How Many Grams of Coffee for a Double Shot?

Buying Guides · Espresso Technique

How Many Grams of Coffee for a Double Shot?

By Mik Di Pacci, Founder & CEO, Di Pacci Coffee Company · Updated September 2026

A double shot of espresso is usually pulled from 14–18g of ground coffee, producing roughly 28–36g of liquid espresso in the cup — a brew ratio of about 1:2. That's the standard starting point, but the right dose for you depends on your basket, your bean, and what you're trying to taste. This guide covers where those numbers come from, why they shift, and how to dial in a dose that actually suits your setup.

1. What's a "double shot," really?

A double shot (sometimes called a "doppio") just means two shots' worth of ground coffee pulled through a double-basket portafilter at once, rather than pulling two single shots separately. It's the default basket size on most home and commercial machines, which is why "double shot" dosing is the number most people actually need day to day.

The dose is described two ways — the weight of ground coffee going in, and the weight of liquid espresso coming out. Both matter. Dose without yield tells you how much coffee you used, but not how concentrated or diluted the shot ended up — which is really what determines how it tastes.

2. The standard dose: 14–18g in, 28–36g out

Most double-basket portafilters are designed around a dose somewhere between 14g and 18g of ground coffee. From there, a standard "normale" shot targets a 1:2 ratio — so an 18g dose aims for roughly 36g of espresso in the cup, brewed in around 25–30 seconds.

That range also reflects two overlapping eras rather than one fixed rule. Traditional Italian espresso was built around a 14g double — the original doppio. Modern double-basket portafilters have since grown to 16–18g as the standard fit, and many specialty coffee shops now push further still, often dosing 18–20g (sometimes more) for lighter, more complex roasts that reward a heavier dose for clarity and sweetness. Neither figure is "wrong" — a 14g dose in a basket designed for 18g will leave excess headspace and can extract unevenly, so the number that matters most is whatever your specific basket is stamped or rated for.

3. Why your dose will vary

The 14–18g range is a starting point, not a rule — a few things will shift where you land within it:

• Your basket size. Baskets are stamped or listed by the manufacturer for a reason — a basket designed for 18g will channel and overflow if you underfill it significantly, and one designed for 14g will compact too densely if you overfill it.
• The bean and roast. Lighter roasts are denser and often need a touch more dose or a finer grind to extract fully; darker roasts are more porous and extract faster.
• What you're chasing in the cup. A ristretto-style shot uses less yield for the same dose to concentrate sweetness; a lungo uses more yield to stretch the shot and pull through more bitterness and body.
• Freshness. Freshly roasted beans release more CO2 during the shot, which affects flow rate — you may need to adjust dose or grind slightly as a bag ages.

4. Dialling in: dose, grind, and time together

Dose doesn't work in isolation — it's one of three variables (alongside grind size and shot time) that all move together. Change one and the others usually need adjusting too:

1. Pick a dose for your basket (start at the middle of your basket's rated range) and weigh it in with a scale.
2. Pull the shot and weigh the yield as it comes out, timing it from when the pump engages.
3. Check against your target ratio. If the shot runs too fast and the yield overshoots before 25 seconds, your grind is too coarse — go finer. If it runs slow and stalls before reaching yield, go coarser.
4. Repeat until dose, yield, and time land together — that's a "dialled in" shot for that bean.

This is exactly why weighing both dose and yield matters more than watching the clock alone — two shots that both take 28 seconds can taste completely different if one used 16g and the other 18g.

5. Tools that make dosing accurate

6. Common dosing mistakes

• Measuring by volume, not weight. A scoop of coffee varies in weight depending on roast, grind size, and how it settles — weight is the only measurement that's actually consistent.
• Ignoring the basket's rated range. Under-filling an 18g basket leaves room for water to channel around the puck instead of through it.
• Only timing the shot, never weighing the yield. Two shots can run the same number of seconds and still come out at very different weights if flow rate differs.
• Changing dose and grind at the same time. Adjust one variable, taste, then adjust the next — changing both together makes it hard to tell what actually fixed (or broke) the shot.

Frequently asked questions