{"id":33,"date":"2026-10-03T18:41:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T18:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/errori-dial-in-2\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T12:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:20:21","slug":"errori-dial-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/en\/errori-dial-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Common dial-in mistakes (and how to avoid them)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dial-in is the process of adjusting <strong>grind size, dose, and extraction time<\/strong> to get a balanced espresso. Most of the bitter, sour, or choked shots people struggle with come from a small set of repeated mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>This guide walks through the most common <strong>dial-in mistakes<\/strong> \u2014 from handling grind and dose to using the cup and pressure correctly \u2014 and, above all, how to avoid them, closing with a diagnosis table: symptoms, likely causes, and the first correction to try.<\/p>\n<p>The reference parameters (<strong>18\u201320 g dose, 36\u201340 g output, 25\u201330 s<\/strong>) are the standard ones described in our <a href=\"\/category\/guide\/\">guide<\/a>. Reference parameters for dial-in are standardized by the <a href=\"https:\/\/sca.coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\">Specialty Coffee Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"esp-callout\"><b>If you have 30 seconds<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Change <strong>one variable at a time<\/strong>: the grind first, the dose only after. Otherwise it becomes impossible to tell what caused the result.<\/li>\n<li>Always <strong>weigh dose and output<\/strong> \u2014 18\u201320 g in, 36\u201340 g out, 1:2 ratio \u2014 on a 0.1 g scale. Time is an effect, not a cause.<\/li>\n<li>Bitter? Coarser. Sour? Finer. Choked? Distribution. <strong>The diagnosis table<\/strong> connects each cup symptom to the first correction to try.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Dial-in mistakes: grind and dose<\/h2>\n<h3>The most frequent error: changing more than one variable at a time<\/h3>\n<p>The most frequent error is changing more than one variable at a time: you adjust the grind and, in the same session, the dose and the pre-infusion, and it becomes impossible to tell what caused the result.<\/p>\n<p>The established rule is simple: <strong>change the grind, which is the main variable, test it, and only then touch the dose.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The dose should always be weighed with a 0.1 g scale: <strong>on average 18\u201320 g of coffee for a 36\u201340 g output, a 1:2 ratio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Dosing by eye is like cooking without a scale: the same dosing cup filled &#8220;by sight&#8221; can vary by <strong>1\u20132 g<\/strong> from one shot to the next, and that difference moves the extraction more than most people expect.<\/p>\n<h3>Second error: treating the grind setting as fixed<\/h3>\n<p>The right grind is always relative to <strong>humidity, coffee freshness, lot, and portafilter type<\/strong>. A fresher coffee, with more carbon dioxide and more moisture, often calls for a slightly coarser grind.<\/p>\n<p>A coffee that has already released part of its CO2 may need a finer setting. Before any dial-in session, the practice is to <strong>pull two or three test shots<\/strong> and start from your previous setting as a reference, not from scratch.<\/p>\n<h3>Third area: the distribution of grounds in the portafilter<\/h3>\n<p>An uneven bed of coffee creates channels: water takes the path of least resistance, the extraction is partial and inconsistent, sometimes choking halfway through the shot.<\/p>\n<p>The standard fix is to <strong>distribute the grounds with a WDT tool before tamping<\/strong> and to level the bed.<\/p>\n<p>Tamp force matters far less than flatness: on average <strong>10\u201320 kg is enough<\/strong>; what matters is a uniform, compact bed with no voids.<\/p>\n<h2>Cup and pressure: the mistakes you can measure but not taste<\/h2>\n<h3>Measuring without instruments<\/h3>\n<p>The second group of mistakes concerns measurement. Judging an espresso only by the crema color or the time on the display, without weighing the output, is like navigating without instruments: <strong>time is an effect, not a cause.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The minimum tool is a <strong>scale under the cup<\/strong> that records dose and output. Without it you have two data points out of three \u2014 dose and time \u2014 and the dose\/output ratio, the real indicator of balance, stays unknown.