Dialing In Espresso
Move beyond rigid recipes to diagnose extraction issues by taste and flow. Learn how puck mechanics, grind dynamics, and pressure craft the perfect shot.
Like Duolingo, but for Dialing In Espresso. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Diagnosing and Controlling Taste and Flow, Grind, and Machine Dynamics. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Dialing In Espresso
- The standard 1:2 in 30 seconds is a diagnostic baseline to evaluate a new bean
- Light roasts resist extraction and need more water to tame sharp, vegetal acidity
- Porous dark roasts dissolve quickly and need lower yields to cut off harsh ash
- Yield moves the sour-bitter balance far more reliably than adjusting grind size
- Pushing more liquid water through the puck extracts more sweet and bitter compounds
- Changing grind size introduces secondary variables like flow rate and puck resistance
- A salami shot catches the stream in successive cups to taste stages of extraction
- Fast-dissolving fruit acids and concentrated salts extract in the opening seconds
- Viscous complex sugars extract in the middle phase to balance initial sharpness
- Heavy plant fibers and astringent bitter compounds emerge late in the flow
- Strength is the concentration of dissolved coffee solids in the finished liquid cup
- Extraction yield is the total percentage of the dry coffee grounds pulled into water
- Water funnels through localized paths of least resistance during channeling
- Bypassed, dry grounds leave sharp sour under-extracted acids in the cup
- High-velocity water in narrow channels over-extracts harsh, bitter compounds
- Espresso grounds hit mechanical maximum compression at roughly 15 to 20 pounds
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Dialing In Espresso the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Why do dense light roasts typically benefit from a longer liquid yield, such as 1:2.5 or 1:3?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
How to learn Dialing In Espresso, step by step
Go in order. 11 short levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Diagnosing and Controlling Taste
- Yield as Your Primary Flavor Dial
- Puck Integrity and Channeling
- 2
Flow, Grind, and Machine Dynamics
- Grind Geometry and Flow Resistance
- Pressure, Flow Profiles, and Roast Density
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Dialing In Espresso
How do I learn Dialing In Espresso?
Go in order: start with Diagnosing and Controlling Taste, then Flow, Grind, and Machine Dynamics. On Tomo that's 11 short levels, about 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Dialing In Espresso?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Dialing In Espresso is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Dialing In Espresso course free?
Yes. Dialing In Espresso is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Dialing In Espresso?
11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Dialing In Espresso?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Dialing In Espresso is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Dialing In Espresso today.
Download Tomo, search Dialing In Espresso, and play your first lesson in under a minute.