La Dolce Vita · Home Barista
Enter your dose, yield and shot time. Get a clear verdict and one precise adjustment — so you can stop guessing and start tasting.
After the shot, knock out the puck and press it with a finger. It's one of the clearest signals that your dose is right.
Wet, sloppy, or cratered pucks with a hole in the middle usually mean channelling — water punched through one spot instead of the whole bed. Fix it with better distribution and a level tamp, not with the grinder.
Change one variable at a time. The grinder is your main lever. Keep your dose and your target ratio fixed, adjust the grind by one small step, and pull again.
Grind: finer = more resistance = slower flow = more extraction. Coarser = less resistance = faster flow = less extraction.
Distribution & tamp: break up clumps (WDT), level the bed, then tamp flat and firm. Uneven prep is the number-one cause of a shot that tastes wrong despite good numbers.
| Style | Ratio (out : in) | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Ristretto | 1 : 1 – 1 : 1.5 | Short, syrupy, intense, low acidity |
| Normale | 1 : 2 (≈1:1.8–2.2) | The classic reference espresso — start here |
| Lungo | 1 : 2.5 – 1 : 3+ | Longer, lighter body, more extracted |
Target shot time for a 1:2 is roughly 25–32 seconds from the moment the pump starts. Longer ratios take a little longer; shorter ratios a little less.
Volume note: dark-roasted and coarsely ground coffee takes up more volume in the basket (fills up fast at low weight). Light-roasted and finely ground takes up less (needs more weight to fill). Adjust your expectations of "how full" the basket looks by roast.
Espresso brews well at roughly 88–96 °C, with ~93 °C a good all-round starting point. Temperature is a secondary lever: set it for your roast, then dial in with grind.
| Roast | Aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 93–96 °C | Dense & hard to extract — needs the heat, or it turns sour |
| Medium | 92–95 °C | Forgiving middle ground |
| Medium–dark | 90–93 °C | Extracts more easily — ease off the heat |
| Dark | 88–92 °C | Very soluble — too hot brings out bitterness & ash |
Fine-tuning: hotter = more extraction (more sweetness/body, but bitterness if overdone); cooler = less extraction (more brightness, but sourness if overdone). Move in 1 °C steps.
No temperature control on your machine? Leave this blank and dial with grind and ratio — they do most of the work.
Sour / sharp / salty Under-extracted — you haven't pulled enough out of the grounds. Grind finer (or run a slightly longer ratio).
Sweet / balanced Extraction is where you want it. Lock in these settings.
Bitter / harsh / drying Over-extracted — you've pulled too much. Grind coarser (or run a slightly shorter ratio).
If the taste and the clock disagree — e.g. sour and slow — suspect channelling, and fix your puck prep first.
Guidance is a starting point — your palate is the final authority. Adjust one variable at a time and re-taste.
Made for La Dolce Vita home baristas · ladolcevitalifestyle.com
