Espresso Theory 

A six year old video... and it's still one of the best and clearest explanations of espresso and what it takes to make a proper shot. 1.Brew ratio 1:20 2.Grind Size to Brew Time 2:07 3.Brew Temp: 3:09

Thanks so much for all your videos on espressos! I'm a student in Baking and Pastry Arts and I've been doing some research on them. I can always count on you guys to clear up all of the contradicting information :)

One of the best, clearest explanations of espresso concepts.

Poor guy They didnt give him a chance to talk

I love a good cup of coffee. I have to admire those who so disciplined that they can put so much time, thought, and effort into making one.

Espresso is so fucking delicate, the perfect drink is almost mythical lol

Loved this video, watched it first when I began my espresso journey a few years back and learned so much from you both. Now my coffee is coming out so beautifully every day. Nice stuff guys, please do more of these videos!

Thank you. That is an excellent comprehensive explanation.

I find this very helping and informative. Thanks

awesome and really teaching material presented in a great way. thanks!

1:10 waiting for game of thrones opening to begin

Personally, I prefer a brew ratio of 1 : 30 when I make instant coffee

Wow! as a coffee enthusiast, I'm impressed, you really simplified it! glad I found your video!

I've tried several local brands for several months, change settings on the espresso machine, watching video tutorials on how to make good coffee like this, none seems to work, when the beans are meh, the coffee will also be meh no matter different settings I used, and of course different videos use different methods, so there is no correct one, if they all different, then I might as well USE MY OWN METHOD. For me the secret to good coffee is IN THE BEANS ! If I like the coffee taste, no matter what ratio what setting I used whatever I add, it will taste great. So find the most consistent brand for taste that you like and never change it. Other things to consider for more kicks in taste is COLD and SWEET enough but not too much ( I use 8-10 gram of sugar to 150ml of milk and 40-70ml of espresso with 10gram of coffee). Another thing I forgot to add about the coffee taste is its smoky/burnt taste, I think that is also VERY important. Smoky/burnt taste as we all know it is good for food/meat, I think that also applies here for coffee.

Or... you can follow the specifications of the Italian Espresso National Institute: Ground Coffee Portion: 7 g ± 0.5 (double 14 g ± 1) Exit Temperature of water from unit: 88 °C ± 2 Entry Water Pressure: 9 Bars ± 1 Percolation Time 25 seconds ± 5 Volume in cup (including froth): 25 ml ± 2.5 (double 50 ml ± 5)

Thanks so much, my city is filled with cafeterias and i never was critic about coffe, till the day i went to this little place and they got a small menu only expresso and cappuccino , and a gigantic machine and an monstruous line of people , it was an amazing coffe and turned me way more critic.

nice quick summary there! thanks guys

This is such a well produced video, with great examples!

The difference I found switching to a high quality coffee was amazing. Then actually buying a quality burr grinder and figuring out the right setting (not the best, but the best I coudl afford) made the next major difference. I will try weighing things out to see what different ratios do. Currently I figure I am closer to the 1:1. Thanks for the informative video.

Great explanation guys. Thanks for sharing with the World.

*Side note if you work at Starbucks none of this matters because the machine does it for you, all of it. Honestly it's a shame we don't learn about this kind of stuff at the Bux.

Wow! Thank you guys! The best video on espresso I have seen until now! :-)

I don't know but when I got a recipe for certain coffees like 21g of medium roasted Colombian or Kenyan coffees shot over 21-22 sec for 40ml(double ristretto) and 18g of coffee for a darker espresso blend shot for 25 sec for 40ml(double ristretto) and stopped using grams of coffee in and grams of espressos out my espresso got so much more consistent from day to day and now I really only have to think about tweaking the grind to go tiny bit finer as the coffee gets older and I also know how long each coffee I'm using have to rest before I can make espresso with it and what the peak time for each coffee is. Usually the peak time is around 7-10 days from roast but darker coffees fade much quicker so 3-8 days from roast is ideal I think.

Could've done without the background music

The background music sounded like techno game of thrones

Thank you! This is a really good example.

Great video and clear explanation

This was super helpful to someone learning to make great espresso at home! Thanks!

To the point and very informative! What s great video! Thanks!

That 25-35 second number, is that starting from when the first drop of espresso exits the portafilter, or when you hit the start button/pull the lever on the machine?

Great explanation! Science and art!

I would like to ask something: the 25-35s rule is widely known, but what is the brew ratio you're aiming at when you say 25-35s? Or do you consider time to be a fixed parameter? For instance: regardless of brew ratio, you always try to extract in 25-35s. If now you want a brew ratio of 1:2, then you just grind a little bit coarser than for a previous 1:1 brew ratio. I suppose, then, that as a general rule, you set your grinder to a number that give you the desired extraction time in a 1:1 brew ratio and the only variable to be optimized in any other preparation is the granulometry. I'm not a barista so I don't know if getting things properly.

