Ross Droplet Technique (RDT)

donnacha

Stumbled on RDT by accident when reading a review MadebyKnock had shared about their new hand grinder the Hausgrind ... its a beautiful piece of kit though I'll probably hold onto my cash for when 3FE get in the Comandante.

Now maybe lots of you are already aware of RDT but its the first time I'd read that a few droplets of water or a bit of mist spray can significantly reduce static.

RDT Thread on HomeBarista

Static spray has become a major issue for me with the Vario ever since I upgraded to the Mini Vivalidi II as the portafilter can't fit the holder - so I've had to resort to resting the portafilter on the base of the grinder. Consequently I spend more time cleaning my counter than I do grinding my beans! According to this technique I can either mist or but a droplet or two into my beans when weighing them out or alternatively I could just I could just moisten the exit chute so I'll be trying both methods.

Sam the Sham

Hey, thanks for the tip about the RDT! I hadn't heard of it but my Mazzer Mini E has a bit of a problem with grind retention. I'm going to try this.

sarkozy

Interesting. I've a Bodum burr grinder at home and the answer to static is the glass receptacle.

On the other hand, I saw an Aeropress brewing method which relied on static to take away flaky coffee grounds to improve the flavour.

murphyebass

Thats really interesting stuff.

I have a similar problem with my Gaggia MDF grinder.

I recently put some minute rice through it to clean which definately helped so will be doing this a bit more often.

I get quite a bit of static on it as well though so this is worth trying for sure.

okedoke

Handy tip, I must try this on my gaggia MDF.

I love the way people on specialist coffee forums give ridiculously complex sounding names to simple things:

add a drop of water = RDT
stir ground coffee with pin = WDT (Weiss Distribution Technique)

???

Doodee

donnacha wrote: »

Static spray has become a major issue for me with the Vario ever since I upgraded to the Mini Vivalidi II as the portafilter can't fit the holder - so I've had to resort to resting the portafilter on the base of the grinder. Consequently I spend more time cleaning my counter than I do grinding my beans! According to this technique I can either mist or but a droplet or two into my beans when weighing them out or alternatively I could just I could just moisten the exit chute so I'll be trying both methods.

Hmm, I can't say that I have noticed any issues with resting the PF in the Vario holder.
PPC got me to mod it though with 2 rubber sleeves on the arms of the holder to remove any wobble, though it only adds 1 or 2 mm to the height.

donnacha

Doodee wrote: »

Hmm, I can't say that I have noticed any issues with resting the PF in the Vario holder.
PPC got me to mod it though with 2 rubber sleeves on the arms of the holder to remove any wobble, though it only adds 1 or 2 mm to the height.

Interesting - must play around with it some more though it may be that I don't have my portafilter spout as tightly wound on the threads as yours in the photos.

Anyhoo have ordered a new espresso grinder - its not going to be a significant step-up as its a K3 but I couldn't say no to the sale price from Bailies - just waiting on the short hopper to arrive as the grinder is massive!
Plan with the Vario is to buy steel burrs from Baratza which are supposedly better for filter.

BTW If you have money burning a whole in your pocket you should check out the new portafilter holder that Baratza have manufactured for the Forte but it fits the Vario - looks pretty nice for $18 - shipping is reasonable:

http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=1150