Day 5 - Tools
Today is the day!! I’ve been waiting 3 days for my Amazon order to be shipped and finally the day of delivery has come. I’m physically at work, but my mind is with the Amazon delivery guy. He’ll bring me the trifecta of good puck preparation.
WDT tools
1. WDT
WTF is an acronym I know but WDT? “Weiss Distribution Tool” is a fancy name for a piece of metal with some very thin needles attached to it. Even a monkey could build one from trash found in the streets and yet I payed 10 euros.
Day 4 - Skill issues
I start the day with the new coffee. I’m using the recipe of my friend. The second try is already good enough to be enjoyed with my breakfast. Endorphins flood the rests of my brain not already dissolved by caffeine. It’s going to be a good day.
I immediately get to a point where only fine-tuning is needed. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The coffee is a bit bitter and a bit acidic, but the taste is overall pretty decent. I’m applying my knowledge, turning the nobs and BOOM: Nothing happens. I hit a new wall.
Day 3 - Revelations
I start my day eager to finally arrive at my perfect cup of coffee. I’m feeling optimistic, even though my first cup is so gnarly that spitting it out is the best part of the experience. Little do I know that destiny has other plans with me today.
I’m picking up where I left off the day before. I hit the same wall. Three shots in, in a moment of clarity, I remember the definition of insanity:
Day 2 - Breakthroughs
I’m starting the day with a horrible cup of coffee from my machine. It’s so bad that I don’t even bother to finish it. I stare into the yucky cup during my meal and it stares back. I’ve never been more motivated. It’s on.
First breakthrough
I’m pulling shot after shot, with varying parameters and success. One or two shots seem to go in the right direction. The twenty or so other ones are undrinkable. I start to spit all coffee to avoid permanent damage to my cardio-vascular systems.
Day 1 - The journey begins
Finally. After weeks of research and painful days of waiting all pieces of my new coffee setup arrived by mail. I treated myself with a red Gaggia Classic Pro (E24 Version with brass boiler) and a DF64 grinder. I have a cheap coffee scale to weight the beans and the resulting cup of coffee. I’m using the stock filter basket and tamper that come with the Gaggia Classic.
The idea behind the setup is maximum quality espresso and ristretto for the lowest price. The quality aspect is more important than the price for me.