Clean & Dry, Before you start make sure your porta-filter is clean, dry and hot. Starting with a hot porter filter and group is vital in ensuring all the best flavours and acids extracted correctly.

Grind & Dose. The dose is referred to "as the coffee amount ground into your porter filter". Dosing the correct amount is important! Too much and you will have slow flow, Too little and the flow will be too fast. A general guide is 18 -  21 grams depending on the size of your porter filter.

Level & Tamp. Tamping flat and with the right weight is vital. The correct procedure is for your arm to be perpendicular to the surface or bench and you're aiming to ensure the pressure is direct into the porta-filter. You want to press around 12-13.5 kilograms of pressure into the port-filter. If you have followed step 1 and dosed correctly the coffee will tamp until it stops where you will see the ring on the insert in your porta-filter.

Flush. Before you extract your shot it's good practice to flush the group head to clear out any built up steam or pressure. If you have had a busy run and are making back to back shots its not too nessecary. The stream builds due to evaporation and heat over time. It usually builds after 3-5 minutes of no water flow.

Extract. Once tamped you should insert the porter filter into the group immediately and begin extraction right away. Leaving the coffee in the handle and group for too long will cause it to burn the coffee. Once you begin extraction you should see Coffee flow within a few seconds (3-5 seconds). The standard of espresso extraction in australia is generally 30ml including the crema. 

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