Dialing In Espresso
Move beyond rigid recipes to diagnose extraction issues by taste and flow. Learn how puck mechanics, grind dynamics, and pressure craft the perfect shot.
Like Duolingo, but for Dialing In Espresso. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Diagnosing and Controlling Taste and Flow, Grind, and Machine Dynamics. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Dialing In Espresso
- The standard 1:2 in 30 seconds is a diagnostic baseline to evaluate a new bean
- Light roasts resist extraction and need more water to tame sharp, vegetal acidity
- Porous dark roasts dissolve quickly and need lower yields to cut off harsh ash
- Yield moves the sour-bitter balance far more reliably than adjusting grind size
- Pushing more liquid water through the puck extracts more sweet and bitter compounds
- Changing grind size introduces secondary variables like flow rate and puck resistance
- A salami shot catches the stream in successive cups to taste stages of extraction
- Fast-dissolving fruit acids and concentrated salts extract in the opening seconds
- Viscous complex sugars extract in the middle phase to balance initial sharpness
- Heavy plant fibers and astringent bitter compounds emerge late in the flow
- Strength is the concentration of dissolved coffee solids in the finished liquid cup
- Extraction yield is the total percentage of the dry coffee grounds pulled into water
- Water funnels through localized paths of least resistance during channeling
- Bypassed, dry grounds leave sharp sour under-extracted acids in the cup
- High-velocity water in narrow channels over-extracts harsh, bitter compounds
- Espresso grounds hit mechanical maximum compression at roughly 15 to 20 pounds
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Dialing In Espresso the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Why do dense light roasts typically benefit from a longer liquid yield, such as 1:2.5 or 1:3?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where Dialing In Espresso takes you
- 1
Diagnosing and Controlling Taste
- Yield as Your Primary Flavor Dial
- Puck Integrity and Channeling
- 2
Flow, Grind, and Machine Dynamics
- Grind Geometry and Flow Resistance
- Pressure, Flow Profiles, and Roast Density
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Dialing In Espresso is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Food & Drink on Tomo
Dialing In Espresso
Move beyond rigid 1:2 recipe templates and learn to diagnose extraction in real time. Master puck prep, decouple grind and yield, and adapt machine parameters to any roast.
Espresso and Milk Craft
Move beyond basic brewing recipes and take deliberate control of your espresso machine. Diagnose extraction faults by taste, perfect silky microfoam texture, and dial in beans by roast profile.
Dialing In Espresso and Milk
Bridge the gap between basic espresso pulling and cafe-quality consistency. Master extraction variables, diagnose channeling by taste and flow, and steam silky microfoam every time.
Espresso Extraction and Milk Craft
Move beyond push-button recipes into deliberate sensory and mechanical barista craft. Learn to diagnose extraction visually, manipulate flow dynamics, texture microfoam with precision, and adapt to bean age.
Espresso Extraction and Service
Master the science of the perfect shot, from the physics of puck resistance to the nuances of water chemistry and high-volume workflow.
Brewing Better Coffee at Home
Move beyond basic brewing instructions to understand extraction, grind mechanics, and water chemistry. Diagnose problem cups and dial in pour-over, immersion, and espresso methods with confidence.
Start Dialing In Espresso today.
Download Tomo, search Dialing In Espresso, and play your first lesson in under a minute.