Puck Prep: The Highest ROI in All of Espresso
By the dialed team · 5 min read · Updated 2026-05-15
Channeling, where water blasts a fast path through the puck, is the invisible cause of most sour, uneven shots. And you fix it with about twenty dollars of tools, not a new machine.
The modern workflow
Rake the dosed grounds with a WDT tool (fine needles, 0.4 mm or thinner) to break up clumps and even out the density. Settle the bed. Tamp level with consistent force. That's the whole discipline that separates consistent espresso from lottery espresso.
WDT tools
What you don't need
Spinning distributors are largely cosmetic once you WDT. A precision basket helps, but only after your prep is clean, since precision baskets are less forgiving of sloppy distribution. That's why they pair with WDT.
Level tampers
New gear, real prices, no hype
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