Espresso Recipe and Brewing Method: Ratios, Time, Tamping Steps and Process

A coffee shop typically offers espresso-based beverages such as popular lattes and Americanos. All these coffee drinks depend on a properly extracted espresso shot. FrontStreet Coffee has shared many extraction methods for espresso before. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss how to easily extract a qualified espresso shot.

What Parameters Should Be Considered When Extracting Espresso?

When making espresso, we need to measure at least three main parameters: dose amount, extraction yield, and extraction time. As baristas at FrontStreet Coffee, we check these three parameters every morning, and some baristas might even obsessively check the extraction parameters for every single cup of coffee.

It's worth noting that FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a double espresso basket for extraction. At FrontStreet Coffee, we believe we should use double baskets for making espresso as much as possible, and ideally never touch single portafilters. Of course, that's another topic - for now, let's focus on the recipe.

Dose Amount

Dose amount refers to the weight of coffee grounds you're using (unit: g). Coffee dose is typically measured in grams. It's generally accepted that for a double espresso, the dose ranges between 14-24 grams (depending on the basket size). In that dark era when all coffee beans were considered best when roasted dark and oily, 14 grams was once the golden rule for dose parameters. Fortunately, trends have changed over the past 10 years - coffee beans used for espresso have gradually shifted to medium-dark roasts as mainstream, with a trend toward lighter roasts, and coffee doses have increased accordingly.

We should consider dose amount as the first parameter to adjust. So how do we know how many grams to use? This is the simplest step in the recipe creation process - check the capacity of your double basket. The basket's capacity, combined with the roast degree of coffee beans, basically determines how much coffee you should use. For example, FrontStreet Coffee commonly uses the Lelit V3 espresso machine, where the standard capacity of a double basket is about 20 grams, so FrontStreet Coffee's espresso recipes typically start with 20 grams as the initial parameter.

Of course, even if your basket also has a 20-gram capacity, you can adjust the dose up or down based on the roast degree of the coffee beans. Simply put, for darker roasted coffee, the dose can be slightly less (18-20 grams); for lighter roasted coffee, the dose should be slightly more (20-21 grams).

If you need to extract espresso with a smaller dose for some reason, needing to use 14 grams of coffee, then it's best to switch to a shallower, smaller-capacity flat-bottom basket. Using a large-capacity basket for a small amount of coffee will increase the risk of channeling. Because it's difficult to distribute grounds evenly before tamping, and after tamping, there's too much space between the puck and the shower screen, which can easily cause turbulence. Once channeling occurs, hot water cannot pass evenly through the coffee puck, making the overall extraction uneven, and neither the brewing parameters nor flavor can be referenced.

Extraction Yield

Extraction yield refers to the amount of extracted liquid in the cup (coffee liquid + Crema) (unit: ml, g). Traditionally, extraction yield was measured in milliliters (ml), but in the past 10 years, more and more baristas have started using electronic scales and measuring extraction yield in grams (g). The advantage of measuring in grams is accuracy, as you don't need to consider the impact of coffee bean roast degree and freshness on crema volume, whereas measuring in milliliters (ml) requires considering these conditional deviations.

Extraction yield is usually related to dose amount. For example, a brew ratio of 1:2 means that with 20g of coffee, the extraction yield will be 40g. For example:

15g dose: 37g yield = 1:2.5
17.5g dose: 47.5g yield = 1:2.7
22g dose: 44g yield = 1:2

With a fixed dose, a higher extraction yield means the espresso will be more diluted (flavor becomes weaker and more subdued); conversely, a lower extraction yield makes the espresso more concentrated, with a stronger and more intense flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests starting with a 1:2 ratio when creating recipes. Because at a 1:2 ratio, most espressos can maintain a pleasant, strong but not overly harsh taste, while still allowing you to taste all the subtle differences. A 1:1.5 ratio might make the espresso too strong, masking some of the coffee's good flavors. For some coffee beans, going up to 1:2.5 is also acceptable, as this reduces the intensity slightly, making the coffee's flavor clearer and more complete.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests that when creating espresso recipes, you shouldn't easily change the 1:2 ratio until you've tested at least a few different extraction times. If you feel that after trying different extraction times, the 1:2 ratio still doesn't produce satisfactory results, then you can try changing the ratio.

Extraction Time

Extraction time refers to the time needed to extract espresso. Timing starts from when you press the start button until the extraction yield reaches the target amount (unit: s). Most institutions and books believe that espresso extraction time should be between 20-30 seconds. The darker the roast, the shorter the extraction time should be; the lighter the roast, the longer the extraction time should be. This is because darker roasted coffee beans have lower density (lighter roasts have higher density), making it easier to extract flavor from the coffee grounds. For darker roasted coffee beans, extraction time is best controlled between 20-25 seconds, while for lighter roasted coffee beans, it should be controlled between 25-30 seconds. Each coffee bean has a "sweet spot" in terms of extraction time, and the barista's job is to find this point by adjusting the grind setting.

The simplest method is to first try to find the extraction time point where the coffee starts to turn bitter, then go back to the last extraction time that wasn't bitter. For example, using FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Blend coffee beans:

25 seconds = Too acidic, hollow flavor, short aftertaste;
27 seconds = Bright acidity, more flavor, quite good;
29 seconds = Pleasant acidity, more sweetness, balanced flavor and long aftertaste;
31 seconds = Sweet and bitter notes.

In the situation above, we could choose 27 or 29 seconds extraction time and stop experimenting, but if you want to see if you can extract more sweetness, you should continue. At 31 seconds it starts to become very bitter, and we know over-extraction is occurring, so we go back to 29 seconds extraction time - this is the optimal extraction time for this coffee bean.

Temperature

Temperature refers to the temperature of extraction water (unit: °C). Temperature shouldn't be at the top of the parameter adjustment list, but if your espressos are struggling to reach their best state, it's definitely something to consider. Higher water temperature makes extraction easier, thus increasing extraction rate.

If you feel you can't extract enough coffee flavor within 30 seconds (especially with light roast coffee beans), then increasing water temperature might be a wise choice. Because espresso extraction almost always starts to experience channeling near the end of extraction (the puck becomes loose after flavor compounds are extracted), and if enough flavor compounds cannot be extracted before channeling causes increased flow rate, this espresso will be under-extracted. Increasing water temperature before extraction begins can boost extraction rate, thereby increasing overall extraction percentage.

Pressure Profiling

Espresso extraction requires pressure. Pressure profiling means that the pressure used for espresso extraction varies during different stages of extraction (unit: bar). To set pressure profiles, only specific coffee machine models have this feature, such as Synesso, Modbar, or Slayer. Pressure increases extraction rate, so for lighter roasted coffee beans, lower pressure can be used in the early stages of extraction (increasing pressure in the middle stage and decreasing it in the final stage), which can extract less acidity. Using lower extraction pressure in the early stages of extraction can also reduce channeling, resulting in higher extraction rates.

Even Extraction: Avoid Channeling

Even extraction means making the hot water pass evenly through the coffee puck, without certain areas of the puck being extracted more or less than other parts. Even extraction should be the barista's ultimate goal.

As long as you pay attention to these points, with understanding and practice, we believe you can also extract a satisfying espresso shot.

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