grinder adjusted at one point as I struggled to get a fine enough grind.

 

On my Smart Grinder I am using anything from "11" to "7" for the various Supreme blends in order to get the right extraction. The grind needs to be reasonable fine IME.

 

The way I dial in different beans is by using an espresso shot glass and adjusting the grind and grind amount + tamp pressure to ensure I pull a full 2oz worth of espresso using the double basket with an extraction time of between 25 and 35 seconds total (including the pre)

 

I think the default on the Oracle is 30 and the machine can hardly brew any coffee out of it so I think it's too condensed/over done? 

turtleattacks:

 

I think the default on the Oracle is 30 and the machine can hardly brew any coffee out of it so I think it's too condensed/over done? 

 

Just had a look at the Oracle manual and it looks like it doesn't show you the pressure which makes it a little more difficult!

Seems the grind settings run from 45 to 1 with 1 being the finest. For Espresso, your grind should be quite fine and when rubbed between fingers should clump slightly and stick in your fingerprints.

When running the extraction, it should ideally run for about 25-35 seconds. You won't get any flow for about 7 seconds or so as it does a pre-infusion, then it should run dark, then lighter as it extracts. The result for a double espresso should be around 2 oz of liquid with a nice light crema/foam on top.

If it is making lots of noise and barely dribbling out, then yes - sounds like it is too fine or maybe you have too much in there? You can try a coarser ground (moving towards "45" in the setting) or adjust how much coffee is in the filter.

Are you using the "blade" thing to remove excess coffee and to get an idea of how much you should have in your filter, then tamping down firmly from there?

Also a quick search online seems to suggest people are commonly using "33-35" grind setting for Espresso in this machine, but will still need tweaking depending on the beans.

Just had a pretty successful pull.. a bit just under extracted at 8 seconds. 

I'll be sure to adjust it to finer for my next coffee!

turtleattacks:

 

Just had a pretty successful pull.. a bit just under extracted at 8 seconds. 

 

I'll be sure to adjust it to finer for my next coffee!

 

8 seconds is very under!

Total extraction time from pressing the button (so including pre-infusion) should be 20 seconds at minimum and usually somewhere between 25 and 35

To add - it is inevitable you will get through a lot of beans to start with! Once you get the hang of it, even changing beans should be relatively quick to dial back in and wastage will be minimal.

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turtleattacks:

 

Just had a pretty successful pull.. a bit just under extracted at 8 seconds. 

 

I'll be sure to adjust it to finer for my next coffee!

 

 

 

 

8 seconds is very under!

 

Total extraction time from pressing the button (so including pre-infusion) should be 20 seconds at minimum and usually somewhere between 25 and 35

 

Sorry, what I meant was that it started pouring after 8 seconds. Total time was around 30 seconds. 

I think Breville recommended 9-14 seconds for a perfect pull. (as in when the coffee start coming out)

turtleattacks:

 

 

 

Sorry, what I meant was that it started pouring after 8 seconds. Total time was around 30 seconds. 

I think Breville recommended 9-14 seconds for a perfect pull. (as in when the coffee start coming out)

 

Ah yeah - gotcha!

Yes, that sounds about right - 5 to 8 seconds pre-infusion, plus 14 seconds gives you around 25 seconds for a 2oz (double shot) Espresso.

We get the "random" Supreme subscription for beans and whilst most of them are fairly close in terms of grind settings, occasionally you will get one which is very different - i.e the Indonesian Mt Ruang seems to need a significantly finer grind than anything else.

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turtleattacks:

 

 

 

Sorry, what I meant was that it started pouring after 8 seconds. Total time was around 30 seconds. 

I think Breville recommended 9-14 seconds for a perfect pull. (as in when the coffee start coming out)

 

 

 

 

Ah yeah - gotcha!

 

Yes, that sounds about right - 5 to 8 seconds pre-infusion, plus 14 seconds gives you around 25 seconds for a 2oz (double shot) Espresso.

 

 

 

We get the "random" Supreme subscription for beans and whilst most of them are fairly close in terms of grind settings, occasionally you will get one which is very different - i.e the Indonesian Mt Ruang seems to need a significantly finer grind than anything else.

 

Just for future reference - in case anyone in the future is reading this thread. 

The Supreme - Supreme blend pulled just under at 20 so I think setting it at around 17 would be ideal. This is on the Breville Oracle. 

Also hello to our future overlords. 

You have to try and keep as many factors the same when gauging what grind setting to use - 

Different beans will have to be ground at different settings based on things like bean hardness, roast level, age (how long ago they were roasted) and freshness (how they have been stored).

You need a consistent dosing technique (so that you get the same volume of coffee in the filter each time) - less coffee will pour faster and you will end up with a soppy puck in the portafilter. 

You need a consistent tamping technique (amount of pressure put on compacting the coffee) - up to a level, the harder you tamp, the slower the pour.

If you place a 10c coin on the top of a coffee puck after you have tamped it, put it in the group head and lock it into place, then remove it straight away. The coin should leave just the slightest indent. If it is pushed into the puck, theres too much coffee, if there isn't an indent, theres not enough. Adjust and test again.

Different machines (even within the same brand) will have different settings. This was most prevalent with things like the sunbeam / breville grinders where there was an element of play in the burr carrier. I haven't used either of those grinders in quite some time, so that may or may not be an issue now.

You also need to decide what tastes best for you. So much discussion goes on about "the god shot" and what that means. You can see youtube clips with lots of syrupy looking shots from naked portafilters on the latest high end machines costing many thousands of dollars, but for the average coffee drinker, the difference between a good coffee (which most machines can produce with the right ingredients) and a "god shot" coffee is likely to be marginal (if they can actually taste the difference in their mugaccino).