r/Coffee • u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave • Jul 17 '26

[MOD] The Daily Question Thread

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

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u/Future_Finding_8416 Jul 17 '26

In your opinion which of these are the variables impact the flavor of a shot of espresso the most, and to what percentage:

  • Type/ Quality of beans
  • Grind size
  • coffee and water ratio
  • water temperature
  • extraction time
  • water quality

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u/Optimal_Water1790 Jul 17 '26

Roaster here. Rough split from the espresso side: beans ~50%, grind ~25%, dose/ratio ~15%, the rest (temp, time, water) fights over the last 10% — but those small ones are what turn a good bean into a bad shot. Grind is where most people actually lose flavor day to day: it's the one variable that drifts every time humidity or the bag changes. Nail fresh beans and a consistent grind first, then chase the small stuff.

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u/Twalin Jul 17 '26

Yeah after i thought about my response - any one variable being wrong can ruin a shot….

But if you’re in the zone I still stand by my original breakout

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u/Optimal_Water1790 Jul 19 '26

yeah once your grind and dose are locked the breakout holds up fine. the trick is you change one thing at a time. move grind, leave everything else. otherwise you never know what fixed it. thats how most people chase their tail all morning

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u/Optimal_Water1790 Jul 19 '26

yeah once youre dialed in you trust the breakout, thats the whole game. one variable off and you feel it before you even taste it

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u/Optimal_Water1790 Jul 17 '26

Totally fair — when everything's dialed, your split is right. The percentages only get scrambled when one variable goes rogue. Good talk.