Temps for Beginners

If you're  new to espresso and/or craft coffee, temperatures can be daunting. Just start with darker roasts. They're more forgiving, require no preheating, and you can get great results right away.

When you're ready to experiment with different roast levels, check out our Preheating Cheat Sheet down below.

Our Methods

We performed extensive SCACE testing with rigorous controls to give you the ultimate guide for dialing in your temperatures. The curves in the quick reference guide go to 22s because that is how long it takes to make a double shot. However temperatures remain favorable all the way out to 30 seconds or more (see charts and data below).

Each cycle referred to in this guide consist of a quick rinse with boiling water: see here.

Preheating Cheat Sheet

0

Dark Roasts

(Italian, French, Oily / Dark Roasts)

Routine: 0 Cycles (~0s of preheat time)

Temps: 194.2°F peak / 186.9°F @ 22s

Goal: Gentle thermal decline helps soften roast bitterness and emphasize chocolate sweetness

Leverhead Dark Roast SCACE Curve
1

Medium-Dark Roasts

(Balanced Specialty Blends & Single Origins)

Routine: 1 Cycle (~10s of preheat time)

Temps: 198.2°F peak / 193.6°F @ 22s

Goal: Bring out rounded chocolate notes, rich sweetness, and a balanced finish

Leverhead Medium Roast SCACE Curve
2

Medium Roasts

(Washed & Natural Single Origins)

Routine: 2 Cycles (~15s of preheat time)

Temps: 200°F peak / 195.5°F @ 22s

Goal: Balance chocolate sweetness with emerging fruit character

Leverhead Medium-Light Roast SCACE Curve
3

Light Roasts

(Dense Light Single Origins)

Routine: 3 Cycles (~23s of preheat time)

Temps: 202.0°F peak / 197.6°F @ 22s

Goal: Higher thermal energy & low thermal drift support sweetness, fruit clarity, and lively acidity

Leverhead True Light Roast SCACE Curve
4

Ultra Light Roasts

(Ultra-Dense / Nordic)

Routine: 3 Holds & 1 Cycle (~45s of preheat time)

Special Note: A "hold" is just like a cycle, except instead of only holding for 1s, hold it for about 5-6s

Temps: 202.8°F peak / 200.8°F active avg

Goal: Maximimized thermal energy supports extraction of delicate floral notes, bright acidity, and nuanced sweetness

Leverhead Nordic Light Roast SCACE Curve
Data from our Trials

We rigorously controlled the environment and testing equipment, including the 58mm SCACE, to ensure all trials were done with the machine being in a true "cold start" state at around 71°F/21.7°C.

At 9 bar, a SCACE produces about 49g of output (a "double shot") at about 22s of active pressing. It produces about 60g of output (a 3:1 "long shot") at around 30s of active pressing. On this machine, by 35 seconds, the water is usually running out (if you fill the tube completely, you might get 70g out), so temperatures tend to drop suddenly (as the temperature probe is exposed to only air at that point).

We performed 3 trials for every protocol, while maintaining our strict controls for equipment starting temps.

Average Curves for all 5 Protocols
Trials for 0 Preheat Cycles
Trials for 1 Preheat Cycle
Trials for 2 Preheat Cycles
Trials for 3 Preheat Cycles
Trials for 4 Preheat Cycles (Custom Ultra-Light Protocol)
Back to Back Shots

If you perform rapid back-to-back shots with only 1–2 minutes of rest in between shots, by the 3rd shot, you will start moving up one heat bracket.

  • So, for any recipe, by the 3rd shot, do 1 less preheat cycle.
  • For example, if your recipe calls for 3 preheat cycles (Light Roasts), by the 3rd shot and beyond, you can do only 2 preheat cycles.
  • If your recipe calls for 1 preheat cycle, by the 3rd shot, do 0.
  • The chart below shows three back-to-back shots, with one preheat cycle before each shot. As you can see, by the 3rd shot, we've moved up a full click.

The machine is designed to cool down quickly. These exceptions are only for when you are doing lots of shots very rapidly.

Otherwise, you can just follow the standard guide.

Back-to-Back Shots, 3 in a Row. 1X Preheat Each Cycle

Leverhead 1x preheat back-to-back shots temperature chart
Room Temp Variance

Because boiling water carries over 80% of the system's thermal mass, seasonal kitchen temperatures do not disrupt shot stability.

Dark Roasts Caveat: In very hot environments, the 0 preheat protocol (for Dark Roasts) will be about 1.5–2°F higher for every 10°F increase in ambient air temperature. In short:

  • If your room is 80°F, turn your kettle down to 210°F.
  • If your room is 90°F, turn your kettle down to 208°F.
  • If your room is 100°F, turn on the AC! (Or turn your kettle down to 206°F.)

Preheated Shots (1x–4x Flushes): A 10°F swing in room temperature alters final puck temperature by less than 0.5°F. So hotter rooms should have a negligible impact on your preheating results.

Learn more below

Strategic Thermal Decoupling

Traditional manual levers suffer from a basic physics problem: heavy metal brew cylinders act as thermal sinks, stealing heat from brew water and bleeding it into the frame.

This is because most machines are built around the E61 technology. Leverhead is different. We designed brand new seals that allow us to decouple the water path from the chassis. So on our machine, there is no "group head".

The Leverhead 58/49 eliminates this loss through applied material science and strategic thermal decoupling. By thermally isolating the brew chamber from the structural frame, heat energy has nowhere to bleed except into the coffee puck itself.

These sound foundational physics provide the thermodynamic efficiency that allows for a more forgiving workflow, fast heat up times, and good shot stability. Taking an extra 10 to 15 seconds during shot prep results in a negligible temperature drop (less than 1°F), while the thermal decay slope across a 30-second extraction remains tight, shallow, and predictable.

Roast-Specific Thermal Profiles

Instead of relying on electrical PIDs or external boiling rituals, precise water temperatures are set using rapid, high-energy preheat cycles that saturate the low-mass brew head.