My Journey into Brew Ratios

Since we have recently opened our cafe I, Ben, decided to start using our espresso methods from the cafe at home, and I am seeing some great results.

I am weighing out the coffee that I put into my group head basket each time, determining the best amount for my basket so that it is not over or under extracted.

I have determined that for my Rancilio Silvia basket that 17g of fine ground coffee, with a hard tamp (sorry, I can’t tell you the pressure of my tamp yet!!), is a really good amount. It is not too high up the basket which means once tamped down there is room at the top of the basket for water to soak the grinds before pushing through for extraction.

I am also weighing the yield of each cup. So before I extract the shot, I weigh the cup, then extract and I am aiming to yield 34g of coffee.

You may have heard of brew ratios. I am finding that a 2:1 brew ratio is working well for my machine, particularly with our KAHAWA blend. The brew ratio is simply that I am wanting double the amount of weight yielded of the coffee that I put in the basket. Hence, 17g of ground coffee yields 34g of extracted espresso.

By weighing my coffee I am getting more consistency, as unless you have a super high-end grinder, the consistency that it grinds for you won't be amazing. I have a Breville Smart Grinder for home which is a good little grinder, but the consistency is not spot on.

So by weighing it myself, seeking to apply the same pressure in my tamp, and then weighing my yield has led to me producing a better morning brew for my wife and me. And that is worth the effort!