When you're making your espresso at home, is the amount of coffee you use important? Yes!
Ground coffee has a finite amount of goodness that can be extracted from it. It's kind of like tea…
> One tea bag is good for one cup of tea.
> If you try to make two cups of tea with it, the taste will be weak and watery.
> If you try to make a quarter of a cup of tea with it, the taste will be strong and stewed.
The amount of fresh coffee you put in depends on the amount of brewed coffee (espresso) you want out. For example, a cafe doing a double shot might use 20 grams of ground coffee to make 40 grams (around 50ml including the crema) of espresso.
So, where to start? A good place is checking out what filter baskets you have and what they’re good for. This should be in your coffee machine manual.
> Choose between the single and double baskets (depending on whether you want a single or double shot).
> Find out how many grams of coffee should go into the basket you are using.
> If you have an automatic machine, programme it for the correct amount of water.
Once you know what you’re aiming for, there are a few ways you can keep an eye on the amount of coffee you are using:
> A fancy automatic / on demand grinder. Some will grind to a set time and others to a set weight. These can take a bit of getting used to.
> Get some scales. Accurate and easy to use, but a little time consuming.
> The swipe technique. Fill your basket until it has a little mound and then swipe the top off so it’s completely full, flat and with no gaps. This way, you are consistently using about the same about of coffee as you are using the handle as the guide – cheap and quick, just not as accurate.
