Whatever grinder you use for espresso, we think we can all agree that a fluffy grind is a good thing....but can be a challenge as well. The goal is to fit the grind in the portafilter basket evenly with no layers, and if you use a hand grinder, a Baratza Vario (very fluffy grind), a commercial doserless (real challenge there), or whatever grinder....and particularly if you are dosing by the numbers, you really need to get the entire dose into the portafilter and not on the counter, or in the grinder tray. We have been the route...cutoff yogurt cups, paper cups, various readapted items, sometimes easily mistaken (by the uninitiated) as garbage, to use as a dosing aid for those tall, fluffy grinds. Of course, to settle the dose, one generally thumps the portafilter on a surface, then pulls the 'cup', creating small voids - the short collar on the funnel is to allow the filling of the portafilter from the bottom up, without creation of voids when you pull it!
As we have a very trim counter and shelf area, we would much rather clutter it up with one perfectly made dosing funnel than all of the debris that seems to creep in from here and there, and solve our dosing mechanics once and for all. We had these funnels manufactured to our specifications, with a 5mm collar that fits into the portafilter, very precisely, and a low, wide outer lip to, as you can see in the picture, contain the grinds, dose fully in the funnel with room to spare (this is an 18 gram basket dosed at 22 grams...all fluff, which compacts nicely at 5mm below the top of the pf basket). Readily fits under the doser of any machine....we use a Vario with our commercial lever and by removing the hook and lowering the pf fork we get a perfect distribution every time.....6 weeks and no fluff on the counter and none in the catch tray either... We get exactly the grind dose that we want by the numbers... scale weight, timer or the leveling with a finger or chopstick method , this is neat, tidy, and a real nice addition to the home barista explorations and experiments!
These funnels are made of Aluminum and are currently available in:
53.5mm
51mm size for Faemina, La Pavoni Millenium
49.4 size for the Olympia Cremina, La Pavoni (pre Millenium), Elektra, Comocafe and any machine using a 49mm basket
43.5 mm for Caravel, Sama, PV, Pepppina
The funnel can be custom fit to snap in tightly and stay there till you remove it!
We are offering these in Naked Aluminum, for those who like bright, shiny things!
See the Dosing Funnel in action - Video - Espresso Prep with OE SLAP SHOT and the OE Dosing Funnel
