Coffee Data Science
Simple Clumps and WDT Test: Espresso
Messing around and finding out
My grinder (Niche Zero) doesn’t cause clumpy coffee, but that might be due to living in a dry region. However, I was curious about running an extreme clump test with and without the WDT method.
I was hesitant about wasting perfectly good coffee so such a test, so I used a spent puck. This had plenty of clumps, so it seemed like it might make for a good test.
After tamping, it was pretty ugly.
Then I made a shot where I broke up the clumps thoroughly with WDT.
I pulled them both, and the WDT spent puck had more even water flow. For the clumpy puck, it was a hot mess. It quickly donuted.
From the foam in the cup, the WDT seems more homogenous with a bit higher flow rate.
This was a quick test to mess around and find out. I typically don’t need WDT especially if I’m making a staccato shot, and I’m glad the extreme clumping exampled played out as expected.
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Further readings of mine:
Collection of Espresso Articles
A Collection of Work and School Stories
Measuring Coffee Grind Particle Distribution using Image Processing
A Summary of the Staccato Lifestyle
Measuring Coffee Grind Distribution
Espresso Baskets and Related Topics
