Wet Coffee Puck - Is my Espresso Ruined? (Advice for Baristas)

How much of an issue is it when you have a wet or water coffee puck after pulling a shot of espresso? Does it mean that your espresso is ruined and won't taste good?

In the world of coffee, the appearance and texture of the coffee puck—what's left behind after brewing espresso—has long been a subject of discussion among baristas. Traditionally, a dry, firm puck was seen as a sign of a well-executed extraction, while a wet, sloppy puck was often viewed as a sign of poor technique. However, the reality is far more nuanced.

Wet pucks can be influenced by several factors, including the age and freshness of the coffee, the grind size, the dose, and even the machine's technical aspects. Fresh coffee, which is more absorbent, tends to produce firmer pucks, while older coffee might result in a sloppier puck due to faster water flow. Similarly, improper puck preparation—whether due to incorrect dosing, poor tamping, or grind size—can lead to uneven extractions, contributing to either overly wet or dry pucks.

While the texture of the puck can provide insights into the extraction process, it should not be the sole determinant of quality. Ultimately, the taste of the coffee in the cup is what matters most. If the coffee tastes good, the puck's condition becomes secondary, regardless of whether it is wet or dry. We would tend to encourage baristas to focus more on achieving their desired flavor profile rather than getting too hung up on the state of the puck.

In this video Jimmy is addressing the wet puck issue. He explains reasons why you might be getting a wet puck and if it means you need to fix the issue and start again.

Thanks for watching and we hope you enjoy the video.

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[tedcombes]

I'm just starting on the coffee making journey, but I've been in love with coffee for majority of my life. You have a way of making people want to make coffee, great coffee. Bloody excellent video mate

[EDGARMPIKAMEZO]

You are such a genius and a man of no jelousy. I have collected more than three points that I lived being confused. Thanks

[annw-fitz]

Thank you! I especially found helpful near the end when you said if your coffee taste good, don’t worry about the puck! L O L

[helenconstantinou]

thanks for the help. I have a coffee shop in Greece and your videos helped me❤❤

[carrscoffee]

This is a great tip for people . ! I like your videos! Especially the ones about the coffee buisness. Running a shop i find them very helpful. I hope yall continue to have success!!!

[brad]

I have noticed depending on how quickly you're taking out the group handle after extraction is also a factor too fast after extraction finishes water will still be on top of the pick, roughly 3-5 seconds after it's usually dry

[Saecoffeeandgifts]

So interesting!
At home I mostly get solid pucks, sometimes sticks to the group head! At work I get the occasional sloppy one or two during a shift in the morning! Love the video!

[mermaid]

Very helpful - knowledge and presentation is phenomenal! To perfect our coffees ☕️ with your guidance is second to none.
NSW

[SubaruRob]

Thank you for these very helpful videos! Excellent info with no fluff or useless info.

[rd-Wave_Rebel]

I roasted my own coffee and it’s 5 days old. So it’s very fresh. But the puck came out sloppy and wet! But it had a great extraction time around 28.9 seconds with 35.6g out. The dosage was 17.9g in a 17g size basket. So in theory. It can’t be under dosed.

[EDGARMPIKAMEZO]

The funny part i most failed to convince my customers as being their Espresso coffee machine technician 🤣🤣 once the Coffee cake remains wet after i do all my little best, my customers always gets un satisfied. There is one technical reason that I have been corrected from your explanation, that sometimes it can be the solenoid valve that might be leaking and not closing immediately, thanks. But mostly is on the customer's side by using old Coffee or hard tampering.
Get my thump up 👍🏾👍🏾♥️

[Presso]

I am 100% agreed with your comments and suggestions. I owned a Breville Bambino Plus espresso machine. Often we are seeing puck was stuck on the grouphead most of the time. There are numerous factors that causing this. First, we need to perform regular grouphead maintenance, despite that the machine will promoting you for maintenance, but it is always a good practice to perform more regular maintenance that being defined by the machine.
Based on my years of experience with this machine, although this machine has 3 way solenoid valve, but it doesn't really help much. So, my solution is, the moment machine produce the last drop of the coffee, you need to pull out the basket immediately, which means the machine hasn't completely suck back the water. This way you won't get puck stuck on the grouphead. I had tried many times, most of the time i don't have any issues.

[rebekahclevenger]

Very thankful for your videos. There's no specialty coffee where I live and no access to practice or education so I literally only have YouTube.

I've CONSISTENTLY had issues with my picks being soupy, having a screen screw indent in the top, and puck floating no matter if I had a 21g dose or a 16 g dose. Just started using a puck screen which has helped improve the taste drastically. But I cannot get a sweet coffee for my life and it's so infuriating. I don't know if I should start by picking a random ration (1:2 right now) or if I should decide my ratio by something else, or if I should attempt something new? I've been trying all kinds of recipes. Where do I begin when trying to decide our cafe recipe? All our baristas just hit the button and dial into the time I tell them and I preset everything for them to follow. I just don't know which direction to run.

[howardbecdove]

Great advice thanks.
I know my beans are definitely within the roasting date that you specify. However, I usually store them in the freezer, only to take them out to use what I need for the day, pushing the air out of the resealable bag, then quickly returning them to the freezer.
What are your thoughts on this practice.

[makerlfe]

So my puck was working perfectly before, changed my coffee. At 17 grams i still have a little water on top even though it was overdosed, when tamping i had coffee grounds coming out around it.

Lowered my dose to 15 grams, had a lot more water on top.

I need to mention that this grind size gives me 1:4 ratio in 25 seconds.

Can’t tell what is wrong as with a previous coffee it was the same ratio but the pucks were really clean.

[TomJones-txpb]

I use a Flair, so always have a dry puck. The main failure I struggled with was the puck not being a uniform thickness. This would show up in the flavor and strength of the extraction.
I finally figured out that it came from the density of the coffee not being uniform before tamping. Using a spinny thing can help with that but produces a shear line in the puck integrity which can lesson extraction. Also, if the low density was below the grounds that the spinny thing moves, it did not fix the issue. WDT does not fix this issue either. I would not even know that was my issue if I had a wet puck.

[tomaskasparoff]

Great video, thanks you! Is there any connection between wet puck and crema?

[sjazzp]

Great video, very helpful. I aim for no more than 30-32 seconds as larger times leave water on top of the puck or the puck screen. 22.5g is great with Champion and other medium dark roasts but would it be a similar recipe with The Fix?

[richardaristeo]

Thank you guys, I love your educational videos. From Kingman arizona USA.

[jeffreywetzel]

Can you do a video about the difference between using fresh vs stale coffee?