+1 for that funnel and grinding into the basket. Best of all funnels I tried.



I replaced the Niche stand bolt with a flat head to get the bottomless pf as low as possible which allows me to move the PF about and get a better initial distribution.



I then use a spreader to knock the top off the 'hill' in a NSEW move to distribute and then rotate the spreader as I lightly rap the PF handle on the counter to compact the grounds. MUCH better consistency than cup, shake and WDT. Different spreader heights for different baskets and doses.

I grind into the cup, dump into the basket, rap the basket/cup combo on the counter a couple of times, remove the cup, rap the basket lightly on the counter 8 or 10 times while rotating to level and collapse voids, tamp the puck, add a top filter, put the basket into the portafilter and go. Takes about 30 seconds. No problem with channeling and no mess.

After drinking my coffee I take the filter basket (sans portafilter) and give it a light tap to remove the upper filter and a larger tap to remove the puck onto a piece of paper toweling. Into the garbage it goes. Next I wash the portafilter, upper filter and coffee cup together with a sponge and dishwasher liquid. There's another 30 seconds gone!

Now I'm all ready for tomorrow morning.

HH wrote:I use the tall Decent portafilter stand that bolts directly onto the base of the Niche, as well as a Decent funnel.

+1. Removes an unnecessary intermediate step. Search the forum for this. The Decent funnel also sits outside the PF basket so no issues with the annular gap to close. But if you use another funnel that leaves a gap, several taps straight down on counter or on the side of PF with your hand can close it. I only add WDT if the coffee has visible clumping or the pile of grounds is lopsided.