Hi everyone! Two weeks ago I got my first espresso machine for my birthday and ever since I have watched tons of videos and practiced a bunch. However, there is something that is not quite clear to me.

Everywhere I see that the ideal brewing time would be about 20-35 seconds for your double shot espresso (14 to 22 grams of ground beans). I assume it's because I don't have a too fancy machine, but my portafilter is only 50 mm and therefore my double shot espresso is only 10 grams of ground beans.

Therefore, I am not sure for how many seconds I should aim. I get that it also has to do with volume and the color of the shot, but as a beginner i think it's also nice to have the amount of time as a guideline.

Should I just aim for around 10-15 seconds? Is there any kind of difficult math formula involved in this? Lol

Appreciate any help! Thank you

I would still aim for 25-30 seconds and use weight in, weight out to initially set your grind size. I would do 1:2 (10g beans, 20g espresso shot by weight) at first, then very as needed from there based on taste (I.e. If bitter or sour).

Yeah, no formula. Generally you will select a dose (e.g. 18g) and brew ratio (e.g. 1:2), keep those constant, and dial in around that by changing your other parameters. Usually your grind setting is the most basic parameter to adjust for a given dose and brew ratio to find the right balance between sour (too short) and bitter (too long). So your brew time is experimentally determined.

There may be reasons to change your dose but usually it's not the variable; it's the constant. Generally, when you increase dose your increase flow resistance for a given grind size. So increasing your dose will choke flow rate and reducing it will increase flow rate. So you generally have to go finer to compensate for reduced dose, and vice-versa.

A more experienced home barista than I may know what the general trend is better than I do; whether your total brew time changes significantly for one dose or another. But the key is you won't have a formula for adjusting that brew time - the end result (taste) is always your guide for which direction to go with any one parameter.

...my portafilter is only 50 mm and therefore my double shot espresso is only 10 grams of ground beans.

10grams tops is what you measured or just a guess?

50mm is a diameter, but your basket is likely deeper so that to be able to hold an amout of coffee needed for a usual double shot (14-18g).

That is, without exact measures, you could just load your basket with a short heap above the rim, then tamp it so that the puck is somewhat below the rim of the basket.

Aim for 25-30sec flow, variating grind and tamp, still keeping the tamped puck below the rim without touching the screen. Proof is in your cup, so your tastebuds are ultimately guiding your choice.

The brewing time doesn't change with dose. It's the time required to fully extract coffee ground to espresso fineness. Very light roasts extract more slowly, and should be ground finer and extracted longer; very dark roasts are the other way around, grind them a little more coarsely, and extract them a little quicker.

What is the your machine?

If the machine comes with pressurized basket then dont bother your self reading about espresso beacuase these rules are no longer applied, it is a completely different story, you have no control over time or grind size.