Espresso Dosing Guide
Your espresso dose is the weight of dry ground coffee in the basket. Choose a dose that suits the basket and keep it steady while dialing in. Changing dose, grind, and shot weight together makes it difficult to tell which adjustment helped.
Start with the basket's recommended capacity
If your basket is rated for 18 grams, begin around 18 grams. That number is a starting point rather than an exact capacity for every coffee: roast level, density, and grind size change how much space the grounds occupy.
After tamping, leave the headspace required by your machine and basket. A dry puck that presses against the shower screen when you lock in the portafilter may indicate overfilling. A screen impression after brewing is less useful because coffee expands when wet.
When changing basket styles, check both dose capacity and physical compatibility. Our espresso basket comparison explains the role of precision baskets.
Weigh the grounds and the finished espresso
A scale separates two measurements that are often confused: dose is coffee going in, while yield is espresso coming out. A 1:2 brew ratio means 18 grams of dry coffee produces 36 grams of espresso. It does not mean 36 milliliters; crema makes volume unreliable.
- 18 g in, 27 g out: 1:1.5, a shorter starting recipe.
- 18 g in, 36 g out: 1:2, a common starting recipe.
- 18 g in, 45 g out: 1:2.5, a longer starting recipe.
These are examples to taste and adjust, not quality standards. When single dosing, weigh the grinder output occasionally to check whether retention is changing the amount that reaches the basket.
Use grind size to adjust flow
With dose and target yield fixed, a finer grind generally adds resistance and slows flow; a coarser grind generally speeds it up. Excessively fine grinding can cause uneven flow or choke the shot. Increasing the dose is not a reliable cure for sour espresso, and reducing it is not a universal cure for bitterness.
Follow a consistent espresso dialing-in routine. Judge taste alongside flow and shot time, and adjust one variable at a time.
When should you change dose?
Change dose when you need a different drink size, switch baskets, or find the current coffee does not fit with suitable headspace. If you change from 18 to 17 grams and want to preserve a 1:2 ratio, change the target yield from 36 to 34 grams as well.
For the preparation itself, distribute the grounds and tamp level with a repeatable motion. Avoid using tamp force as a substitute for grind adjustment.
