Before filling the hopper or turning on the machine, you’ll want to calibrate the grinder burr. Just unlock the hopper and remove it. Then, twist the upper burr from the “lock” position to the “align” position. If you haven’t done this in a while - or ever - it might take some force. Then just lift the upper burr out. This is a good time to clean out the grinder. You can use the brush that came with the machine or just a dry paintbrush. A small vacuum also works great.

The red dot on the upper burr aligns with a number. We’ll call that the burr calibration. The machine typically comes from Breville set to 6, but I found that to be far too coarse for our coffees. I’ve found a burr calibration of 2 works best. To change the calibration, take off the metal clip, then rotate the upper burr carrier so the red dot aligns with the number 2. Then replace the clip to lock in the calibration.

Put the burr back in, lining up the mark on the burr carrier with the “align” mark on the grinder, and rotate toward the “lock” position. When fully seated, it will give you a good clunk. Put the hopper back on, and rotate the lock handle.

Next, change the grind setting on the left side of the machine. So far, all of the coffees I’ve dialed in have fallen in the range of 5 to 14, with most closer to 10. The grind setting in our recipes corresponds to the number on the grind setting wheel aligned with the line on the machine. The Brazil Legender uses a grind setting of 11, so we’ll start there.

Go ahead and turn the machine on to get it warming up. Even though the machine will indicate it’s warm really quickly, I would suggest giving it about 10 minutes to let all of the metal parts heat up.

Add beans to the hopper. You may choose to single-dose in regular use, but for testing recipes, I would ask you just load up the hopper.

The portafilter basket we’re using is the single wall double basket that came with the machine. You’ll know you have the right one if it’s the bigger basket with holes across the entire bottom. If you take your basket out and find the portafilter is stained with coffee residue, soaking it in an enzymatic cleaner like Cafiza will clean it right up and make your coffee taste better.

Some of the interface I’m going to talk through is specific to the Barista Express, so if you have a different Breville like the Touch, Pro, or Oracle, you may need to reference the instruction manual which is really well done and available on Breville’s website.

If you’ve reprogrammed any of the temperature, pre-infusion, or shot volume settings, I’d ask you to reset them to the factory default. All you have to do to reset it is press and hold the “program” button until the machine beeps 3 times.

Ok, we’re ready to pull a shot.

Start by turning on your scale. Place the portafilter on it and tare the scale.

Grind into the portafilter, and check the weight. The amount of coffee in the portafilter is what we call the dose. Adjust you dose to within two tenths of a gram, or 17.8-18.2 grams, preferably right on 18.0. If you need to adjust the dose down, you can use a small spoon, but be sure to cut across the top of the grounds rather than digging down.

Next, tamp the puck. If you normally use any kind of distribution tool, I’m going to ask that you not use it for testing these recipes. You just want to tamp with enough pressure to remove the space between the coffee particles, so as soon as you feel it stop compressing, you’re done. You want it to be nice and level.

Lock the portafilter into the grouphead and put the scale under the portafilter. Put your cup on the scale and tare the scale.

Simultaneously, press the button to start the double shot and start your timer. At 10 seconds, you’ll hear the pump spin up, and you’ll see the pressure rise at 16 seconds. Keep an eye on the scale. You’ll want to stop the shot 4-5 grams before your target. For the Brazil Legender, that means pressing the button again when the weight is about 32 grams. Note the time when you press the button. The time we’ll use for recipes is from button press to button press. Once the shot finishes dripping out, record the weight in the cup, which we call the yield.

To reset the machine for the next shot, knock out the puck and use a cloth to wipe the portafilter basket clean. Press either program buttons to purge the group. Then replace the portafilter to keep it hot until you’re ready to use it again.

Stir your espresso and take a sip!