My personal idiosynchratic behavior is the dose into a yogurt cup, remove coffee for desired dose weight. Pour into WDT funnel on PF. I make a tight CCW circle with needle while moving around the perimeter of the pF in a CW dir. Just a couple passes till it looks de-clumped and roughly level. Then a firm rap on the countertop and tamp. No additional leveling. No channeling since I've adopted this. And it's less messy, which doesn't matter in the cup, but makes my wife happy.

Thatchmo wrote:Adrian,

Are you saying that packing, polishing and tapping are never necessary....ever? Or only when using WDT?

Sometimes.

You still need a level coffee bed to start with but tamping is a North American thing. Most of Europe just levels the grinds, uses the built in tamper gadget on most grinders to tamp (or not at all) and lock the portafilter into the machine.

I still tamp and my machine appears to prefer it that way but there are plenty of people that simply dose, level and lock the portafilter in. But, keep in mind most of these are cafe's with large commercial grinders, most with dosers that are not prone to the clumping problems most home, and especially home doserless grinders have.

cannonfodder wrote:You still need a level coffee bed to start with but tamping is a North American thing. Most of Europe just levels the grinds, uses the built in tamper gadget on most grinders to tamp (or not at all) and lock the portafilter into the machine.

But, keep in mind most of these are cafe's with large commercial grinders, most with dosers that are not prone to the clumping problems most home.

Of course, clumping won't be fixed by tamping or polishing or whatnot. Tamping can help keep the showerhead clean, but I don't think it makes a better cup of espresso. The best cups of espresso I have ever had, the barista just barely tamped the coffee with the flimsy plastic tamping attachment. I firmly believe that it is easy to create cracks, fissures, and channels by tamping, polishing, tapping the basket, etc. I do a slow, careful light tamp to make a puck with an even surface on top. That's it.

I do also think that the WDT or any other method used to evenly distribute the grounds is beneficial. It may not always be necessary, and it may not always make for a better cup of espresso, but it is not going to hurt.

drdna wrote:The WDT and tamping in general is one of the funniest things to listen to people expound upon. SO many examples of superstitious behavior.

Skinner was a bit of a wacko, and behavioral pee-sychiatry has come a long way in half a century +.
I think that you not only miss Burry's point in the pigeon experiment, you might be missing the point of the WDT. (hint: it's 'better espresso')
On some of my grinders, WDT always makes the pull taste better than if I don't do it. It could be a superstition*, but I'm gonna say that if every time I WDT with that grinder it tastes better than any time I don't, I don't care why that is, just that it is.
Never assume that just because the results that you observe are one way that they are that way for everyone in every situation.



*I don't believe in superstitions, I think that they are bad luck.

WDT on steroids!

(500 Hertz wand first design to take coffee stains from teeth, now promotes them! )

Prometeo wrote:WDT on steroids!

Does that actually work any better than a paperclip or needle? If so, I might have to give up my electric toothbrush in favor of better espresso. You've got to keep your priorities in check.

Psyd wrote:On some of my grinders, WDT always makes the pull taste better than if I don't do it. It could be a superstition*, but I'm gonna say that if every time I WDT with that grinder it tastes better than any time I don't, I don't care why that is, just that it is.

The need for the WDT seems to me to be a reflection on the state of grinder design more than anything else. The two grinders with which I am most familiar (the Versalab and the Baratza Vario) do not clump. They therefore do not require compensating for the anomalies caused by grinders that do, making the WDT unnecessary.

hperry wrote:The need for the WDT seems to me to be a reflection on the state of grinder design more than anything else.

Indeed, as is noted several times in the article and even the introductory blurb:

How-Tos wrote:Many grinders inflict clumps, static, and uneven distribution upon the hapless home barista, keeping them from reaching their goal of extraordinary espresso. We can hope that these design flaws will eventually be addressed in home grinders. But until then, there is a simple, inexpensive solution to grinder problems: the Weiss Distribution Technique, or WDT.

hperry wrote:The two grinders with which I am most familiar (the Versalab and the Baratza Vario) do not clump. They therefore do not require compensating for the anomalies caused by grinders that do, making the WDT unnecessary.

The WDT isn't just about breaking up clumps. The "D" of WDT stands for DISTRIBUTION. While I generally use Stockfleths move, I still think that distribution is a key part of espresso preparation.

While I did not mention it specifically my experience is that good grinder design requires very little manipulation. The Versalab distributes evenly and a couple of light taps and a single tamp to level suffice. Takes a little more with the Vario, but not much. "Needling" either grinder would not, in my opinion, make the distribution better.