Espresso Shot Planner

Dialed Shot Plan

{{ formatNumber(target_yield_g, 1) }} g out

1:{{ ratioDisplay }}

{{ profileLabel }} · Dose {{ formatNumber(dose_g, 1) }} g · {{ waterTempDisplay }}

Flow {{ flowRangeLabel }} Pressure {{ pressureBadge }} Preinfuse {{ formatNumber(preinfusion_s, 0) }} s @ {{ formatNumber(preinfusion_pressure_bar, 1) }} bar Grind {{ grind_setting }}

Style preset:

Dose:

Target ratio:

Target yield:

g out:

Shot time target:

sec:

Window: {{ timeRangeLabel }}

Water temp:

Grinder note:

Shot log entry

Dose used:

Yield + time:

g out:

sec:

Flow/pressure note:

Taste note:

Add to log:

Time flex (± sec):

{{ time_window_s }}s

Ratio tolerance (±):

Preinfusion:

sec @: bar:

Peak pressure:

bar:

Finish pressure:

bar:

Finish flow target:

g/s:

Field	Target / Notes	Copy
{{ row.field }}	{{ row.value }} {{ row.hint }}

#	Timestamp	Dose	Yield	Time	Ratio	Notes	Copy
Log a shot to start tracking adjustments.
#{{ entry.seq }}	{{ entry.timestamp }}	{{ entry.doseDisplay }}	{{ entry.yieldDisplay }}	{{ entry.timeDisplay }}	{{ entry.ratioDisplay }} {{ entry.deltaRatio }}	{{ entry.notes }} {{ entry.flowNote }} {{ entry.taste }} {{ entry.adjustment }}

Tags: Coffee , Education

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Espresso is a short extraction with very little room for sloppy measurement. A half gram of dose, a few grams of beverage weight, or a couple of seconds of shot time can shift the cup from syrupy and sweet to thin, sharp, or bitter.

This planner turns those moving parts into a repeatable target. It combines dose, brew ratio, target yield, time window, water temperature, and a simple pressure profile, then gives you a structured shot log so you can compare what you planned with what actually happened in the cup.

The main practical benefit is consistency. If you change beans, baskets, or grinders, you still have one place to state the intended ratio, the acceptable time range, and the pressure shape you want to chase. Logging real pulls on top of that plan makes the next adjustment less guessy because the tool shows how far the shot drifted from target.

The package also covers two different moments in the dialing-in process. Before you pull a shot, it acts like a recipe builder with presets for balanced, syrupy, turbo, lungo, and sweeter competition-style profiles. After you pull one, it becomes a comparison tool that calculates the actual ratio and average flow, writes a short adjustment cue, and plots the shot against your target band.

That structure still does not guarantee flavor. A shot can land inside the planned ratio window and still taste dull or harsh if puck prep, roast development, water chemistry, or machine stability are off.

Treat the numbers as a disciplined tasting aid, not as proof that the espresso is finished.

Taste and repeatability still decide whether the plan is working.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

The best first pass is to start with a preset that matches the cup you want, leave the advanced controls near the preset defaults, and enter the real dry dose you can repeat every day. Once the dose is in place, the planner keeps ratio and target yield tied together, which makes it easier to stay consistent when you change baskets or coffee age.

This tool is a strong fit when you already weigh dose and yield and want a tighter feedback loop than memory can provide. It is less useful if you only watch volumetric buttons or stop the shot by eye, because the planner compares mass, time, and flow math rather than visual cup level.

Use the Style preset to load a sensible ratio and time window, then only change one or two variables at a time.
Record actual shots in the log, even when they miss badly. The trend chart and extraction map only become useful when the misses are visible.
A ratio that lands inside tolerance does not mean the shot is solved if the time and flow are still wrong.
The pressure settings are target notes, not machine telemetry. They help you state intent, but they do not prove the machine hit that exact curve.

Before trusting an adjustment cue, compare the latest shot on the extraction map with your taste note. When the math and the cup disagree, the taste note is usually the better tie-breaker.

