Espresso Brew Guide

DOUBLE ESPRESSO

Establish your dose (ground just coarser than powdered sugar) by overfilling the basket, then leveling off with a straight edge (or by using a scale).

Hold the tamper like a flashlight with your elbow bent at a 90º angle. Your tamper will be  just over the portafilter, which is held on the counter with your other hand. Engage the level tamper into the portafilter basket by leaning in with 30 pounds of pressure from your body weight. One flat tamp from a well-fitted tamper will do the job. 

Clean the spouts and wings before locking the portafilter into the grouphead. Start your shot and timer simultaneously, then slide your scale and cup underneath. Stop the shot when its beverage weight hits between two and three times the dose. 

As an example, we like Golden Key at a 1:2.3 brew ratio, which might be an 18g dose with a 41g beverage weight. If you have a Breville, the dose is usually closer to 14-16g with the beverage weight wanting to be 42-48g. Longer ratios (1:3) can help find balance with Breville extractions.

Brew time is often best between 20 - 30 seconds. We prefer between 25 - 30 seconds for most shots. 

• If the timing is off, coarsen the grind to achieve shorter times or fine up to achieve longer times. 
• Note: If your hopper is filled with coffee when you make a grind adjustment, you'll have to purge some grounds (2 - 5 shots depending on the grinder) before seeing the new grind. 

Enjoy your double espresso as is (we recommend stirring) or as the base of a latte, Americano, or more.