But, the first concept we need to talk about, is what Lance calls the “elephant in the room.” To him, pressure profiling isn’t the best term to use, because you can’t get pressure without input flow and resistance. In other words, without a puck of coffee, ground fine enough to create resistance when the water is forced through it, there would be no pressure! So, in this case, Lance feels like the term flow-profiling is synonymous, which will help us further down the line in understanding these concepts and applying them to our daily workflows.

In this video, Lance describes three sections of your extraction as it pertains to flow and pressure profiling:

• Pre-infusion
• Infusion
• Taper

Pre-infusion – This is literally the step before infusion. What happens in this step is that we blast the bed of coffee with water to fully saturate it, but at a lower flow rate, so that we aren’t really starting the extraction. The purpose of the pre-infusion is to prime the puck for the next step, allowing it to expand and filling channels that might occur.

Infusion – Infusion is when we ramp up to whatever pressure we are targeting. Lance prefers, with lighter roasted coffees, a lower pressure, targeting 6-8 BAR. This is because with lighter roasted coffees there is a lower puck integrity as compared to a darker roasted coffee, which can take even up to 10 BAR.

Taper – The taper phase is when we lessen the pressure, or flow, of the extraction throughout the pull as the puck of coffee is eroding. And this is where this video gets really interesting. As Lance says, when we extract espresso, and we force water through the puck, and coffee ends up in our cup, there’s less of it in the puck than when we started! The puck erodes through the shot, meaning there is a lessened mass and therefore lessened resistance.

In Lance’s opinion, and we tend to agree with him here, the requirement of many commercial espresso machines to hold a consistent 9 BAR of pressure through the puck during the entire shot was a terrible step backward for espresso. It increases the possibility of channels at the end of the puck, and raises the likelihood of bitters at the end of the shot.

This is where the Flair shines. Because of the completely manual nature of the Flair, we can easily taper shots as the puck degrades, which is a feature that’s nearly impossible to find in electric machines at the same price point.

We’ll leave the rest of the discussion, as well as the demonstration of Lance’s profile, for those that want to watch the video. But, as always, we hope you’ve enjoyed this educational foray into the world of espresso.

Until the next Espresso University video…

So, back to dialing-in light roasted coffees. First, we should start by defining a lightly roasted coffee. When Lance refers to a lightly roasted coffee, he considers these to be light brown in color and much more difficult to break with your fingers. For the most part, lightly roasted coffees are more dense and more difficult to grind and extract. In general, this is because more lightly roasted coffees are less soluble. Because lightly roasted coffees are less soluble than their darker roasted counterparts, it means the barista has to manipulate their variables to push the extraction as much as possible!

So, how do we get the flavor out of these more lightly roasted beans? The answer, according to Lance’s experience, is a few things: 

• First we are going to grind a bit more finely than with darker roasted coffees.
• Then we are going to preheat the chamber more intensely than we would with a darker roasted coffee.
• And finally, Lance recommends using brew water that is just off the boil, as he needs to ensure the temperatures are as high as possible for these coffees!

To begin this dial-in process on the Flair PRO 2, Lance recommends starting with 16 or 16.5 grams of coffee. In this video, he’s starting off using his Niche Zero grinder set to a 24. So if you’re lucky enough to have one, that’s a great place to start. You may notice that the 24 setting on the Niche Zero is more coarse than the typical recommended grind size for espresso on other machines. You may have heard us say that light roasts require a very fine grind size, so this might be confusing. 

Allow us to explain. Yes, light roasted coffee requires a more fine grind size when compared to darker roasted coffee. But, the Flair PRO 2 brewing system uses a portafilter basket with a smaller diameter – 46.5mm – as compared to a standard commercial 58 mm basket. So, as compared to an espresso extracted at a coffee shop, the puck on the Flair PRO 2 is more narrow and deeper, which necessitates a slightly more coarse grind to ensure saturation, contact time and appropriate extraction.

For lighter roasted coffees, Lance prefers to start with a three part extraction:

1. Pre-Infusion – at roughly 3 BAR for 10-12 seconds
2. Spike/Ramp – moving quickly from the pre-infusion pressure to ramp up, or spike, at roughly 8-9 BAR for 10-12 seconds
3. Flow-rate Control – slowly reduce the pressure in the chamber as you maintain the original flow rate of your shot until you’ve reached your desired output

But, as you’ll see in the linked video, Lance typically likes to let his coffee dictate how the extraction will go. And this is where the Flair really shines. Listen to the feedback the Flair espresso maker gives when pulling your first shot, and then make any modifications as necessary.

So, let’s take a look at the three espressos Lance pulled on the Flair PRO 2 before he found his sweet spot:

Shot #1 – 16 grams in and 30 grams out in 60 seconds. This shot was very sour, which indicated a need to extend the ratio – or get more output for your input. With lighter roasted coffees, a shorter ratio (less than 2:1) may mean a sour coffee, so the second shot will require a more coarse grind and a higher flow rate earlier on to ensure the sweetness is extracted from the beans. 

Shot #2 – So for the second shot, Lance went four clicks more coarse on his Niche, to grind setting 28. He was still using a 16 gram dose, and decided to increase his output to 40 grams out in 55 seconds. This shot was still a bit on the sour side, and Lance decided that he wanted to elongate, or increase, his brew ratio even more, closer to 3:1. 

But, before completing this it’s important to address any fears about utilizing a 3:1 ratio in your recipe. Fear not all you doubters! These lightly roasted coffees have lots and lots to give.

Shot #3 – Finally espresso nirvana. The look on Lance’s face says it all! This extraction was the same 16 gram dose, at the same grind setting. But, to elongate here, Lance allowed the extraction to flow for an additional five seconds, getting very close to one minute. This yielded 45 grams in his cup, and a delicious shot of espresso with lots of fruit.

Before we finish, we wanted to also provide some pro tips for espresso brewing before closing up this chapter of Espresso University. These are below. 

• PRO Tip #1 – When dialing in and repacking your portafilter, make sure that you wipe the inside of the basket before extracting. Water beads make channels! 

• PRO Tip #2 – Something else that needs to be addressed when extracting espresso: Time doesn’t matter as much as taste! 

• PRO Tip #3 – Use a WDT tool to help distribute your grinds evenly before tamping. These can be homemade or purchased, and work wonders in terms of reducing channeling.

So there you have it, a step by step guide to dial-in light roasted coffees using the Flair PRO 2 manual espresso maker. We sincerely hope that you enjoy these Espresso University videos, and we can’t wait until the next installment.

If you’re thinking about buying a Flair PRO 2, you can learn more about this brewing machine, and make your purchase, here!