Again in February, Lance Hedrick confirmed the arena that shaking your grounds sooner than making an coffee may each building up the extraction and scale back the shot time of your coffee. The impact on extraction was once placing, nevertheless it was once the truth that it additionally lowered shot time that in point of fact fascinated us. That discovering implied that shaking may permit you to grind finer with out inflicting clogging, doubtlessly permitting upper extractions with out destructive flavours creeping in.
Only some months later, shaking gave the impression on the Global Barista Championship, when Dominika Piotrowska, representing Austria, used shaking on degree for her regimen. Domenika defined to us this week one very tangible have the benefit of shaking grinds:
“One important discovering was once the exceptional consistency I completed in extraction time. The variation between photographs was once best 0.1 seconds each and every time (e.g., 20.0/20.1, 20.0/20.1). This degree of consistency was once exceptional for me.”
Dominika Piotrowksa dosing into blind shakers on the 2024 Global Barista Championship.
Our personal trying out, alternatively, gave contradictory effects. Shaking looked as if it would paintings in some scenarios and now not others, and we by no means noticed the mix of higher extraction and lowered shot time that made shaking so thrilling. In some sense, that is what we anticipated: in our first put up at the matter, we explored the imaginable causes that shaking may paintings, and concluded that “the ‘easiest’ distribution means total depends on the grinder, the roast, even the ambient prerequisites.”
This matter has opened many new doorways for coffee making, however weirdly — nobody can reasonably figure out why it really works … and every so often doesn’t paintings in the best way you’d be expecting. Sure, we anticipated shaking to paintings higher in some scenarios than others, however we would have liked to grasp why it labored for Lance, and now not so smartly for us. Does it rely at the espresso, or the grinder? Or one thing else solely?
In our earlier posts, we explored ‘densification’ — the concept that fines would mix with greater debris to create extra round aggregates. Whilst we nonetheless don’t have an entire solution, after some new trying out this week, what we have now noticed means that this isn’t taking place. In truth, we see the other:
Shaking liberates fines!
The Shaking within the Basket Check
On our travels, we’ve spotted reasonably a couple of baristas beginning to shake without delay within the clear out basket, while conserving a dosing cup at the best like a lid. So we would have liked to check the efficacy of that means in comparison to the use of a function constructed shaker. We had a principle that in all probability a large number of fines may well be sieved throughout the holes within the backside of the basket while shaking and we would have liked to determine if that was once an issue, or if it could impact extraction yields. However within the means of trying out this, we appear to have stumble on one thing reasonably much more fascinating.
This week our Dean of Research, Jem Challender teamed up with Lloyd Meadows from Tortoise Coffee to check shaking the use of a Mythos grinder and a Synesso and located that shaking made little or no distinction in extraction or shot time with one espresso, and rather higher each extraction and shot time with any other. None of those effects confirmed a statistically important impact, however they’re no less than in step with the concept that which espresso you utilize may impact how smartly shaking works.
We then repeated the checks with the similar espresso utilized in the second one take a look at, however the use of an EK43 as a substitute. This time, shaking looked as if it would building up extraction, even if the adaptation was once now not statistically important (p ~ 0.1). It did on the other hand lower the shot time through a few seconds, and that distinction was once important (p < 0.05).
| No shake | Shake | |
| Mythos take a look at 1 | ||
| Extraction (%) | 20.1 | 20 |
| Shot time (s) | 21.6 | 20.6 |
| Mythos take a look at 2 | ||
| Extraction (%) | 20.5 | 21.3 |
| Shot time (s) | 28 | 30.3 |
| EK43 | ||
| Extraction (%) | 21.4 | 22.4 |
| Shot time (s) | 21.8 | 20 |
Extraction yields and shot time averages for shaking vs now not shaking. Effects are a mean of five photographs according to take a look at. In each and every take a look at, we allotted the espresso the use of the AutoComb. The espresso we used was once a Colombian, Reinaldo Parra ‘Las Pinas’ Washed Coffee.
Those effects recommend that the collection of grinder could also be a part of the explanation that shaking works higher in some checks than others. In our remaining put up we noticed that the grinders that Lance used for his checks (the EG-1 and DF64) each produce much less fines than different single-dosing grinders, which might give an explanation for why his effects had been so other to ours.
If it’s the behaviour of fines that decide how shaking works, then it’s no marvel that the impact is other with other coffees and grinders, or even in numerous places. The quantity of fines you get whilst grinding is determined by the espresso and the grinder — in addition to many different components, together with temperature, the moisture content material of the beans, the situation and alignment of your burrs. This by myself can give an explanation for why we get other effects than Lance, or even other effects from one take a look at to the following.
Unfastened Your Fines
However what’s it that fines are doing after we shake the grounds? You be mindful early on within the shaking dialogue, espresso researcher and roaster Dr Mark Al-Shemmeri, theorised that shaking may have an impact very similar to ‘densification’; a procedure utilized in commercial roasteries when packing pre-ground espresso. A densifier is basically a big mixer, and the blending procedure smooths out the jagged edges of bigger espresso debris, and forces fines to resort inside of their pores. This produces aggregates that act like denser, extra round espresso debris and scale back the choice of unfastened fines within the grounds.
