Does your espresso taste sour? Or do you struggle to get the right extraction time? Adding a puck screen to your routine can help solve these problems.
A puck screen is a simple tool that you place on top of your coffee puck into your filter basket. It promotes a more even extraction and helps keep your espresso machine clean.
What is a puck screen?
A puck screen is a small, perforated stainless steel disc that sits between the group head and the coffee. Simply put: a metal screen on top of your puck.
A puck screen ensures that water flows through the coffee evenly and protects the group head from coffee residues.
A stainless steel puck screen doesn’t affect the taste of your espresso. Stainless steel is also highly resistant to the acids and oils found in coffee, making it durable and long-lasting.
Why use a puck screen?
A puck screen can help you solve extraction issues while also protecting your group head.
By using a puck screen, water is evenly distributed across the coffee bed.
This helps prevent channeling, when water flows too quickly or too slowly through certain parts of the puck. If this happens, your espresso may taste sour, or the extraction time may be outside of the 25–30 second window.
With a puck screen, the water can extract all the aromas from the coffee evenly, resulting in a beautifully balanced espresso where every flavour in your coffee bean comes through.
When brewing espresso, coffee residue often splashes up into the group head. The oils and acids from these residues can harm your machine over time, affecting both the taste of your espresso and the machine’s lifespan.
Using a puck screen also helps keep the group head clean, meaning you’ll need to clean it less often.
How to use a puck screen
To get the best results from your puck screen, it’s important to prepare your coffee properly. In addition to tamping, make sure your coffee is free of clumps and has a level surface.
After all, you can’t build on an uneven foundation! Here's how you do it:
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Grind the coffee directly into your filter basket.
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Use a WDT tool to break up any clumps in the grounds.
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Use a coffee distributor to create a flat, even surface.
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Tamp the coffee once with consistent pressure to remove air and ensure even water flow. It doesn’t matter how hard you press, as long as you’re consistent.
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Place the puck screen on top of the coffee, lock the portafilter into the espresso machine, and you’re ready to brew!
Tips & Tricks
A great bonus of using a puck screen is that the coffee grounds stay compact in the filter basket. This makes it easy to knock out the puck after brewing—most of the time, it comes out in one piece. If any coffee remains in the basket, you can simply wipe it out with a brown barista cloth.
Cleaning & Maintenance
A stainless steel puck screen is long-lasting because the material is resistant to scale and rust. This barista tool requires very little maintenance.
Since only water passes through the puck screen, coffee residue doesn’t stick to it. After use, simply rinse it with water or wipe it clean with a brown barista cloth.
For a deeper clean, soak your puck screen occasionally in water with a bit of Cafetto espresso machine cleaner, then rinse it thoroughly.