<\/p>\n<h3>Pressure: two clarifications<\/h3>\n<p>First: home pumps are rated at <strong>9 bar nominal<\/strong>, and in most cases there is nothing to adjust. Pressure is not the dial-in knob \u2014 <strong>grind size is<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If your machine allows it and you want to go further, a <strong>portafilter pressure gauge, on average 10\u201330 \u20ac<\/strong>, lets you verify the real pressure curve, which on many models starts lower and ramps up gradually.<\/p>\n<p>Second clarification: temperature. If the machine has not reached thermal stability, every shot comes out different. The practice is to <strong>let the machine warm up and pull one or two waste cycles<\/strong> before judging anything.<\/p>\n<h3>Using the wrong basket for the dose<\/h3>\n<p>Last mistake in this section: <strong>an 18\u201320 g dose belongs in an 18\u201320 g basket<\/strong>. Forcing more in, or using less, changes the bed density and the flow time.<\/p>\n<p>The single\/double pairing matters too: a recipe built on a double, replicated on a single by changing the dose but not the grind, gives different results and needs re-dialing.<\/p>\n<h2>Diagnosis: from bitter, sour, and choked to the first correction<\/h2>\n<p>Once dose and output are weighed, diagnosis becomes a procedure. Time should be read as a guide, not a target: with an 18\u201320 g dose, <strong>a 36\u201340 g output in 25\u201330 s is the standard reference<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>But two 1:2 shots, one at 24 s and one at 31 s, can both be good if the cup is balanced. <strong>Taste is the final judge<\/strong>; the table below connects cup symptoms to the most likely causes and the first correction to try.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Cup symptom<\/th>\n<th>Likely cause<\/th>\n<th>Correction<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Bitter, dry, astringent; time over 35 s<\/td>\n<td>Over-extraction: grind too fine<\/td>\n<td>Coarser grind, one notch at a time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sour, thin, sharp; time under 20 s, low output<\/td>\n<td>Under-extraction: grind too coarse<\/td>\n<td>Finer grind<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Irregular flow, choked, dribbling<\/td>\n<td>Channeling: poor distribution, stale coffee, static charge, dirty basket<\/td>\n<td>Distribute with WDT, fresher coffee, clean basket and group<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dark crema but fast, bitter shot<\/td>\n<td>Partial channeling<\/td>\n<td>Distribution and circuit cleaning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sharp throughout, low sweetness<\/td>\n<td>Water too soft or extraction temperature too low<\/td>\n<td>Check water and machine thermal stability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>On choking specifically, one note: in most cases it is <strong>not a machine fault, but a channeling or bed problem<\/strong>. Before suspecting the pump or the valves, clean the basket, check that the group&#8217;s shower screen is not clogged, and re-dose while distributing the grounds with the WDT tool.<\/p>\n<p>Only after ruling these causes out do you move on to the machine.<\/p>\n<p>And if the problem persists at equal dose, time, and ratio? The standard hierarchy of suspects is: <strong>distribution first, then water, then the machine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>When in doubt, move the grind one notch at a time, always pull two or three shots, and compare them with the previous one: with this method, <strong>dial-in stops being an art and becomes a procedure you can reproduce in 15\u201320 minutes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"esp-callout\"><b>The reference numbers, to remember<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"esp-data-box\">\n<div><b>Dose<\/b><span>18\u201320 g<\/span><\/div>\n<div><b>Output<\/b><span>36\u201340 g<\/span><\/div>\n<div><b>Ratio<\/b><span>1:2<\/span><\/div>\n<div><b>Time<\/b><span>25\u201330 s<\/span><\/div>\n<div><b>Tamp force<\/b><span>10\u201320 kg<\/span><\/div>\n<div><b>Main lever<\/b><span>grind size<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>In short<\/strong>: one variable at a time, dose and output always weighed, grind size as the main lever, and time as a guide rather than a goal. They are small habits, but they remove the vast majority of defective shots. For scales, portafilter gauges, and WDT tools, see the <a href=\"\/strumenti\/\">tools<\/a> section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grind changed at random, dose by eye, wrong basket: the most common dial-in mistakes in home espresso, with the fixes and a symptom-to-cause diagnosis table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_GB","_original_post":"32","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guide","en-GB"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229,"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions\/229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilbaristaincasa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}