When we attempted measuring the particle measurement distribution of grounds after shaking, on the other hand, we discovered that the other was once taking place. The usage of Professor Abbott’s Grind Measurement Research app, we noticed an building up within the choice of debris under 100µm after shaking.
However right here’s the place it will get reasonably abnormal: All through our most up-to-date checks, when pulling photographs with shaken grounds, the portafilters looked as if it would get grimy extra temporarily. Check out those footage under. Each and every photograph displays the residue left in the back of at the backside of the portafilter after pulling only one shot. The portafilter was once spotlessly blank previous to pulling each and every shot.
Shaking grounds releases fines from the espresso. The interior of a portafilter after making one coffee displays the adaptation that shaking makes. With out shaking (left), the portafilter nonetheless seems to be blank. After shaking in a dosing cup with the clear out basket on best (heart) or with a blind basket (proper) much more fines and residue are visual.
We examined this a number of instances, and each and every time the outcome was once the similar. Once we made a shot with out shaking, as noticed at the left, an excessively small quantity of fines amassed at the base of the portafilter as you possibly can be expecting. Then we examined the impact after shaking for five seconds with a dosing cup inserted without delay on best of the clear out basket (heart) — cocktail bartender taste. To test that this impact wasn’t merely the results of fines escaping throughout the holes within the basket, we additionally attempted shaking in the similar dosing cup however with a blind basket on best. Shaking seems to extend the volume of undissolved solids coming throughout the holes within the portafilter — and on the subject of shaking within the clear out basket the volume of residue is dramatic. With each strategies the rise within the quantity of cast at the flooring of the portafilter is apparent, however we’re guessing that is just a fraction of what’s being washed down into the cup under.
If shaking releases extra solids from the espresso mattress, in all probability this additionally explains the flavor and tactile results we noticed in our earlier put up. Miruna Tudose and the group on the fabulous Origo Espresso in Bucharest reported a “rather powdery texture, and a loss of readability” of their photographs after shaking the grounds.
Please notice, for the footage above, we used an HE% basket from Pesado, which has lovely huge holes to permit excessive go with the flow. With that during thoughts, we additionally checked how a lot espresso escapes throughout the holes within the basket should you in point of fact opt for it with the shaking. After 30 seconds of forceful shaking, we had been in a position to gather round 0.1 g of espresso — now not an enormous quantity, however in all probability sufficient to affect how the shot runs.
To Shake or To not Shake?
On the finish of some of these checks, our conclusion stays the similar: whether or not or now not shaking will increase extraction and reduces shot time turns out to alter, relying to your espresso, your grinder, and plenty of different components. It will smartly be that shaking is extra really helpful you probably have a high-end grinder, just like the EG-1.
Should you’re going to shake, then it’s most definitely higher — and indisputably cleaner — to not shake without delay within the clear out basket. A devoted software just like the Blind Shaker from Weber Workshops is in spite of everything way more ergonomic than seeking to shake a heavy portafilter.
However whether or not you shake the espresso within the portafilter or in a devoted shaker, regulate your spouts. You could in finding you wish to have to rinse the portafilter extra continuously than standard to stay the espresso tasting blank and candy over the process an extended day’s coffee making.
In the long run, the one approach to know if shaking will be just right for you is to check out it out for your self for each and every espresso that you just serve, checking the impact on flavour in addition to extraction sooner than you decide. However you probably have the best setup, and the best espresso, to have the benefit of shaking, it’s a surprise how efficient it may be.
Method
The Package We Used
- For those checks we used a Synesso Hydra.
- The preinfusion force was once operating 3 bar and pump force was once set to eight bar.
- We used Pesado HE% Baskets.
- The EK43 has titanium lined burrs.
- We used a Rhinowares chrome steel dosing cup.
- We tamped the use of a Puqpress and allotted the use of the AutoComb for all photographs.
- We didn’t faucet the basket vertically.
How We Shake
- For the ‘Shaking in Basket’ means we dosed the espresso into the basket the use of the dosing cup; left the dosing cup in position (the other way up above the basket) and shook the portafilter and dosing cup like a cocktail shaker for 18 shakes (5 seconds of shaking).
- For the ‘shaking out of basket’ means, we positioned a blind basket on best of the dosing cup to forestall the espresso falling out and shook that like a cocktail shaker, additionally for 18 shakes. (That’s now not a nasty shaker hack should you’re on the cheap through the best way.)
- For the ‘No Shake’ means we did the whole thing the similar because the aforementioned shaking strategies, simply no shake.
- Except for the 3 pics we’ve already proven you (above) we pulled any other 3 repetitions of each and every means which you’ll be able to see under.
Shaken out of basket
Shaken in basket
A Long run Experiment
Seeing as there’s a distinction within the quantity of grinds sitting at the flooring of the portafilter from those 3 approaches, there’s very prone to be a distinction within the quantity of cast within the cup. So tips on how to take a look at that? One concept we’ve had is to pour an coffee thru a clear out paper; stay up for it to empty; then pour some extra water throughout the paper to rinse out the dissolved cast. After that, we could possibly use a changed model of Prof Abbott’s grind research app to depend the debris which can be trapped within the clear out paper and measure their diameters.
