Dialing In Espresso · Breville Bambino

A no-fuss routine for getting a good shot. The whole game is grind size: everything else stays the same, and you nudge the grind until the timing lands.

The recipe (keep these fixed)

• Dose (in): 18g of ground coffee
• Yield (out): 36g of espresso in the cup — that's a 1:2 ratio
• Target time: 25–30 seconds, counted from the moment you press start
• Temperature / pressure: whatever the machine does — don't touch it

You only ever change one thing: how fine you grind.

What you need

• A scale that reads to 0.1g (a small kitchen scale is fine)
• Your grinder
• The Bambino's double-shot basket (the one it came with)

The routine

1. Weigh the beans. Grind and dose 18g into the basket. Wipe the rim.
2. Distribute & tamp. Level the grounds, then tamp firm and flat.
3. Set up the pull. Put the cup on a scale, tare to zero, and slide it

under the group head.

1. Start the shot and a timer together. On the Bambino, tap the **single-cup

button once** — it starts the pre-infusion. (Tap it again the instant you hit 36g to stop it, so you're pulling manually, not on the presets.)

1. Stop at 36g out. Note how many seconds that took.

Read the timer, fix the grind

This is the whole dial-in. Same 18g in, same 36g out — just move the grind:

• Under 25 sec — fast, pale, thin → grind too coarse → grind finer
• 25–30 sec — 👌 dialed in → nothing to do, enjoy it
• Over 30 sec — slow, drippy, dark → grind too fine → grind coarser

Change the grind by one setting at a time, pull again, re-check the time. Two or three shots usually gets you there. Coffee shifts day to day with freshness and humidity, so a grind that was dialed in last week may need a small tweak today — and a fresh bag always needs a full re-dial (start a touch coarser and work in).

Watch the pour

Your eyes catch problems before the timer does. Glance at the stream for the first few seconds:

• Like warm honey — thick, dark, slow, twisting — 👌 that's the look.
• Thin and watery, gushing fast? Too coarse → grind finer.
• Sputtering, dripping, or barely moving? Too fine → grind coarser.

Then taste it

Let it cool ~30s first, then:

• Sour / sharp / empty? Under-extracted → grind finer (slows the shot).
• Bitter / harsh / dry? Over-extracted → grind coarser (speeds it up).
• Balanced and sweet? You're done. Write down the grinder setting.

Trust your tongue. If the timer says 27s but it still tastes sour, grind finer anyway — and change only one thing at a time so you know what fixed it.

Quick reference

• 18 in → 36 out → 25–30 sec
• Pour should look like warm honey — thick and slow
• Too fast → finer · Too slow → coarser
• Sour → finer · Bitter → coarser
• One change at a time · New beans → re-dial from scratch