Brew Ratio Quick Reference
Dose in, yield out — the triangle's first two corners
Common Targets (18g dose)
Ristretto (1:1.5)
27g out
Standard (1:2)
36g out
Lungo-ish (1:2.5)
45g out
Light-roast open (1:3)
54g out
Starting Points by Basket
Single basket
7-10g
Double basket
16-18g
Triple basket
20-22g
Shot window
25-32s
*Ratios are starting points, not laws. Pick one, hold it constant, and change only the grind until the shot tastes right. Time is a diagnostic, not a target.
Reading the Shot
What sour, bitter, and gushing are telling you
Every bad shot is information. Hold your dose and ratio constant, then read the cup against the clock — the fix is almost always one grind adjustment away.
- Sour, thin, fast: Under-extracted. Grind finer. Confirm the dose isn't light.
- Bitter, dry, slow: Over-extracted. Grind coarser. Check you're not over-dosing the basket.
- Spritzing or uneven pour: Channeling. Fix puck prep — WDT, level tamp — before touching the grinder.
"Change one variable, taste, log it, repeat. A shot log and a 0.1-gram scale will out-perform a thousand dollars of upgrades you can't measure."