When I ordered mine, I asked Denis about making a piece of wooden "platform" on which I can rest my basket but he suggested I try the portafilter holders first.

It would look a lot better to have something more artistically made. Having no tool and no access to matching wood with the cap, I made do with my own basket rest with a couple of plastic lids from Pringles.
They don't look good but have been working great.

Coachiain wrote:When I ordered mine, I asked Denis about making a piece of wooden "platform" on which I can rest my basket but he suggested I try the portafilter holders first.

It would look a lot better to have something more artistically made. Having no tool and no access to matching wood with the cap, I made do with my own basket rest with a couple of plastic lids from Pringles.
They don't look good but have been working great.

Now that is creative idea!

Coachiain wrote:When I ordered mine, I asked Denis about making a piece of wooden "platform" on which I can rest my basket but he suggested I try the portafilter holders first.

It would look a lot better to have something more artistically made. Having no tool and no access to matching wood with the cap, I made do with my own basket rest with a couple of plastic lids from Pringles.
They don't look good but have been working great.
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I would also love a custom platform. I've been using this small wood plank since I first got my flat. Works well enough, but would love something that looks a bit sharper.

I use a Lynn Weber Blind Tumbler to hold whole beans while weighing, drop into MC, collect ground beans, WDT, drop into portafilter. Pretty efficient process, and it fits my La Spaziale 53mm portafilter!

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CoffeeMac wrote:I use a Lynn Weber Blind Tumbler to hold whole beans while weighing, drop into MC, collect ground beans, WDT, drop into portafilter. Pretty efficient process, and it fits my La Spaziale 53mm portafilter!

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I've been interested in the blind tumbler in the past since it'd fit a 49mm portafilter, but what has always held me back is that you still need to WDT. It just seems like an extra step. Why not just grind directly into the basket/portafilter, wdt, and then tamp?

I suppose I could, but then I'd have to add my OE funnel back to the gear I need to use every day. I'm always looking for ways to eliminate gear/steps from the process.

I'm not really sure I need to WDT, but it doesn't add more than 5 seconds to the routine. I may decide just to drop it. Anyway, I put the Blind Tumbler full of grounds on the portafilter, give it a quick stir with a cake tester, drop the grounds, tap to level, tamp.

CoffeeMac wrote:I suppose I could, but then I'd have to add my OE funnel back to the gear I need to use every day. I'm always looking for ways to eliminate gear/steps from the process.

I'm not really sure I need to WDT, but it doesn't add more than 5 seconds to the routine. I may decide just to drop it. Anyway, I put the Blind Tumbler full of grounds on the portafilter, give it a quick stir with a cake tester, drop the grounds, tap to level, tamp.

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I don't think there's a wrong way, as long as your happy with your process. I was just asking out of curiosity, as I'm always looking for an excuse to try out a new espresso tool/toy!

I will say that I don't need WDT with my monoflat. I don't know if yours is broken in yet, but I'd expect once it is you'll find that you don't either! Maybe it has something to do with the long preinfusion I do, but I get great extractions with just some taps to settle the grounds and a level tamp.

FWIW: I didn't want to dose directly into the PF and I use this SS container with my Monolith Flat for a catch can per Denis' find & recommendation. And no separate WDT required. Works great for me and one of the most inexpensive items I have/use all things espresso related

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0091 ... UTF8&psc=1

So, Dan, do you use a normal basket funnel (e.g., like the OE) when pouring your grounds from the metal container into your basket?