The ideal coffee/water ratio for espresso is a never-ending story and always raises many questions.
I had my doubts about whether I'm the best person to write about this, basically because I stick to two rules in all my coffee activities.
The first rule is "Measure everything." Literally. And the second is "Experiment, even if what you're trying to do looks weird." Actually, those are the two reasons why I shake the V60. Yeah, no shame :)
Or maybe this actually makes me a good person for trying to think about proportions… Who knows. But I'll try.
I confess that for a second I thought about being a “know-it-all” and writing a lot of letters, showing you a lot of super complicated graphs, and making a very long and, of course, very informative article (or even a series of articles!) with a lot of definitions and numbers, and with the brewing chart, of course – but I prefer to be honest with you and instead of all that, share with you a little secret that is not a secret at all :)
Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) written after June 2015 that discusses espresso extraction and recipes for beginners and mid-level baristas is, or will be, inspired by these posts by Matt Perger on the Barista Hustle (Dose, Strength, Yield, Time, Altogether).
The information has been out there for two years, and it's the kind of information that opens your eyes, organizes everything you want to know about how to "build" an espresso from scratch, and leaves you with a clear head and a huge desire to go out and pull those espressos "like a boss." I tend to give the last video, about putting it all together, to new baristas, when they're ready to enter the world of ratios.
I'd like to talk about espresso ratios here, about my preferences, but since I'm using some tactics I learned from Barista Hustle in adjusting my espresso – first, I'll put it briefly here, so we're on the same page.
The important detail here is that this system works even if you don't have a refractometer. Yes, it's better to have one, yes, numbers are much more reliable than your taste buds—but what can I say? It's time to train our taste buds.
In my opinion, it's necessary to be able to taste an espresso, and to say what's wrong with it, and how to solve the problem. A kind of understanding of the reasons, what I call "sensory imagination."How could it be better, and what can I do to make it better?Does espresso need more body? Do I want more clarity? More complexity?
Start in this order: first set the dose (dry coffee), then the desired amount of espresso in the cup, and as the last step – the shot time.
Choose and lock the coffee dose in the portafilter, according to the amount of coffee you intend to make and the size of the baskets you are using in your portafilters.
Use weight (not volume!) to measure espresso.
You decide which style of espresso you prefer—or, in other words, what you're more willing to compromise on: extraction or strength—and then choose the performance you want.
And that's it. Hurray! (Then, of course, you apply every possible and impossible adjustment to improve the uniformity of your extraction.)
So… Why am I the wrong person to talk about ratios? … Because it’s all good to me :) Do you like your espresso short, intense, and full-bodied, something around 11-12% Tds? It’s all good to me. Do you like a sweet, delicate espresso, and don’t mind losing some texture while gaining complexity? Is 8-9% your go-to? Sounds great!
As long as you know what you're doing, and why, and who your customer is, what they want, and whether they're getting what they want – you're going to be in complete control, staying on top of your espresso game.
And whether it’s 8% or 12%, or even 7% is your choice – the truth is that we are in the world of flavor, and your short extracted coffee can have an interesting flavor, and also as a lungo it can gain some complexity and be different: study your customer and study their coffee and then choose what is best for you.
There's no right or wrong; there's only your informed choices and your performance. Right and wrong can lie in the barista's technique or approach. But what can be wrong with a barista's technique?
What I'm not a fan of at all is overdosing to under-extract espresso, to mask flaws in the roasting technique or the barista's work, and eventually all those triple ristrettos. When you learn, from your own experience or someone else's, how much work goes into harvesting, processing, transporting, and roasting the coffee, it's almost physically painful to use 21 grams in the basket to extract 21.
Oh really.
That's why I'm on the side of extracting maximum flavor from the minimum dry dose. And that idea of manipulating espresso flow that we learned before—that to extract less you should grind coarser or put more coffee in the basket—needs to change. We should stop using the dose to manipulate the flow, because we end up wasting more coffee, and actually understanding less about it. So, if you want to extract less, you have to grind coarser.
Regarding proportions, the line of thinking I am suggesting is this:
First, consider the style of espresso your customers are looking for. What is the espresso For them? What are they used to? A short, bitter substance drunk like medicine? Or do they allow for a little more flavor?
Then explore how your coffee works with that ratio.It has a good flavor extracted shortIs it interesting and sweet enough to be extracted for a little longer?
Consider the number of milk-based drinks you're making, and if it's a significant number, calculate the milk-to-espresso ratio you're using. If your drinks are long, it makes much more sense to also use long espressos. Otherwise, the coffee will suffocate in all that milk. If you primarily serve short espressos and cappuccinos, you can use a short espresso as a base to maintain the balance between milk and coffee.
As I told you at the beginning, for me working with coffee is a beautiful combination of being free from experiment and measure everything at the same time. And it applies to espresso ratios in the same way.
Yes, you must know the rules, measure the extraction, the TDSUsing the flat tamper, the right baskets, consistent tamping—basically, finding every way to constantly improve your technique with the goal of improving consistency and extraction. But what comes next is also your job, as a barista: figuring out how your coffee tastes best, and how to deliver that espresso repeatedly.
The truth is, there are no rules that tell you "always do it this way." And if someone tells you the ratio should always be 2.2 or 1.5, don't believe them. There are too many factors at play (roast level, days after roasting, variety and processing, the style of espresso you'd like to achieve, cultural factors in the country where you're drinking it, etc.) to be able to create such a strict rule and insist on it.
So, I think there's no point in searching for it. Instead, take a deep breath and immerse yourself in the search for espresso. Be free to experiment. And measure everything! :)
