# Extraction time and yield in Barista Express



## GabyF (11 mo ago)

Hi all, 
This is my first time dialing in coffee. I am using a freshly roasted Peet’s coffee Arabian Mocha Sanani. I am using a brand new Breville Barista Express. 
here is my issue. Hope someone can help. 
with grind size 5 :17 gr in, 53 gr out in 23 sec
Grind size 4: 17gr in, 57 gr out in 27 sec
Grind size 3: 18 gr in, 48 gr out in 61 seconds 👀
Grind size 4 with internal one changed to 5 instead of 6: 18 gr in, 50 gr out in 55 seconds.
Am i doing something totally wrong? What could I change? 
why is my yield so high? I’d like a1:2 ratio
thank you so much to anyone who can help.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

GabyF said:


> Hi all,
> This is my first time dialing in coffee. I am using a freshly roasted Peet’s coffee Arabian Mocha Sanani. I am using a brand new Breville Barista Express.
> here is my issue. Hope someone can help.
> with grind size 5 :17 gr in, 53 gr out in 23 sec
> ...


Firstly, you seem t be in the wrong forum. Brewed coffee is for those who use drip, steep etc to make coffee, not espresso. But, as you're here...

Why do you want a 1:2 ratio? There's nothing magic about it, it just denotes a stronger cup than 1:3. If you can't grind appropriately & control the shot, your shots are more likely to be sour (that's another thing, you mention times & weights, but not flavour scores or faults, so we don't know what is wrong with the cups).

The first 2 shots aren't different enough in time or weight to be meaningful. The grind is different, that has the biggest impact, the best tasting one was the best one.

You changed the dose? Why?

Your yield is high because you are not stopping the shot in time. You can pull a 1:2 shot in 15s or 55s, all 1:2 shots have twice the weight of the dose, in the cup. That is all. If you are relying on a preset shot button & grind changes to hit 1:2, stop & pull the shot manually.


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## GabyF (11 mo ago)

Hi MWJB, 

thanks for your answer. 
i’ll try to look for the other forum.
Regarding your questions: i have only ever used a Moka pot. This is my first time doing any of this and I thought a 1:2 ratio was a good start to try out the these beans. I thought that’s what’s most common. It seems it might not be.
Then this morning I realized I was able to manually stop the shot, which I did. 
I tried again with grinder set at 5 but when I stopped it at around 37 g (yield), which took around 20 seconds my shot tasted much better. The very first one was unpleasant. However, it was still a little sour to my taste. Once I added some milk I did not mind it but I still would like to make it a little less sour, sweeter. It had a good body though, i am not sure if that’s the terminology to describe the mouthfeel. I can only compare to wine. 
then question, what changes could I make to obtain a less sour shot? Thank you again.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

GabyF said:


> Hi MWJB,
> 
> thanks for your answer.
> i’ll try to look for the other forum.
> ...


You could grind finer and still pull 18:37g (I'd try this first). Or, pull a little more weight from the 18g dose, say 45g?

After a point, grinding finer will stop giving benefits, if so, the other option is to push more water through the puck.


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