Espresso Hard to Dial In? Master It Easily with the “Three-Step Grind Adjustment” Method!

 Everyone knows that the condition of coffee beans — as well as the weather — changes constantly. These variations directly affect espresso extraction, which is why the flavor of your espresso can differ from day to day. If we want our coffee to taste consistently great, we have to fine-tune the brewing parameters to correct the flavor. That’s why dialing in espresso is part of every barista’s morning routine — it’s an essential skill.

However, for many baristas, especially beginners, dialing in espresso isn’t exactly a fun task. One wrong adjustment can waste half a bag of beans. Sometimes, after drinking too many test shots, they even end up feeling nauseous — espresso overdose! So, is there a way to dial in espresso quickly and efficiently without wasting a bunch of coffee or time?

Absolutely. In most cases, there’s a clear and simple method to help you quickly find the right parameters for your espresso — you just need to “taste” to diagnose what’s wrong and fix it accordingly. With this approach, you can dial in your espresso in just a few tries — what I call the “Three-Step Grind Adjustment” method (and sometimes even less).

Why Do We Need to Dial In Espresso?

As mentioned earlier, espresso needs to be adjusted because its flavor changes due to factors like bean condition or humidity. When your espresso doesn’t taste as good as it did yesterday, your goal is to figure out why. Once you know what’s off, you can make precise adjustments to bring it back.

When all other brewing ratios remain constant, espresso usually tastes “off” for only two main reasons: under-extraction or over-extraction.

• Under-extraction means too few compounds have been dissolved from the coffee grounds. You’ll notice sharp acidity, a thin body, and a lack of sweetness or bitterness to balance the sour notes.

• Over-extraction, on the other hand, happens when too much is pulled from the grounds — especially bitter and undesirable compounds — leading to a harsh, overly bitter cup with heavy, muddy flavors.

  

So when you taste your espresso and detect one of these negative traits, you can easily fix it by making the right adjustment.

• If it’s under-extracted, you need to increase extraction efficiency — for example, grind finer or extend the brew time.

• If it’s over-extracted, you should reduce extraction efficiency — grind coarser or shorten the brew time to limit bitterness and harshness.

That’s the basic principle — but in practice, it can be tricky. Many beginners either change nothing at all or go from one extreme to another — from under-extracted straight to over-extracted. So how do you dial it in efficiently and precisely? Let’s break it down.

Step 1: Set a Baseline Recipe

Before adjusting anything, you need to establish a baseline recipe — a general extraction formula — as your starting point. This gives you a clear reference and prevents blind, wasteful tweaking.

Here’s what I typically use:

• Brew ratio: 1:2 (e.g., 20g of coffee yields 40ml of espresso)

• Extraction time: around 30 seconds

  

These aren’t rigid numbers — a few seconds of variation is fine. Thirty seconds is a good range that ensures decent extraction without straying too far from a good taste. The 1:2 ratio provides a solid concentration suitable for both straight espresso and milk-based drinks.

Once you’ve hit these baseline parameters, you can start making fine adjustments based on taste.

Step 2: The “Three-Step Grind Adjustment”

This is the heart of the method. There are three main variables you can control during espresso extraction:

1. Dose (coffee amount)

2. Grind size

3. Yield (liquid output)

However, in most cases, the grind size is your main lever — because the dose and yield are usually limited by the basket size and recipe ratio. You can adjust them slightly later, but grind size is what gives you the biggest impact.

Here’s the rule:

• Finer grind → longer brew time, higher extraction.

• Coarser grind → shorter brew time, lower extraction.

For example, when I use my classic espresso blend, the ideal shot has a rich body, balanced flavor, and notes of butter cookie, chocolate, and caramel.

Step 3: Taste, Adjust, Repeat

I start by pulling a test shot using the 1:2 ratio and check two things:

• Taste

• Time

Let’s say I use 20g in / 40ml out, and the shot finishes in 23 seconds — that’s much faster than my 30-second target. The taste? Sharp acidity, thin body — classic under-extraction.

So, I tighten the grind two notches finer. (Always taste before changing — sometimes the “off” shot still tastes surprisingly good!)

For espresso, each step finer usually adds 3–4 seconds to your brew time. After adjusting, I pull another shot with the same dose and yield — this time, the extraction takes 31 seconds, perfectly within range. The flavor now feels balanced and complex, with just a touch of bitterness on the finish.

That slight bitterness suggests mild over-extraction — no big deal. I can simply reduce the yield by 1–2ml or slightly lower the dose by 0.2–0.3g to bring it to perfection.

Final Thoughts

That’s the essence of the Three-Step Grind Adjustment Method — taste, analyze, and tweak intelligently. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to dial in your espresso much faster and more accurately without wasting beans or time.