To shake or not to shake? That is the question.

Knluk

LMSC I do find the “beauty” of wdt. I used a diy unqualified one. After wdt, the puck looks very nice and fluffy. I have ordered some proper 0.35mm nozzle cleaning needle to try whether wdt is for me. Hope it improves my game.

Ernie1

Knluk

I’m lucky now the new Mazzer burrs are seasoned there very rarely seems to be clumps. I should note that for espresso I tend to rotate only a handful of med/dark roasts I enjoy and know very well.

If anything looks a bit clumpy I’ll tap the portafilter gently on the surface. Also the surface clumps are so fragile that tamping makes light work of flattening them.

There might be clumps further down the basket that aren’t properly distributed by tamping but as above, using a spouted PF tends to mask any issues. I’ll only make adjustments if I get a sudden increase in flow mid-shot or uneven flow from the spouts.

I’ll try and get a video of the whole process this week once it’s cool enough to not have the blinds closed all day!

MWJB

tompoland Pics uploaded. The first is a pic showing the grinds sitting happily in the tumbler after dropping in from the grinder chute (EG-1) and the second shows the same grinds after shaking.

What’s been your experience of shaking? Better, worse or really could not give a rats?

If you have no clumps when the grinds are fresh out of the grinder, why are you needing to de-clump with shaking?

tompoland

MWJB good question. Clumps are an issue because they are an area of higher density grinds as opposed to “fluffy” piles (I hope my technical terms are not confusing you too much), But to continue on the scientific vein, there are “fluffy” piles and then there are “fluffy” piles. In other words, it’s about trying to ensure that the density of the grinds are even across the width of the basket.

So whilst with most of my grinders, there are not normally any clumps present, there will be uneven density across the basket until I have WDTed the grinds.

That’s the purpose of WDT … or the Weiss “Distribution” Technique: to distribute the grinds evenly across the basket.

Dusk

tompoland

I wonder if you poured one of each method onto a light surface (piece of A4 paper perhaps) to see if there were any clumps left. I can see what you mean about the shaking looking like it clumps but the bottom of the non-shaken coffee will have compressed slightly under its own weight at the bottom, you just won’t be able to see it.

tompoland

Dusk that’s an idea I hadn’t thought of thanks. The final test though is always what happens when the water hits the puck and that in turn highlights the importance of using a bottomless portafilter so that you can visually confirm that the water is seeping out of the underside of the basket uniformly and right across the basket simultaneously. If that’s happening 9 time out of 10, then your WDT is working.

Dusk

DavecUK I even find WDT devises (stirrers) introduce clumps, if there were non before….often I believe the best thing to do is leave the coffee alone

I think this will very much depend on your own setup, I would suggest you probably have a very good non clumping grinder!

-Mac

I get rid if clumps by shaking (well, more fine sprinkling really) into the PF. It stopped a lot of channelling issues for me.

Cuprajake

No shake for me, I just tip right in.

I’m looking at post pf dosing next.

tompoland

DavecUK I even find WDT devises (stirrers) introduce clumps, if there were non before….often I believe the best thing to do is leave the coffee alone…just get it into the portafilter with as little disturbance as possible. I may put a video up showing what I have observed many times now.

I agree. The problem is I don’t know when to leave it alone … at least not until I see an uneven pour out of the bottom of the basket.

I have noticed though that vigorous WDT can create clumps in a similar way to shaking the grinds in a tumbler. So I WDT slower and smoother than I used to. As my wife often reminds me, “it’s not always about how fast you finish a thing Tom.”

-Mac

Surely can’t be long until someone invents a device that can ‘3D print’ coffee into a puck in a PF, one particle at a time, at the optimum spacing.

DavecUK

-Mac I await Weber’s next invention…..

tompoland

-Mac if it’s anything like my 3D printer I would have to start it filling the basket the night before I wanted an espresso 🤔