[coffee knowledge] about coffee powder press coffee powder hammer what is the use of coffee how to press powder

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When I first learned to make espresso (espresso), there was one step that gave me the biggest headache: pressing powder.

? The function of pressing powder is to flatten the coffee powder evenly in order to create a high pressure to "squeeze" the coffee out. There are two requirements for this step: deep pressing and flat pressing. Some people say that it is necessary to use 30 pounds of hand power to press powder, so what is the concept of 30 pounds of hand power? To be honest, I don't know, and it's difficult to show it technically, so now some coffee instructors simply use the concept of "weight" to teach students to press powder. After all, weight is easier to understand than hand power. Every time you press powder, you move your center of gravity and use weight as pressure. In this way, you can maintain the consistent powder strength.

? Using weight as the standard may solve the problem of powder strength, but to press pressed powder evenly depends entirely on the feel, and you only have one chance to try it. If the feel is not good, the uneven pressing powder can only redo the whole brewing step rather than repeat the pressing powder, it is said to avoid internal cracking caused by the double pressing powder and form a channel (channeling). If there is a slight deviation in the angle of the wrist or elbow, the pressed pressed powder will not be distributed evenly, which results in uneven extraction. This is also the part that annoys me. It took me nearly a few months to find the feel to press the coffee powder evenly.

Simple structure, handle plus chassis, can be split or one of the two. Materials can be made of all stainless steel or all wood, common is handle wood, chassis with stainless steel. The wood feels good and is favored by baristas. The way of holding this traditional powder press is the same as holding the doorknob, and the palm is the part with the most force. Therefore, the slightly fastidious merchants will design the end of the handle thicker, which is in line with the shape of the palm half grip. Although it is comfortable to hold, this way of gripping actually increases the pressure on the wrist and is easy to cause industrial injuries to the wrist.

If you want to press the powder consistently, the human hand cannot be compared with the machine. There are also pull rod powder presses and mechanical powder presses such as Puqpress on the market, which can greatly improve stability and reduce the probability of fatigue. For the sake of cost, let's continue to practice the feel with a traditional powder press.