Mastering the Cafelat Robot: A guide to dialing in new coffee beans

There’s a special kind of excitement that comes with opening a new bag of specialty coffee beans. The aroma fills the air, and you imagine the delicious espresso you’re about to create. But with a fully manual machine like the Cafelat Robot, this excitement can quickly turn to frustration if your first shots are gushing, sour messes or choked, bitter drops. This is where the art of “dialing in” comes in. The Robot gives you unparalleled control over every aspect of the extraction process. This article will guide you through a systematic approach to tame any new coffee, transforming guesswork into a reliable method for pulling consistently amazing shots. We’ll explore the core variables, establish a solid starting point, and learn how to adjust based on taste.

Understanding the core variables

Before you pull a single shot, it’s crucial to understand the tools you have at your disposal. Unlike a semi-automatic machine, with the Cafelat Robot, you are the pump, the boiler, and the brain. The primary variables you control are dose, grind size, water temperature, and pressure.

• Dose: This is simply the weight of your dry coffee grounds in the basket. A larger dose will require a coarser grind to maintain the same shot time and will result in a fuller-bodied, more intense shot. A smaller dose will be less concentrated. For the Robot, a typical starting dose is between 16 and 18 grams. Consistency here is key, so always use a scale accurate to 0.1 grams.
• Grind size: This is your main tool for controlling the speed of your extraction. The rule is simple: a finer grind creates more resistance for the water, slowing down the shot. A coarser grind creates less resistance, speeding it up. Your goal is to find the sweet spot where the water flows through the coffee puck at just the right speed to extract the perfect balance of flavors.
• Water temperature: The Robot has no internal heating element, so you control this by preheating the piston and the temperature of the water you add from your kettle. As a general rule, lighter roasts benefit from hotter water (just off boil, around 94-98°C) to extract their delicate, acidic notes. Darker roasts are more soluble and can become bitter, so they often taste better with cooler water (around 88-92°C).
• Pressure profiling: This is the Robot’s superpower. By varying the force you apply to the arms, you can control the pressure throughout the shot. A typical profile involves a gentle, low-pressure pre-infusion to saturate the puck, followed by a ramp-up to a peak pressure (usually 6-9 bars) for the main extraction.

Your starting point: A repeatable recipe

The secret to dialing in without wasting a lot of coffee is to minimize variables. Instead of changing everything at once, we’ll establish a consistent, repeatable baseline recipe. From here, we will only change one thing at a time until we get a tasty result. This brings science to the art of espresso making. For your first shot with a new bag of beans, start with a standard espresso recipe that is easy to replicate.

Here is a great baseline to begin with:

• Dose: 17g
• Grind: Start with a setting on your grinder that you’ve used for a similar coffee. If unsure, aim for something that feels like fine table salt.
• Water temperature: Bring your kettle to a boil, then let it sit for about 30 seconds before pouring. This gives you a consistent temperature around 95°C.
• Yield: 34g (This is a 1:2 ratio, a classic starting point for espresso)
• Pressure profile: Keep it simple. Gently press the arms until you see the first drops of espresso form. Hold this low pressure (around 2 bars) for 10 seconds. This is your pre-infusion. Then, smoothly ramp up to a steady 8 bars of pressure and hold it there until you reach your target yield of 34g in the cup.

Use a scale under your cup to measure the yield accurately and a timer to track the total shot time, starting from the moment you begin to apply pressure. Don’t worry about the taste of this first shot; we are just gathering data.

The process: Taste, diagnose, and adjust

You’ve pulled your first shot using the baseline recipe. Now what? We analyze the result based on two key metrics: time and taste. Your goal is a total shot time (including pre-infusion) of around 25-35 seconds. More importantly, the coffee should taste balanced—not overwhelmingly sour or bitter.

This is where you become a detective. Your primary adjustment will almost always be grind size. By changing only the grind, you can isolate its effect and move methodically toward a better-tasting shot.

Here is a simple table to guide your adjustments:

Pull your second shot with the adjusted grind setting, keeping every other variable identical. Taste it. Is it better? Did you overshoot the mark? If the shot was too fast and you ground finer, but now it’s too slow, you know the perfect setting is somewhere in between. Repeat this process, making small, single adjustments until the espresso tastes balanced and delicious. You’ll find that within 3-4 shots, you can usually get very close to a fantastic recipe.

Refining your shot with advanced techniques

Once you have a balanced shot with a good flow rate, you can move beyond grind size to further refine the taste. Now is the time to play with the Robot’s other variables to bring out the best in your specific coffee beans. If your espresso is balanced but you feel something is missing, try adjusting your ratio. Pushing the ratio to 1:2.5 (e.g., 17g in, 42.5g out) can increase sweetness and clarity, which is excellent for fruity, light-roast coffees. A tighter ratio like a 1:1.5 ristretto will produce a syrupy, intense shot, often suiting chocolatey, darker roasts.

Next, consider experimenting with pressure. Instead of holding a steady 8 bars, try a declining profile. Ramp up to 9 bars and then let the pressure gradually fall to around 6 bars by the end of the shot. This can soften the finish and reduce bitterness. For very light, dense roasts, a longer and gentler pre-infusion (15-20 seconds at 2 bars) can help fully saturate the puck, preventing channeling and leading to a more even and flavourful extraction. These small tweaks are what elevate a good shot to a truly exceptional one.

Conclusion

Dialing in a new coffee on the Cafelat Robot is a journey of discovery, not a destination. It’s a rewarding process that connects you directly to your coffee. By following a structured approach, you can eliminate frustration and wasted beans. The key is to start with a consistent baseline recipe, using a scale for precision with your dose and yield. Use shot time and, most importantly, taste as your guides to make adjustments. Your primary tool for change will be the grind size—adjust it to fix shots that are too fast (sour) or too slow (bitter). Once balanced, you can then refine the flavor further by tweaking your brew ratio, water temperature, or pressure profile. The Robot offers limitless control, and by mastering this dialing-in process, you empower yourself to unlock the full potential of every coffee you bring home.