So as I'm trying to get 56 grams or 2 oz of espresso in 25 seconds....do I start the timer when I pull the lever to activate the group? Or is it when the coffee first hits the cup?

Just wondering what the right method is...I have done both...not sure.

Hwynboy wrote:So as I'm trying to get 56 grams or 2 oz of espresso in 25 seconds...

Take a look at Brewing ratios for espresso beverages; it recommends weighing the coffee and drink to calculate a ratio. Unless you are making lungos, you probably don't mean 2 ounces (weight) but 2 ounces (volume). This and many more topics are covered in the Newbie Introduction to Espresso and The Home Barista's Guide to Espresso.

Hwynboy wrote:do I start the timer when I pull the lever to activate the group? Or is it when the coffee first hits the cup?

Timing begins when the pump starts and water makes contact with the coffee. If you have an espresso machine with an unusually long preinfusion, Jim suggested the convention of dividing it in half (so-called "dwell time"). For more discussions, searching on "when do I start timing shot" yielded many results:

• Timing of extraction starts when?
• When do you start to time the shot?
• When do you start timing your shots?
• Timing a double shot
• Confused on shot timing.
• Timing of extraction
• Timing shots and what it means...?
• What is the correct method for shot timing?
• How Al's Rule Saved My Life
• Does average pull time include preinfusion?

That said, I would pay closer attention to the consistency of the shot timings versus an absolute number.