Updated October 2026 · yield = dose × ratio
Yield means the weight of coffee made. It comes straight from your dose and your ratio, and across the 121 recipes in the Coffee Recipe Series it runs from 25 g for the darkest roasts to about 56 g for the lightest.
Yield = dose × ratio. A 20 g dose at 1:2.5 gives 50 g. Weigh the shot on a scale under your cup and stop at the target. If you change the dose, keep the ratio and scale the yield with it.
How to use it
Put your scales under your cup, tare, and stop the shot when it reaches the target yield on your recipe. For example, if your dose is 20 g and your ratio is 1:2.5, your yield should be 50 g.
20 g × 2.5 = 50 g
Weigh rather than guess by volume: crema makes a shot look bigger than it is, and the scale doesn't lie.
Across the series
As density rises across the series, the dose falls from 25 g to 14 g while the ratio rises from 1:1 to 1:4. Multiply them and the yield climbs from 25 g to about 56 g, so lighter roasts make a bigger shot from a smaller dose.
25 g dose × 1:1 at 0.330 g/ml, the darkest roasts (Recipe 1)
20 g dose at 1:2.5, 0.390 g/ml, the middle of the series (Recipe 61)
14 g dose × 1:4 at 0.450 g/ml, the lightest roasts (Recipe 121)
Your recipe gives the exact yield for your density. Measure your beans and the coffee density calculator works it out for you.
Find your yieldChanging the dose
The important thing to keep constant is the ratio. If you need to lower the dose, for example because you can't fit 20 g in your basket, scale the yield with it.
18 g × 2.5 = 45 g. Same ratio, so the coffee tastes the same.
A smaller yield may also suit a smaller cup; see the cup size calculator. To match the basket to the dose in the first place, read how to choose an espresso basket.
FAQ
The weight of espresso in your cup, in grams. It doesn't include any bypass water or milk; those are added after the shot.
By weight. Stop the shot once you have reached your target yield; the extraction time is meaningless on its own.
Light roasts need a high ratio to extract properly. Even with a smaller dose, a 1:4 ratio makes a bigger shot than a dark roast at 1:1.
Keep the ratio and work out the yield from your own dose: yield = dose × ratio. The coffee will taste the same.
Keep reading
Find your starting recipe, then dig deeper into what drives extraction.
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