Your first Decent Espresso
A step-by-step dial-in guide for light to dark beans
This guide is designed to make espresso in our default 18g basket, with 18g of coffee to make 36g espresso.
If you are using the Streamline skin, you can find the setting on the left of the interface. The profile data you see on this page is displayed with this skin. With Insight skin, go to ‘settings' -> ‘limits (on the bottom left corner)' -> ‘stop at weight', and enter the amount.
Adaptive v2
If you prefer light to medium roasts, we recommend you start with Adaptive v2. This is a profile with preinfusion and it's an easy profile to dial in. It also tends to make a very balanced espresso.
Why is it called Adaptive?
After the preinfusion phase, the flow rate will increase for 7 seconds. The profile will then adapt to the maximum flow rate it can achieve per the grind size of the coffee in the puck (while keeping pressure under 9 bars) during that timespan and continue the shot at that flow rate. The profile is therefore adaptive based on the grind size, allowing it to be more tolerant towards different grind-size settings.
Dialing in Adaptive v2
(Green=pressure; blue=flow; red=temperature; brown=output weight)
For most medium or medium-light roasts, the ideal profile will look something like this:
If the grind size is too coarse, the extraction curve tends to look like this:
If the grind size is too fine, the extraction curve tends to look like the following graph
Light roast tips:
If you're working with a very light roast, it will be more challenging to dial in. Adaptive v2 is still suitable for a light roast, and a finer grind size may be helpful to balance acidity and sweetness. In this case, the best extraction may look more similar to curve no.3 instead of curve no.1.
Londonium (LRv2)
If you prefer medium to dark roasts, we recommend you start with LRv2. This profile gives the shots thicker body and mellower acidity, and is easy to dial in. Flavors of the bean also shine through with this profile.
Why is it called Londonium?
This profile simulates the lever machine Londonium. The pressure is held at 3 bars for 12 seconds to fully saturate the puck. The shot then transitions to 9 bars with a gradual pressure decrease.
How to add this profile
This profile might be hidden by default. To find it, go to the profile selection menu and tap the eye button to view the full profile collection. Tap “Damian's LRv2” to add it to your current profile list (it may take a few seconds to process). When the profile gets added to your list, the box in front of the profile will be checked. Tap the eye button again to go back to your current profile list and select LRv2 from there.
Should I choose LRv2 or LRv3?
When you select the profile, you may see another profile that is named "Damian's LRv3". The two profiles react differently to the shot going too fast. While LRv2 changes to a lower flow rate under this situation, LRv3 is always pressure-controlled.
Dialing in LRv2
(Green=pressure; blue=flow; red=temperature; brown=output weight)
For Londonium v2, if the shot is going too fast at the end, it will switch from pressure profiling to flow profiling to compensate, reducing the flow to lengthen the shot time. However, this will also cause the pressure to drop, sometimes significantly.
To avoid this, dial in your beans to make sure the pressure is consistent without a sudden crash, but also make sure the flow rate isn't too low.
A good dial-in should look something like the following:
If your grind size is too coarse, it will look like the following graph with a pressure crash.
If your grind size is too fine, it will look like the following graph
More information
How to adjust by taste:
In general, if your coffee tastes too sour, try grinding finer. If your coffee tastes too bitter, try grinding coarser. To dial-in more efficiently, we suggest you aim for the recommended extraction time and curve shape, then adjust to your taste by grinding finer or coarser.
If your coffee does not taste great no matter what you try, it can be an issue with resting or puck prep (see below). Another common reason for this is poor bean quality. Try to buy coffee from reputable roasters through recommendations.
How do the flavors change with different grind settings?
Take a medium-light Rwanda washed red bourbon, for example. These are the tasting notes we got as we dial in:
Too fine: Prominent bitterness. Flavors are muted and undefined, which can only be described as a general fruitiness. Acidity feels detached and hollow.
Slightly too fine: Less bitter than the last shot, flavor balance has improved. New flavors like dried fruits can now be observed but the overall flavor profile is still muted.
Just right: Juicy acidity, well balanced by medium-high sweetness, bitterness decreases and does not distract from the experience. Flavor clarity is higher with fresh currant, raisin and sweet aromatics notes.
Too coarse: Sharp puckering acidity, sweetness is present but lacks balance between the two. The fruitiness has an additional layer of unripe flavors, such as unripe berries and grassy notes.
For a dark roast Indonesian Sumatra, the tasting notes are much different.
Too fine: Overwhelming and lingering burnt bitterness. A drying and astringent sensation on the tongue and on the back of the throat.
Just right: The bitterness turns into bittersweet chocolate, flavors feel more integrated and the aftertaste is much more pleasant with long-lasting caramel sweetness. The mouthfeel is thick and rich, astringency is less pronounced.
Too coarse: Flavors feel hollow and empty, with a papery aftertaste. Both the taste and flavors are not very strong, lacking the kick that you would expect from dark roasts.
My fresh coffee is very acidic without much flavor:
Very fresh coffee beans tend to have sharp acidity and muted flavors, and they will gradually begin to taste better as time passes. The process of giving time for coffee to release its flavor is called resting. For better results, make sure the bag is sealed, then store it in cupboards to avoid direct sunlight.
For medium to ultra-light roasts, the resting time can vary from one week to over one month. For darker roasts, the resting time would be much shorter, sometimes as short as 2 days. In general, the lighter the coffee is, the more resting time it will need.
The coffee has reached its ‘peak' when it is perfectly rested, which is when it tastes the best to you. Coffee will gradually go stale after its peak, with flavors becoming muted. Stale dark roasts can even begin to develop a rancid, off flavor.
My shots are inconsistent or cannot reach the recommended time:
If your shot time is inconsistent, it could be due to your puck prep (how you handle your coffee grinds). With the default flat-bottom portafilter, you can observe your shot while it's being pulled. If the espresso does not come out evenly, that means your puck prep is not ideal. Dry spots or spraying are also indications that there are clumps or channeling (a low-resistance pathway for water to escape much faster than expected). To achieve a better extraction, we strongly recommend using a WDT tool.
Apart from puck prep, your grinder may also play a role. If the grind quality is undesirable, the quality of your espresso will be affected too. Moreover, if your grinder can't grind fine enough for espresso, you will not be able to achieve the recommended extraction time.
Shot time will also decrease as the beans rest. Stale beans can have a very fast shot time. Try buying a smaller batch from reputable roasters and consume before the beans go stale. This may mean buying 300g-500g packages instead of 1kg.
What is pre-infusion?
Pre-infusion is an extraction technique that is similar to blooming in pour-overs. A small amount of water will enter the coffee puck to saturate it evenly. The coffee grind is then given a longer time to absorb water and release flavors. This technique is particularly useful with light roast beans which tend to absorb water very slowly.
More profile guide:
Visit this page to find more profile introductions and dial-in guides.