Tamper Tantrum Live – David Walsh

July 13th, 2011

This one ought to get some conversation going! David combines a great presentation with a fascinating and captivating topic. If you are passionate about coffee I challenge you not to be even a little excited about the possibilities David raises.

This is required viewing:

Comment Policy

When posting comments please use your name or your initials, please do not use your company name. Please don't link to your company name in the comment text either. This will be considered spam, and will be deleted. Opinion of any kind is welcome, but any personal attacks will also be deleted.

  • mathewe

    oh poor david, you’re doing it rong

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=56904975 Michael Mierzejewski

    This is the most fascinating thing I’ve learn about coffee in the last year and a half I’ve been in the industry. I really appreciated his presentation and think it was rather brave to suggest such a provocative solution to our grinding problems. Not only is David’s suggestion revolutionary, but it could possibly make espresso look kinda silly which is currently the backbone of our industry. When I signed the grinder petition that James post a while back I wasn’t really thinking that grinder inovation would require me to change too. Funny how that works isn’t it?

  • Lalo

    Does anyone think that brewing into hot water could be an intermediary step until technology like this is available? Maybe use a measured amount of water, and subtract that from your total water mass used for brewing? I know it doesn’t solve the problem of reducing fines by wet grinding but if aroma, and essentially flavor, is being lost by exposure of grind, wouldn’t it make sense to grind straight into water to reduce that loss to a minimum? Just a thought…

    • Lalo

      By brewing in the first sentence I meant grinding.

  • http://coffeebeansshop.com.au Coffee Beans

    Hahaha, his face looks funny in the beginning

  • AndyS

    Very cool stuff, Dave. I wonder if you’ve tried grinding into cold water, then microwaving up to brew temperature. Maybe you’d be able to maintain normal brew ratios that way?

    • Anonymous

      The
      problem with microwaving is that you get local hot spots as well as
      local cold spots. That’s why you
      need to let things stand for a while afterwards, to even out the
      temperature throughout the food/drink. Consequently, I’d guess you might
      overheat parts of the coffee (both solution and grounds) during heating

  • Al

    Would it not be more practical to build a grinder that both grinds and sifts out the undesirable grind sizes to end up with a uniform grind size?

  • Bluecold

    What about roller grinders?
    They are significantly more consistent.
    http://www.jimseven.com/2010/11/08/the-double-hump/

    Was there a difference in grinding force required?
    Very lightly roasted beans are less brittle too, and they require a lot more turning force. 

  • Nico

    I’m trying to imagine how this would translate to espresso. 

  • Joe

    So I tried grinding directly into hot water, as I don’t have a skerton on hand, with exciting results. The coffee I used wasnt stellar to begin with but brought out flavors that I wasn’t expecting. Can’t wait to continuing to experiment. Super talk.

  • http://twitter.com/HaggieBarista Mike Haggerton

    Watched this at midnight, scratched my chin then had to get out of bed to try it with the Mini Mill stuck in the top of an inverted Aeropress. Guess there’s a knack to it as the beans refused to grind and I had to push them down with the butt of a spoon. Seemed like the ceramic burrs became slippery and wouldn’t bite. Is there a video of Colin and David… erm…going at it in the back room afterwards? Ahem.

  • Anonymous

    I seem to remember that according to Illy & Viani’s book “Espresso Coffee: The Science of Quality” an inhomogeneous grind is something
    that’s desirable. I was surprised when I read it because my gut feeling would say otherwise , just as David states. Since the Illy/Viani book claims otherwise I accepted it as
    such, coming from scientific authorities(?) in the field. Perhaps I shouldn’t believe everything I read…?

    • Bluecold

      Was that statement made concerning espresso or other brewing methods?
      In espresso the grounds itself need to slow down 9 bars pushing down on them. Fines help a great deal in blocking the flow.

      • Anonymous

        You’re completely right. The book has some chapters on general coffee matters and others more specific on espresso brewing, and after a second look (section 7.5.3, actually) I realise that this is a part specific to espresso and the contribution of “fines” to the pressure. Then, there might not be any conflict anyway. Thanks for clarifying

  • Pingback: 26th October 2011 « The Bean Vagrant