Brewing Guides

This is a detailed, practical brewing guide designed to help you get the best from Social Espresso coffees at home or in a café setting. It’s built as a reference, not a rulebook — use these recipes as solid starting points, then let taste guide the final adjustment.
Espresso

Espresso Blend - Milk Coffee

Intent: Structure, sweetness and clarity through milk.

Milk softens acidity and highlights bitterness and body, so this style prioritises balance and tactile weight.

Base recipe

  • Dose: 20g
  • Yield: 36–40g
  • Ratio: ~1:2
  • Time: 26–30 sec
  • Temperature: 92–94°C

Grind size (starting point)

  • Timemore Chestnut: 8–10 clicks
  • Comandante C40: 8–10 clicks
  • Niche Zero: 10–12
  • Baratza Encore / ESP: 10–12
  • EK-43: 1.5–2.0

Why this works
A tighter ratio and longer contact time give enough strength to cut through milk while keeping bitterness controlled.

If it tastes like…

  • Sour or thin → Grind finer or extend yield slightly
  • Bitter or drying → Grind coarser or reduce yield
  • Flat in milk → Increase dose by 0.5–1g

Espresso Blend - Black Coffee

Intent: Sweetness, balance and drinkability without milk.

Without milk, clarity matters more and bitterness becomes more obvious.

Base recipe

  • Dose: 20g
  • Yield: 40–44g
  • Ratio: ~1:2–1:2.2
  • Time: 24–28 sec
  • Temperature: 92–94°C

Grind size
(Slightly coarser than milk espresso)

  • Timemore: 9–11
  • Comandante: 9–11
  • Niche: 11–13

If it tastes like…

  • Bitter, harsh → Coarsen grind or lower temperature
  • Muted or dull → Grind slightly finer or increase yield
  • Sharp acidity → Slow shot marginally

Single Origin Espresso (Roasted for Espresso)

Intent: Origin clarity with espresso structure.

These coffees are roasted with espresso extraction in mind but benefit from slightly higher yields.

Base recipe

  • Dose: 18–20g
  • Yield: 45–50g
  • Ratio: ~1:2.4–1:2.7
  • Time: 20–24 sec
  • Temperature: 93–95°C

Grind size

  • Timemore: 9–11
  • Comandante: 10–12
  • Niche: 12–14
  • EK-43: 1.8–2.3

If it tastes like…

  • Too sharp or acidic → Grind finer or reduce yield slightly
  • Dry, tea-like → Grind coarser or increase yield
  • Lacks sweetness → Increase temperature 1°C

Light / Omni / Filter Roast Espresso (Fast, High-Yield)

Intent: Brightness, aromatics and sweetness without heaviness.

This style treats light roasts more like concentrated filter coffee.

Base recipe

  • Dose: 18–20g
  • Yield: 54–60g
  • Ratio: ~1:3
  • Time: 14–17 sec
  • Temperature: 94–96°C

Grind size

  • Timemore: 10–12
  • Comandante: 11–13
  • Niche: 14–16
  • EK-43: 2.3–2.8

If it tastes like…

  • Overly sour or vegetal → Grind slightly finer or slow shot marginally
  • Harsh finish → Grind coarser or lower temperature
  • Hollow or thin → Increase dose by 1g
Pour Over (v60)

Washed Coffees

Intent: Clean acidity, transparency and precision.

Recipe

  • Dose: 20g
  • Water: 320g
  • Ratio: 1:16
  • Temperature: 94–96°C
  • Brew time: 2:30–3:00

Grind size

  • Timemore: 18–20
  • Comandante: 20–22
  • Niche: 22–25
  • Baratza Encore: 18–20
  • EK-43: 7.0–8.0

Pour structure (3 pours)

  1. Bloom 50g for 30 sec
  2. Pour to 200g by 1:30
  3. Pour to 320g by 2:00

If it tastes like…

  • Sour, underdeveloped → Grind finer or extend brew time
  • Bitter or astringent → Grind coarser or reduce agitation
  • Flat → Increase water temperature

Natural Coffees

Intent: Controlled sweetness and texture.

Recipe
(Same ratio and grind as washed)

Pour structure (extended bloom)

  1. Bloom 70–80g for 45–60 sec (gentle swirl)
  2. Pour to 200g by 2:00
  3. Pour to 320g by 2:30

Why longer bloom
Naturals contain higher sugar content and uneven density. Longer blooms improve saturation and reduce ferment sharpness.

