The espresso cheat sheet is designed to help you dial in our espressos quickly and easily. It also shows you how to switch from one coffee to another so you can get great results fast and save coffee.
Extraction times for our espresso roasts / sweet spot vs. sweet range
We often talk about a sweet spot in espresso extraction, meaning a point where the espresso tastes better to us. We source green coffees and roast them so that this sweet spot becomes more of a sweet range — a range where the coffee really shines.
General remarks:
- the darker a coffee, the shorter we extract it on extraction systems that quickly ramp up from 0 to 8-9 bar.
- the lighter a coffee, the longer we generally extract it
- With espresso machines featuring pressure profiling, such as lever machines, the San Remo YOU or the Decent, we also extract darker roasts longer. Their pressure profiles can be individually tailored to the coffee, and the extraction time becomes longer than with an immediate pressure increase.
- for more information on how we dial in specialty espressos: check out this video
The optimal grind size for our espresso roasts
Grind size settings are not transferable. Not between different grinders, and not even between two identical models from the same manufacturer. The burr settings, the retention figure, and the particle distribution make espresso grinders particularly individual machines.
However, we can give general guidance on grind size if we establish a reference frame. Far left on our scale is very fine (Mamy), to the right of that (Toca) is fine, somewhat coarser is the Apas. We recommend grinding the Henrique even coarser than the Apas.
Especially if you're familiar with our coffees or use them as a reference, you can now put things in relation to each other, and adjusting the grind on your grinder should become even easier.
Changing grinder settings made easy
With the chart above, you should find it even easier to quickly adjust the grind size when switching between our coffees. The coffees on the left side we grind finer, the coffees on the right side coarser. The spacing between the individual coffees on the chart is chosen the way we would set it on the grinder.
Example 1: Switching from Toca to Henrique
- you have a Toca in your grinder and want to switch to Henrique
- we wouldn't grind just a bit coarser (then you'd be at Dreispitz), but significantly coarser
Example 2: Switching from Apas to Mamy
- The Apas is in your grinder and you want to switch to Mamy
- You follow the chart and would grind significantly finer
Coffee characteristics and grinder settings
With the help of the following information, dialing in a coffee will become easier for you. These are general assessments based on our experience.
Drink ratios / brew ratio / A matter of taste
The ratio of ground coffee used to the amount of coffee beverage in the cup is called the brew ratio — although there's a massive difference here. With filter coffee, brew ratio is understood as the ratio between the roasted coffee dose and the water applied to the coffee grounds. With espresso, however, we're talking about the ratio between the ground coffee used and the brew volume in grams in the cup.
The era of ultra-strong espressos is increasingly a thing of the past. Good ten years ago, it was common to find highly dosed and under-extracted double espressos in specialty cafés. Too often, these drinks were unbalanced.
By using a less tight ratio, we increase the extraction of the coffee grounds and support the balance of the espresso. By increasing the water flow through the grounds, we also increase the extraction rate, which can give the coffee more sweetness.
Essentially, by choosing the right brew ratio, we're making a compromise between texture, balance of sweetness and acidity, and the intensity of aromatics.
Just as tastes vary, so do the chosen brew ratios.
We've summarized our preferences here:
- lighter roasts we prefer in a larger brew ratio, e.g. 1:2.4 and higher
- darker roasts we prefer in a smaller brew ratio, e.g. 1:2.2 and higher
- Robusta roasts like Mamy we particularly like in a 1:2 ratio
- especially very floral coffees shine for us at longer extractions like 1:2.6 and more
