i appreciate that you have the kindness to explain something you know a lot of to those who are starting at 0 without making us feel dumb at all. you’d make a great teacher :)

A little clarity on something near the end: If you’re close to the parameters you want your espresso in, it can be an easy fix to adjust the dose rather than changing the grind size. It also will frequently reduce coffee waste and if you have pre-ground coffee, it’s one of your few variables that you can change. However, it’s very much a starting out position. You should aim towards being comfortable adjusting your grind size as well but that’s something that, in my experience, can only be really learned through time and practice with your grinder. Hope that helps! Again, there are a whole lot of dialing-in methods and there’s a whole lot of good advice out there. Find what works for you and trust your taste buds.

My personal tip for better tasting espresso is to pack the portafilter with instant coffee. After that, your espresso will taste better by comparison. One route for enjoying things is raising the ceiling of quality, the other is just blasting out the floor.

As a photographer, Never realized how many comparisons to photography there is to pulling a good shot of espresso. Especially with the exposure triangle and the coffee grind size, weight of coffee, and length of time to pull the shot. They all relate to each other and are dependent, and that makes understanding how to dial in your coffee that much easier to understand 😮

I got my first espresso 2 months ago and it took A LOT of different videos from many different creators to get everything I needed to start making nice consistant coffee. This video is an awesome combination of all those videos in one nice clear package. While I have all the equipment and knowledge you shared today, it was nice to have confirmation that I am in the best position to be making some nice coffee. Great video and thanks for all your efforts on youtube to entertain and inform us.😊

Amazing video as always! Pro tip: if you want to drive yourself completely insane, get a bottomless portafilter and a shot mirror. This will maximize frustration levels, and occasionally result in you jumping for joy, not (necessarily) because how wonderful the shot you just pulled tastes, but how horrifically or beautifully your extraction flows.

5:49 This just changed my life forever! 18 towels for each towel, mindblowing, we'll always remember you when cleaning from now on 😆💖

If there is a one-stop shopping on how to start a coffee journey, then this is IT! Really great into video. So many new-to-espresso people in my coffee group are a bit apprehensive on where to start with their newly acquired machine. This is the prefect video for them. Great job!

Morgan you’re outfit is giving Steve Jobs keynote vibes but I love it 😂 thanks for another informative and helpful video!!

I just wanted to say that I don't even like coffee but I love listening to you explaining things! it's very relaxing

I don’t have an espresso machine, just listening to learn-but noticed around 26 or 27 minutes that the music in the background was most definitely the tune of “happy birthday” 😆. Maybe it was that the whole time, just caught on at the end, gave me a good chuckle! (Piano teacher here, ha)

I'm consistently impressed by your's and James Hoffman's ability to taste nuanced issues with your coffee preparations. I've been making espresso forever and would never know what an espresso that was extracted a few seconds too long would taste like. Do you have suggestions for developing that ability to dial in a shot by taste? Do you have to purposely mess up a bunch of shots to understand where the sweet spot exists?

Nice to see someone who knows how to fold towels correctly

G'day Morgan, I'm from Brisbane, Australia, and I have an Australian-designed machine, the Breville Barista Express Impress, made in China. I have a new Australian Pesado filter basket made by IMS in Italy; my coffee weighs 20.6 grams for my eight-day-old Toba coffee beans from Botero. Unless I change my filter basket or grind size, my coffee amount will stay the same because my Breville Impress has automatic dozing and tamping. I've set the water volume, left the temperature, and then altered the grind size, so I get around 41 grams of espresso out in 25 to 30 seconds. If I can't manage that, I adjust the water volume of the machine. I'm so happy you started so simply on the Breville Barista Express, which is similar to my coffee machine. I started with a SMEG coffee machine like the one you reviewed and an AU$100 Sunbeam coffee grinder; I only used my two-shot pressurised filter basket and often didn't enjoy my coffee. I'm much more impressed with Breville, and I like my coffee even more with my new filter basket. I also prefer my 280 ml Royal Doulton Coffee Studio coffee cups over my double-walled glass 350 ml mugs for my flat whites. I like it when my sister and hubby or my nephews and nieces visit so I can make them a coffee. Thank you. I've learned by watching KZfaq videos and reading the coffee manuals. Cheers ☕ George

I’m applying for a barista job so I came here to see some basics before training. Super helpful, and now if I ever want to get my own machine I have the foundation for a new hobby skill.

