u/DaveAwe

I’ve recently noticed how much headspace can affect espresso extraction, and I wanted to share my experience.

Using the 18–21g basket on my Lelit Mara X V2, my shots were consistently coming out sour, even when I pushed extraction times up to 45 seconds. There was quite a bit of headspace in this setup. My recipe was 18g in, 40g out, using WDT, tamping, and a puck screen.

Switching to the 14–18g basket reduced the headspace noticeably. With the same recipe, shots started running slower and tasted more bitter. After adjusting the grind slightly coarser, I ended up with much more balanced shots—honestly better than anything I managed with the 18–21g basket.

Curious if others have noticed similar effects from headspace alone.