Dialing In

Dialing in is the process of tuning your grind so a specific coffee tastes its best. Espresso comes down to three numbers: dose (dry grounds in), yield (liquid espresso out), and time (how long the shot runs). You fix the first two and adjust grind until the third lands and the taste balances. The golden rule: change only one variable at a time, and while dialing that variable is almost always grind size. For the why behind these numbers, read espresso fundamentals.

The numbered process

1. Set your DOSE and leave it fixed. Weigh your dry grounds — about 18g in an 18g basket. Whatever you pick, keep it identical for every shot while dialing. Changing dose mid-session moves the target and hides the effect of your grind changes. Use the Brew Scale for a repeatable dose.
2. Set your target YIELD by ratio. Start at the standard 1:2 — 18g in gives 36g out. Put your cup on the Brew Scale and weigh the liquid espresso, not the cup, not the crema volume. Yield is measured by mass, in grams.
3. Pull a shot and TIME it. Start the timer the moment the pump starts and stop when you hit 36g. Target roughly 25-30 seconds to reach your yield.
4. Taste the shot and read the time together. Too fast (under ~20s) usually tastes sour, thin, and weak — the water rushed through and under-extracted, so grind finer to add resistance. Too slow (over ~35s) usually tastes bitter, harsh, and dry — the water dragged and over-extracted, so grind coarser to speed it up.
5. Change ONLY the grind between shots. Move one small step at a time. Grinders overshoot easily, so resist big jumps. Stepless grinders like the Vortex and Precision let you nudge grind in tiny amounts, ideal for espresso; the stepped Compact moves in fixed clicks, so if one click runs too fast and the next too slow, split the difference with a small dose or ratio tweak. After each change, run a little coffee through to purge old grounds so you taste the new setting.
6. Re-pull and repeat. Keep looping steps 3-5 until the shot both lands near 25-30s and tastes balanced — neither sour nor bitter. Time alone is not the goal; taste is the judge, and time is your guide toward it.
7. Confirm you are dialed in. You are done when you can repeat the same shot three times in a row with consistent time, yield, and taste. Write the setting down.

Fresh beans matter

Every bean, roast, and even bag behaves differently, so a setting that worked last week may need adjusting today. Coffee is at its best roughly 5 to 21 days after roast. Very fresh beans (under ~4 days) can gush and channel from excess CO2. A new bag always needs re-dialing — start from your last known setting and re-run the loop.

When taste and time disagree

If a shot is somehow both sour and bitter, or the time is right but it still tastes wrong, the problem is usually puck prep, not grind — head to puck prep and troubleshooting before chasing the grinder further.