MAKE BETTER ESPRESSO (without losing your mind)
Espresso has a bit of a reputation.
It's often talked about as a fussy, overly technical, intimidating brew method - perhaps reserved for people who enjoy measuring things just for fun (no shade if that's your thing).
We’ll break down the basics here to get you comfortable, and if you want to go a layer deeper, we’ve got a handy guide prepared to help with the learning.
We promise - once you understand a few core ideas, it stops feeling complicated and starts feeling… kinda fun.
So, What Is Espresso?
At its core, espresso is made by pushing hot water through finely ground coffee at high pressure, usually landing you somewhere around a 30-second extraction. The result is a small drink with a ton of body, sweetness, and intensity.
It also happens to be the foundation for most café drinks. Lattes, cappuccinos, americanos - they all start here. If the espresso is tasting good, everything built on top of it tends to fall into place.
Why is it so Darn Fussy?
Like many things in life, espresso is sensitive in a way other brew methods aren’t. Small changes in grind size, dose, or timing can shift the flavour pretty dramatically.
A slightly coarser grind and your shot runs too fast, tasting sharp or sour. A touch too fine and things slow down, getting heavy and bitter.
That’s why most people start with a simple baseline:
- 19g of coffee in
- 38g of espresso out
- around 27–33 seconds
From there, it becomes a little less about memorizing numbers and more about paying attention to how it actually tastes and making small adjustments (the fun part!).
What You’re Looking For
You don’t need to overthink it. A few simple cues will take you a long way.
- If your shot is tasting sour, it likely needs a bit more extraction - usually a finer grind or slightly longer extraction time.
- If it’s coming across bitter or harsh, you’ve probably pushed it too far and need to back things off.
It’s a small loop: taste, adjust, repeat. That’s the whole game.
Where Things Start to Click
A lot of coffee people chase the idea of a “perfect shot,” but what meaningfully moves the needle is consistency. Using the same dose, the same process, and adjusting one variable at a time gives you a clear sense of what’s happening in the cup.
Less guessing, more understanding - and suddenly, it’s fun.
The Cheat Code
You can have great gear and solid technique, but if the coffee is fussy, inconsistent, or just not built for espresso, you’ll be fighting it the whole way through.
That's where Glitter Juice comes in.
When the coffee’s doing its part - balanced, forgiving, but still expressive - the whole process feels better. You can taste when you nail it, and when you don’t, it’s still a good cup.
Glitter Juice was built with that in mind. Caramel holds things down, while tropical citrus and peach bring some brightness - enough to keep things interesting without getting fussy.
It rewards a good dial-in, but won’t punish you for being human.
We like it a lot.
Want to Go Deeper?
If you’re feeling dialed and want to get a bit more precise with it, we’ve put together a full breakdown of our espresso basics - ratios, workflow, dialing in, and troubleshooting.
It’s the same framework we use behind the bar, just laid out in a way that’s easy to follow at home.
