Dialing in your espresso is one of the most rewarding parts of brewing at home. It’s how you unlock the full potential of your coffee - balancing sweetness, acidity, and body to create a perfect shot. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, using your home equipment and Jet Bean’s specialty beans.

Why Dialing In Matters

Every bean is different. Even the same bean can behave differently depending on freshness, humidity, grinder settings, and your espresso machine. Dialing in is about tuning your grind size, dose, yield, and time to hit that sweet spot. Do it right, and your coffee will sing.

What You’ll Need

• Fresh Jet Bean Coffee (ideally roasted within 1–3 weeks)
• A decent grinder with micro-adjustment
• Digital scale (accurate to 0.1g)
• Espresso machine
• Tamper
• Timer (or use your scale’s timer)
• Filtered water (50–150 ppm hardness)

Step-by-Step: How to Dial In Espresso

1. Clean and Prep

Make sure your machine, portafilter, and grinder are clean. Flush your group head before each shot.

2. Set Your Dose

Start with a fixed dose - 18g is a common starting point for a double shot. Weigh your coffee beans with a suitable scale.

3. Grind and Tamp

Use a grind that feels like fine table salt. Distribute evenly and tamp with firm, level pressure.

4. Pull a Test Shot

Insert the portafilter and start the shot. Use a scale to measure how much espresso comes out, and a timer to measure how long it takes.

Target brew ratio: 1:2 (e.g. 18g in → 36g out)
Target time: 25–35 seconds

5. Taste and Adjust

• Sour or under-extracted? → Grind finer

• Bitter or over-extracted? → Grind coarser

• Too weak? → Increase dose or reduce yield

Make one change at a time, and record your results.

Quick Reference Table

Variable	Target	If too fast / sour	If too slow / bitter
First drip	5–7 seconds	Grind finer	Grind coarser
Shot time	25–35 seconds	Grind finer	Grind coarser
Brew ratio	1:2 (18g in → 36g out)	Increase dose or finer	Decrease dose or coarser
Taste	Balanced acidity/sweetness	Finer or longer shot	Coarser or shorter shot

Extra Tips

• Beans change over time - revisit your dial-in every few days
• Always weigh your shots for consistency
• Keep a logbook or use an app to track extraction times
• Taste every shot - even the bad ones teach you something
  
  

Final Word

Dialing in takes a bit of patience, but once you hit the mark, it’s worth it. With Jet Bean Coffee and a methodical approach, you’ll be serving up café quality espresso from your kitchen.

Need help choosing the right bean to dial in? Check out our Specialty Coffee Collection to get started.

Enjoy the experience!

 

Chris Louch
Frequent Flyer | Coffee Evangelist | Jet Bean Loyalist