
The PorcuPress is a new type of extraction tool. It is not a WDT tool or any kind of stirring prep tool. Ground coffee is a spread of particle sizes randomly arranged in a portafilter basket. When you pull a shot of espresso, water will always flow through paths of least resistance - which is not predictable. Because of this unpredictability, your coffee grounds are not extracted evenly.
Today's specialty coffee trend is moving towards lighter roasts. These coffees are much more difficult to extract so people are investing in the best grinders/burrs for a finer grind. This combination exacerbates the problem of uneven extraction/channeling. Dr. Christopher Hendon of University of Oregon published a popular paper recommending a coarser grind because channeling is inevitable and your coffee is just going to waste.
The PorcuPress is here to help reduce channeling, specifically on very finely ground coffee. The tool perforates the coffee puck such that after you tamp, you will leave behind a defined array of less compacted regions. These regions will initially allow water through the entire depth of the puck. Water will then saturate outwards from each of these holes causing the entire puck of coffee to be fully wet. As the entire puck swells, these holes and other naturally present channels will seal up. The concept of this tool is very new and we are all exploring its endless possibilities together. This tool is certainly for the coffee enthusiast who loves to tinker! To maintain accessibility of experimentation, needle inserts will be FDM printed initially. At a later time, I will make machined inserts available as a direct replacement and needles can be transferred over.
Needle Insert Information
The "Offset Square" pattern allows you to double the holes made by rotating the tool 180deg. For example, a SD Offset Square Insert will make 100 holes by pressing the PorcuPress once. Rotating the Porcupress and pressing again will result in 200 holes. Same applies to the HD version. If you do not know which insert to pick, I recommend this one as it gives more flexibility.
The first pack of 100 needles are included with one insert of your choice.