Measuring brew ratio and output questions

#1: Post by **Leva-rage** » August 21st, 2022, 5:03 pm

I am using Ceremony Mass Appeal and with a single basket, I was shooting for a 1:2 ratio: 9 g of fresh espresso, stopping the shot when I get to 18.75g in the cup (21 sec from activating the pump) I only have slightly less than .5 oz in the cup. Although I have been making espresso at home for many years, I recently started measuring output in grams, I used to set the timer so that I would get about 1 oz for single shot and 2 oz for double. When measuring output in grams, I find the volume of espresso in the cup is about 1/2 what I used to be using. I usually try to get 9bar pressure at the start of the shot - the shot I listed above started at slightly less than 9 bar (and of course falls over the course of the shot).

Before measuring the output of the shot, I typically adjusted my grind and tamp for about 25-35 seconds.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

I am using a La spaziale double boiler machine with 54 mm grouphead.

#2: Post by **Jeff** » August 21st, 2022, 5:27 pm

19 g of espresso, without crema, is pretty close to 19 mL (the density is reasonably close to 1)

1 fl.oz. ~ 29.6 mL
19 mL is about 2/3 of a fluid ounce.

If you're measuring the volume with crema, the total volume will depend on the crema fraction. The crema is bubbles, so it is very bulky for its weight.

#3: Post by **Nunas** » August 21st, 2022, 5:31 pm

I think I understand your issue. The shots don't seem right because of the difference in weight vs volume of the crema, right? When pulling shots using volume, the crema, being less dense, takes up a lot of space in the cup. So, it looks like you've got a lot of coffee. If you let it sit there for a time, you'd see the true volume. In any case, pulling based on weight is superior because it automatically compensates for the difference in mass of liquid vs crema, as weight is weight no matter the density of the item.
Oops...looks like I doubled with Jeff. In any case, it also looks like we're both on the same track.

September 3rd, 2022, 9:32 pm

Thanks, Nunas and Jeff for your informative replies. I'm doing more experimenting to see why I seem to get better tasting espresso if I use a ratio >2.0.