peacecup wrote:

A light tamp is the best protection against channeling.

I'm not sure I agree with this. My experience is that a too-lightly tamped puck tends to be easily damaged, and I would propose, therefore, more easily channelized. Early on in my tampanista days I tamped VERY hard - I got consistent, non-channelized results this way. Lately I have gone to a lighter tamp and finer grind, and I think this works well for the dose and beans I currently use. I do still consistently tamp hard enough to keep the puck intact.

PC