You can use paper instead of a screen. Use scissors to cut baking paper in the shape of the coffee basket and once you’re done with tamping you can put it above the coffee grounds. The ability to increase extraction with a paper filter is an interesting find and worth exploring for home baristas. Using a WDT tool can help to improve the quality of your espresso shot by ensuring an even extraction. This technique is particularly useful when working with freshly roasted coffee, which tends to be more prone to clumping. Pre-Infusion

Replace the screen: If the screen becomes damaged or heavily corroded, it's important to replace it to ensure the quality of your espresso.

Maintenance and Cleanliness

Thanks for the question - it's made from 316 stainless steel, so unless you accidentally throw it away or abuse or break it I'd be surprised if it doesn't last for many thousands of shots.  We've been using the same screen daily for the last few months - probably a few hundred shots at least - and it's identical to a brand new one, so in theory these things will last indefinitely.  

The pre-infusion will mostly solve this problem by dumping a small amount of water at a low pressure on the coffee bed, before the extraction. However, the water will still pour in streams from the shower head, and there are still a lot of chances to get channeling. mm Mokapot filters work well for regular-sized portafilters, while Aeropress filters aren’t the ideal size, even though they are commonly recommended. If you read our guide on how to make espresso, we mention a few espresso accessories there, but we deem the accessories optional. However, this article is an advanced technique, for the home barista who want to pull the perfect espresso shot. A Bit of History With a relatively low price point compared to so many things in the jungle that is espresso accessories, it’s a small investment that can make a big difference in your workflow and shot consistency. Best of all, paper filters can be thrown away with your ground coffee, so they don’t add any maintenance.

Distributors are equally important and will help you spread the coffee grounds more evenly and enjoy better coffee. WDT, or Weiss Distribution Technique, is a method of evenly distributing the coffee grounds in the portafilter basket. This technique involves using a fine needle to stir the coffee grounds, ensuring that they are evenly distributed and free of clumps. It’s useful to have them both IMO, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to break the bank and buy the most expensive ones. Go ahead and read about how to clean an espresso filter basket easily. Coffee grounds Baskets

Proper cleaning and compatibility are crucial for optimal coffee extraction, regardless of the filter type. Theoretically, I can see how it should disperse the water more evenly. However, it’s difficult to predict how the water actually flows inside the basket when it’s under pressure.

Expert Opinions and Recommendations

There is a secondary effect that home baristas have observed when using stainless steel screens. The final coffee cup will have more body. Now this is interesting for a brewing method that is known for its body. We see this time and time again the coffee industry ‘steals’ ideas and concepts from the wine industry. So, similar to wine-tasting glasses, there are tasting cups for coffee, ideal to taste coffee and identify unique features of different coffee beans. A good way to detect any issues with your coffee extraction and whether it’s channelling or not is to use a naked portafilter. The espresso filter distributes the water more evenly across the bottom of the filter basket, which allows the espresso to flow through every basket hole for a faster flow rate. Stainless steel filters are on the surface very similar to Aeropress steek filters. However, they have a smaller diameter and are designed to fit your basket. They offer a couple of advantages over mesh filters: