Espresso Pucks: What Matters & What Doesn't 

Hands down the best no BS video about home brewing I have watched. Thank you very much.

I love it when someone does the work upfront to demystify things like this so the rest of us don't have to. This video gave me confidence. People should be forced to watch this before they add a machine to their cart.

"swirling around in your grouphead" earned my subscription 😂

Finally, YT coffee videos that are to the point, helpful and not filled with waffle.

Bro... I subscribed just because you were so direct and clear in your presentation. Being concise is a lost art. Well done. 👍🏻☕️

Short, straight to the point , without any useless information , thank you so much !

Straight to the point with excellent content., wish all RU-vidrs can be like u!

Interesting how all these coffee buffs are extremely relaxed.

Very concise, informative, and even relaxing - thanks for the wonderful video!

Thank you!!! This is down-to-earth, competent, applicable information; and your not afraid to debunk the myths. really helpful.

Thanks for a great and informative video. 4 minutes of valuable info. All the best Clive!

Short, sharp and too the point. Really appreciate this video thank you.

By far the best video on the subject. No BS and straight to the point!

That boy's got a smooth delivery. Maybe audiobook narration is in his future.

Very informative and directly to the point; I like the "What doesn't...". For the beginners, this is remove some overthinking in my mind.

Thank you. So refreshing to get clear info quickly.

As always, you guys help us to do better coffee.. thank you and good luck

Seriously excellent presentation skills. I heard not a single filler word; good job!

Good delivery. Relevant. Precise.

This has to be the most accurate video and simplest to save yourself from online misconceptions.

This is the most correct and informative video on commercial coffee I have watched on the net.

Oh yes great video demystifying tamping, dosing and baskets thank you

Hands down the best, most straightforward coffee vid that bursts the balloon of vids posing as arcane coffee lore on the net.

Precision in the presentation makes it so crisp.

short sweet and to the point. thank you.

I love the script that you used to describe the nuances and to clarify the best advice. Thanks for the work to explain

Thank you for your advice! I’m new to making espresso at home and my machine is nowhere as nice as the one I used as a barista. Whew! You answered all my questions. 🙌🏻☕️💕

Ok, got yourself a new sub. Learning to use my basic Gaggia Classic Pro with a VST 18g basket and the OPV spring mod and my pucks are always a little damp and I needed to know if it was a problem. Thanks for answering that. Very nice presentation, looking forward to more of the same.

The line is usually just for the retaining spring to sit against in the portafilter but does work nicely as a marker. VST shower plates have a membrane to help stop oils getting pulled back through to the other side, collecting and affecting taste.. pretty good (if they work..). The baskets are a bit of a gimmick. Nice groups on an ECM mechanical pre-infusion too 😉

Loved the closing

this topic was very much needed

Thank you for making this video! It answered all of my questions as a new espresso machine user 😄

This video did answer some questions in my grouphead. 😂 Liked and subscribed

great video, just what I needed, thanks! ❤️

Very straight to the point....thanks!

Thank you very much, I’m new this and I’m already up the wall confused, now if my coffee tastes ok I’m not bothered about nothing 👍

The ridge simply helps the basket get a grip from the spring in your portafilter -> zooms in to show there’s no spring in portafilter. Great channel. Instantly subbed.

Great informative video! Thank you!

Great video! Was worried about not tamping hard enough... I'm down to 13 grams of coffe again, and light tamping. On my machine it gives better results. (A hand lever machine.) Am now also trying to do a longer soak time, up to 20-30 seconds, to get more flavour and more liquid, since it isn't enough, otherwise. You're right, it's what's in the cup that matters. - Perfect advice!

This is very well produced guys great job

thank you VERY informative

Great video clear and concise 😺🙏👍

I've a rancilio silvia, used before the standard basket, 14g, but brew always 15g, the puck was always dry. Then I've bought a IMS competition basket, 16/20 grams. I've changed my grind settings for finer, and more coffee, 18 grams, and now the coffee is better, have a really nice crema, but the puck is wet. The shot is better now, I think it's ok, I don't have channels...

Informative video. Thanks!

wow some good technical information, I like this channel

Thanks for the expresso tips! Well made channel from a video standpoint! Flip that mic upsidedown and route the wire through the clip to make a cleaner look on the shirt. Its a omnidirectional mic, so it wont change your audio quality, just look much better.

Nice video, fun and informative, thank you

Man I only have pressurised porta for now, so all these don't really matter to me but your sense of humour does!

Something that your puck may tell you - over or under dosing. If you place your dry puck into your machine and then remove (without brewing) and your puck has an impression from the shower screen or screw, you may be dosing to high and this can lead to channeling. If your shot starts drippy but then runs very fast towards the end you may be under-dosing our basket. Also vst make a 25g basket but disregard the single, double and triple lingo simply use brew ratio instead, a good way to start is 1:2 dose to yield and keep in mind head space within the basket as a deciding factor when choosing a basket size.

Well done. Thank you for sharing

thank you for making the coffee machine product that means you have helped us indirectly as coffee farmers

At last, a common-sense and to-the-point video. Great tips. Thanks.

Wow that shot was fantastic!

Thank you ! This was great !!

Very helpful thank you!

Amazing and knowledgable..no b.s..

Man, i was just thinking of buying an espresso machine and randomly found this channel, insta suscribed, im gonna do my research first.

Imo wet puck is because the basket needs more ground coffee in it. It mostly happens to me when I use 7 gram in a single basket. While if I use 14g in single or 20 in double basket, the puck will be formed nicely even with grids on it because it's full of ground coffee and when water enters will increase volume thus touch the upper ceiling of the filter in the machine where the water flows

Wow! This was a really good and helpful video.

Great video. I can second almost everthing but the use of distribution tools. Doesn't matter how they are constructed, all of them either pre-compress when they are put upon the coffee bed or cause uneveness when they are turned. Source: My own experience with all different types of them (including the self-lowering ones like Bravo or Pessado). That being said: If you can't resist your strong desire to turn something on your coffee before tamping, to my experience the chisel-types like St. Anthony's shown here, Pullman Chisel or 20 bucks Scarlet Espresso (Amazon) do the least harm.

Nice video, thank you.

Very professional

Thank you! I learnt something today...that ridge in the basket isn't for dosing... now I feel like a thicko...

So far Clive Coffee I give you 5 *s ! I have learned more in a few of your videos than dozens of others I have seen on the subject. Thank you.

THANK YOU, I am so annoyed and fed up with espresso “experts” who are all parroting different contradictory religious things about things that really don’t matter, while ignoring the important issues about what makes the coffee come out well. I’ve wasted so much money trying to follow the advice of folks on r/espresso.

Watching From The Philippines!! 🇵🇭

I find with a precision VST basket to get my extraction time right I had to grind much finer than for the standard basket, too fine in my opinion.

2:18 I want that, distribution tool, and I like that tamper using palm, not fingers.

Awesome video

Agree to disagree, a soggy puck tends to give an over extracted taste, since some of the left behind extraction will always drizzle into the cup, dragging the overall experience down. Volume in basket must be consistent to have consistent extraction.

I definitely prefer a ridgeless basket. Not sure if all brands are like that but my rocket brand basket and portafilter holders are really difficult to get in and out. Funny I'm pretty sure I've seen rockets marketting saying it is a full line indicator.

I read quite a few forums about soggy puck. Most of them recommended to either reduce the dose so that it allows space between the puck and the shower screen. The other suggestion is to CALIBRATE the depth by using the trimmer provided by Breville. I had proven all of these suggestions doesn't help in resolving the problem. Finally, I INCREASE the dose from standard 18g to 18.2g. Do you know what is the end result? The soggy is gone, and the taste is much sweeter. This method is proven and it works for me over months without any soggy puck.

This was super helpful - thank you! Where is that gorgeous shot glass from?! NVM - found it on your website. I love it!!

good shit clive

I'm just here to see that coffee flow.. Oh yeah.. xD

Very helpful

Great video, love espresso coffee.

"In my group head" 😃 love it.

well done

Man, you’re good.

Always informative 👍🏻. So always exact the dose of the basket?

Just because you said "Tamp Subscribe", i subscribed.

Clever line at the end

super impressed, great advice.

I usually just set the Kcup on my coffee matching and it's done in like a few seconds.

Finally a video that treats coffee as a drink and not a science project

Excellent

Extremely entertaining and very very informative. I was left, well, puckless. 😀

I use a VST 20g basket with a BZ10 machine & Ceado grinder. When I use the full 20g, the puck will swell into the screen and this seems to encourage channeling. A finer grind compacts more, but chokes. So I end up using 17 -18g instead in the 20g VST. But your vid says to use the proper spec dose for those baskets. Is it okay for a swollen puck to touch the shower screen?

I bet this dudes sock drawer is really NEAT.

I like this guy

Great video ☕️👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽😎

"press that puck through your counter..." :D +1

What’s the best way to know your dose is correct? I have an 18g basket but the thumb press test post extraction feels very soft. I find to get a firmer thumb feel I have to up the dose closer to 21ish grams. Have I been doing this correctly?

This is very informative video. I got a question for all coffee lover, will water temperature in water tank matter? I have a basic manual espresso maker here, water temperature inside water tank is keep rising when I'm doing the routine of making espresso, then steaming. I measure the temperature inside the tank, it could get to 65C, I am not sure this is normal or not. will it affect the taste of espresso. Thanks.

I worked for the largest coffee chain in Australia for a long time where we were always told to look for a "firm, dry biscuit" after a shot. Something I still thought was important until now.

thank you, great info - what does it mean when the used puck is bulging? (sometimes cracked) I have a Breville Oracle and reduced how much this used to occur by reducing the built-in doser/tamper to 22 grams (min amount possible)

100% agreed

Hello, great as you do this video clearly short and clear. Question, I just bought a Brezerra Magica and am under a lot of stress to make a delicious esspreso now. I have a 16 gram tray, can I add 18 grams or not? and my coffee is now weak and sour and with the current setting at 10 bar it takes about 25 seconds for 60 ml of coffee. Grinder is a Eureka Mignon Speialita and I now need 11.6 sec for 18 grams. the coffee is brand Medellin Secret Finca La Luisa Colombia. I would like to hear every tip I can get and I assure that I try to follow all RU-vid espresso films but in the end it turns out that it is easy to get lost. Greetings John.

Thank you Maybe,finally ,i will manage a decent coffee cup.