Upgrading my home barista game
I've had a Rancilio Silvia espresso machine at home for about a decade now. If you're not familiar with the brand, it's built like a tank: it just works. It's reasonably affordable and allows for consistently good coffee.
Each morning, I pull two cups of cappuccino—one with oat milk and another with decaffeinated beans for my wife. I've perhaps learned the intricacies of the machine, and do each cup pretty consistently after all these years.
Recently, I've researched whether I should upgrade the machine. Rancilio offers newer models, as well as more upper-end and premium models. It seems the sky is the limit on how much you can invest in a proper (manual) espresso maker. Before committing to that, I figured perhaps I could optimize the process a bit at home.
WDT
A WDT, or the Weiss Distribution Technique, is a way to remove clumps from coffee grounds. For years, I just used a fork for this - it works, and doesn't cost you anything.
Daily Coffee News has an image of a manual WDT tool in action:
I figured it's time to ditch the fork and go for something a little bit more advanced. And then I found the Ikape rotary WDT!
This is V3 from 2025, and it has nine needles. They move in a circular motion when you push down. The base features a magnetic attachment for a precise fit.
I'm using a 58mm bottomless portafilter, and the rotary WDT fits like a glove:
Gravity distributor
Next, although I had already committed to acquiring the rotary WDT, I figured I could take the next step as well with the gravity distributor. It's a fancy name for a block of aluminum that distributes your grounds more evenly.
Is it needed? Perhaps not. Is it fun to use? Yes!
It evenly distributes the (clump-free) brews in the portafilter with a few turns.
Calibrated tamper
And lastly, the final step - a proper tamper!
It's calibrated, meaning it has a built-in spring calibrated to about 30 pounds of pressure. And it has grooving to make your final brew setup look fantastic!
Can you taste the difference?
This is from this morning, after having used the WDT, the distributor, and the tamper.
My morning cappuccino tastes smoother and a bit richer in flavor.
My grinder is ancient, and perhaps that requires an upgrade someday. But for now, with these three new tools, I think I'm set for the next couple of years!