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

hperry wrote:While I did not mention it specifically my experience is that good grinder design requires very little manipulation.

Henry, I believe you're restating what is already accepted as fact.

But to clarify, there are plenty of grinders that require the barista intervene to dose evenly, most notably Mazzer grinders with dosers. Many doserless grinders tend to mound the coffee, which can lead to a center-weighted distribution and "donut" extractions. A quick Stockfleth's Move (or Stockfleths Move for Dummies) can easily correct for such unevenness.

For the record, most days, I use the Compak K10 WBC and Mazzer Robur, both of which demand attention to where the coffee lands in the basket. Neither requires the WDT, though I correct landing errors as necessary using Stockfleth's.

hperry wrote: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.

Precisely. I don't want to mislead anybody with my hyper-needle. It works (compare to NO scientific data), but Rancilio Grinder actually does the work (in my case).

I explain. I'm a newbie with a good equipment. I practice a lot and had have some good results, BUT, (always a but) some channeling at some point. I blame every possible factor in this art. I even invented a 5th M, Mundi, for World to be blame!

Yesterday for the first time I saw the world championship competitions and my son remark to me: "look they don't do anything! they grind and tamp!"

So, after seen the Davies act of magic, I went to my Grinder, practice two times how to do the little mountain, tamp once, clean borders and pour! PERFECT again and again, no channeled little creamy mouse tail until white!

But it doesn't stop here. I went and unpack my forgotten Cuisinart espresso machine (with Non Pressurized Basket Upgrade). Grind some bean in the Cuisinart Grinder, tamp once, clean borders and pour! almost perfect!

I lastly will say, I will keep the knowledge learn in this comments and save them, for if my conditions may vary. Thanks

As for me, I have:
- Mazzer Mini with a doser
- 14 g ridgeless La Marzocco basket

I grind precisely 14 g of coffee into the basket (through calibrated photolamp timer /still check on the scale for precision though/, thwack-thwack-thwack each two seconds while rotating the basket), and all the coffee is below the rim—so no Stockfleth, etc. is going to work.
With a streightened out paperclip I redistribute the coffee so it is evenly distributed across the whole area (after thwacking I end up with more coffee on the sides), there are VERY few clumps there, so I am not after them primarily.
Bump the backet slightly on the counter, 3-5 times, so that the coffee settles (rotate the basket in fingers so that the surface is even).
Then tamp once, lightly, put the basket into bottomless portafilter and pour brown-honey-like goodness.

HB wrote:A quick Stockfleth's Move (or Stockfleths Move for Dummies) can easily correct for such unevenness.

Or indeed a nutating tamp! I started deliberately dosing badly (one large cone-shaped mound) and the extraction was perfectly even.

Not to mention "nutation" is easier to spell and more fun to say.

I have to agree about the WDT going hand in hand with poor grinder design. My first grinder was a NS Grinta which required some severe WDT'ing. I then bought a Vario and have since relegated the WDT to not so fond memories. As far as the D is concerned, I use the back, flat side of a knife to strike off the top of the mound into the sink. I am surprised that more people don't use some sort of straight edge given all the other lengths they go to. Hmm, I suppose if you are dosing by weight you wouldn't want to lose anything to the sink, however the straight edge helps here too. If you tap the side of the pf with something light like a knife you get a gentle settling and revealing of less dense areas which you can then fill in with the straight edge again. This can be repeated until the grind is nice and level with the edge of the pf. I feel this is better than a curved finger which will compact the grounds as it is moved across the surface creating uneven density across the puck.