How to Create your Own Coffee Recipe: dialling in your coffee
One reason why your home coffee might not taste like coffee from a top-tier café is that you haven't taken the time to create your own recipe...
What do we mean by creating your own recipe:
In the coffee world, this is called "dialling in your coffee." This simply means adjusting your grind size to achieve the perfect flavour.
We understand that everyone is different and might want a different flavour from the same bean, which is why it's important to take the time to experiment with your coffee.
Step 1: Key Facts
Espresso works in a 1:2 ratio, meaning for every 1 part of coffee beans, you get 2 parts liquid. Simply put, the ideal amount of coffee beans for a double shot of espresso is 18g, which will then deliver 36g of liquid magic.
It's important to measure out your grams the first few times you try a new coffee, just to familiarise yourself with it.
Step 2: Grind
Grind your beans so that they are a fine-medium consistency, around 0.1- 0.3mm. Of course, we won't sit there and measure out each grind of coffee, so we recommend grinding your coffee at a level 8-9.
It's crucial to get the grind of the coffee right, as this can affect the extraction time, which in turn affect the quality of the coffee. The longer the extraction time, the more likely it is that your grind might burn. With our coffee, we recommend aiming for about 28 seconds from the moment you press the extraction button to when you get 36g of magic liquid in your cup (yes, this includes the time that your coffee is not yet pouring).
It's important to note that a finer grind size will result in a slower extraction rate and a thicker crema, while a coarser grind size will result in a faster extraction time and a thinner crema. But, we will delve into this in Step 3.
To complete Step 2, simply grind your coffee beans to a level 8-9, measure out 18g of ground coffee using a scale, and extract for 28 seconds until you reach 36g of liquid in your cup (make sure to measure this with a scale).
Step 3: Try Your Coffee
At this stage, we can go back and forth between Step 2 and Step 3. Try the coffee, assess it, and adjust the grind if needed.
As a rule of thumb, if you didn't get 36g of coffee in 28 seconds, we would recommend grinding your coffee beans a bit coarser. But if you got more than 36g of coffee in 28 seconds, you should grind your coffee finer.
Taste is also important. If your coffee tastes bitter, you might be over-extracting your coffee, which means you need to grind your coffee beans a bit coarser to shorten your brewing time.
Step 4: Repeat
Although, this might be time consuming, it can also be quite fun. Adjust your grind size until you find the perfect taste for you! Repeat Step 2 and 3 until you find the perfect taste.
Rule of Thumb:
1. Slow extraction (<36g in 28sec) = need a coarser grind
2. Longer extraction (>36g in 28sec) = need a finer grind
3. Bitter coffee = has been extracted long = need a coarser grind to create a slower extraction