Espresso Tips & Tricks

Espresso Shot Taste Tips & Tricks


Our simple tips to achieve the best tasting espresso shots at home!


Coffee taste can vary from cup to cup for many reasons. If you are not happy with your Koffee Kult coffee you can fix the taste by adjusting the grind and/or the water temperature. A properly ground and weighed shot will produce a perfect shot.

These adjustments will be subjective; and there may be more than one optimum set up for the blend, especially if it is complex in taste.

Not sweet enough: Do more ristretto shots, grinding finer and stopping at the same color. This will take the shot out of the optimum crema range, so it has to be a good crema blend. You can also center cut the shots; however, this will reduce the distinctive flavors and can lead to blandness. On the other hand, somewhat bland center cut shots are good way to serve newcomers to straight espresso, or those who prefer more subtle flavors.

Over-intense flavors: Lower the pump pressure. If this is because there's not enough sweetness to balance the bitters and sours, use the previous fix. Also consider going more lungo with the same stop color.

Pallid Flavors: Raise the pressure. Also consider going more ristretto with the same stop color.

Overly sour: Raise the temperature. Short term, try stopping lighter and grinding finer to keep the volume the same. If it's really bad, start-dump.

Overly bitter: Lower the temperature. Short term, try stopping darker and grinding coarser to keep the volume the same.


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