How to adjust espresso

Having trouble brewing delicious espresso? Is your espresso too sour or too bitter? Or maybe you want to know why your espresso is watery? Here you will find answers to these issues of brewing espresso with a machine. 

To give you a quick overview of what you can change to adjust the taste of your espresso, here are the things you can play around with:

• Grind size
• Coffee dose
• Pressure
• Extraction time
• Roast type
• Water temperature

Now, let’s look into more details.

How to adjust espresso

So you pulled a shot expecting a lovely cup of espresso… but it’s nowhere near what you expected! Find out the reasons why your espresso doesn’t taste right and check our tips on adjusting espresso.

There are two main variables you can manipulate to make a delicious cup of espresso. 

1. Grind size

The grind size impacts the extraction time, that’s why it plays a huge role in whether you bring out sourness or bitterness in your coffee. 

Using a finer grind (end extending the extraction time) you can bring out more sweetness in your espresso. 

If you use a coarser grind (and shorten the extraction), you will get a more fruity and sour taste. 

2. Coffee dose

If you increase the coffee to water ratio (the dose), you will increase the sweetness and add more body.
On the other hand, if you use a lower dose, you will bring out more fruitiness and acidity, but reduce the body. 

So these are two very basic ways to adjust your espresso. But there is more to it. Let’s look at the common questions about adjusting espresso. 

Why is my espresso bitter?

The reasons why your espresso tastes bitter

Bitterness in espresso is associated with flavors such as smoky, ashy, roasted or even burnt and may be caused by several things. The reasons for bitter espresso include: dirty coffee machine, over extraction, too fine grind, type of roast and water temperature.

Your machine isn’t clean

Old coffee particles remaining in the machine build up a residue of oils which simply go off. This obviously changes the taste and aroma of your cup. 

Over extraction

The reasons for over extraction may be: too long extraction time, too little coffee to water ratio, too low pressure or too fine grind. 

Roast type

Very dark roast or overroasted beans may give you a smoky or burnt cup of coffee. 

Water temperature

Too high water temperature may burn the coffee and produce an unpleasant taste, while reducing the desirable natural aromas. 

How to fix bitter espresso

If your espresso is too bitter, here the things you can try to fix the bitterness in your espresso:

• Clean the machine. Rrun water through the machine and clean the handle thoroughly. You want to keep everything clean as old coffee bits will produce unpleasant aromas in your coffee. 
• Adjust the extraction time and try shorter extraction to reduce bitterness. 
• Increase coffee to water ratio
• Use coarser grind (this itself will shorten the extraction time as water will go faster through larger coffee bits).
• Choose lighter roast
• Lower the water temperature by 1-2 degrees. This will slow down the brewing process and help you avoid over extraction. Normally the water temperature for espresso brewing should be around 94℃.

Why is my espresso sour?

The acidity in espresso may be caused by under extraction, the roast type, water temperature or water to coffee ratio. 

How to reduce sourness in espresso

If you espresso has too much acidity in it, you can try the following:

• Increase water temperature
• Change the coffee dose. Increase the amount of coffee to bring out more sweetness and balance the acidity.

Why is my espresso watery?

If your espresso is too thin, it may be because of the coffee to water ratio. Try to increase the coffee dose (more coffee and less water). Another reason may be that you are using an oldish coffee. 

How to fix no crema on espresso

If your espresso has little or no rema, water may be going through the coffee grounds too fast. To fix this try these:

• Increasing the extraction time
• Using a finer grind
• Lowering the temperature in the machine
• Using a darker roast (under roasted coffee won’t produce much froth)

How to reduce the extraction time

If it’s taking too long to pull a shot of espresso, this means that something is slowing down the flow of water in the machine. To reduce the extraction time try the following:

• Use coarser grind, so the water can go through the coffee faster
• Use less coffee
• Tamp lighter
• Increase pressure in the machine

How to increase the extraction time

On the other hand, if water goes too fast through your machine, try to reverse the things mentioned above, which means:

• Use finer grind
• Increase the amount of coffee
• Tamp stronger
• Decrease pressure in the machine

Extra tip: try changing only one variable at a time.

We hope these tips help you to adjust your extraction and produce the best espresso!

Let us know in the comments if you tried our recommendations. Or if you have other ways of adjusting espresso brewing, do share them as well!