Shower screens are one of the many components that are often overlooked in the espresso extraction process. More often than not, a well-designed and well-cleaned shower screen, combined with good water flow rate, will produce better quality coffee. One that extracts a distinct clarity of sweetness and acidity, pleasant bitterness and good tactile.

In reference to the pictures above, we started by measuring the brew water flow rate of individual shower screens. We found that the IMS has a slower flow rate vs the Pesado. You wouldn’t be able to see much of a difference from our pictures above. However, the difference was when we measured the amount of water dispersed. Within 30 seconds, the IMS yielded about 176ml of brew water as compared to Pesado, at about 180ml of brew water instead. This indicated that the Pesado has clearly a faster flow rate as compared to the IMS. We can attribute this to the different specs of size and technology, as seen in detail from the table above.

Now, the part on espresso taste! We used our in-house blend called The Pit (Colombia, El Salvador & Ethiopia) to pull an espresso through the IMS and the Pesado. We tried both espressos and to be honest, we were blown away. Through the IMS, the espresso tasted sweet, juicy, and the body was light to medium. The consistency and texture of the espresso was like biting into a juicy watermelon. It had good clarity in terms of flavours as it brought out a bright and vibrant acidity. As for the Pesado, the espresso was heavier bodied and had a syrupy, creamy texture. A definite punch to the espresso with a well-balanced sweetness and acidity to it. “Kaw-ness” at its finest!