“If you’re not using WD-40 in your coffee then you’re missing out” that’s what my mind made me listen instead🤣

Those first two puck preps were horrific. People have been using tampers for ages and not getting results like that. WDT is great, but it's not as great as you're deliberately making it look

Mate, honestly I just stir a toothpick in there and it turns out good.

Coffee nerds are like camera nerds. It's not about the equipment, but it's okay if they enjoy that part of it. You don't need a medium format camera to create great pictures. And you don't need a thousand accessories to make great coffee.

I don’t drink coffee but I subscribed because this stuff is satisfying

Have a wdt tool and never use it and never experience channeling like that. I just level with my finger and tap it on the counter to settle and then tamp.

You got to try to get channeling that bad even without WDT. It's helpful, but it's not that big of a difference.

I made my own "WDT" with a wine cork and some steel wire I had lying around. If you play guitar, an electric guitar G string would probably work.

The first two you haven’t prepped the puck at all in reality - so it’s hardly a fair comparison. You absolutely do not need to WDT to get a good extraction

If grinders at my work let coffee get that clumpy I’d be in tears.

Perfect example of the 3-rd person narration when you speak about “Coffee nerds” as if you are not one of them 😂

Never used one when I was a barista and the coffee came out fine.

I'm an espresso noob and I don't use the needle brush thing nor a self-aligning tamper and I've never pulled a shot that looks as bad as the first two, so I'm calling BS.

I mean does the extraction matter though? the coffee drips into the same cup where its gonna be mixed anyway right?... (theres bound to be a reason I am aware Im just to lazy too google lol)

Depends on the grinder

The #1 thing you need is a good grinder. Traded the $200 breville for a $200 manual grinder and all I need is a tamp. Speaking of which its about time for another cup.

*grabs dollar store head scratcher*

Toothpick

It looks like the Flair 58 shots always have a flow that biases toward the ‘front’. Is this a quirk of the brewer’s design? (Eg. the stand seems to flex as you apply pressure)

Try it on a non manual machine

If you got a subpar grinder yes WDT can really make a huge difference. My grinder has been underperforming due to wear and tear but ever since I started proper WDT my shots have just become way better.

So, the main thing you are proving is that puck screens are just a waste of money. As for your puck prep, it's a joke. I don't use WDT and a rarely have channeling and never like what you are showing.

Actually switching my grinder to a high class one, made using a WDT obsolete for me. No clumps anymore and a perfect coffee bed. (I switched my Eureka MCI to an Eureka Magnifico)

I gave in and bought the $6 felting needle. A little further down the espresso rabbit hole. It works. It's probably the best bang for the buck accessory I'd say.

The difference is between fine and great/excellent with the tools and technique. If someone wants to make the most out of their coffee beans I suggest listening to this guy. Coffee shops are ALWAYS in a hurry so they don't care about the difference between a fine espresso to perfect espresso, it's just not a good business model. I prefer to go to a coffee shop that really cares about the perfect shot than a coffee shop that doesn't, that's just me though...

i don't agree completely if you know how to level grounds evenly in the puck and tamp perfectly the shots come out great, well I mean mine are and I have the WDT. I do agree it can def spread it better and more even but you don't need it for a nice shot

I've sold more that 1 million cups of coffee and I've never use any tools only tamper. I love just doing tamping.

As someone who works in a craft coffee shop that doesn’t use these….. our extractions look much closer to the last one on average. Especially when you do a good job distributing before your tamp.

Please I’m begging for someone to tell me what that tamper is, it looks so cool.

Ngl, I thought that was a hose of sorts for a moment 😅

I do get why no distribution is an issue, but with the 2nd method, you should get a nice result with some practice. There could be better learnings to share =)

If you are beginner use it. Pros dont need it. How many years coffee makers did coffee without it and it was so delicious

Great video thanks for the demonstration

You think my 65 years old Italian barrista who pulls the perfect italian espresso ever used the WDT ?? Brother, it's about skills, not the equipment

I have a tiny whisk I use for mixing coffee and I just use that sometimes, any small whisk or even a narrow fork or two cofee stirring sticks spaced slightly apart, does some distribution, so if you don't want to buy special products there are ways.

What brand of tamper is that

Coffee nerds (you're definitely one of them) have gotten to the point where they'll fake experiments just to pretend their obnoxious prep actually does anything

purposely making it look like its necessary

I just a WDT tool but I also call bullshit on your video. I've never gotten channeling that bad when leveling by hand

Nice PSA. Ty!

What tamper is that?

What if you don’t have a bottomless portafilter and use the ones with the spigots? Would a WDT still be necessary in improving the quality of the espresso shot?

yes and no.. why not just grind straight into your portafilter? I dont see any coffee shops doing wdt? surely their coffees come out fine

"well thats what the coffee nerds say" - a literal coffee nerd

It comes in handy when you get clumps (which depends on various factors but doesn't always happen). It's possible to break them down with something like a small fork or toothpick, but it's more tedious. If you make sure to get rid of the clumps, and to level the grounds properly, then the odds of uneven density after tamping are exxagerated. It can happen, but still avoidable if you're careful.