I did not get any sort of espresso equipment for the holidays, but this video really really makes me want to...

I appreciate the jazz version of "Happy Birthday" at about 27:00

Nice new kitchen, Morgan! 😊 I am using towels/cloths made from bamboo fiber instead of microfiber for about a year now to reduce the amount of micro plastic that I produce and I am pretty happy so far. They tend to get a bit more soaky but I can live with it.

What was I so intrigued by the towel folding? I liked your passion for the towel! Your voice is very asmr

Its so fun how all of the hobbies I'm drawn to are super expensive to start. Anyway, thanks for the super helpful video!

This is a really great walkthrough that doesn't leave your head spinning. And yes, thank you for bringing up tamp consistency, I feel it doesn't get stressed enough in other videos.

I literally got mine in the mail today and got it set up an hour or so ago! Thanks so much for this video! Will come in handy.

In a word of shorter and shorter videos, so glad you have a detailed video for those that a new ✨

Coincidentally, I had just been watching a James Hoffmanns playlist on dialing in espresso when youtube recommended this. I'd been wondering when I'd see a new Morgan drinks coffee video 😂

I'm a big fan of paper towels for all things coffee. I use a lot of them, so my Costco membership definitely comes in handy!

I love you and I'm from OR and moved up to Canada and was so happy to find you my hole family still live in OR I'm from Silverton, Mt angel area we farm there too thank you for what you do for the love of coffee as I'm so love it

Video quality is just top notch!

I could listen to you talk to me about anything all day lol. Thank you for being such a good teacher!

I don't have an espresso machine, yet I still enjoyed watching this video! Thank you.

Thank you for talking about the TOWELS! My gosh I wish you wouldn’t stop talking about them since there’s hardly anyone on YT that talks about them like what kind and all. Thank you!

Kicked out my machine yesterday and gone back to the ol’ skool Bialetti stainless. Sure, took me a lot of coffee to get it on ‘taste’ but I love it! No more machines for now for me 😅

I put all coffee on a 1 grind setting. It usually makes the shot flow fast. With the flair pro2 you can feel the resistance on the lever. So depending on the pressure I grind accordingly.

Thank you for your recommendation for cleaning product. I recently got some Cafiza and took it to work. We had an old thermal carafe with years of buildup. A quick soak and it was amazing clean and shiny on the inside. My next task is going to be the scaling the machine when I have time, most people in the hospital don’t understand how do use a commercial coffee machine. Gag.

This is the video I needed when I got my espresso machine!! Even though its a year later, I still learned a lot from it.

I landed on your channel a few years ago and ma not going anywhere anytime soon!! ILOVE YOU and love your wisdom💖🥰 Thank you for teaching!!

Fave part was you sharing your thoughts as you dialled in a new espresso, would be great to see more of that!

It's been a hot minute since I've watched one of your full videos.. I forgot how much I loved them.. also last time I was here was summertime I missed your signature turtleneck

I just got an espresso machine for Christmas!! Thanks for the helpful tips! 🥰

Really great video and info. I know you are just getting into the new space, the corner, angle where the espresso machine is not the best, not optimal. Look at it at playback, i’m sure you’lll agree

A really good idea for a video in the vein is to evaluate what parameters affect which aspect of coffee (eg. temp affecting bitterness, grind size affecting pull/extraction speed) that way there's some idea of what could be adjusted to suit individual tastes. This way if someone finds their shot a little on the bitter side or flat, there's a bit of an idea as to what could be changed. An aside: I'm SURE James has done a thing on this, and it would be really cool to kind of see a collab between y'all, even if that were just over a video call, exploring this aspect.

