Understanding Espresso Grind Settings

Want to learn how to dial your espresso in, using a brew ratio as your sight and changing the grind setting to ensure you get the best from the espresso. Brewing great espresso requires following a brew recipe and using a brew ratio to extract the strength and flavour you desire from your coffee. SUBSCRIBE to the OFFICIAL Alternative Brewing KZbin channel 👉 bit.ly/2MnmLOl
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Whether you have one set of scales or two, you can effectively dial your coffee into perfection each time - this way consecutive espressos brewed will be as consistent as possible.
Timestamps:
0:52 Brew Ratio
1:22 Begin Dialling in
3:15 Rocks and Sand Analogy
4:30 First Espresso Made
5:16 Changing the Grind
6:29 Second Espresso Made
7:50 Third Espresso Made
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#alternativebrewing #barista #espresso

[@Mahenshah03]

Simple and clear cocept to explan ......

[@iainmartin9724]

Mate. Your vids are superb. Best explanation of this I’ve seen on KZbin to date. 👍

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Wow, thanks!

[@FatNorthernBigot]

It's nice to see a channel going the extra mile... So many buckets 👍😉

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Thanks 👍

[@occupytosavetheworld]

This is the single best explanation of this concept on this platform. Well done lad.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Thanks so much 🤗

[@charlier7711]

Great demo with the sand and stones - great video!

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Thank you very much!

[@anotherguycalledsmith]

@1:03 I am _so_ keen on following you up with these videos ;-) Already ordered this 20 grams VST basket _before_ my machine even has arrived… Thanks a lot, I like your channel and your technical competence very much. All the other coffee/espresso guys just explain - sometimes only scratching the surface of a topic - but you on the contrary, _show_ exactly how it works. Kind regards from Berlin, Germany ;-)

[@B1ueStryk3r]

The best video for espresso shot, thank you.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

My pleasure

[@nvrsrndr4604]

Incredible....I've just been educated. Keep up the great content. 👍🏻 😊

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Thank you! Will do!

[@karllee4320]

Good presentation Josh!!!

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Thanks Karl! Congrats on winning QLD Cup taster btw 👌 and all the best at Nationals

[@karllee4320]

@@AlternativeBrewing hahaha thank you! will do my best!!!

[@HaekalAlchatieb]

Thanks man this is very helpful

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Glad it helped

[@be.lov3d]

Thank you for this video!!

[@AlternativeBrewing]

You are so welcome!

[@haydenw2263]

A big help!

[@Koch8]

Great channel

[@AlternativeBrewing]

thanks!

[@stevepottle4357]

Great video but the only thing you didn’t cover is pressing the coffee shot as I’ve found this can also change the results

[@dlevi67]

Before obsessing over the last second or last gram... ultimately, we brew coffee to drink it. Taste the thing!

[@kagehasu]

The first time I got a grinder and an espresso machine I just couldn't figure it out and drank like 25 shots of espresso before finally figuring the grind size out. Was one hell of a day.

[@dlevi67]

@@kagehasu "When you drink so much caffeine you can see noises - and they have colours!" - I know the feeling...

[@KellyanneGill]

I'd like to see a video on single origin coffee

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Thanks

[@tamerwahba]

Great video , also the type of beans affect the results if u used it

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Yes it does! Too true

[@watchme7076]

I neee help I’m trying different Grind setting it’s always watery I can only measure 14g in that pot I did setting 1,2,,15 and 30 it’s still watery. When I find got it it was fine thick but after 2 days it changed. 30 seconds is set in the espresso machine.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

ok - so for 14g in. - your best Espresso - assuming you're using a Medium to dark roast - will only be around 26-30g of liquid. For this 30g of liquid, you should only be brewing for around 1.5g/sec - which is a total time of 20 seconds max. The issue is with the capacity of the filter basket. 14g is very low. Better get a 16g minimum or 20g best 👌

[@MrGezzh]

Great content as always! Just curious do you get any grind/fines in your cup? I’ve recently purchased the La Pavoni Celllini and Cilindro grinder. I’ve got the grind at 4 bars and I’m getting some grind in the shot. Can’t taste it but still annoying as I’m not sure if this is supposed to be there? Also the shot is flowing quite fast still… I’m using the standard 16g basket it came with but I’m dosing at 18grams. Not sure if getting a better basket can help? Cheers

[@AlternativeBrewing]

An IMS of VST filte rbasket will go along way to making a better espresso 👌 Get an 18g or 20g basket. Try not to add any more than1g +/- to the basket. Adding too much coffee in the basket can also make it run too fast - most likely channelling issues. Upgrade the basket - then grind finer.

[@MrGezzh]

Thanks very much for your reply! I just ordered an 18g Pesado HE[%] High Extraction Basket from you. Hopefully this will make a difference 🤞

[@marksegal5789]

My grinder has a grind time so very difficult to pre weigh the beans. Does the grinding time affect the weight of the grounded beans? Thank you mark in London

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Yes it does. Grind time will produce more or less grounds depending on the length of time. Grind Size will also affect the amount of coffee dosed out. As in, if you had the same grind time and did not change this, and had found the right grind size - if you changed the grind finer, you would get less coffee, and if you changed it coarser, you would get more coffee. Think about smashing the coffee beans with a hammer. To make them finer, it'll take you longer to make them smaller. 👌

[@MindfulGamer]

Commenting for the algorithm :)

[@AlternativeBrewing]

hahaha 😀 Thanks so much!

