Wouter said to me it's normal with a hard flush to have a direction, must be manufacturing -

"...the water coming through the shower always has a direction if you do a hard flush. But just to clarify: this is not something that happens during the extraction or pre-infusion. Water only moves very slowly through the shower screen during extraction. As you already state: when you just raise the lever water will drip through the shower, and then it moves straight down."

Also considering the Strietman distribution tool, anyone used and can vouch for or are they generally not all that helpful? Would really love some sort of levelling tamper too. I like the little tamper but find prep a little fiddly and not very snug in the basket. Maybe big hands and bleary eyes in the morning more of the problem.

I have not used the Strietman distribution tool, but I did use a cheap distribution tool when I had a La Pavoni, so similar dimensions at least. I don't know if it impacted extraction at all, but it did make whole tamping process easier. I didn't need to tap the basket to settle the grounds evenly and in general everything was much neater (less coffee everywhere). The Strietman one looks nice and the fact that it works with the tamp through funnel is pretty convenient, though it is expensive.

Also wanted to say I received my CT2 a week ago now, I don't have much to add to this thread other that it's been really enjoyable to use and has produced some incredible shots already.

km6064 wrote:Wouter said to me it's normal with a hard flush to have a direction, must be manufacturing -

"...the water coming through the shower always has a direction if you do a hard flush. But just to clarify: this is not something that happens during the extraction or pre-infusion. Water only moves very slowly through the shower screen during extraction. As you already state: when you just raise the lever water will drip through the shower, and then it moves straight down."

Also considering the Strietman distribution tool, anyone used and can vouch for or are they generally not all that helpful? Would really love some sort of levelling tamper too. I like the little tamper but find prep a little fiddly and not very snug in the basket. Maybe big hands and bleary eyes in the morning more of the problem.

A tamp through funnel makes a world of difference for prep with these small 49mm baskets.

Word_salad wrote:
Also wanted to say I received my CT2 a week ago now, I don't have much to add to this thread other that it's been really enjoyable to use and has produced some incredible shots already.

Curious what machine you came from.

I had a pre mill La Pavoni pro with a PID. That was also a really fun machine to use and made some great shots. It was a bit more finicky and could be harder to control all the variables (even with the PID), so dialing everything in sometimes felt like trying to hit a moving target.

km6064 wrote:Also considering the Strietman distribution tool, anyone used and can vouch for or are they generally not all that helpful? Would really love some sort of levelling tamper too. I like the little tamper but find prep a little fiddly and not very snug in the basket. Maybe big hands and bleary eyes in the morning more of the problem.

I've got the Strietman distribution tool and love the look and finish of it. For me with over 15 years of experience and having great technique it absolutely made no difference in extraction which is true for every distribution tool. I do use it everytime as it's great to use and makes but makes me more lazy.

My routine without it needs a Ipanema funnel from OE. Just dump the grinds with the funnel on the basket, stir with a small whisk, shake left to right and bang it on the counter to settle the grounds. After that you can easily grind. I now have a specialized WDT tool and distribution tool but it makes no difference for me.

I also have the Strietman distribution tool. Works great and looks great with the matching wood. Is it really needed? Not much in our obsessive hobbies is "needed"

The tamp through funnel is really nice in that it helps create a cleaner process.

I use the distribution tool and then the tamper while the tamp through funnel is on. Cleaner process.

Has anyone ever used the Swork Design twist lock funnel adapter for Strietman? I was looking at their magnetic funnel because I was getting tired of the OEM tamp through funnel falling off during my prep and came across this. Looks like it would work well with the p100 (which I have one ordered) but wonder how it would work with a hot portafilter as mine is usually to temp when I grind. Thanks!

https://sworksdesign.com/Twist-Lock-Fun ... p496362088

Doesn't fit my workflow at the moment but that looks like a great product!

That looks really cool, probably the only way to make prep with the basket in the portafilter not too fussy