What tamper do you use? It’s looking great!

what if we just use a toothpick or a fork instead?

Omg I just got a naked portafilter and have been fighting with the coffee spraying! I have a block based distributer than spins in the portafilter but not a needle based wtd! This might be the magic fix, thanks!

What I hate about the coffee industry is that you pay a load of money for that little "WDT" gadget

From my experience, if you use a cup to contain your grounds before moving it to the portafilter, yes you'd need it. If it's ground directly to portafilter, in my case, from X54, you can skip the needle. distribution using the rotation-ish thing is still needed though, you can tamp it and leave a gap in the edges, causing spurts to happen

What’s the tamper you use?

how tf did you cause it to spray out the side or competely refuse to make the coffee which is the and the only use... LMAO...

I don't even like coffee... is what I would have said before my gf became a barista in espresso house (Sweden), she sees the WDT as unnecessary, but once we buy a machine I will try to use a few needles/pins or something small and try to see how much of a differnece it makes to the espresso shot!

I don't even like coffee. I'm here for the soothing visuals and sounds 😍

“If you’re not using DMT in your coffee, you’re missing out”

Who the fuck cares how it looks like? It not art, it's coffee, you drink it.

Besides thw WDT, what does a naked portafilter do and what's the difference between that and a 'normal' portafilter?

I find tea bagging my coffee grinds before tamping has a similar effect.

It makes me happy seeing someone induldge in a hobby. If theyre nerding about it, they clearly enjoy it, and thats all that matters.

i use a fork. A bit cumbersome as i need to even out every layer of grounded coffee and tamp it. repeat, until the coffe is all out, and do the final forking and tamping. put the metal thingy, pull the shot. Works just fine

Hey guys! Can you please tell me the brand of the tamper used here? Thanks!

me sitting in the far corner of the room drinking my simple tea:

I've been having an issue lately where no matter how much prep I do, I get insane channeling. I'm starting to wonder if it's a machine issue vs a prep issue. Got me scratching my head for sure.

Can I use a toothpick instead?

For anyone who doesn't want to get a tool, I use a toothpick. It's worked pretty well, if it takes longer.

Buy 0.35-0.4mm acupuncture needle and stick it on a cork. Voila

You don't have to buy WDT, you can get a similar result with a toothpick if you practise a little.

Okay I just got into the basics of espresso making and I’m glad I am not wrong for ordering a tamping device and distributing device because I noticed doing it without one and using a spoon for tamping I’m having big issues with my pulls. QUESTION though, is there a magical weight or amount of grinds you need for a double shot??? I’ve googled everywhere and nobody tells anything. They’re like just figure it out…

Ok but why does every clip of a flair involve the user pulling down hard enough that the whole system leans forward? I feel like that's kind of a critical issue

Do you think it would work with a lower-priced espresso maker? Do you need that flat plate on top of the espresso?

Now find a way without the tool for a similar outcome.

wow..real science..wondered wby needle was needed

I’m more interested in where the glass is from?

You could also just use like 3 toothpicks stuck together instead of some 20£+ acupuncture needle setup

I have one and always use it for my coffee👌

The point is that you could easily make this WDT tool with a wine cork and 5 needles that cost less than a dollar, but you choose to spend 40 bucks (or more) on it, so the internet hates you even more. It’s not about even distribution, it’s about wasting money on these ridiculous gadgets.

Just got a espresso machine, question: I have a pre ground container of coffee and I use a dual wall basket. I’m usually pulling two shots, how many grams of coffee do I use? The internet says 18, but that barely fits even after tamping it down and it just makes a huge mess

What is this tamper you’re using😍

What espresso maker u use?

Thought that whisking looked pretty pretentious when I saw it before, but wild spraying during pouring quickly proved me wrong

i feel like the mid point for this test could be using a fork or the handle of a teaspoon should prolly do a better job than just fingers but mostly would be interesting how close could a person get using just stuff everyone has in the kitchen

It’s like the water Reddit that Prozd made fun of.

What tamp is that. And what scales. Thanks.

Which tamper are you using?

Whats the tamper? Where can I get one?

What do you put on top befor brewing?

What type of coffee do you buy?

Whats the glass please

What for a coffee Maschine Do you use ?

This whole time whenever they used that I thought they were spraying water 😭 😭 😭

“Coffee nerds…”. Very good.

I never used it but still get good extraction?

WDT and a tamp are the only puck preps I do. And WDT only takes about ten seconds or less.

How about anti static grinder vs wdt tool

Does it change the taste?

I just put coffee powder in little water mix it then pour hot milk over it

Honestly i dont even drink coffee and understand this video but its just relaxing

Literally no.

The first one oh my god 😭

I use some needles pushed into a rum bottle stopper. Before that, a fork...