Espresso is a meditative experience. It’s as much about understanding fluid dynamics as practicing precise handiwork.

Current Setup

I use the Flair Signature and a Timemore C2 modded to have 24 clicks per rotation instead of 12. The mod: I used a power drill to put dimples into the grind size selector between the existing settings. Altogether the setup is about $200, depending on how the machines are sourced.

The grinder isn’t optimal, but it can be dialed in. The “standard espresso” range tends to be 7 - 9 clicks. A lot of the work in dialing in comes from modifying dosage (11g-15g), ratio (1.6 - 2.4), and the chamber preheat.

Eg darker roast: 9 clicks, 14g, 1.6 ratio, half preheat Eg lighter roast: 7.5 clicks, 12g, 2.3 ratio, full preheat

Workflow Tricks

1. Start the kettle first - boiling by the time my grinding is done.
2. Steam preheat is worth setting up - it’s fast and effective. I use a steel sink strainer. I get it started as soon as my hand grinding is done. It’s ready when my basket is prepped.
3. Really taking care with my WDT (paperclip) tends to make a big difference in channeling. I try to make sure the grounds look uniform and flat before I do any tapping.
4. I tap downwards and rotate the basket as I go to settle the grounds.
5. I tamp with four fingers and rotate the basket as I go.
6. After extraction, I press out any excess water in the chamber into a small bowl.
7. Blow out the puck from the bottom.
8. Push the piston section back out with one hand using the plastic tamp by placing the chamber upside down in the sink.

If your kitchen scale doesn’t fit under the Flair: I previously set up a simple formula on Google Sheets that calculates how much water should be going into the chamber to get a given output. It was workable, but It’s worth it to buy a small pocket scale to avoid this work and unpredictability.

2022-02-08: I now always tamp the same way and only vary grind, dose, and ratio, in that order. Tamp is too inconsistent on execution (lightweight, nutation). I also invested in a small scale that fits under the Flair to avoid back calculating the water mass that goes into the chamber.

2022-01-23: Publish this.