NSEW is NOT a tamp technique. It's a distribution technique. Using your finger or a "blade" of some sort, you sweep across the top of the grounds in the four different directions to level the distribution of grounds in the basket, before you tamp. You do not try to pack the coffee in the basket with this, but rather push the mound parallel to the top plane of the basket rim, so that any low spots fill in and all points in the basket have an equal amount of grounds from surface to base. Typically, one does NSEW, or WDT, or Stockfleth's move to distribute the grounds evenly in the basket, and then you do a single tamp (if your tamper fits your basket). I can't watch your video, but already you've recruited a couple of the most experienced experts I know of. Your tamp should not include a twist at the end, and you shouldn't tap your basket with the tamper (like people used to do).
Have you read "Easy guide to better espresso at home"? It's a fantastic tool for improving you technique and, in fact, the best I've seen. You can find it on www.espressomyespresso.com about half way down the right hand column under "how to". The author is a long time CG member and frequent poster here (frcn), but hasn't yet chimed in on your thread.
No matter what, always remember that the most important thing is the taste in the cup!
I wish I could hit my puck once but if I don't do the NSEW I get channeling. And I never, ever even without the 4 side tamping get the stack of grinds on the walls that you get.
Nutation certainly helped me. I will buy some more fresh coffee tomorrow. I feel the stuff I currently got isnt useful for testing further. Its too old.
I also ordered a naked portafilter. I dont expect it before xmas. It would be good to make some more videos using the new filter and all the techniques mentioned here. I will continue brew coffee with the new beans.
To correct myself, I have thought about it more, and I actually can recall some people using NSEW to describe tamping technique. However, I have heard it used much more frequently for distribution technique. I admit, I pretty much dismiss it as a valid tamp technique because...in my mind...if you need to move your tamper around the basket, then it is too small and should be replaced with one that fits better.
Also, when I said I wouldn't expect nutation to help the OP, I was referring to this puck analysis...
kingoslo Said:
When I dissect the puck, I found that the outside of the puck is darker than the inside. It looks moist around the edges and top. The center looks dry.
This seems like a problem that would actually be caused by (over)nutation. However, maybe it was a description of pucks before the nutation was used...only the OP really knows.
I bought some new beans today. I am sorry, I feel like I am stumbling in the dark because I dont have a bottomless portafilter. I think it is best not to ask for your time before I can present you with some new material. When the new portafilter arrives. I will post some more video. I hope you will be around to help me at that point.
Sure a bottomless pf handle makes diagnosis a lot easier, but it should be a requirement to improve your shots, so I would suggest that rather than suffer through it alone, you continue to post here until you get it right...even if that means you struggle a little more because you haven't been able to get a bottomless handle. We're all here because we LOVE coffee and LLOVE talking about it...and believe me, I've been doing this 10 years and still learn new stuff all the time through these discussions.
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