Technical Details:

The planner centers on a few linked quantities: dry coffee mass in the basket, beverage mass in the cup, total shot time, and a tolerance band around the target ratio. From those values it derives the actual brew ratio and an average flow rate. That average flow is a whole-shot measure, not an instantaneous stream-speed reading, so it is best used as a compact summary of how open or restricted the shot was overall.

Ratio and target yield stay synchronized. If you change the dose or ratio, the target yield is recalculated. If you directly edit the yield, the ratio is recalculated from dose and beverage weight. The same plan then generates a time window, a flow range implied by that window, a pressure badge for peak and finish pressure, and a table of recipe notes for the chosen preset.

Logging a shot adds a second layer of interpretation. Each log entry stores the actual ratio, the time delta versus target, the average flow, and a suggested next move. The trend chart plots shot ratio versus shot time against the target band, while the Espresso Extraction Map plots ratio delta against average flow so you can tell whether a miss was mostly about over-long yield, slow flow, or both.

The map logic is intentionally simple. Vertical boundaries mark the ratio tolerance, horizontal boundaries mark the expected flow band, and the latest shot is highlighted separately from the historical points. When you have no log entries yet, the map shows a target-profile point instead, which is a planning aid rather than evidence.

Formula Core

The planner calculates ratio first, then derives the acceptable time and flow envelope around that target.

\begin{aligned} R & = & \frac{Y}{D} \\ T_{\min} & = & \max (1, T_{target} - W) \\ T_{\max} & = & T_{target} + W \\ F_{\min} & = & \frac{Y}{T_{\max}} \\ F_{\max} & = & \frac{Y}{T_{\min}} \end{aligned}

Preset values used by the espresso shot planner
Preset	Ratio	Time range	Pressure shape	Finish flow	Water temp
Balanced double	1:2.00	26-32 s	6 s @ 2.5 bar, peak 9.0, finish 6.0	1.6 g/s	93 C
Syrupy ristretto	1:1.80	24-30 s	8 s @ 3.0 bar, peak 9.5, finish 7.0	1.4 g/s	94 C
Turbo shot	1:2.40	18-24 s	4 s @ 2.0 bar, peak 7.5, finish 6.0	2.1 g/s	92 C
Allonge	1:3.00	30-38 s	5 s @ 2.5 bar, peak 8.5, finish 6.0	2.3 g/s	93 C
Competition sweet	1:2.20	25-31 s	7 s @ 2.5 bar, peak 9.0, finish 6.5	1.7 g/s	93 C

Adjustment rules used when a logged shot misses the target
Trigger	What it means in the planner	Adjustment theme shown by the tool
Actual ratio above target + tolerance	More beverage per gram of coffee than planned.	Tighten grind or lower yield to thicken body.
Actual ratio below target - tolerance	Less beverage than planned for the dose.	Loosen grind or raise yield to open sweetness.
Shot time above target + time flex	The extraction ran longer than the acceptable window.	Speed up the shot with better puck prep or a slightly coarser grind.
Shot time below target - time flex	The extraction finished too quickly.	Slow the shot with a finer grind or longer preinfusion.
Average flow above the computed maximum	The shot moved through the puck faster than the plan expects.	Reduce preinfusion pressure or grind finer.
Average flow below the computed minimum	The shot was more resistant than the planned flow band.	Shorten preinfusion or grind coarser.

Because the log uses the current plan as its reference, fair comparisons depend on keeping the same dose, basket, coffee, and target settings long enough to learn something. If you change the ratio, time window, and pressure profile all at once, the trend still records what happened, but it stops being a clean diagnostic sequence.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Use the planner in two passes: set the target first, then log the real shot against it.

