How to Perfect Your Espresso at Home

How to Perfect Your Espresso at Home

in Coffee Blog

When it comes to making great coffee at home, it’s not just about the beans: it’s about how you brew them. The secret to cafe-quality espresso at home lies in understanding a few key variables: grind size, dose, yield, and temperature.

Once you learn to control these, you can fine-tune your coffee to taste exactly the way you like it – smooth, balanced, and full of flavour.

Grind Size

Grind size is one of the biggest factors in how your espresso tastes. It controls how fast the water flows through the coffee and how much flavour is extracted.

Too coarse: Water gushes through too quickly, leaving you with a weak, under-extracted shot.

Too fine: Water struggles to pass through, leading to over-extraction – a bitter shot that lacks body and sweetness.

Aim for: a fine, even grind that gives you a 25–30 second extraction time. 
Small adjustments here make a huge difference in flavour.

Dose

Your dose is the amount of ground coffee in your basket and it has a direct impact on balance and strength.

Start by figuring out how much your basket holds. We recommend 18 grams as a great starting point, especially if you’re working with a new coffee.

Once you’re comfortable, you can tweak slightly depending on your blend:

  • Add 1–2g for lighter or medium roasts like Smooth Medium Blend
  • Reduce by 1–2g for medium to darker roasts like Rich Strong Blend

The goal is to find that sweet spot where your coffee feels full-bodied but not heavy.

coffee shot pourint

Yield

Yield is how much espresso you get out of your shot. A simple rule of thumb is the 1:2 ratio – for every 18g of coffee in, aim for 36g of espresso out.

You’ll want this to happen in around 25-30 seconds for balanced extraction. Using a small coffee scale can help remove the guesswork and if your shot runs too fast or too slow, adjust your grind size finer or coarser until you hit your target.

This process is called dialling in, and it’s how baristas fine-tune flavour day after day.

Temperature

Temperature plays a subtle but powerful role in your espresso.
Too hot: The coffee can taste burnt or ashy.
Too cool: It can taste weak, sour, or under-extracted.

As a guide:

  • For dark roasts, aim for around 90°C – they extract easily.
  • For medium roasts, go slightly higher – around 93°C – to bring out sweeter, more delicate notes.
A small temperature adjustment can completely change the balance of your cup.

espresso shot pouring from automatic machine

Bringing It All Together

Once you understand these four variables – grind size, dose, yield, and temperature – you’re no longer guessing, you’re in control. Because great coffee should be something everyone should be able to make at home.


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Tags: Brewing Tips
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