# Barista Express - Grinder/extraction time



## Torso (May 14, 2020)

Hello,

I just got the Breville Barista Express and am new to coffee making. My target is to get 36g of espresso from 18g of beans in 25-35s.
I used the single wall double cup filter.

TEST 1 with coffee roasted 3 weeks ago.
By setting the side grind dial to 5, I got 36g out in less than 20s with low pressure (9 o'clock on pressure gauge). I then reduced the dial to 1 and did not notice any change in the timing.
Should I either increase the amount of coffee (20g for example) or maybe tamp with higher force ?
I have to say that I did not pay much attention in levelling the top silver line of the tamper to the top of the filter as recommended in the manual.

TEST 2 with coffee roasted 2 days ago:
I then modified the top burr grinding size manually (setting on the burr itself): the default was 6 so I reduced it to 3. The result was a much finer grind and I could clearly see a more compact and sticky feel to the touch.
Here are the shots results to extract 36g with that new top burr to 3:
- Side grind dial 1: 35s
- Side grind dial 2: 27s
- Side grind dial 3 & 4: 22s

I measure the time from the moment I push the double shot button. The pressure gauge was much higher (2 o'clock on pressure gauge). Is it a problem or should I try to increase the top burr to 4 or 5 in order to get a slightly lower pressure (12 o'clock on pressure gauge) and then set the side dial to the value that will bring me between 25-30s of extraction time ?

I just find strange that the default burr setting (6) with the finest side dial (1) gives an extraction time <20s for double espresso.
Also, I am not sure about the impact of the coffee roasting date in these 2 tests.

This is my first day using it and I will continue testing it tomorrow, but I would appreciate your help









Thanks in advance.


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## -Mac (Aug 22, 2019)

Are you grinding beans while you reduce grind size? Do that.

Are you grinding beans and throwing some away when you go from one (bigger) size to the smaller one? You need to do that or you'll have a mix of larger and smaller grind.

Don't worry about the BE pressure being a bit on the high side. I get my best shots at about 2 o'clock needle position.

Don't worry about time (unless it's under 20 secs) and go by best taste achieved at your desired ratio. Times are only a guide to get you in the ballpark.

My good shots tend to be 30-35 secs when the blonding happens.

Yield, taste, adjust.


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