"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

It’s always exciting when something truly original, and driven by the needs of the barista, emerges in the specialty coffee industry. Scottie Callaghan’s brilliant dosing tool ticks both boxes.

I first came across the concept of a dosing tool at a Masterclass at the WA Barista Academy. We were divided into three groups and each group was attempting to pull the best shot they could. While each group was using the same blend, the coffees had been aged for varying lengths of time. My group had the freshest coffee, around four days old, but I was struggling to get a sweet shot.

Hazel de Los Reyes, a household name in the speciality coffee industry, thought that maybe the problem was typical Aussie updosing, and suggested a lower dose. She handed me a nifty plastic device that I now know to be the ‘Scottie tool’. It’s a clever little contraption which scoops coffee out of the basket as it’s swept across the top. I gave it a try and was immediately rewarded with a sweeter, more viscous shot.

The science of extraction is very complex and it’s not particularly well understood. In general terms, the lower dose that I achieved using the dosing tool allowed the fresher coffee, with its higher carbon dioxide content, more room to expand without blocking out the dispersion screen in the group head. If this theory is right, then a barista can manipulate his or her dosing technique with the aid of the dosing tool to compensate for coffee that is a bit fresh, scaling back the tool number as the coffee ages and degasses.

Our mantra at 5 Senses has always been that it’s all about the result in the cup, and we are always open to learning new techniques and harnessing new technologies. Scottie’s dosing tool is a winner, and we’re proud to offer it to our loyal following of professional home baristas.