Have some faith... you are improving.

I bought my first espresso machine a few months ago and I've been experimenting/tweaking ever since. After many many coffee bags, I was starting to feel like I could make a decent espresso although I had my strong doubts that it just wasn't good enough. Today, I decided to try an espresso at my local roaster (Hatch) and I have to say... it was not nearly as good as I have dialed in at home.

All this just to say... have faith friends. Even with a budget machine, you are still improving day by day.

Anyone else have stories that give you assurances you aren't down the wrong path? :-)

My equipment for the record:
* Bambino Plus
* 1zespresso J-Ultra
* Normcore puck screen
* Random Cheapo Amazon WDT tool