I plan on buying an automatic bean to cup delonghi machine this Black Friday so this is useful

Mind blown. Can you recommend a coffee maker for someone going from instant coffees to beans. Embarrassed to say I'm confused. Love your content and style

This is the best video of all time

I literally just got my espresso machine this week! Thanks so much for this! 🤓☕

do i own an espresso machine? no do i ever plan on getting one? no do i even drink coffee on a regular basis? no did i watch this entire video regardless? absolutely lmao

loving the new setup! it’s just as cozy as the one before☺️ your channel is pure anxiety relief 🙌

Thanks for this video. You have a tendency of sharing your insights in a way that we can all follow through.

Your knowledge is incredible and the way you talk your way through everything is so useful. I appreciate the work you put into the video. Consider me subscribed and video liked. Thanks!

Ooh! A bar towel opinion video would be fun!

@morgandrinkscoffee I’m so grateful for this video and all your patience as you share your knowledge. I’m researching the espresso making community and was feeling sooo overwhelmed to the point I was going to give up on the idea of an in home espresso machine …then I saw this video and I’m feeling more confident! Thank you 😊

That kitchen is absolutely gorgeous.

We love morgan. She helps us for our coffee problems.

I hardly ever drink “pure” espresso, but mostly drink some sort of latte drink. When perfecting the espresso, would you recommend to make it based on how I like the espresso itself or how I like it in my “go to latte drink”? My initial reaction would be to minimise the amount of variables and thus try to make the perfect espresso. However, it could be possible that I like the espresso itself but don’t like it in my latte drink. Side question: do you have different espresso shots for different drinks or do you use the same espresso for everything?

I've just started my espresso journey. I'm knocking pucks into a glass in my sink by tapping the portafilter upside down on the sink edge and the puck lands in the cup. Not very sophisticated but it's free and easy. I'll get something better eventually.

That was amazing ! Thank you

GREAT VIDEO... Not that I expected anything less but thank you so much for this thorough explanation. Been watching you for a long time and just was thinking about getting an espresso machine so this helped a lot.

Great overview! 👏🏻 I've been making espresso for little over half a year, and I've been learning a lot in that time from getting lots of different perspectives. I'm curious to know more about why you dial in by changing dose. This is different from what I've heard from most other places that start by changing grind size and then potentially change the dose.

Great explanation! that little brushy tool is called a grouphead brush :) About coffee, your caveat about freshness is true, however in 99% of the cases the roast date isn't on the package (at least in Europe) when it's from the supermarket, but the best by date is there, which depending on the brand can be 1 to 2 years after roasting, usually 1 year, so that can be used to calculate roast date. How do you dial-in pre-ground coffee? I mean dose and contact time can do something, but it seems like you will waste a LOT of coffee.

New kitchen is gorgeous!

RINZA LIQUID and food-safe citric acid powder also work wonders, as well as a small ultrasonic clear that gets all the bits out of the shower head, it might be worth covering some of the generics of the shower head cleaning for the e61 brew group...

Hi Morgan, thank you for such a comprehensive demonstration, we haven’t got an espresso maker yet but we’re working on it. I’ve saved your video for when we do 😊 Love love love all your videos! Thanks again ☕️💜

I greatly appreciate your videos! They have been extremely helpful since I got my machine last month.

I absolutely love your precision!

Shout out for loving towels. I’m with you on the trifold method. 👍🏻

"And this is what I'd do with my $1,500.00 Espresso machine... IF I HAD ONE!!"

Absolutely amazing video!! Thank you so much for doing this. I'm on the market for buying an espresso machine sometime soon, so this really was simple, educational and clear. Exactly what I needed!

