Over Pack Puck or 2nd Shot – Flair Classic 2026
When I manually grind from a Timemore C5 ESP with a medium roast from a local roaster, I can't seem to fit more than 11g (with the funnel attached) into the upgraded flair classic 40mm portafilter. Grounds get pretty high and when I tap the sides with my hand / give it a few downard taps, it's pretty much at the brim, before I tamp it.
I'd like to get closer to 16-18g dose. Would it be better to get the 11g in, tamp it, and add more on top and "over pack" and tamp it a 2nd time, closer to 18g --- or just tamp 1x only and pull that shot, and use a 2nd portafilter, doing about 1/2 my target dose using 2 portafilters? I know the specs says it can fit more per shot usually averaging 14-16g, based on beans of course.
Pulling a 2nd shot is more work in terms of cleaning and preheating, so I'd prefer to do it in one go. I'm assuming either method would affect variables such as grind size? E.g., Packing more would affect the puck height and I would have to grind courser or it will choke?