You have likely heard this term being used by coffee connoisseurs or your barista.
To put it simply, “dialling in” is the process of changing variables in the coffee brewing process to achieve a balanced extraction.
For example, you made a French press coffee, but it’s not as strong as you’d like it, so you adjust the grind size based on taste. That’s the very definition of dialling in coffee.
Most home baristas begin attempting this as they go further in their coffee journey. It’s their way of understanding cause and effect.
You’ll begin to learn why, even by using great coffee beans, the brew can sometimes taste too bitter or flat.
The Core Variables That Control Extraction
To practice dialling in, you’d first need to understand all the variables that affect extraction and how you can alter them in the brewing process.
Here are the 4 core variables:
Grind Size
Grind size determines how fast (or slow) and effective the extraction is going to be.
Finer grinds increase surface area and slow water flow, leading to higher extraction. That’s why methods like espresso brewing use fine coffee grinds, letting water extract flavour faster.
On the other hand, coarser grinds reduce the extraction speed since the surface area is smaller.
Dose & Brew Ratio
Sometimes, people tweak the dose and brew ratio first when the coffee doesn’t taste the way they want it to, as it’s the most easily understood aspect of brewing coffee.
Increase the dose of coffee, and you’ve got a stronger cup. Similarly, reducing the water-to-coffee ratio (i.e. using less water) also produces a punchy, strong brew.
If you want clarity in the cup and for the acidity to be more pronounced, using more water is the way to go. It’ll get you a cup that is lighter and feels cleaner to the palate.
Water Temperature
This variable affects how efficiently flavour compounds dissolve in water. Hot water extracts flavour faster, and cooler water takes longer to properly extract flavour.
You’d also want to consider how different roasts react to the water temperature. For instance, a lighter roast would benefit from hot water extraction to capture the complex nuances in the cup. And a darker roast can be used with cooler water to minimise harshness in the brew.
Brew Time
This varies significantly depending on the brew gear.
With immersion methods like French press or cold brewing, the ground coffee is in contact with water for far longer when you compare it to percolation methods like pour over or a stovetop pot, where water passes through the grinds faster.
As a general rule of thumb, long brew times can make the coffee bitter and harsh, while shorter brew times can make the brew flat and lacking in flavour.
Using Taste as Your Primary Dialling Tool
Taste is what will drive your attempts at dialling in coffee.
If the coffee is over-extracted, you’re likely to taste bitter, drying, and harsh notes in the cup. If it is under-extracted, it’s probably thin, sour, and has a hollow finish.
The signs you want to look out for are sweetness and balance. These signal that you’re on the right track with extraction.
Common Dialling-In Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest and most common mistake would be changing multiple variables at once. You need to let the variables interact systematically. Otherwise, it’ll become difficult to point out what exactly influenced the final cup.
Secondly, avoid focusing too much on numbers and strict techniques. Sure, recipes are great to start with, but brewing coffee has to be about producing a cup that aligns with your flavour expectations. As you dial in coffee, think about what it is that you want from the cup.
Another mistake you should avoid is thinking that every coffee will taste the same if you change the same variables precisely. As we all know, coffee beans are differentiated by origin attributes and roast characteristics, so it’s only natural that they will taste different.
Dialling in isn’t something that can be mastered all at once. It takes time and multiple iterations to make progress and develop this skill.
Every time you get yourself a new blend or single origin, we would recommend that you dial in the coffee each time you change a variable to see how the beans perform in different contexts - that’s how you start intentionally brewing great coffee.