I use a finger and slightly compress the grounds after/as I redistribute them. I can feel the compaction and get a good idea of how well the grind is set to make adjustments...it's just one more feedback mechanism...



'

Q: Why do people use their finger?
A1: Because coffee grounds stick to my tongue.
A2: Because I burnt my tongue on the portafilter body once.
A3: Because the cat was absolutely no help at all.
A4: Because when I used my #*@&%^!, my left %@#* got caught in the &$%#.
A5: Because no one else will pick yours for you.
...and for zin1953:
A6: Because a whitehead barista in the '58 Cadillac in front of them with their turn indicator on was taking too long to dose, tamp, and pull the shot.


..... sorry..

Ahhhhh, Randy -- but you left out a key piece of information: which finger do you use?!?!?

I used a straight edge (back of a knife) for a long time. It creates a perfect-looking surface... at the top of the puck. But in my experience it can allow for plenty of channeling underneath the pretty surface. This is somewhat grinder-dependent.

Finger-strike leveling almost always gives me better results in the cup. It allows me to use my sense of touch to even out the density, smooth out clumps, eliminate side-channeling, downdose / updose, etc. It's more of an art than a science. I do sort of a hybrid between NSEW and Stockfleth's -- the goal is to seal the edges and get an even density throughout.

Maybe it's not 100% consistent -- but it is consistently better than the results I got from the straight edge.

I almost forgot -- I do get better results from the straight edge technique if I do a downward settling tap before leveling. (On grinder fork or counter top). This helps to even out the density and I recommend it to people that aren't comfortable with finger strike leveling.

portamento wrote:I do get better results from the straight edge technique if I do a downward settling tap before leveling. ...

For me, that can lead to overdosing if the dose is not weighed. I find that a leveling before the downward tamp is working well for me, but I have to be careful to distribute evenly before leveling and tamping. I use the nutating tanmp then a level tamp and that seems to take care of it most of the time.

I think the bottom line, as has been said, is consistency, and the flexibility to find what works best for your situation by experimenting.

mini wrote:Read: "$107.00 for some plastic thingys!?!" I understand that they are probably extremely well made and very convenient, but I think every good tinkerer would rather spend an hour with an exacto knife, a piece of string, and some geometry.

Yeah, I use my finger to sweep across the basket because it seems more artful. It's about impressing the guests.

French Curve?

I use the handle of my dosing spoon. It's always around, anyway, and always dry. Sometimes my finger is damp from cleaning up after the last shot.

jorgeelizondom wrote:Why do everybody redistributes/levels using a finger when it seems (to me at least) that using a hard, even surface like the back of a knife or ruler (resting on the portafilter) would produce more consistent level than irregular finger?

Probably because:
(1) with finger you can compress the coffee and with anything else you can't;
(2) coffee sticks to skin more then to anything else like plastic or metal - so using finger may make it easier to have perfect sealing of puck with the basket's wall (but if it really makes it easier I do not know, for I don't use my nor anyone's finger )
And everybody - you meant the pros baristas?

I use my right hand index finger to sweep any excess grinds back into my K10's doser, because I always know where that finger happens to be.

While that may sound somewhat like a lame joke, you haven't seen my espresso work area, which contains everything and anything, including the kitchen sink. All I need is another $ toy to add to the clutter and I'll be set.

When I bought Nino,I did not level coffee otherwise,than tapping on a wooden surface.
Because it seems there is not static,coffee grounds,pour like water here and there and so,I am not obliged to level more.