[@michaelfordyce9160]

Hey Guys, Cracking videos so far...I've just got gifted an Ascaso and it has a built in brew time. So does that mean I can get away with only needing a scale to weigh the Brew?

[@AlternativeBrewing]

You bet 👌

[@juliabouy]

I thought you did could add 2 grams of coffee on the basket size? 20g basket could be a 22g dose?

[@AlternativeBrewing]

yes, though be careful - you want to allow room for the coffee to swell in the basket. If it has no room, and it is a) difficult to attach to the machine & b) has a significant dent in the puck from the screw in the shower screen - this would suggest there's too much coffee in the basket. If the coffee is unable to swell up, then it remains compacted during brewing and you'll have more chance of channeling and under extraction / over extraction in the cup.

[@juliabouy]

Great video

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@adam__smith]

1:44 measuring to the nearest ounce could get you some interesting results. :-)

[@AlternativeBrewing]

😂 For sure !

[@philindeblanc]

***Q for you........Is there any way to know if my Mignon grinder is working properly? Just got a espresso machine, and Man!! , I dont know whats going on, but I am barely get 11 seconds maybe 13 seconds shots on my 18g, yet my is at the point that its smashing teeth, and even halting if I dont back off. My burrs are maybe 18 or 24 months old, and before a couple days ago, I was just grinding for pour over in the time I have been using it. Now back to wanting to drink espresso, I am not having fun, as I burned through a bag of costly beans already! I was getting OK-decent tasting espresso in those short times, but, not really great. I will check for channeling when my bottomless portafilter arrives, but I dont think that is the case for all the shots I made. My temp is at 93C, my screens are new and clean, and my basket doesnt have any defective holes.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

I'd recommend unplugging the Grinder - and opening up in tot he Burr Chamber and give the burrs, and the chamber a good clean out. from here - with everything nice and clean - begin by turning the grinder on and slowly (slowly) turning the grind adjustment fine - until you hear a little chirping noise - as the burrs begin to touch - back off immediately - NOTE the position on the dial - and move 3 numbers coarser and see how this is for Espresso. - Make any further adjustments - and if even at a setting of 2 or 3 from the finest setting you're getting wickedly fast espresso shots - and the beans aren't super aged or anything like that - than yes - it would appear to be an issue with burrs, or grinder alignment.

[@philindeblanc]

THank you for the reply! I will check for alignment, and shim if need be, and meantime new burrs are on order. MAN!, I hope this solves it or else I am in a bad position! :-) Thank you@@AlternativeBrewing

[@Al8468]

Your video is very helpful. Quick question - portafilter bottom sprout should be very tided up or lightly? If I am making very tided - I have only drops and coffee is not testy at all. Thank you

[@AlternativeBrewing]

tied up 👌 if you only have drops - change grind setting coarser

[@Al8468]

@@AlternativeBrewing Thank you

[@jimmymc10021]

Thank you for the great tutorial. I'm struggling to dial in with an old Breville grinder BCG800, do I need to upgrade to something newer and better? If so what do you recommend for home use,I make two coffees per day?

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Possible. That is a reasonably good grinder - depends how old is old 😂 But you could be doing a lot better yes. Baratza have some great options - The latest Varia VS3 Grinder or anything from Eureka - you'd be very happy with 👌

[@Mrklangleyprivate]

When do you start timing, when you hit the button or at first drip?

[@lobby1971]

Great question. I'm fairly new to this and I find first drip may take as long as 12 seconds to appear but I do get those dark thin mouse tails and a gradual flow increase. If I start from pump turn on the flow appears way too fast. It would make a good follow up vid to compare the difference in taste and roast levels.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

If we want to correctly time the 'brew time" - that is the amount of time the coffee is brewing. This should be done from the moment water comes into contact with coffee - which is when you press the button and start the pump - water will begin to slowly pass its way through the bed of coffee - here, extraction of the coffee is already taking place, even if we haven't seen a drip into our cups. There's many reasons the length of the time it takes to drip out varies, but so long as we begin to time the length of extraction, from the moment water contacts coffee - we're able to keep this as a consistent measurement.

[@Mrklangleyprivate]

@@AlternativeBrewing thank you, that makes a lot of sense.

[@matthewtaylor6065]

But what if you have 5 seconds of pre-infusion? My shot doesn’t appear until 10-12 seconds after I pull the dose lever? I understand everything else but I find it confusing when to start the clock?

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Hey Matt, this is a great topic - pre-infusion and shot time. Let's shorten it to PI & ST here. So your PI should not affect the ST too much - it should remain fairly close to the normal ST. Let's say , without PI, you'd pull a shot in 27-30 sec. It drops around the 5 sec mark, and you're getting 40g of espresso out in that time frame - so your espresso runs for about 22 sec at a rate around 1.8g /s. The only difference with using PI is you will see an increase in flow rate. So you say your shot drops at 12 seconds - and you stop it at 30 sec lets say - to get 40g out. Your espresso is running for 18 seconds for a flow rate of 2.2g/s. What pre-infusing is doing - is making the coffee more susceptible to an even extraction earlier on in the shot. So it should saturate the full dose, thus when full pump pressure does turn on - it will naturally flow faster. If it is not flow faster after 12 sec and taking upto 40-50+ seconds - tasting the espresso is the next step to identifying whether it is over extracting or not. TLDR: Start timing the shot from the moment you start the shot, PI or no PI. 👍

[@rutanshuthaker4703]

Why does the studio look like James hoffman's

[@AlternativeBrewing]

😂 How does it? Furniture is furniture