For Dialing in Breville Barista Express, Pro and Touch espresso machines, you will need to choose freshly roasted coffee beans, grind them to the optimal size, adjust the dose amount and tamping pressure, and pull a test shot to evaluate the quality of the espresso.
In this post, we will share the process of dialing in for these specific Breville models.
What Is Dialing In An Espresso Machine?
It is the process of adjusting several things and finding the combination required for the best espresso shot. For instance:
- Preparing the grind size.
- Dosing a precise amount of ground.
- Discovering the optimal tamp pressure.
Dialing in an espresso machine aims to extract the best possible flavor from coffee grounds and enjoy a balanced espresso shot.
Dialing in an Espresso Machine (Breville Barista Express, Pro, Touch)
Here are the steps for dialing in these espresso machines.
1. Choose High-Quality and Fresh Coffee Beans:
Pick high-quality and newly roasted coffee beans to get the best flavor and aroma. The coffee beans’ quality directly affects the espresso’s taste and aroma. It makes the espresso shot more flavorful and aromatic.
On the other hand, stale coffee beans will deliver a flat-tasting and dull espresso shot. In short, if the coffee beans are fresh and high quality, you can achieve the best possible espresso shot from your machine.
2. Grind Size Setting:
It is an important step because the grind size controls how swiftly the water can flow through the coffee grounds. The contact time between the water and the coffee influences the flavor and strength of espresso shots.
On the Breville Barista Express, you can change the grind size by rotating the dial on the front of the machine. The Breville Barista Pro and Touch come with digital displays. So, you can regulate the grind size simply by tapping on the touch screen.
To discover the accurate grind size, begin with a finer grind and adjust the size as necessary. A grind size that appears like crushed sugar is a good starting point for dialing in espresso. But note that the exact grind size can vary based on the quality of coffee beans, its roast level, and the brewing temperature.
Check the espresso’s extraction time and taste to know whether the grind size is correct. The ideal extraction time is between 20-30 seconds. Moreover, perfectly brewed espresso has a balanced taste and good crema.
Note: If the machine extracts espresso too fast, it indicates that the grind size is coarser than the ideal one. If the extraction time is too slow, perhaps the grind size is too fine.
3. Adjust the Dose Amount:
This crucial step points out the volume of ground coffee in the portafilter to brew a shot of espresso. It is another key step in dialing your Breville Barista Express, Pro, and Touch espresso machines.
On the Breville Barista Express, use the dose control dial on the front of the machine to balance the ground amount. The dial will help control how much coffee the grinder will dispense. You can customize the dosing amount on the Breville Barista Pro and Touch by tapping the LCD screen to command the machine.
A good dosing amount to start with is a 1:2 coffee-to-water ratio. For example, filling a portafilter with 16 grams of coffee ground will deliver 32 grams of espresso.
Finding the accurate dose can be difficult at the beginning. But you can balance it to your favorite taste with a little practice.
4. Tamping the Coffee Grounds:
In the espresso-making procedure, tamping is an indispensable step. Accurate tamping confirms that the water passes through the coffee grounds equally and brews a well-balanced shot.
To tamp the coffee grounds for the Breville Barista Express, Pro, or Touch espresso machines, start with light pressure and slowly enhance the force. The tamping pressure has to be the same for each espresso shot to achieve the expected flavor and crema all the time.
A good tamp pressure is around 30 pounds of force. To check the tamp pressure, you can use a bathroom scale too.
The tamping pressure can vary depending on the coffee beans, grind size, and dose amount. So, you must experiment with different tamp pressures until you discover the perfect one.
5. Brewing the Test Shot:
It is time to brew the shot on the Breville Barista Express, Pro, or Touch espresso machines. Press your espresso machine’s “Brew” button to pull the test shot and start brewing.
After dispensing the desired amount of espresso, the machine will automatically pause pouring coffee. You can note the extraction time and other noticeable things for further analysis.
How to Adjust The Espresso Taste?
After pulling the test shot, take a sip of the espresso and note what needs improvement. To perfect the taste of espresso, you can follow the below tips.
- Adjust the grind size to make the espresso taste stronger or weaker. If you set the grind size finer, it will produce a stronger espresso. In contrast, a coarser grind will make the espresso comparatively weaker.
- Increase the dose of the coffee ground for a stronger espresso. Similarly, you can decrease the dose to make a weaker espresso.
- If the espresso tastes weaker, you can apply more pressure when tamping. This trick will make the espresso taste stronger. On the other hand, less force will make its taste weaker.
- A lower brewing temperature can produce a weaker and sour espresso. On the other hand, a higher temperature produces a stronger and bitterer espresso. So, you must work with it to discover the balance.
- Each type of coffee bean has different flavor profiles. Therefore, experiment with variations of beans to find your most suitable taste.
FAQs Dialing In an Espresso Machine
The taste of the espresso itself will say whether the dialing was correct. If you do it accurately, you will get a balanced shot, rich crema, and smooth mouthfeel with no sourness or bitterness.
If the amount of coffee ground is too much, the shot will be extracted slowly. In the case of too little coffee, the extraction will happen quickly. Also, excessive coffee will make the taste bitter. On the other hand, the insufficient coffee ground can make the espresso sour.
Yes, you can. Adjusting the amount of water in your espresso shot is possible by programming your Breville Barista machine or stopping it manually after dispensing your desired volume.
Final thought
If you have an espresso machine of the Breville Barista series, dialing in is crucial to achieving mouthwatering espresso shots. You can obtain the perfectness of taste with patience and continual experiments.
After pulling each shot, taste the espresso and modify until you find a balanced shot. This practice is time-consuming, but it is worthwhile to try.