Very helpful notes Thanks 👍

Awesome knowledge! I really like learning the details. Keep up the great work!

Awesome video! Thanks for the espresso info!

I like this video because I learned a bunch, but I wish it would tell someone new to coffee, what we should look for in terms of flavor, texture, type of beans that make a good espresso

Are you taking about 25-35sec after the first drip, or including the prefusion, like pretty much as soon as I flip the switch?

I see some of the comments discussing about the italian espresso, yes we made it first and ours coffee is very appreciated all around the world but as an italian I would like to point out that not all the espresso are made in the same way here, they’re almost all good for our taste but some other are not so much, it depends on the bar that makes it, Naples is also considered the best place to drink coffee and to eat pizza, because they come up with that, you will be 100% pleased for sure after being there, the city is also wonderful with all his history and art, his volcano and one of the best seaside and isles of our country, moreover the majority of people who lives here are the best of our boot, very kind and cozy and that statement is said by a north italian person ;)

3:33 My best understanding of the Espresso stool comes shortly after having had my first cup of the day. (Apologies. But jeesh, talk about overusing a silly analogy.)

Great information. One thing I was thinking is that this applies to all coffee brewing methods, not just espresso.

Thank you so much, great video

Great video. Thanks alot.

So for brew temp. Is this the temp that ends up in the cup, or the boiler temp? If it’s what’s in the cup, then the boiler temp needs to be higher, no? If that’s the case, what is the general rule for how many getters higher the boiler should be set? What temp do I ideally set the PID?

Could you do a video on how proper preinfusion works, how long etc.?

When do you start measuring brew time? When the espresso starts pouring out or when the water hits the coffee?

I don't get egy people get angry when someone moves away from the classic italian style of espresso, and make one like in this video. Once they said the Earth is flat. Then they realized it is not. They said that atom is the smallest part of anything. Then they realized it is not. Of course, coffee is nowhere near these things, it's not a big deal, just a drink, but it can change. The classic way was 7/14 grams of coffee and 25-30/50-60 ml of espresso. But why? Why not 10 grams of coffee and for example exatly 32 grams of coffee? Because italians came up with these ratios. And they liked it. But it was 20 years ago. And people made a lot of experiments on what happens during making an espresso. Not what may happen, what exactly happen. And now they van make espressos which taste much much more sweeter than the italian style espresso, can have a lot of different aromas and flavours, just as a good quality wine can. Why don't you guys say these things about wine? It is okay if you like the italian style, but you have to admit that coffee now is not an exact 7g to 25 ml thing. It is changing. If you do some research, you can see that these two people in the video are in the top top top of the coffee industry. They KNOW what they are talking about. It is an other thing if you do not follow the changes. 2 years ago i drank only italian style espresso. Then i tried one whit these methods. After that, i couldn't even look to an italian style espresso. I liked it so much. Now i drink both, because i saw the good things in both. Everyone can choose which one is closer to them, but now espresso is CAN be different than just the classic italian style. Just watch a World Barista Championship. Not Italian, World. They serve espressos, and most of them are made the way like in the video. And almost every winner did the same way like these guys in the video. sorry for the long comment.

For those masters of coffee, please advise if beans of Gut und Gunstig is ok for coffee shop. I'm sorry for asking this but I think they're quite fine.

Wonderful explanation all this time I was drinking less coffee and more water

Please stop using the word "stool" when talking about coffee.

Great video ! My espresso is getting better!

Very nice vid - thanks

So as a learning home barista, the key things I need to dial in are ratio of coffee in/out and time. Tamping is not one of the key factures?

really great!! thank you!

To the critics, take 5sec and Google the names of these gentleman teaching us, then try and come back saying they don't know what they're talking about. Get informed first

Great video. I believe if you understand these 3 concepts, you can make a decent espresso!!

How do I make a quad expresso? I have an expresso machine, but it only has a ground coffee holder sufficient for 1 shot? Thank you.

Pretty good explanation

What brand is the espresso machine you use in the video?

What was the point of having that other dude?

Wait, so if i wanted a 1:1 ratio. Do I grind finer to get that 20-30 sec brew time? Or do i cut the brew time in half since i am halfing my ratio?

This video made me want to drink some espresso ASAP

Great video guys! :)

Simply put, the brew ratio is the relationship between the amount of dry coffee used (the dose) and the amount of coffee extracted (the yield). This relationship is usually expressed in a dose:yield fashion, so a ratio of 1:2 means that for every gram of dry coffee, we will extract two grams of espresso. - Google

Great video! Simple, straightforward and informative! I learnt so much within less than 4 mins. Please have more video about coffee like this! :)

I would assume the info about type of grind and how quickly water goes through it applies to brewing regular coffee as well?