If it tastes like…

  • Fermented or boozy → Shorten brew or grind slightly coarser
  • Overpowering fruit → Pour more gently after bloom
  • Thin → Grind finer or add light bloom agitation
Batch Brew (Moccamaster / Precision Brewer / Aiden)

Ratio: 1:16

Washed Coffees

  • Example: 60g coffee : 1L water

Grind size

  • Timemore: 20–22
  • Comandante: 22–24
  • Niche: 25–28
  • EK-43: 8.0–9.0

If it tastes like…

  • Weak or watery → Increase dose or grind finer
  • Harsh or woody → Grind coarser

Natural Coffees

Same settings, but:

  • Stir or pause bloom if brewer allows

If it tastes like…

  • Sharp or uneven → Increase bloom agitation
  • Heavy or dull → Reduce brew volume slightly
Aeropress (Inverted)

Washed Coffees

  • Dose: 18g
  • Water: 220g
  • Temp: 92–94°C
  • Steep: 1:30
  • Press: 20–30 sec

Grind

  • Timemore: 14–16
  • Comandante: 16–18
  • Niche: 18–20

If it tastes like…

  • Sour → Extend steep or grind finer
  • Bitter → Shorten steep or grind coarser

Natural Coffees

  • Extend steep to 1:50–2:10

If it tastes like…

  • Too intense → Reduce agitation
  • Flat → Increase dose by 1g
Stovetop (Mokapot)

Grind

  • Timemore: 12–14
  • Comandante: 14–16
  • Niche: 15–18

If it tastes like…

  • Burnt or bitter → Lower heat and stop earlier
  • Weak → Grind finer
Cold Brew

Ratio: 1:8 (concentrate)

Grind

  • Timemore: 26–30
  • Comandante: 28–32
  • Niche: 35–40

Method

  • Steep 14–18 hours refrigerated

If it tastes like…

  • Flat → Extend steep slightly
  • Bitter → Shorten steep or grind coarser
Cold Drip

Ratio: 1:10–1:12

Grind

  • Timemore: 22–24
  • Comandante: 24–26
  • Niche: 28–30

If it tastes like…

  • Sour → Slow drip rate
  • Bitter → Speed drip slightly

Extra Reading
Water

Coffee is more than 98% water. If the water is wrong, even perfect coffee and technique won’t save the cup.

Water affects:

  • How efficiently flavours extract
  • How acidity presents
  • How sweetness and body feel

What coffee needs from water

Good brewing water contains some minerals, but not too many.

  • Minerals help dissolve flavour compounds
  • Alkalinity buffers acidity
  • Balance between the two creates sweetness and clarity

Too little or too much of either causes problems.

Practical water targets (guidelines, not rules)

You don’t need lab precision. These ranges simply describe water that tends to brew well.

  • Total hardness (GH): 50–80 ppm
  • Alkalinity (KH): 30–50 ppm
  • Total dissolved solids (TDS): 90–130 ppm
  • pH: Around neutral (~7)

If your water sits near these ranges, you’re in a good place.

How water problems show up in the cup

  • Very soft water (rainwater, pure RO):
    Coffee tastes thin, flat, sour or empty.
  • Very hard water:
    Coffee tastes muted, chalky, heavy or dull.
  • High alkalinity:
    Acidity disappears, flavours blur, coffee tastes lifeless.
  • Inconsistent water:
    Coffee tastes good one day and bad the next, across all brew methods.

Water sources — what works in the real world

  • Filtered tap water: Often the best starting point
  • Remineralised RO: Excellent if minerals are added back correctly
  • Bottled water: Can work, but varies wildly by brand

Avoid:

  • Distilled water
  • Pure RO without minerals

Practical advice (low effort, high impact)

  • If your tap water tastes bad on its own, it will not make good coffee
  • Basic filtration often improves coffee more than changing recipes
  • Fix water first if all brew methods taste off

Good water doesn’t need to be complicated — it just needs to be balanced.
Extraction (EY)

Extraction Yield (EY) is simply a way of describing how much of the coffee you dissolve into the cup. You don’t need to measure it to brew well, but understanding the idea helps you make smarter adjustments.

Think of extraction as a spectrum:

  • Under‑extracted
    Tastes sour, sharp, hollow or thin. Sweetness hasn’t fully developed.
  • Well‑extracted
    Tastes balanced, sweet and clear. Acidity, sweetness and bitterness are in proportion.
  • Over‑extracted
    Tastes bitter, dry, woody or astringent. Structural compounds dominate the cup.

Rather than chasing numbers, use flavour as your primary signal.

How EY connects to brewing decisions

  • Grind size controls how easily flavours dissolve.
    Finer = more extraction, coarser = less.
  • Contact time controls how long extraction occurs.
    Longer contact = higher extraction.
  • Yield / ratio controls concentration.
    Higher yields can taste sweeter without necessarily extracting bitterness.

This explains why:

  • Light roasts benefit from faster, higher‑yield espresso
  • Natural coffees improve with longer blooms
  • Bitter coffee is often fixed by grinding coarser, not lowering dose

Optional reference ranges

If you do use a refractometer, these ranges explain where coffee often tastes best:

  • Espresso: ~18–21% extraction
  • Filter: ~19–22% extraction

These ranges overlap intentionally. Different coffees taste best in different places.