Espresso Brew Guide

Our espresso brew guide for regular espresso machines(excluding pressure profiling machines such as DE1 or lever machines), especially for beginners.

Introduction

The keys to pull a good espresso shot are grinding, EBR(espresso brew ratio)/shot-length and flow rate. Here's our recommended settings below.

Recipe

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 30-40g(30g for pour over grinder/burr, 40g for espresso grinder/burr)

Time: 15-35sec

Water: soften and cleansed water by "Everpure!!" Usually 30-40ppm to prevent any damage risks from the machines.

Pressure: flat 8-9bar(usually around 8.8 in our roastery)

The Basket/dose

We recommend VST 15grams basket : the larger the dose or the basket size, the more depth in the coffee bed which we see as distance, hence, if you use large amount of dose or large size basket such as 20g or 22g, the upper side will be extract faster though the bottom side remain under extracted. FYI we recommend naked(bottomless) portafilter for better insight on your shot quality.

Grind

when you brew with a "espresso-grinder"

(1)Grind finer and finer until you hit 35 seconds total shot time with 30-40grams of total shot weight.

(2)If you see channels/uneven-flow during brew (only visible with bottomless portafilter), grind coarser and coarser until you never see channels in the shot. 

(3)If you see gushing or very fast flow in your shot, grinder finer and finer until you never see gushing in your preferred EBR. If you couldn't find any ideal grind setting, we recommend you to revise your EBR, probably it's way too long for your machine/grinder so try shorter EBR to avoid gushing in the end of the shot.

when you brew with a "omni or high-end pour over grinder"

(1)Try the finest setting on your grinder

(2)If you see channels/uneven-flow during brew (only visible with bottomless portafilter), grind coarser and coarser until you never see channels in the shot. 

(3)If you see gushing or very fast flow in your shot, grinder finer and finer until you never see gushing in your preferred EBR. If you couldn't find any ideal grind setting, we recommend you to revise your EBR, probably it's way too long for your machine/grinder so try shorter EBR to avoid gushing in the end of the shot.The paper filter trick

When to put the "bottom filter" and when we shouldn't

If you think it gushes we do recommend you to put a "whatman No.01 filter" onto the bottom of your VST basket. Also, it's better to put an aeropress filter onto the top of the pack. Those filters will prevent your pack from falling apart, that makes your shot more forgiving to puck prep or provides longer range of EBR/shot length.

Flow rate

The flow rate is very important to brew a decent shot. A sudden increase in the flow rate indicates there are channels in the shot. For your starting point, we recommend you to find a grind setting that offers slow and consistent flow rate.

Espresso Brew Ratio(EBR)

Your optimal EBR or shot-length depends on the burr and pack prep.

You should stop the shot before it starts gushing(or flows very fast). Gushing(sudden increase of the flow) indicates that your pack is falling apart. The longer your shot, the less puck resistance you have in the latter half of shot.

When to stop the shot 

As it's indicated in the former half this article, we recommend you to cut the shot until it starts gushing.

How it affects besides puck resistance?

Well, in our experience, lower EBR offers more fruity, flavor forward shot(especially recommend you to use shorter shots for coffee cocktails or espresso tonic). On the other hand longer shot give a balance or classical vibes such as bitter-ish feelings to the shot. If you would like to add sugar or if you want some bitter vibes in your shot such as a shot for milk beverages, longer shot is worth while to try. When it's too long or there significant amount of channels/local over extraction, usually your espresso tastes astringent. Well, basically it works similar to pour over brew ratio.

WDT(Weiss Distribution Techinque)

We recommend you to do WDT with your WDT tools such as "puck rake" offered by Decent Espresso Machines"(Click the link to see how to do WDT and you can buy it via this link.  

Preparation

(1)Place "whatman No.01 filter" on the bottom of your VST basket with the rough part of the filter upside. Then add the grounds.

Distribute the grounds with WDT tools such as "puck rake" offered by Decent Espresso Machines". 

(2)Tamp it carefully, to make sure you tamp the puck evenly.

(3)Pull the shot, watch the shot carefully, stop the shot until it gushes or it reaches 38-40grams in total shot weight.