Your starting point
Use a scale, a timer, clean equipment and good drinking water. The quantities below are an original practice recipe to help you compare changes, not an official certification standard.
Step by step
- Check the basket’s recommended dose and warm the machine and cup. Use 18 g only if it suits the basket.
- Distribute the grounds, tamp level and place a scale under the cup. Keep the basket rim clean before locking in.
- Start the shot and aim initially for 36 g of beverage, noting the actual time. Stop by beverage mass rather than cup volume.
- Taste and change one variable. Keep the dose constant while testing grind adjustments, then test a different yield if needed.
Taste, adjust, repeat
The 1:2 ratio and roughly 25–35 second range are starting coordinates, not a pass/fail rule. Different coffees and baskets may taste best elsewhere.
Keep a brew note
Save the bean name, roast date, dose, water, beverage yield, grind, temperature, time and one sensory observation. Repeat before changing several variables at once.