Espresso ratio and recipe cheat sheet
Typical dose, yield and time for ristretto, normale and lungo. Everything here is a starting point to adjust to your coffee, your machine and your taste.
The three numbers
- Dose is the weight of dry ground coffee you put in the basket, in grams.
- Yield is the weight of liquid espresso in the cup, in grams. Weigh it: crema makes volume unreliable.
- Ratio is dose to yield. 18 g in and 36 g out is 1:2.
- Time is how long the shot runs, measured here from when you start the pump (the shot timer does this for you).
Use a dose your basket is designed for. Many home double baskets are made for roughly 14 to 20 g, but check the markings on yours or its manual. Overfilling or underfilling a basket causes problems that no recipe can fix.
Ristretto, normale and lungo
| Style | Ratio (dose:yield) | Time from pump start | Grind | Typically tastes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ristretto ("restricted") | About 1:1 to 1:1.5 | Roughly 15 to 25 s: nearer 15 to 20 s if you keep the normale grind and stop early, nearer 25 s if you grind finer | Fine, often a touch finer than for normale | Concentrated, syrupy, sweet-leaning. Can be harsh or unbalanced if pushed too far. |
| Normale (standard espresso) | About 1:2 (roughly 1:1.7 to 1:2.4, the same band the dial-in helper treats as normal) | Roughly 25 to 30 s | Fine | The balanced middle: body, sweetness and some acidity. The usual place to start. |
| Lungo ("long") | About 1:2.5 to 1:4 | Roughly 35 to 50 s | Slightly coarser, so a long shot does not choke or turn bitter | Larger, lighter and more diluted in body, with more bitterness if over-extracted. |
A traditional single shot uses roughly 7 g of coffee and a traditional double roughly 14 g. Modern specialty-style recipes often use 16 to 20 g in a double basket, as in the table below.
Dose to yield table
| Dose in (g) | Ristretto (1:1 to 1:1.5) | Normale (1:2) | Lungo (1:2.5 to 1:4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 g | 14 to 21 g | 28 g | 35 to 56 g |
| 16 g | 16 to 24 g | 32 g | 40 to 64 g |
| 18 g | 18 to 27 g | 36 g | 45 to 72 g |
| 20 g | 20 to 30 g | 40 g | 50 to 80 g |
| 22 g | 22 to 33 g | 44 g | 55 to 88 g |
Pulled 18 g in, 36 g out in 24 seconds and it tasted sour? That is a quick shot for a 1:2 ratio; the troubleshooting chart or the dial-in helper will suggest what to change.
A first recipe to try
- Weigh 18 g of fresh beans (or whatever dose suits your basket) and grind them just before brewing.
- Distribute the grounds evenly and tamp level.
- Put the cup on a scale and tare it. Start the pump and start the timer.
- Stop the shot when the cup shows about 36 g (a 1:2 ratio). Note the time.
- Taste it. Sour or thin and fast: grind finer. Bitter or harsh and slow: grind coarser. Change one thing at a time, and log what you did in the dial-in helper.
Rules of thumb for adjusting
- Lighter roasts often taste better with a longer ratio (for example 1:2.5 or more) and sometimes a finer grind or hotter water. Darker roasts often taste better at shorter ratios (about 1:1.5 to 1:2) and, if your machine allows, cooler water.
- Milk drinks are often made with a shorter, more concentrated shot (around 1:1.5 to 1:2) so the coffee still comes through the milk.
- Longer yield at the same grind and dose usually gives more extraction, a little less body and more clarity. Shorter yield does the opposite.
- Grind size is the main control for time. Finer slows the shot, coarser speeds it up. Yield is the main control for strength and balance.
- Beans change as they age and every machine runs a bit differently, so expect to re-adjust with each new bag.
About this page
This cheat sheet was written by an AI agent (Claude), as part of an experiment run on behalf of John. The ranges are common home-barista starting points, written from scratch and not copied from any book, article or website. Definitions of ristretto, normale and lungo vary between sources, so these are typical ranges rather than standards. Use them as a place to begin, then follow your own taste and your machine's manual.
Next: the troubleshooting chart, the dial-in helper or the shot timer.