Riptide is our house espresso blend, designed to be easy to extract and, most importantly, easy to enjoy. We’ve been roasting a version of this blend since we first kicked things off as Industry One back in 2010, when it was known simply as the Indy Blend. While it has naturally evolved and been continuously fine-tuned over the years, the idea behind it has remained much the same: a rich, complex, but approachable espresso, roasted to cut through milk-based beverages, while still tasting great on its own.

The blend brings together three components: a natural Brazil, semi-washed Timor-Leste and natural Ethiopia. Together, they elicit tasting notes of dark chocolate, malt, and berry jam.

At our Portsmith Espresso Bar, Riptide is our go-to blend for milk-based coffees (you’ll find it on the bar 90% of the time!), but it also works beautifully as an espresso. On its own, expect a round sweetness with a bright, berry jam-like acidity. Add milk, and its dark chocolate character and body come to the fore.

One of the things we like most about Riptide is how forgiving it is. Like all of our core milk blends, we have designed and roasted it to perform well across a wide range of equipment, meaning it can deliver the same great tasting results on an entry-level home espresso machine as those on our La Marzocco Linea PBX.

If Riptide is your go-to at home and you want to get a little closer to the espresso we serve at the roastery, this recipe is a great place to start.

We’ve dialled in this recipe using a Breville Barista Pro espresso machine, so think of it as a foundation rather than a hard-and-fast rule. Every machine and grinder will behave a little differently, and you may find that a few small tweaks to suit your equipment and personal taste make it even better.

We use a relatively short brew ratio because Riptide is primarily designed for milk-based drinks. Keeping the yield tight gives us a great balance of sweetness, body and texture, while allowing Riptide’s darker chocolate character to hold its own once milk is added.

Note: To follow this recipe, you’ll need a set of coffee scales that can measure accurately to at least 0.1g. Scales will be used to weigh both your dose and yield. If you’re looking to improve your espresso at home, a good set of scales is one of the most important pieces of equipment you can invest in.

A Step-by-Step Brew Guide

1. Heat everything up

Before worrying about grind size, make sure your machine is properly heated.

We run a few ‘blank’ shots (hot water) to bring the group head and portafilter up to temperature. This is particularly important with home espresso machines, where a cold portafilter can absorb a surprising amount of heat from the brewing water.

A cold brewing setup can lower your extraction temperature and contribute to under-extracted espresso, so give everything a chance to get properly hot before you start.

2. Dial in your grinder

Once everything is up to temperature, it’s time to dial in your grind.

Using our recipe as a starting point, we’re aiming for:

16g in → 26g out → in around 24 seconds

Your grind size is the main variable you’ll adjust to get there.

If your espresso reaches 26g too quickly, grind finer to increase the resistance between coffee and water in your portafilter.

If it takes too long to reach 26g, grind coarser.

Make small adjustments and keep your dose and target yield consistent while you dial in. This makes it much easier to understand how each change to your grind is affecting the extraction.

Most importantly, don’t get too caught up in hitting 24 seconds exactly. Time is a useful reference point, not the goal itself. Once you’re in the ballpark, taste your espresso.

3. Use manual pre-infusion

On the Breville Barista Pro, we hold the shot button for around 5 seconds to manually pre-infuse the coffee. We then release the button to begin the extraction, stopping the shot when our scales reach the target yield of 26g.

With home machines, we prefer to control the extraction manually and stop the shot when we reach our target yield, rather than relying on the machine to determine when the shot is finished.

Using a set of scales and stopping the extraction when we reach the target yield gives you much greater control, regardless of the machine you’re using. It also makes your results easier to measure, adjust, and repeat.

Tips for Dialing-In

Start With the Ratio

Before tinkering with other variables, think about the kind of espresso you want in the cup.

Brew ratio has a big impact on the concentration, mouthfeel and overall character of your espresso. A shorter ratio, like our suggested 1:1.6 recipe, will generally give you a more concentrated shot with plenty of body, sweetness and texture. Extending the ratio can open the cup up, reducing the intensity and potentially bringing more of Riptide’s berry-like acidity to the front.

Taste Before You Adjust

The numbers are there to help you get close, but taste should ultimately guide your adjustments.

If your espresso is reaching the target yield in roughly the right amount of time but doesn’t taste quite right, don’t automatically start changing things. Taste it first and think about what you want more or less of.

Too sour or sharp? You may need to make your grind finer.
Too bitter or dry? You may need to make your grind coarser.
Too intense or heavy? Try increasing your yield.
Too thin or lacking body? Try decreasing your yield.

Change one variable at a time, taste again, and take note of what happens. That way, you’ll start to understand not only what tastes better, but why. The recipe gives you a reference point. Your palate is the final judge.

Riptide was designed to be forgiving, so don’t be afraid to experiment. Whether you’re drinking it as espresso or adding milk, there are plenty of ways to enjoy our house blend.

And if you find a recipe you like better than ours, that’s perfectly fine – that’s the magic of coffee!