Just the video I needed

Excellent video Morgan.I realize there are many videos about purchasing different types of espresso machines but would you please add to the mix? I would love to hear your thoughts on the differing makes and models. Thanks so much

Great skils , high knowledge, lots of details and a really nice person Highly appreciated ❤️ thank you

Perfect timing, i just upgraded my espresso machine.

"If you can't commit murder with it, it's not a good tamp" - Wrongly parraphrased Morgan

I know I have experience as a barista, but I just knoooow I'll learn a lot from this.

Thank you for the informative video, and best of wishes for 2023. One small request: for the rabbit hole it would be nice to see the videos labeled.

the towel part.....was just a lil much haha. other than that, what a fantastic help!

I don't use the mat (rounded edges on the kitchen counters, I put my portafilter on a espresso machine-dedicated towel, no scrating!) or the knock box. I use an 'upcycled' 1 lb yogourt tub that I place in the sink when I need it (and put away from sight between uses) and I tape the portafilter against the stainless steel edge of the sink. One tap, the puck is in the tub, I leave it to dry 24 hours in there (to avoid unnecessary mold), then I dump it in the compost bin with the rest of the food waste.

Best Moment - When you did a circular pour-over motion for adding water to the cleaning solution! ^_^

اللّہم فَي ليلة الجمعٍة .. !إجعٍل لنا نصيبا " من الرحمة ۆالمغفَرة ۆالسعٍادِة " .. ياا رب ♥

loved this morgan and i missed your video notifications :)

Trifold team!! Yeahh!

Morgan, you're a lifesaver! What a great overview video, thank you! :D

New Morgan video as soon as I open youtube? Its a good day 👊🏻

I love your TikToks so when I saw your face behind this tutorial I was PUMPED.

Such a helpful video! It would be really nice to see how you descale and back-flush the Rancilio. I haven’t seen anyone come out with a video that step-by-step shows that process for the Silvia Pro.

Loved this video. (And the music choice was on point)

5:12 just the idea of touching a microfiber cloth makes my sensory issues go insane

New channel idea, Morgan Folds Towels!!!!!

When in the future i get to the point of buying an espresso machine, i know where to come back to, thank you 🥰

first time watching this chanal, first impressions: love the slide

watching this while drinking coffee I'm 100% alert 😂

“The tamping mat sits just like that on your kitchen counter.” - Poem by Morgan Eckroth

Wow Morgan ! Great video. You gave me an idea that I have not considered in dialing in . That would be changing the dose , Generally speaking I usually do not change the dose. I actually adjust the grind size. I also use a Niche Zero Grinder, so I do not have to worry so much about wasting beans, or even weighing the extraction. Why? Because the grinder retains no grounds - what goes in comes out. I usually have a set recipe that I will vary according to the beans I am pulling shots from. ( I will add that I mostly drink single origin rather than a blended coffee so that plays into my approach) - I will try your suggestion on changing the dose next time I am trying to dial in a high altitude bean like a Bolivian coffee.

I committed the sin of buying a bean to cup machine with a milk frothier because I don’t want to make a mess of coffee grounds and splashes. And well, it’s good enough. The extraction isn’t perfect, it’s satisfactory. And it’s pretty economical if you get the Beko model.

I’ve never cleaned my machine and I’ve had it for… well I’m not going to admit that to you Morgan 😅

Great stuff. I've most of these things, bar the knock box for my espresso/flat white setup. However, I've found that a cheap jug ($5 from Kmart) is vastly better than the pricy one that I bought with my machine.....

So much towel talk 🤣I love the passion Morgan! That's me but with new syrups and sauces lol

You: _making camera comparison_ Yep that one makes sense, you can have a camera worth $100 to $1000 and a lens worth double that if not more. Personally I don't have either, but I'm looking into getting one. Used one in high school and want to get back into photography with more than just my phone.

We need a video on the pitchers that you prefer. I’ve made my list of all the things that you have mentioned. Tell us some pitchers you really like

I love your kitchen!

i dont own an espresso machine but i still had fun watching the video

hair is on point as always 🙌