If you have been making espresso, then you have probably come across coffee distribution as a topic and may have found a method that’s working well (or like some of us that have been making coffee for a long time, you may have tried many, many methods with varying results).
Distribution in my opinion is one of the most important steps to creating a well extracted espresso, one that is often overlooked. You may have heard me (and many others) preach when it comes to coffee equipment, invest more in your grinder and less in your machine. This will yield better results as grind quality is a key factor to good coffee, more so than the machine that just pushes some hot water through the coffee bed at pressure. Well as you can imagine if the grind quality is that crucial to even extraction, so is distributing the grinds so evenness in extraction can happen.
My aim here today is to explain distribution and quickly cover extraction. Then outline a simple, consistent, repeatable and quick method that will work for everyone, without buying expensive distribution tools. I will be honest, I’m not a huge fan of distribution tools. It’s not that they don’t work, they do, yet after testing and researching myself, plus reading lots of texts, reviews, measured studies and comparisons, there is no distinguishing difference in evenness of extraction or distribution between the best distribution tools and a well regimented and learned method like the one we will look at today. It takes some practice to make it repeatable and quick, but you will get there without the tool (and not have to spend silly amounts of money, put the extra cash towards a new grinder or some quality coffee).
I find the first step to good distribution is to get people to understand why it’s so important. When we extract coffee, we are not simply creating one extraction, it is in fact millions of small extractions that then combine together to create our espresso. It is best to think of the yield in the cup as an average of all the extractions that happen (this is also how TDS works with a refractometer, the result displayed is actually just an average of what it reads in the coffee solution). So where am I going with this information overload, you may ask. If water moving through the coffee bed is not creating one extraction, but in fact lots of little extractions, it is important that the water flows through them all as even as possible, so we don’t get over extracted particles (too much water flowing through them) and under extracted particles (not enough water flowing through them). This problem is controlled by distribution, if we position the grinds throughout the coffee bed evenly, then place an even shower of water to saturate the coffee bed, in theory we should create an even extraction throughout. The issue with pushing water through an uneven coffee bed, is water will always find the path of least resistance. If one side is not as dense as the other, water will gush through the less dense area quickly (channeling) while the other side will remain relatively untouched by the water.
To put the above information in a really simple manner. Coffee particles need an even density throughout the whole coffee bed so that the water flows through the whole puck at the same rate, extracting all the coffee evenly.
I’m hoping with some understanding of what was covered above, it will help you understand the method and it’s importance.
The method...
One quick thing, your setup may not have everything required for this method. If you don’t have a dosing cup that sits on the portafilter, or you dose straight into the group head, don’t stress just slightly modify the technique so it suits your setup, the fundamentals will still be the same. I will cover some changes and tips at the end.
Begin by grinding into a dosing cup, then place portafilter on top and flip over.
Then with dosing cup still in place, move in a narrow oval shaped 360 degree movement and then remove dosing cup.
To finish settling and distributing the grounds use a palm tap. Striking the side of the portafilter with the most grounds to help move them towards the area with less. Tilt the portafilter down in the direction you’re tapping, to help move the grounds.
Tamp to resistance and extract coffee.
As mentioned earlier if you don’t use a dosing cup that fits over your portafilter, then we adjust the method slightly to achieve the same results. Either dose into another form of dosing cup and transfer to your portafilter or dose straight into your portafilter and continue with above steps from there. When transferring your grinds try to place them evenly in the middle of the basket and then use palm tap and vertical collapse to distribute grinds.
Mastering the palm tapping technique is fairly straightforward, yet it does take some time to get it consistent and repeatable. The key is striking hard enough to move the grinds horizontally but not so hard as to propel them out of the basket, using the angle of the basket to assist, too light of a tap will cause the grinds to just move vertically.
Depending what grinder you use, clumping can make the above much harder, fluffy consistent grind particles make this process easier. If you are using a grinder that is more susceptible to clumping, it can be beneficial to adopt Weiss Distribution Technique (WDT). While I don’t recommend this technique if your setup doesn’t require it, as it leads to an extra step, slowing down work flow and adding another variable reducing chances of consistency and reducing the simplicity of the method. WDT can be performed by using a paper clip or a safety pin, moving it around in a small circular motion, helping distribute grinds and break up clumps. Work in a circular motion throughout the basket, creating small circles evenly, the clumps should be removed and grinds look fluffier. At this point continue with palm tap and vertical collapse.
Remember that the key to this method is to get the grinds evenly distributed with the minimum actions required, so don’t spend ages tapping around. It should be 1-3 taps to move the grinds around then one solid tap downward on your tamp mat to settle them.
Give this method ago, taste your coffee’s and watch your extractions. As you refine this method so it is consistent and repeatable, you will find your extractions become better and those tasty shots will come with ease.
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