Stark Insider espresso lab: Espresso Dosing Funnel by MATOW
If you’re like me cleanliness is next to godliness. And that especially holds true for my coffee station.
When I’m making espresso I clean as I go, perhaps being a little too fastidious and OCD along the way. Even though it’s a messy pastime I do my best to keep things relatively organized and free from stray espresso grinds. In reality it’s impossible to keep things as clean as I’d like, so I’m always open to new ideas and updates to my workflow.
No surprise then the latest espresso accessory to enter my radar is a dosing funnel.
The promise is simple: place the ring on top of your portafilter while grinding and you can help prevent grinds from spraying all over the place. Less waste, less mess.
Along with a growing list of espresso gadgets including things like a puck screen and tamping pad that I previously wrote about here on Stark Insider, I wondered if it was worth it, or if it was just more unnecessary clutter.
I’ve been using this 58mm dosing ring for a few weeks now. Here’s what the rudimentary morning process looks like.
Dosing funnel:
Placed on top of portafilter while grinding:
Pretty morning pyramid:
After tapping a few times:
Morning Cortado almost ready:
Espresso Dosing Funnel: A simple conclusion
Once again I fully expected not to like this additional accessory. It would, surely, be yet another workflow distraction. Right?! I mean how many steps do we need to go through when making a simple shot — we’re not launching rockets after all. Right!?
To my surprise I actually do like this dosing funnel. Sigh.
I found it easy to place on top of the portafilter, and that it did indeed hold true to its claim and prevent stray grinds from messing up the counter and workspace. Everything was kept neat as you can see in the above photos.
ESPRESSO ON STARK INSIDER
News, Reviews, Trends
- Review: Normcore Espresso Tamping Mat
- Jura Z10 Review: The absolute best super-automatic espresso machine for home or office
- Home Espresso: A Cortado in a Gibraltar glass is pure luxury
- TIMEMORE Digital Scale: Can it help dial in your espresso workflow?
- Espresso News: Jura GIGA 10 mega super-auto coffee machine now available
This particular dosing ring is nothing fancy. No magnets or fidgety things to lock it in. Rather, it simply holds in place due to its weight (stainless steel). It’s never slipped off or caused any trouble, just doing its job and preventing overflow. I go about my routine and everything is a bit less messy when it comes to escaped coffee grinds.
A growing collection of espresso accessories:
And slowly I head down the rabbit hole. Above are just some of the accessories making their way into my espresso workflow. I’m still an absolute skeptic when it comes to WDT — voodoo I think, as tamping 20-30 pounds just crushes everything no? Though, it probably helps that I recently upgraded to a Ceado espresso grinder that produces fine, even and clump-free grinds. Works of art really!
TL;DR:
Yes, I recommend you try a dosing funnel (this is the MATOW I bought, but Normcore also makes one that’s well reviewed).
Make sure you get one that properly fits your portafilter — common choices are 58mm for most espresso machines and 54mm for Breville. They’re not costly, and do the job. Anything that helps keep things clean and orderly is a plus in my books.
