Dark energy is a key unsolved problem. An enormous number of theories try to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe, ranging from the simplicity of a cosmological constant to the inclusion of new gravitational fields that affect space-time dynamics. We need clever methods to test the landscape of theories to make the most of next-generation experiments. I will present a novel framework to study dark energy and apply it to general quintessence models, reducing their functional freedom. Expanding the dark energy density as a truncated polynomial series, we are able to reproduce the observables with less than 1% error, with just 2 parameters. This economic yet precise description will allow dark energy to be constrained with next generation instruments in a general and efficient way.