Bought a refractometer and found out my espresso shots were complete garbage

I always thought my espresso tasted fine, just a bit sour sometimes. Then I dropped $50 on a cheap refractometer at a shop in Portland last month. Checked my extraction yield and it was at 14%, way under the 18-22% range. Now I'm dialing in with real data and my shots actually taste sweet instead of sour. Anyone else blind taste test their old method vs new one after getting real measurements?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.zara2d ago

ugh hard disagree lol. data doesnt lie, your tastebuds do. 14% is objectively under extracted, no amount of "practicing" changes physics. glad you got a refractometer, now you can actually taste what coffee is supposed to be.

gavins432d ago

You said your shots were just a bit sour sometimes, but 14% extraction yield? I gotta say, I think stuff like this can make people overthink their coffee. My dad pulled shots for thirty years with a cheap machine and never checked a thing, and his coffee tasted just fine to me. I'm not convinced chasing numbers like 18-22% makes a drink better, it just makes you feel like you're a scientist instead of a guy who likes coffee. Sometimes sour is just sour and you can fix that by grinding finer or using hotter water without spending fifty bucks on a gadget. I'd rather save the money and just practice pulling shots until it tastes right.