My coffee journey
Although I purchased most of my coffee gear, there is always room to do it yourself (DIY). In this case I mean making accessories or other gadgets to help with the grinding, pouring, brewing or whatever. So in this story I want to share some of the things I made for coffee.
The first gadget I made was a tamper for the Kitty. I had to look it up in my old portfolio but apparently June 2013. A tamper is a tool with a solid surface that you use to press on the grounds to make a compact biscuit, mostly used with espresso machines. At the time I did not really have a clue why this is necessary, they do it for espresso, so why not for the moka pot? Come to think of it, I still don’t have the faintest idea if this actually makes for nicer coffee. Something to experiment on tomorrow. Anyway, they did not sell the size I needed, so I made one myself on the lathe in my parents garage from a bar of aluminum. Polished up the head and made a handle from some beech wood we had lying around, also on the lathe. Some time later I made a larger one for the bigger moka pots I own. Still use these beauties today! Fun fact, my dad also made one for his percolator, same type of head from aluminium on the lathe. And also a wooden handle, but wood from the pear tree from their former garden. I think that makes for a nice little touch, wouldn’t you say!
Next up we have to skip ahead in time, but first some general terms. For me to DIY stuff you first need inspiration. This mostly comes to me in that I want to use or buy something and find a tiny flaw. That flaw could be the price for said item or that it’s missing something in it’s functionality. Or maybe I recognise the craftsmanship and realise I can equal that myself with the tools at my disposal. You know just for the satisfaction of doing it yourself and crafting something nice.
Whilst camping and making coffee, I was lacking a cloth to clean the Aeropress after use. I thought to combine this into a bag for the Aergrind and some utensils. By using an old drying towel I sewed together a handy little bag. I might say this was done rather quick focussing more on functionality than looks. I added a little climber logo on the edge just for fun. I might have to redo this one and sew up a nicer looking one. After the trip, when the towel bag is al dirty I just wash it again, fresh for a new trip.
The next item was a funnel for the Aergrind to pour in the beans and prevent spillage. And a connecter for the Aergrind to grind directly on the Aeropress. I designed these in CAD and got them 3D printed from PA6, basically nylon. The funnel is great! I use it quite a lot, not only to pour beans in the grinder, but also to pour the grinds in the press or moka pot. As it’s plastic you can tap the grinder cup against it to help the last particles to fall out. The connector works fine in general, but does have some minor issues that further development can solve. The grounds after grinding tend to stick to the sides, due to static build up. I just realised that using the ‘Ross Droplet Technique‘, RDT for short, can help solve this. So in the name of coffee science I busted out all the gear and ground some coffee. By spraying the beans with some water before grinding (this is the RDT), it helps eliminate static build up within the coffee particles and prevents the grounds from sticking, to, well, everything. It worked, that issue is solved. Might send the design to the manufacturer, Knock, and see if they fancy making it out of aluminum. Let’s also make some coffee and not let that freshly ground coffee go to waste.
Another tool that is commonly used with espresso brewing is a WDT tool. WDT stands for Weiss Distribution Technique and it’s a needle based unit that brakes clumps of ground coffee and distributes the coffee evenly. When the water passes through in the brewing process this should help against the forming of water channels also known as channeling. When this happens, the grounds next to the channel get over extracted (resulting in a less pleasant taste). The other grounds get under-extracted because they do not get the required hot stuf to dissolve their aromas in water. The first time I saw someone use this technique, was during a climbing weekend with Yeti (student association for climbing). Joris was using a grass straw to brake clumps and distribute the coffee in the moka pot. Knowing him he probable also spent some time down the coffee rabbit hole.
The first WDT I made was from a safety pin folded open. I used this for quite a while in the basket of the percolators. The next step was to make one with more needles. So I took a bunch of long sewing pins along during a trip and with a piece of wood that I carved into a nice handle became the second one. These pins are quite thick and stiff compared to wat I saw you can buy online. So I ended ordering some acupuncture needles with a diameter of 0.2mm. Recently I turned these into two different tools with what i’m assuming is oak wood meant for the fireplace. For now I prefer the straight needle model.
We recently bought a new grinder, one with a motor! More about this grinder and the rest, in another story. I wanted a modified wooden base for a different grind cup I’m planning to use. I tried a few different models from multiplex which required some crafty wood work with the tools I have, if I may say so myself.
I finally decided on the design that would suit best. This also incorporated a magnet so the grind cup can slide into the right spot, every time. I wanted this one a bit similar to the oak used with the grinder. So I ended using the earlier mentioned fire wood block. The block of wood looked a little different to the other wood we had lying around and quite matched the grain of the oak. To get a flat round disc from this wood took quite some effort with the plane, rough files and sandpaper but I managed. Some fancy edges with the router and a precision hole for the magnet and the rough stuff was done. Now just endles sanding by hand and a slick wood oil finish to get the job done.
