Finally, my perfect shot with this manual machine

There is a learning curve with this machine. But finally, I applied patience and pulled my best shot yet. I pre-heated the brew chamber with 212⁰F water. I decided on dark roast instead of the medium I've been trying to dial. I grinder using another manual, HG-1 Prime. This time my grind was really fine. I think that was the secret all along. It was a setting that would have definitely choked my semi-auto but gave me a lot more control with the hand crank from pre-infusion to maintaining near 9 bar throughout the shot. I was able to do a 1:2 ratio. Finally controlled that ratio. 20g in – 40g out. Oh yeah, there was a lot more powder with the fine grounded dark roast. It filled up the basket more than normal. The result is a delicious, full body shot. Loved the texture.

Yes! The universal advise worked out. Grind finer!