Welcome wongyl.... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
The standard you should be aiming for is, as has been stated above in one form or another, i.e.
Single espresso... 30ml pour from 7-9g of coffee in 25-27 seconds.
Double espresso... 60ml pour from 14-18g of coffee in 25-27 seconds.
These volumes and times are predicated that you are using freshly roasted, high quality coffee only ground immediately before brewing; and that you are using good technique. Most people recommend to start off with Doubles initially as these are more forgiving of a less than perfect technique and allows you time to develop that perfection while at the same time, producing pours that are palatable.
Once your technique with Doubles is down pat, you can then try your hand at Singles is you so desire but with less coffee between the shower-screen and the bottom of the basket, your technique will need to be spot-on in order to be able to pull consistently excellent Single espressos.
When you reach the stage that you are reliably able to pull good quality shots that fall within the "ideal" window of volume and time, you can then start to focus more on the quality of the stream of coffee pouring from the spout(s). In essence, you want to ensure that you stop all shots at the first signs of "blonding" or even before while still achieving shots within the ballpark of the "ideal" framework. Theres a great "How-To" on aspects of this to be found on the Home Barista website... Here. And it is very much worth your while to read through all this info as it has been very well assembled by very experienced and knowledgeable people.
All the best and most of all, have fun....

Mal.

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