Aiming for perfection is not a bad thing, especially when it comes to coffee! A little extra effort can make that moment you put the cup to your lips truly exquisite!
How do we achieve perfection in our coffee, though? This article explains the importance of accurately dosing your coffee, exactly what that means and how you can master adjusting the dose for a taste that is just… ahhh.
Let’s get brewing!
What is dosing?
You’ll have come across the term ‘the right dose’ in reference to the right amount of medicine, and the idea is the same here - it’s about having just the right amount of coffee. Specifically, it means having exactly the right amount of ground coffee to maintain the correct water-to-coffee ratio during brewing.
Once you can confidently control the dose you will have a much better chance of maintaining consistency and achieving the same desired taste each time.
Before trying to establish the exact dose for your next brew it’s important to understand exactly how coffee extraction works.
How does coffee extraction work?
As the pure water flows over ground coffee, it picks up the solubles. At first, the coffee gives up solubles that lead to the acidic taste in coffee. As the extraction progresses the solubles become sweeter and more flavoursome. At a certain point the solubles extracted are responsible for more bitter tastes.
Underextraction means that not enough sweet and bitter flavours have been extracted, leading to acidic coffee with no balance of depth. Overextraction leaves you with a cup that is far too bitter.
The goal is always to ensure the right flavours are pulled from each coffee particle.
How does the dose affect the extraction time?
In simple terms, if the dose is too small the water will flow through the coffee too quickly and only extract the acidic flavours. Conversely, if the dose is too large the water will saturate the coffee too long and extract too many bitter flavours. Getting the dose right gives us the best chance of extracting the flavours we’re after.
So, what does getting the dose right actually do for your coffee?
- Improved flavour - The science of coffee brewing can feel astonishingly complex, with even the slightest adjustment making significant changes to the overall flavour of the end drink. When you get your dose right, you avoid both overextraction with its bitter taste, and underextraction, which results in a weak and sour espresso.
- Finding your coffee - By measuring, adjusting and finally maintaining a consistent dose, you make sure that the coffee you are pouring is the coffee that you personally enjoy. Accurate dosing leads to a personalised taste that you can confidently repeat again and again.
- Reduces Waste - In a culture where we are all looking to avoid waste, an accurate dose means grinding the perfect number of beans and using 100% of the grind. A combination of well-measured beans, an efficient grinder, and a tidy well-prepared coffee dose means true efficiency as well as a perfect taste.
What coffee dose should I use?
Coffee making is a fine line between science and art. When it comes to dosing, it’s important to mix the two! The science part comes with accurately measuring your coffee. A digital scale is an essential, inexpensive tool that forms a key part of your brewing setup. With a digital scale you can ensure that you’re dosing the right measure of coffee.
Many guides suggest measuring your coffee both before and after the grind to make sure your dose remains the same. With our range of zero-retention single dose coffee grinders, you only need to measure once, as there’s virtually nothing left in the grinder after grinding - what you put in is what you get out, removing the need for that second measurement.
How much should that coffee dose be?
For an espresso, start with a ratio of 1:2 ground coffee to water. For a single espresso, that’s 7 to 8 grams of coffee grinds for a 15 gram shot; for a double espresso (or doppio) you will want 18 grams of ground coffee for a 36 gram shot. This is where the science crosses over into art a little because it’s all about taste, and with time and practice you can adjust this ratio and find what suits your taste preference.
What is a single dose coffee grinder?
One of the key pieces of equipment needed for accurate and consistent dosing at home is a reliable coffee grinder.
In cafés you will often see grinders with hoppers to store the beans; while this works well in a large-scale environment making hundreds of coffees every hour, in your home it will simply lead to stale coffee beans that have been exposed to the air and sunlight for too long before being ground. A single dose grinder prevents this problem. They are designed to grind the precise amount of coffee beans needed for just one brew and can be adjusted to perfect both dose and grind size.
By grinding only what is needed each time, the flavours and aromas that make your coffee so delicious are kept fresh and the resulting brew is a high-quality and desirable experience.
We have developed two premium single-dose grinders to enable you to make the finest coffee at home. The Niche Zero and Niche Duo are the ultimate in coffee grinding excellence, they are simple to use and grind your beans with virtually zero retention - meaning all of the coffee ends up in your drink, not stuck in the machine ready to ruin the next grind.
The added advantage of the Niche grinders is that you don’t need a dosing funnel because the grind cup has been designed to fit directly into a 58mm portafilter – avoiding any spills and mess.
The search for a one-size-fits-all rule on how to dose coffee
It would be so helpful for us to be able to say, ‘here’s how to dose coffee’, and simply list precise measurements to follow, but the truth is there are many variables that lead to the perfect cup of coffee, especially when what’s perfect for one person is not necessarily right for the next. However, learning to measure and become accurate and consistent in your coffee dosing will ensure that once you do find that perfect combination, you can recreate the experience tomorrow.
One aspect of coffee dosing we haven’t yet mentioned is that of your chosen coffee beans. Of course, the beans you choose are going to have a major effect on your final coffee, and it’s another thing that comes down to personal preference.
Be willing to experiment with your range of beans, finding the flavours that you enjoy the most. Different beans will require new experimentation with dose size, grind consistency, and even tamp pressure in the case of espresso - it’s always helpful to keep your own notebook of recipes to refer back to as you undertake your coffee journey.
Experimentation, practice, and the right equipment are the keys to delicious home coffee brewing.