A Look at the Normcore Blind Shakers

P.S. think we could call this workflow the Hedrick Method.

But I had someone in another post ask me about my workflow with the blind shaker going from roasted beans to the portafilter.

So here’s my 5-minute workflow that I do every morning and afternoon. I totally love it. And it just so happened that this was the best dark(er) roast shot that I have ever pulled; it tasted unreal!!

I have also been testing in depth the 2-in-1 blind shaker from Normcore vs the standard, and so far my thoughts are:

• the 2-in-1 offers terrific value on a budget due to not having to buy the funnel separately and space savings
• the retention is still low on the 2-in-1, but the grounds cake on like absolute crazy in there. There must be an exchange of beans happening from old to new without a doubt. I think this is due to the magnets in the bottom of the funnel.
• I like the workflow with the 2-in-1 pulling the funnel off the top and then onto the portafilter, then “ringing the bell” on the shaker.
• the BIGGEST FLAW is that without the top half of the funnel, it is just far too short to just pull up, ring, and let the grounds come out. I often found grinds spilling over the “top” when the funnel wasn’t attached.
• I heard people report they made a big mess while shaking with it and were super mad. I was shaking AND TRIED to make a mess and nothing. Don’t know what they did, but this was totally sturdy for me with my thumb and fingers around the sides and my index on top.

The caking of grounds that I’m getting, as well as the very slow, careful maneuvering I have to do to not spill grounds while trying to get them into the portafilter, are the nail in the coffin for me despite how much I actually love the innovation and the cost and space savings.
I don’t want to keep a funnel around loose; it’s been nice just being able to put it back on the blind shaker.

But I think also due to the lack of clumping and retention, my shots with the standard shaker for some reason have tasted significantly more rounded with less astringent or harsh notes and sweeter. I believe this is because of better, more even distribution in the portafilter before tamping. That’s just a hypothesis. You can see in my video the difference in caking between the two.

I’ll be returning the 2-in-1, but I want to give Normcore a huge shout out. I think they’re really close to something here.

And my favourite part about them, arguably (not even sure if this was on purpose), is the fact that the top edge where the lid sits on top of is contoured outward at just over 58mm, making it fit like a dream in the portafilter holder on my DF54. I would think it would also fit on the other DF series grinders, therefore not needing to transfer from another catch cup or buy a new attachment for the grinder to make this workflow easier. If they did that on purpose, huge props. This isn’t possible seemingly on other blind shakers due to the straight walls.

That’s it for my thoughts! I hope it was helpful, and if you have any questions, below let me know.