Home Coffee Glossary: 23 Terms Explained
The words that show up in home coffee specs, reviews and how-to guides, explained without jargon. Open any term for the full explanation and what to look for when buying.
- Bloom
- The initial pour in pour-over brewing that wets the grounds and releases trapped gas before the main pour begins.
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- Brew ratio
- The ratio of coffee to water by weight, such as 1:16, that determines how strong or weak your brew tastes.
- Read more about brew ratioRelated: Best Coffee Scales
- Burr grinder
- A grinder that crushes beans between two spinning burrs for a consistent grind, instead of chopping them like a blade grinder.
- Read more about burr grinderRelated: Best Burr Coffee Grinders
- Channeling
- Uneven water flow through the espresso puck that finds weak spots, causing a shot that tastes sour and bitter at once.
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- Crema
- The reddish brown foam layer on top of a fresh espresso shot, formed from oils and gas released during brewing.
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- Descaling
- Removing mineral scale buildup from an espresso machine's internal water path, needed more often with harder tap water.
- Read more about descalingRelated: Best Descaling Solutions
- Dose
- The weight of dry ground coffee used for a single espresso shot, usually measured on a scale to the tenth of a gram.
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- Espresso shot
- A small, concentrated coffee brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee under high pressure, typically around 1:2.
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- Extraction
- How much soluble flavor water pulls from coffee grounds during brewing, with too little or too much both hurting taste.
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- Gooseneck kettle
- A kettle with a thin, curved spout designed for slow, precise pouring, mainly used in pour-over coffee brewing.
- Read more about gooseneck kettleRelated: Best Electric Gooseneck Kettles
- Grind size
- How fine or coarse coffee grounds are ground, which changes brew time and how much flavor the water pulls out.
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- Microfoam
- Steamed milk textured into tiny, uniform bubbles with a smooth, glossy sheen, used for latte art and silky drinks.
- Read more about microfoamRelated: Best Milk Frothing Pitchers
- Naked portafilter
- A portafilter with the spouts removed so the espresso stream is visible directly from the basket as it brews.
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- Portafilter
- The handled metal basket that holds ground coffee and locks into an espresso machine's group head during brewing.
- Read more about portafilterRelated: Best Bottomless Portafilters
- Pre-infusion
- A gentle, low pressure soak of the coffee puck before full brewing pressure is applied, used to reduce channeling.
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- Puck prep
- The steps taken before tamping, like distributing and stirring grounds, to build an even coffee bed and prevent channeling.
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- Ristretto and lungo
- Ristretto is a short, concentrated espresso shot; lungo is a longer, more diluted one pulled from the same dose.
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- Roast date
- The date beans were roasted, which matters more for freshness than a printed best-by date on the bag.
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- Single dosing
- Weighing out and grinding only the coffee for one brew at a time instead of keeping beans in the grinder's hopper.
- Read more about single dosingRelated: Best Single Dose Grinders
- Tamping
- Pressing ground coffee into a firm, level bed inside the portafilter so water flows through it evenly.
- Read more about tampingRelated: Best Espresso Tampers
- Water hardness
- How much dissolved mineral content, mainly calcium and magnesium, is in your water, affecting both taste and scale buildup.
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- WDT
- Weiss Distribution Technique: stirring espresso grounds with fine needles before tamping to break up clumps and reduce channeling.
- Read more about wdtRelated: Best WDT Tools
- Yield
- The weight of liquid espresso that comes out of the portafilter, the second number used alongside dose to define a shot.
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