3 Ways To Avoid Inconsistent Espresso Extraction

Have you ever tried your hardest to make the perfect cup of coffee and then failed? You have the required equipment, beans, and skills, but for some reason, the result is inconsistent. Don't worry; the solutions are very simple.

Today we're going to talk about three points to avoid inconsistent extraction: when your machine produces espresso cups of varying quality despite using the same parameters and the same beans every time.

1. The Quality of The Beans

When buying coffee beans, most buyers check the origin of the coffee and notes and forget about the roasting date. The roasting date affects the flavor and quality of the coffee in a very big way, as the taste begins to change after a month of roasting! So always buy beans that have been roasted one to two weeks before the date of purchase to ensure that they are fresh and that they have eliminated the roasting gases.

Also, you should pay attention to the method of storing the beans. Some store coffee in the grinder’s hopper, which exposes it to direct light and air, affecting the quality very much, as it becomes dry and loses flavor quickly.

Therefore, we recommend that you add the amount that you will use to prepare two to three cups in the hopper and keep the rest of the coffee in an opaque and airtight bag to preserve the quality for as long as possible.

2. Grinder Retention

To explain retention in a simplified way, it is the number of ground coffee residues that are present inside parts of the grinder after grinding; that is, they are ground but did not reach the portafilter to be used, and grinders differ in the quantities of these residues. 

Why is this important? This ground coffee is the first that reaches the portafilter when you use the grinder again, which means "old" coffee and freshly ground coffee are available in the same basket, affecting extraction and flavor.

Coffee shop owners may not pay much attention to this as the grinder is used frequently and will get rid of these residues in a matter of minutes, but it certainly affects the home barista because they use the grinder much less.

The easy solution is first to grind a few grams and then discard them and grind the required dose for preparation, ensuring that the ground coffee is fresh and does not contain any residue.

Also, keep this in mind before purchasing any grinder, be sure to ask about the retention amount to know how many grams you should grind each time and to reduce wasted coffee.

3. The Number of Beans In The Hopper 

We previously mentioned the importance of preserving the coffee beans correctly and not placing the entire quantity in the hopper so that it does not lose its quality quickly. Still, it should be noted that the type of grinder is very important at this point. There are two types of grinders on the market: the classic grinder and the single-dose grinder.

As its name states, the single-dose grinder grinds only one cup at a time, so you must add coffee beans at a constant weight each time you brew. But the problem lies in the fact that the weight is very small, for example, only 18 grams per cup; when you add the 18 grams, no weight is formed to push the beans inside the grinder, so the grinder will grind only 12 grams, and a couple of beans are left flying around the hopper, which affects the amount of ground coffee and its quality and duration of grinding.

So add a few beans above the required weight to help the beans enter the grinding chamber.

some grinders also have a lock switch that separates the bowl from the grinder so that you can return the beans to the storage bag.

Extra tip

If you have an espresso machine with a heat exchanger, we recommend that you run the group head for 30 seconds to get rid of the existing water and heat the water again; this will help you get a more consistent result every time.

By following these tips, you will be closer to preparing a cup of excellent quality coffee every time without wasting any coffee beans.