dialling in espresso basics - 2 - adjusting a recipe 1

Now that you know how to follow an espresso recipe, what do you do if the recipe needs some adjustment? And how do you know whether it needs adjustment at all?

When dialling in espresso, the key thing to look for is BALANCE. Don't go chasing flavour notes or magic numbers. Swirl or stir the espresso before tasting. Does it feel full and almost syrupy in your mouth? (This is known as 'body' or 'mouthfeel'.) Is it drinkable? (It will of course be intense, but there is a difference between pleasant and unpleasant intensity.) Does your face have to squinch up because it is so acidic, or bitter? (Acidity, think green apple or lemon. Bitterness, think rucola or a dark beer.)

When an espresso is balanced, both bitterness and acidity are present, but neither is overwhelming the other. It should also feel full in your mouth, though not too overwhelming.

If you are meeting the numbers of the espresso recipe, but it still doesn't taste right, it is now time to adjust the recipe. The order you do this in is,

step 1. TIME,

step 2. DOSE,

step 3. YIELD. ***Only do this once you are confident enough with the other steps, and you know your way around the espresso settings menu without getting lost and accidentally changing all the settings.

Only ever adjust one variable at a time. Start from the current recipe, and go from there, changing only one factor at a time, but not multiple, or you will get confused and waste time and coffee. (Believe me, I have tried it.)

ADJUSTING THE RECIPE :

Step 1 - TIME

The first thing to do is see if adjusting shot time could be the solution. You do this by changing the grind size (as we talked about in the previous post.)

If the shot is tasting overwhelmingly bitter and dry, it is overextracted. This means you need to pull the shot faster - so make the grind size coarser. For example, with the recipe of 19 in, 36 out, 25 seconds, try getting the shot to run at 21 seconds, and see if that improves it.

If the shot tastes thin and overly acidic, it is underextracted, you should pull the shot slower - so make the grind size finer. For example, with the recipe of 19 in, 36 out, 25 seconds, try getting the shot to run at 29 seconds, and see if that improves it.

FINER	COARSER
slower shot time	faster shot time
more extraction	less extraction
more bitters	less bitters
less acidity	more acidity

Hopefully this way you find the ideal espresso. But if it still tastes off, you can move to-

Step 2 - DOSE

When adjusting the dose, you are essentially changing the ratio of ground coffee to resulting espresso. For example, a recipe might be 18 grams of ground coffee in, to 36 grams of espresso out. This is a 1:2 ratio, meaning there is exactly twice as much espresso as ground coffee. In our example recipe of 19 in to 36 out, you can see that there is slightly less than twice as much espresso out as ground coffee in. Another recipe might be 20 grams in and 46 grams out - so there is more than twice as much espresso out as there was ground coffee.

All that maths to say, the ratio of ground coffee to espresso affects the extraction and thus the taste of the shot. Think about it - the amount of water passing through the coffee grounds results in a more or less extracted shot, depending on the 3 factors we talked about in the last post. So when you adjust the DOSE, you have the same amount of water and the same grind size, with a different amount of ground coffee in your puck.

Now this may seem a bit counterintuitive, but a smaller dose results in more extraction, while a larger dose results in less extraction.

For example, if your espresso shot of 19g in and 36g out is tasting underextracted, you may want to try lowering the dose to 18.5g. This will increase extraction and decrease mouthfeel.

Or if your espresso shot of 19g in and 36g out is tasting overextracted, you may want to try increasing the dose to 19.5g. This will decrease extraction and increase mouthfeel.

SMALLER DOSE	LARGER DOSE
more extraction	less extraction
less mouthfeel	more mouthfeel
more bitters	more acidity
faster shot time	slower shot time

Confused? At this point, it is easiest to just try it for yourself and taste the difference that 0.5g more or less makes to the shot. This will help you understand how the change in dose affects the taste of the espresso. But these guidelines will hopefully help you navigate and understand what is happening when you adjust different factors of the espresso.

Stay tuned for step 3 - YIELD! But for now, don't touch the espresso machine settings!

Have fun!

more helpful videos

Guide to Making Better Espresso Using a Brew Recipe for Tastier and more Consistent Coffee.

Understanding Espresso - Dose (Episode #1)

Understanding Espresso - Ratio (Episode #2)