Espresso dosing — blend vs. single origin

Doram The cynic in me wants to say that maybe the blends are slightly cheaper so they need you to up the dose to make up for the lost profits?

The folks at my local place all seem pretty nice, so I don’t think this is the plan. Besides, the single origin coffee beans they sell are priced higher than the blends. So what they should do to maximize profit is to recommend using a higher dose of the single origin, because then I would plow through that bag of beans faster, and then I would buy more. 😉

I’ve learned a ton about dosing and different size baskets, which I didn’t know was a thing before this thread, so thanks for that.

But to bring the discussion in a little bit, we’re talking about a general starting point recommended by the roaster for their beans when making espresso. I’m sure that they know that there are other factors that impact the ideal dose, as they are in the business, and what I didn’t mention is that they also provide tips on adjusting the grind, dose, and temperature to dial in the shot.

I use a 9Barista, so I only have the one basket that came with it. The 9Barista folks have a similar general recommendation to start with 18.5 g of coffee, but they recognize that you’ll be adjusting the dose depending on the type of coffee you’re grinding.

I know just enough to know that the ideal dose of coffee for espresso depends on the bean. So I’m not surprised that there’s a recommendation for different starting points for different beans. My experience so far is that the roast level has been the biggest factor on the dose that I wind up using, and that seems to align with other people’s experience. So that’s why I was surprised at the recommendation for different starting doses based on single origin vs. blends, which is why I asked the question.

By the way, yesterday I started using the single origin beans, and was working on dialing things in. I started at 16 g, and am now at 19 g. Still tweaking.

tompoland I liked it a lot. I tend to make espresso to be on the rich, creamy side. I’ve read descriptions of espresso with those characteristics but also with “clarity”. This was the first time I’ve had an espresso that seemed to match that description.

The other interesting thing was that this batch of beans doesn’t seem to have as much crema as the dark roast beans I usually get from my local coffee shop, but it certainly felt like it did as I was drinking it.

Here’s the link to their website for these beans. https://www.penstockcoffee.com/shop-coffee/indonesia-sulawesi-sisola-mill-anaerobic-red-honey

DavecUK I made a video, and started a new discussion with it. Hope you like it!

tompoland I stopped by Penstock Coffee today, my local coffee shop/roaster, and had a chance to ask them the rationale for recommended starting dose by blend vs. single origin. They had two reasons for doing it that way.

First, they have different options for single roast and blends, and they said that overall they roast the blends darker than the single origin beans. So they are kind of using “single origin” and “blends” as surrogates for “medium roast” and “dark roast”.

This makes sense to me knowing how their packaging is. Their labels indicate the roast level/flavor profile of that type of bean on a spectrum, so if the bag is somewhere in the middle, this saves having to guess where to start.

The second reason is that from their perspective, their single origin beans have more flavor notes than the blends, and that translates into benefiting from a lower dose for espresso.

In any case, their recommendations are just starting points, and ultimately I’ll tweak the dose (and grind) to get the espresso I like. For these single origin beans I started at 16g and wound up at 18g for the last espresso that I made. I use 19g for their dark roast blend, so I’m still using a smaller dose with the single origin, which is still in line with their recommendations.