Coffee Series part 2: What kind of grind?

This is an interim report on "Life with a Capresso espresso maker". The topic for today is what kind of grind of coffee to use. Note that my experience is now about 3 or 4 days so you are learning right along with me. Basic lesson, although I haven't fully debugged it yet: too fine a grind ends up blocking the hot water totally, meaning no coffee comes out. (By the way, I am not exactly sure yet whether the water is literally blocked or is getting diverted into some waste reservoir.) The Capresso which I bought from WholeLatteLove (best price, free shipping) came with a free pound of coffee beans. Being perhaps a little too clever , I asked my neighborhood Starbucks to grind it for me. I believe the ground it too fine, and so I've had several batches of non-coffee - that is, the machine makes all the right sounds, but nothing comes out. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Capresso Ultima has a rather clever way of 'tamping' the coffee which uses a lever (and so muscle power) but in a way that's simple and fool proof. Well almost. The only thing that's not exactly clear is how hard to push the lever down. Not too hard. Not too soft. So when no coffee comes out of the nozzle I am left with the question : was the grind too fine, or did I press too hard, or both? I will let you know as I learn more. <!-

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