CoffeeToolsCA Etsy Rotating Distribution Tool - Page 7

#61: Post by **PIXIllate** » July 25th, 2023, 8:17 pm

I did another week of testing and then gave up. Manual WDT with the Levercraft is better for me. Both in the things that indicate puck integrity and taste. The one use I can possibly see is the times I use a bottom paper, then I could set the depth so as to not disturb it.

FWIW - 15 rotations seemed to be the sweet spot for me to get the most consistent bed.

#62: Post by **gobucks** » July 25th, 2023, 9:27 pm

I literally received my version 3.55 today, only to find out that it has been replaced by a completely different v4. Reached out to the guy, hoping he'll send me the new version.

#63: Post by **mgrayson** » July 25th, 2023, 9:53 pm

I'm sorry to hear that v4 only has one needle length. The two different length needles seemed the best feature of the 3.55. Well, I seem to be collecting these. I'm also buying green coffee, so I haven't lost ALL sight of why we're here!

#64: Post by **Spitz.me** » July 26th, 2023, 7:47 am

gobucks wrote:I literally received my version 3.55 today, only to find out that it has been replaced by a completely different v4. Reached out to the guy, hoping he'll send me the new version.

That's unfortunate... Why would it matter to get more than one needle length when the device is depth adjustable? The adjustment on v3.55 is pretty significant.

July 26th, 2023, 1:44 pm

PIXIllate wrote:I did another week of testing and then gave up.

It's been working fine for me. It's very consistent even with different roasts.
Here is one with dark roast.

With medium roast (different lighting condition).

September 22nd, 2023, 6:22 pm

Some early impressions of v4 ... I have had the tool right from release but had other espresso experiments to take care of first. I am using the tool with the recommended number of needles:
- extraction takes longer than my usual Levercraft tool spirograph distribution technique: currently a 27 second extraction with Levercraft takes 33 seconds with 20 rotations of v4:
- rotations need to be fairly slow to get an even-appearing bed; I'm down to 40 rpm at the moment; and
- shots using the Levercraft tool definitely taste better to me with two medium-to-light espresso roasts (Prodigal and Tim Wendelboe) but I want to get extraction times to match on a couple machines before getting out the refractometer and drawing conclusions.
Next up is to experiment with number of rotations.

#67: Post by **Petraidm** » September 23rd, 2023, 9:34 am

Thanks for the update. My v4 arrives this week and I was planning on starting with 20 revs.

September 23rd, 2023, 9:52 am

I have been using mine for several months. I found that 10 revolutions (with me slowly raising the device during the last two) is the minimum number of revolutions that gives very uniform, flat grounds. Doing more than that seems to add in some sorting of grounds that makes fines migrate downward.

Other's mileage may vary.

#69: Post by **JohnB.** » September 23rd, 2023, 10:34 am

I was impressed with how much nicer the V4 is to use compared to the 3.55 I'd purchased previously. The addition of the bearing transforms the noisy, sloppy 3.55 that felt like a cheap toy into a smooth, tight piece of equipment that is enjoyable to use. I'm using it with medium roast coffees which may or may not actually need it. I give it 5-6 slow spins, level the puck with my Amazon leveler and tamp. The Etsy tool fluffs up the grinds nicely and I have no issues with channeling but then I really don't usually have a problem with channeling when I don't WDT.

September 23rd, 2023, 10:44 am

Any discernible difference in taste?

TNX