What espresso machine brand is the one in the video?

hi ,thanks that was very good information ,but can you help me i have lavazza quzzini machine and i can't find capsule ....i have lavazza grind coffee but not capsule ... any help .thanks

should I be concerned about the pressure? I BREW good tasting spresso, but I neve got the right pressure on mine machine display, this up set me a bit.

Great video!!

So at the ratio of 1:1, what is the expected TDS yield

Hi! Great video. ¿Does the brew time varies with the ratio? 🤔 I can imagen it does or do we set grinder ?

Where does the coarser to fine fall in the chart?

Should temperature be adjusted for high altitude?

Do a tea version of this

does this 25 to 35 sec extraction time include. a couple of seconds of pre-infusion? like in those home espresso machines?

Al Capuccino's favorite drink.

ive tried all the lavazo's (each good in their own ways) and no matter what i do ie: amount of coffee, tamping pressure, pre heat the machine... i just cant get Crema! what am i doing wrong... :( .. my machine is the breville duo temp pro

do you start the brew time the second you turn on the notch? or when the liquid starts coming out? for me, it normally takes a few seconds before liquid actually starts coming out;/

终于看到有人把这问题讲清楚了

Wow. Really helpfull

The right espresso should be bold in a robust tasty way with a slight tasty bitter bite - not that wood-like bitterness which comes of badly made coffee that causes people to dunk loads of sugar in. I would get an espresso machine that makes it the first, not the second way

This video is a bit confusing. Theres good info here, but for me this doesn't give much to the budding barista. How do I know what a good ratio is? A lot of others talk about pulling a 2oz (60ml) shot in 25-35 seconds, but how do you gear that for the flavour of the bean? I've ground as fine as I can with a perfect medium roast coffee and pulled a shot with the exact timing but had it taste both sour and bitter at the same time. Sometimes it tastes like dark chocolate but with 1 more gram in the basket it tastes too strong. What would you do to pull a great shot? Where do you start? This is a very theoretical video, but what can I do with that when I can't make 20 coffee's a day (I'm a hobbyist) to try out how to make it perfect?

Why does a darker roast require a lower brew ratio? Is it okay to say that lighter roasts have more aroma that can be extracted?

music on the background a little too loud, otherwise the video is very enjoyable

does the brew time matter if I use a pressurized protafilter? no matter what grind I use even at the finest, they all come out relatively quickly.

Is the best way to make Espresso

Brew time 25 sec count in first drip or when I start machine ?

I don’t even have an espresso machine but watching someone make an espresso to me is as pleasant as watching a good barber trim hair, or the smell of a wet mop.

Yes that's smart. Thank you.

Where do you guys get your knock box?

They're brewing time is off, unless it depends on the type of machine you are using, i use 18 - 22sec for brewing time. Bit confused about this one now

thoroughly enjoyed this presentation! thank you for the well laid out information! - A wannabe coffee snob :D

so... if i have 18g of coffee in the porta filter, in a ratio of 1:2, i need 36g of caffee in the cup... and that how much is in ml?? is 18g for a cup of 60 ml??

I have $200 to get an espresso machine and a grinder , what do you suggest I get? I was going to buy the DeLonghi EC702 for around $150 and find a grinder for $50 if that works what grinder do you suggest? Any suggestions would be a big help thanks!

Ofcause i watch how the way to make coffee, but i never expereince in coffee maker i like and i want to make it.

What kind of espresso machine is in the video?

Low Roast taste soooooo much better, poor Italians... (And I've been in Italy a looot) And I'm not kidding, hard roast has to be drank with sugar like honey, syrup, Maple syrup, vanilla syrup, etc... Low roast has to be drank without anything cause it's more acidic and sweet than hard roast. Harder roast produce more acrylamides (which is a cancerogenic substance). Coffee can be brewed between 86C and 94C but then it has to be tested (tasted) for each degrees to be perfect. You have to mix your coffee even if you don't put sugar in it cause first, you have the body, then the sugar, then the acidic taste.

Just brilliant content. It's great to stop and actually consider something you take for granted every day. What ACTUALLY makes a good cup of espresso? I need to pay close attention, though. This might get a bit technical. lol

so, for 15g of grind in the 15g basket of a double spout portafilter, extracting 1:2, yielding 30g of espresso in the cup, is this a "single" or a "double" shot? Local coffee shops here in AU are using 17g, and yielding 60ml of espresso with 20ml of crema.... 80g all up and calling this a double shot. I'm confused.

See, this is how coffee should be enjoyed. Great vid.