I pick the basket to best suit the desired dose, which is derived from the desired amount of beverage and the desired brew ratio.

Typically, I want between 30-40 grams of beverage. Usually I start with a 1:2 target brew ratio as my initial dial-in. So working backwards, 35 grams desired beverage, 17.5 grams desired dose for 1:2 brew ratio. For that, I pick a 17g LM (ie, 18g VST basket). The VST baskets are designed to be dosed +/- 1gm of their labeled size. The LaMarzocco baskets are labeled 1g less than what VST labels the same basket.

Most of the time, I'm working with a 17g LM Strada basket (same as a 18g VST) with 17.0-17.5 gram dose and pulling around 29-34g beverage after I get it all dialed in. Some coffees want a bigger dose, and I move up to the 20g VST with a 19-20g dose.

But start with the your target beverage weight, then the target brew ratio, then the dose weight and pick the basket that best fits the dose.

Stanic wrote:let's say I measure time since switching the pump on and the extraction is 1:2, i.e. espresso normale

Sure, it will be closer then but only as it evens out over time with the flat pressure profile vs variable, starting slower and ending faster. Variations in pre-infusion will also knock the guide off target...

Agreed, pre-infusion and puck to shower screen distance, pressure profile, probably also the type of pump, all do have a great influence. Time to play I've got a 15 g and 18 g VST and IMS h28,5 baskets for meCoffee'd miss silvia with tuned OPV and the B66 26h IMS basket for the Portaspresso PG Air, which works without a pump

Exact weight. I almost made a thread about this topic - I never understood all those how-to videos on the net (this site included) where someone makes a giant mountain of coffee in their portafilter and then levels it off with their hand sending excess coffee grounds all over their work area. Either things have changed when scales came into the picture or I've been doing it wrong, cause I've never once had this happen. I measure 18-20grams depending on the bean into a dosing funnel, WDT, tap then tamp. Never once touched the coffee with my hands.

Things have changed dramatically since the widespread adoption of scales among home baristas. A decade ago it was an extremely contentious issue, with people claiming it removed the "art" of making coffee and so on. It also took years of professional baristas ridiculing the silly amateurs tinkering around with scales before they were finally accepted by the industry for use in cafes. Almost anything you read on HB that suggests finger swipes and other techniques was written a long time ago.

Here is a thread from 2010 that might interest you.

Digital espresso or a way to consistency

Interesting! Thanks for the history lesson, I do appreciate it.

Bob_McBob wrote:Things have changed dramatically since the widespread adoption of scales among home baristas. A decade ago it was an extremely contentious issue, with people claiming it removed the "art" of making coffee and so on. It also took years of professional baristas ridiculing the silly amateurs tinkering around with scales before they were finally accepted by the industry for use in cafes. Almost anything you read on HB that suggests finger swipes and other techniques was written a long time ago.

Here is a thread from 2010 that might interest you.

Digital espresso or a way to consistency

True story. In the past few years alone I've noticed more well known cafes weighing dose after grinding and beverage dose while pouring. ...

Bob_McBob wrote:Things have changed dramatically since the widespread adoption of scales among home baristas. A decade ago it was an extremely contentious issue, with people claiming it removed the "art" of making coffee and so on. It also took years of professional baristas ridiculing the silly amateurs tinkering around with scales before they were finally accepted by the industry for use in cafes. Almost anything you read on HB that suggests finger swipes and other techniques was written a long time ago.

Here is a thread from 2010 that might interest you.

Digital espresso or a way to consistency

Not all that long ago. Dan made an excellent newbie series 4 years ago that uses the leveling technique. It actually seems counterintuitive for a newbie to get as detailed as weighing everything.. But in my opinion it's a significantly faster path to understanding what is going on.. Wish I started that way out if the gate.

Peppersass wrote:Exact weight. That's the only reliable way to ensure that you have the correct dose to achieve the target brew ration (weight of dose / weight of beverage). You should weigh the beverage, too.

For example, if you want a 50% brew ratio (a Normale), use a scale with 0.1g accuracy to weigh out 21g of ground coffee. After distribution and tamping, put the scale under the cup, tare it, and weigh the shot as it's being pulled. Pull until the shot weighs 42g. Set the grind so it takes 25-35 seconds to reach that weight.

That's more or less what I thought, just got confused by all the "how to" videos where they just over fill and level off the basket.

RyanJE wrote:Dan made an excellent newbie series 4 years ago that uses the leveling technique.

Really? It's been awhile, but I recall covering both ways. As for the original question (volume vs. weight), I use both techniques, depending on the pace. For preparing back-to-back drinks for a group, I strike off and tamp. For preparing just for myself and especially when testing, I weigh every dose.