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Question about pulling ristretto shots - old school vs modern method

My barista buddy told me I was grinding way too fine for ristretto and that the whole 'tight puck' thing was a myth. Now I'm using a coarser grind with a 1:1 ratio and the shots taste cleaner. Anyone else get told to change their ristretto technique and find it worked better?
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3 Comments
west.casey
west.casey1mo ago
Makes you wonder how many sacred cows in coffee are just stubborn habits.
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max223
max2231mo ago
That old school vs new school thing pops up everywhere, not just coffee. It's like how people swear by breaking in a new baseball glove a certain way, and then some kid comes along and says just soak it in water and it's fine. Sometimes the old ways stick around because they feel right, not because they are right. Ended up trying a coarser grind on my own setup and yeah, the shots were way less bitter and actually tasted like something.
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nancyg14
nancyg141mo ago
Bumping up to a 15 on my Baratza instead of 10 made a huge difference for me too, @max223. Took the edge off the sourness without making it bitter.
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