Espresso: Craft and Technique
Bridge the gap between basic espresso brewing and dialed-in café quality. Learn the mechanics of puck preparation, master the variables of extraction, and troubleshoot flawed shots by taste.
Like Duolingo, but for Espresso: Craft and Technique. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
25 levels across 4 sections, about 50 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Puck Preparation and the Pull, Diagnosing and Dialing In, Milk and Extraction Styles, and Machine Dynamics and Maintenance. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Espresso: Craft and Technique
- Dark roasts expand during roasting and become significantly less dense than light roasts.
- Volumetric dosing yields fewer grams of dark roast, creating a thinner puck with less resistance.
- Weighing to 0.1g ensures identical puck mass regardless of roast-dependent bean volume shifts.
- WDT uses needles under 0.4mm to break compacted clumps formed by grinder burr friction.
- Deep needle stirring homogenizes density throughout the depth of the puck to stop channeling.
- Surface leveling alone leaves internal soft pockets where pressurized water quickly tunnels.
- Grounds compress only until coffee particles interlock at complete mechanical resistance.
- Exerting calibrated or excessive arm force past solid resistance does not alter puck height.
- Level alignment against the basket collar matters far more than arbitrary downward pressure.
- Why measuring espresso dose by volume fails when switching between different roast profiles
- Puck screens disperse high-velocity water jets from the shower screw into a gentle, flat sheet.
- How needle distribution prevents localized micro-channels through the espresso puck
- The physical barrier prevents loose grounds from back-siphoning into the shower screen on 3-way valve release.
- Briefly flushing the group dislodges spent grinds and stale oils stuck to the shower screen.
- A quick purge brings the group head metal and water path to target brewing temperature.
- Purging immediately before locking in prevents premature baking of dry grounds on hot metal.
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 Espresso: Craft and Technique 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.
If you use a scoop instead of a scale, why does a dark roast pour way too fast?
Get it right to open this lesson and 24 more in the app.
Where Espresso: Craft and Technique takes you
- 1
Puck Preparation and the Pull
- Modern Puck Preparation
- Managing the Shot in Real Time
- 2
Diagnosing and Dialing In
- Dialing In by Taste and Metrics
- Troubleshooting Extraction Flaws
- 3
Milk and Extraction Styles
- Steaming Microfoam and Milk Integration
- Modern Espresso Variations
- 4
Machine Dynamics and Maintenance
- Pressure, Temperature, and Flow Dynamics
- Water Chemistry and Machine Care
4 sections · 8 units · 25 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Espresso: Craft and Technique is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. 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.
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Espresso Extraction and Technique
Bridge the gap between pulling erratic shots and consistently crafting cafe-quality espresso. Learn the mechanics of puck prep, extraction diagnosis, flow profiling, and microfoam chemistry.
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Espresso: Dialing in the Perfect Shot
Move beyond the basic 'push-button' espresso and learn to manipulate variables like a professional barista. Master the physics of the puck, the chemistry of water, and the sensory skills required to diagnose any shot.
The Art of the Espresso Shot
Move beyond the button-press and master the variables that define a perfect extraction. Learn to diagnose flavors, manipulate brew ratios, and maintain professional-grade equipment.
Espresso: Dialing in the Perfect Shot
Move beyond the basic 'double shot' and learn to manipulate extraction variables like a professional barista. Master the art of dialing in to balance acidity, sweetness, and body in every cup.
Start Espresso: Craft and Technique today.
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