Overheard a barista brag about 18-second espresso shots and I'm not buying it

Was at a shop in Portland last Saturday and this guy behind the counter was telling a customer that his shots pull in 18 seconds flat for peak flavor. I've been pulling espresso at home for about 5 years now and every bean I've tried tastes best between 25 and 30 seconds with my setup. He said anything slower just over-extracts but that doesn't match my experience at all with dark roasts. I tried grinding finer to hit his 18 second window and ended up with a sour mess that burned my tongue. Am I missing something or is this just a trend that ignores how different beans behave? Has anyone else run into baristas pushing crazy fast shot times?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenixh7428d ago

Yeah I saw a video saying 18 seconds is just for super light roasts, not everything.

richard_shah28d ago

...and honestly I think he might have been trying to impress someone more than make good coffee. I've seen this before at a shop in Seattle where the barista was literally timing shots on his phone and bragging about 20 second pulls. When I asked him about it he just shrugged and said it's what his trainer taught him. Meanwhile I've had shots that took 35 seconds with a light roast and they were amazing. The whole obsession with speed over taste feels like a show to me. I'd rather have a 30 second shot that's balanced than something that burns my tongue just because it's fast.