**Staccato Shots** - ie 3 layers of sifted grinds (bottom - finer sifter; mid - courser sifted; top - medium sifted). [Staccato Shot](https://towardsdatascience.com/staccato-espresso-is-fundamentally-better-than-regular-espresso-e73e88337127) **Staccato Tamp** - ie half of dose, full pressure tamp, then balance of dose, half pressure tamp. [Staccato Tamping](https://towardsdatascience.com/staccato-tamping-improving-espresso-without-a-sifter-b22de5db28f6) Has anyone tried either? If so: * Taste results? * Better or worse than usual? * Ease/timing of completion? * What did you use to/how did you sift? Staccato shots prep might be unduly time consuming. Don’t think I’ll try this until my shots and consistency get where I want them to be, using my new Lelit Elizabeth and Eureka Mignon. But curious about this anyway.

Staccato Shots or (alternatively) Staccato Tamping?

JHCCoffee

Staccato Shots - ie 3 layers of sifted grinds (bottom - finer sifter; mid - courser sifted; top - medium sifted). Staccato Shot

Staccato Tamp - ie half of dose, full pressure tamp, then balance of dose, half pressure tamp. Staccato Tamping

Has anyone tried either? If so:

Taste results?
Better or worse than usual?
Ease/timing of completion?
What did you use to/how did you sift?

Staccato shots prep might be unduly time consuming.

Don’t think I’ll try this until my shots and consistency get where I want them to be, using my new Lelit Elizabeth and Eureka Mignon.

But curious about this anyway.

CoyoteOldMan

He is taking the pi$$. The premise that grounds at the top spend more time in contact with water than grounds at the bottom is true… but the difference is of the order of 5 seconds, i.e. the time between beginning of a pre-infusion phase and the first drops appearing. This would be further decreased if the grounds were sifted so that the top layer(s) is more porous/coarser.

tompoland

Yeah … nah.

Too much fussing around for what I’m going to guess would be too little gain (if any).

Beyond the basics of good bean, good grinder, good puck prep and good machine, changes tend to produce either a marginally different result or a subtle improvement.

But hey, full marks for tying something new and every now and then someone DOES come up with something that sounds a little whacky, is resisted by the old guard, but is actually a game changer. For example WDT.

JHCCoffee

tompoland

Fully agree! Sieving the grounds to do a Staccato shot sounds very time consuming. And a have a new machine and grinder, so lots of learning curve and many variables to play with before I get bored and have time to try something like this.

Might try the Staccato Tamp, just for the heck of it, as that’s easy to do.

But I was curious as to whether anyone had tried either.

InfamousTuba

It seems interesting but the approach needs to be more data, more grinders and better data collection. A bigger sample size would also be nice. The staccato technique is explained but by comparison his non-staccato shot doesn’t have a scientific method. He uses wdt for the staccato but no mention of it for the standard shot, also using lever machines but without pressure gauges so how reproducible are the shots between the two groups.

The ideas are interesting but I think the testing is lacking a lot of the scientific methods that would make the data more convincing

MWJB

There’s so much wrong with this idea and its execution that it’s hard to know where to start.

Nobody is extracting 1:2 shots to 30%EY

Espresso grind median is usually between 250um and 450um, so sifting & layering the particles over 400um is just messing about with the coarser half of the grind.

The assumptions that the staccato shots have been proven to taste better and scientifically shown to be, so is not known.

Here’s an older experiment:
https://socraticcoffee.com/2016/06/exploring-the-impact-of-particles-on-espresso-extraction/

If you want better coffee, buy better coffee (e.g. coffee you like most) and take proper care when brewing it.

Hotmetal

These things are interesting to read about and discuss. I like to do so over a coffee. One that I make with beans I like on gear I trust. I totally get the desire to push for the best you can, but my faff threshold is pretty low these days, just making coffee for myself and my friends and family. Industry professionals probably want to get into the detail, but even so, workflow needs to be practical. I think if I had invested hundreds in Scace, Acaia, refractometers and sieves, I would have to tell myself all my shots were god shots (confirmation bias, justification) or I would spend so long sipping, umming and ahhing that the coffee would be cold and the enjoyment lost. Unless the enjoyment comes from the faff itself I guess.

DavecUK

Hotmetal Unless the enjoyment comes from the faff itself I guess.

For some I expect it’s true….they take pleasure in the ritual.

Hotmetal

Indeed Dave and its a matter of degree. I too enjoy my own ritual of preparing my drinks with love and care. I don’t want to become a bean 2 cup button pusher. For me though that level of interference, all the sieving and whatnot, is a step too far for the time I have available. Fair play to anyone with the time and inclination, but it’s not ‘necessary’ to get an enjoyable drink and a lot of work for everyday coffee. Imagine if the benefits of making it using all those methods really did make a massive difference, and you felt compelled ever after to eschew all shortcuts and only drink coffee that had been sieved, subject to complicated tamping techniques, refracted and recorded every time? People would end up only drinking tea cos coffee would be too much effort! 🤣

Cuprajake

I just don’t see the point, bar the waste of multiple grinds and sifting. Who could be bothered to do it lol

MWJB

Cuprajake There shouldn’t be much wastage, but as to who can be bothered? One man, seemingly. Most of the staccato shot videos on YT are by the same guy.

Other than a little curiosity on forums I don’t see it being much of a movement. But hey, I’m sure many of us do stuff that others here see as unnecessary effort (irrespective of claims of taste benefit).