Dialling in means adjusting your grind until a shot tastes balanced. It feels daunting, but with a scale and a timer you can get there in five shots or fewer.
Fix the variables
Keep your dose at 18 g and aim for 36 g of liquid espresso. Only change the grind. Weigh every shot, and start the timer when you press the button.
Read the shot
Under 25 seconds and sour or thin: grind finer. Over 35 seconds and bitter or dry: grind coarser. When it lands between 27 and 32 seconds, taste it before you change anything else.
Then adjust to taste
Once the time is right, small changes in yield tune the flavour. A slightly longer shot, 40 g, softens a bright coffee. A shorter one, 32 g, adds body to a mellow one.
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