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Espresso Coffee Will Exhibit Many Flavor Changes Simply by Adjusting the Amount of Coffee Grounds

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, During the process of adjusting grind settings, we often perform operations of increasing or decreasing the amount of coffee grounds. So, under the premise of equal coffee liquid volume and grind size, what changes will occur in the extraction of espresso when we increase or decrease the amount of coffee grounds? The beans used for testing are FrontStreet Coffee's Specialty Blend, which I use daily. The blend ratio is 6:4 (Brazil:Colombia), the grinder is Pegasus 900N, and the grind size is 1.7.

The Impact of Dose Adjustment on Espresso Extraction

During the process of adjusting grind settings, we frequently make adjustments to the coffee dose. So, what changes occur in espresso extraction when we increase or decrease the dose while maintaining the same liquid volume and grind size?

The test beans used were the Premium Blend that the editor uses daily, with a 6:4 ratio (Brazil:Colombia), using a Feima 900N grinder set at 1.7 grind size.

Without further ado, let's begin today's experiment!

21g Coffee Dose

Today's grind adjustment parameters:

Dose: 21 grams
Liquid volume: 40 grams
Extraction time: 22 seconds

Espresso flavor: Caramel, hazelnut, almond, berries, lemon, with a relatively prominent acidity overall and a finish with dark chocolate notes.

Using today's extraction parameters as a reference point, we'll first proceed with reducing the dose.

20g Coffee Dose

Dose: 20 grams
Liquid volume: 40 grams
Extraction time: 19 seconds

Espresso flavor: Caramel, citric acid, nuts, grapefruit, with a somewhat sharp acidity in the overall mouthfeel and a persistent finish.

Next, we'll proceed with increasing the dose.

22g Coffee Dose

Dose: 22 grams
Liquid volume: 40 grams
Extraction time: 23 seconds

Espresso flavor: Sunflower seeds, roasted almonds, caramel, smoky, berries, with a relatively prominent bitterness in the overall mouthfeel, weaker acidity, and an inconsistent finish.

The 21g espresso had an overall acidic-leaning flavor profile with heavier berry notes and a relatively smooth mouthfeel. Building on this foundation, the reduced 20g espresso extracted faster, leading to slightly poorer saturation in the early extraction phase, resulting in sharper fruit acid flavors released in the initial stage. Additionally, with less coffee dose, the flavors extracted in the later stages were closer to the finish profile, making the 20g espresso overall unbalanced in flavor.

The 22g espresso with the increased dose, due to the larger amount of coffee grounds, produced more concentrated and intense flavors in the early extraction stages, but the finish couldn't be fully extracted - only the earlier flavors were captured, resulting in more direct overall flavors but with an inconsistent finish.

After understanding the flavors of these three espressos, the editor made them into cappuccinos respectively.

21g Cappuccino

Flavor: Cream, milky aroma, milk chocolate, hazelnut, toffee, with an overall sweet and balanced flavor profile.

20g Cappuccino

Flavor: Hazelnut, caramel, chocolate, with a relatively harmonious overall flavor and a rich, persistent finish.

22g Cappuccino

Flavor: Almond, nuts, cream, dark chocolate, with an overall rich flavor profile and prominent coffee aroma.

Through the dilution of espresso with milk, the editor found that all three cappuccinos had their own characteristics. For those who prefer sweetness, the 21g version would be suitable; if you want rich coffee aroma, you could choose the 22g version. The 20g cappuccino was actually the most balanced among the three, because its prominent early-stage fruit acids and late-stage nut flavors, combined with more complete overall extraction, resulted in the most balanced profile after milk dilution.

Through this experiment, we can conclude that when increasing the dose, the espresso flavor becomes more intense and full-bodied, with more prominent bitterness, and the coffee flavor remains rich after adding milk; when reducing the dose, the espresso becomes noticeably acidic, though the bitterness is also obvious, but due to its higher extraction yield, it becomes more balanced when made into a cappuccino. Ultimately, the choice of dose for extraction should depend on the coffee flavor profile you want to express!

In the espresso extraction process, the most prominent characteristic is extracting a rich cup of coffee under high pressure in a short time. Generally, when we adjust parameters, changes of 0.5 grams in coffee dose can already result in flavor variations. The editor chose to experiment with 1-gram adjustments to achieve more obvious flavor comparisons, so the editor still recommends everyone to adjust parameters in 0.5-gram increments when making adjustments.