Dialing in espresso: a 10-minute method

Every new bag needs a conversation before it sings. Here is the ten-minute version of ours.

Start with the dose. 18 g in, aim for 36 g out. Lock the dose first and never touch it again while dialing — one variable at a time is the whole game.

Then chase time. You want those 36 g in 26–30 seconds. Running fast and sour? Grind finer. Dragging past 32 seconds into bitterness? Coarser. Change the grind in the smallest steps your grinder allows; espresso punishes big moves.

Taste before you look. The scale and timer are guides, not judges. A shot that runs 24 seconds but tastes like caramel and cherries is a better shot than a textbook 28 that tastes like cardboard.

When it clicks, write it down. Dose, grind setting, time, and the roast date — four numbers that save you the whole ritual tomorrow morning. Our Brew Journal exists for exactly this, but the back of a receipt works too.

The espresso in the photos is our Midnight Espresso — dense, cocoa-leaning, forgiving. A good bag to learn on.