Choose a Style preset that matches the cup you want. The preset immediately loads a ratio, time target, pressure plan, finish flow, and water temperature baseline.
Enter the real Dose you expect to use. The planner recalculates Target yield from the dose and ratio, or recalculates Target ratio if you edit the yield directly.
Set the Shot time target and check the summary line for the resulting window. If you work in Fahrenheit, switch the Water temp unit and confirm the dual-unit display still matches what you intend to brew.
Open Advanced if you want to tune Time flex, Ratio tolerance, Preinfusion, Peak pressure, Finish pressure, or Finish flow target. Leave them near the preset defaults if you are still establishing a baseline.
After pulling the shot, fill the Shot log entry values for actual dose, yield, and time, then press Record shot. If the button is disabled, one of those three fields is still zero or empty.
Review the Shot Log, Trend, and Espresso Extraction Map together. The planner will show the latest point, compare it with the target band, and add an adjustment cue you can test on the next pull.

Interpreting Results:

The plan table tells you what you are aiming for. The log, trend chart, and extraction map tell you what actually happened. Read them in that order. If the recipe target was unrealistic for the coffee, the charts will still look tidy, but they will only confirm that you repeated the same weak target.

A shot inside the ratio tolerance and inside the time window is close to plan, but not automatically delicious.
The average flow is beverage mass divided by total shot time. It is useful for comparing pulls, but it is not the same thing as a live flow sensor reading.
The extraction map is easiest to read by quadrants: ratio too high or too low on the horizontal axis, flow too fast or too slow on the vertical axis.
The latest shot marker matters more than the older points when you are making the next adjustment, because the suggestion engine is built from the current plan.

The most common overread is treating an in-range result as final proof. Use the map to narrow the next move, then let taste notes decide whether the move actually improved the shot.

Worked Examples:

The default balanced profile starts at 18 g in, 36 g out, and a 29-second target with 3 seconds of time flex. That creates a working window of 26 to 32 seconds and an average flow band of about 1.13 to 1.38 g/s. If your machine and coffee regularly land near that range with good sweetness, you have a solid baseline for a modern double.

A troubleshooting case shows why the log matters. Suppose the same plan produces a shot at 18 g in, 42 g out, and 24 seconds. The actual ratio is 1:2.33, which sits above the target plus tolerance, and the average flow is 1.75 g/s, which is faster than the balanced plan expects. On the extraction map that shot lands in the long-ratio, fast-flow region, and the tool responds with cues to tighten the grind or lower yield while also controlling flow.

Switching presets changes the whole target shape. Moving from balanced to turbo immediately raises the ratio to 1:2.40, shortens the time range to 18 to 24 seconds, lowers peak pressure, and raises the expected finish flow. That is not a tiny tweak; it is a different extraction style, so compare turbo shots against turbo targets rather than against your older balanced log entries.

FAQ:

Should I set ratio first or target yield first?

Either works. The planner keeps the two linked through dose, so editing one recalculates the other. Choose whichever is more natural for how you usually think about the shot.

Why is Record shot disabled?

The button only enables when the log has a positive dose, yield, and time. Fill those three fields first, then the entry can be added to the log and the charts will update.

What does average flow mean here?

It is the beverage weight divided by total shot time. The number is useful for comparing whether one shot ran more openly than another, but it is not a second-by-second flow profile.

Why can a shot taste wrong even when the planner says it is in range?

Because the planner only checks the variables it measures. Roast level, distribution, channeling, water composition, and temperature stability can still pull the cup away from the target, which is why the taste note belongs next to the numbers.

Glossary:

Dose: The dry coffee mass loaded into the basket.
Yield: The beverage mass collected in the cup.
Brew ratio: Yield divided by dose, shown in the planner as a 1:x relationship.
Time flex: The plus-or-minus allowance around the target shot time.
Ratio tolerance: The acceptable band above or below the target ratio before the planner marks the shot as high or low.
Preinfusion: A lower-pressure wetting stage before the shot reaches peak pressure.
Finish flow: The planned grams-per-second target near the end of the shot.
Extraction map: The chart that places ratio delta on one axis and average flow on the other to classify the latest shot.