The coffee puck (whats left in the coffee basket after an extraction), can give you an insight into how tasty your coffee will be before you take your first sip. A wet and sloppy puck, best described as 'muddy' could mean that your coffee grind was too coarse, and that your coffee espresso will be under extracted and taste watery. On the flip side, a coffee puck that is too dry can mean that your coffee espresso will be overextracted and burt in flavour.
When examining your coffee puck, you should be able to hold the puck in your hands (excepting that it will be hot), and break it in two. Take a look at the cross section of your coffee puck for an indication that it has extracted uniformly, suggesting that your coffee ground distribution technique and tamp is okay. My technique is to;
When examining your coffee puck, you should be able to hold the puck in your hands (excepting that it will be hot), and break it in two. Take a look at the cross section of your coffee puck for an indication that it has extracted uniformly, suggesting that your coffee ground distribution technique and tamp is okay. My technique is to;
- Grind 5 grams
- tap the portafilter twice to settle the grinds
- grind another 5 grams
- tap again
- grind another 5 grams
- tap again
- grind another 5 grams
- tap again
- Scrape the portafilter basket with an edge to remove excess grind
- Tamp
- (this is based on a 21gram triple basket. For 14 grams, I will reduce the steps to three grind applications).
A uniformly dry coffee puck after extraction.
A uniformly dry coffee puck after extraction - snapped in half.
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