The menu
Eleven drinks. One shot
and a jug of milk.
Almost every café drink is the same espresso with different amounts of milk or water. Tap any cup to walk through it.
The one that matters
Dial in the espresso and nine of these fix themselves.
Milk drinks hide a lot, but they cannot hide a bad shot. Change one variable at a time and taste what it did.
Sour and thin
Under-extracted- Cause
- Water left too fast
- Fix first
- Grind finer
- Then
- Raise dose or temp
The shot gushes, finishes early and tastes sharp and salty. You have washed out the acids and left the sugars behind.
Bitter and drying
Over-extracted- Cause
- Water left too slowly
- Fix first
- Grind coarser
- Then
- Lower dose or temp
The shot drips, runs long and leaves your mouth dry. You have pulled out the woody, ashy compounds that come last.
Blonde streaks and spray
Channelling- Cause
- Uneven puck
- Fix first
- Stir the dose, tamp level
- Then
- Use a bottomless basket
Water finds the path of least resistance and races through one spot, over-extracting there and under-extracting everywhere else.