Timing of double vs. triple espresso

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duke-one
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Joined: 17 years ago

#1: Post by duke-one »

Hello All: With my naked portafilter came a triple shot basket, my first contact with a triple. My question is this: Since the surface area of the baskets (double and triple), the face shown to the brew head I mean, are the same how does the timing stay the same? Wouldn't more coffee with the same surface area take longer to extract properly? If any time over 30 seconds or so "burns" the puck what do you for timing on a triple?
Thanks, KDM

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HB
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Joined: 19 years ago

#2: Post by HB »

The timing of the two drinks isn't necessarily the same. Although I rarely pull triples these days, I would allow more time than for a standard double, say 10 seconds longer. A running joke of mine is that 42 seconds is the maximum permitted for any espresso extraction; longer than that risks the creation of nuclear fissile material (OK, I didn't say it was a funny joke).

Keep in mind that a triple espresso isn't a "bigger" double espresso; it has different extraction characteristics and the accompanying taste differences (e.g., more body, exaggerated flavors). BTW, Jon's How to make a beautiful "naked" triple espresso offers tips on tweaking triples. Also check out Andy's brewing ratios table for a more accurate means of defining the sort of espresso drink you're making.
Dan Kehn