I have a favorite accessory for my espresso setup, and I’m here to apologize for not telling you about it earlier. It’s official name is the Asso Dosing Funnel (Asso being the brand), but in case that doesn’t mean anything to you, it’s a collar that fits on your portafilter to keep your ground espresso beans from going all of the places. And, it’s held on by magnets. This thing works well, is easy to use, washable, and it has made a major difference in keeping my espresso station tidy.

It’s US$55 from iDrinkCoffee.com, which is where I got it.

Note: There are other dosing funnels out there, and many of them are much cheaper than Asso’s. I’ve only tested the Asso one, and when I look at the pictures of competing, cheaper collars, I’m not necessarily filled with confidence. BUT, if you’re on a budget and hate how your ground espresso beans regularly refinish your kitchen in a browner shade of dull, get a dosing funnel you can afford.

Second Note: Dosing funnels are most useful if you grind your espresso directly into your portafilter. If you grind your beans into a basket and then transfer them to your portafilter, you might not need a dosing funnel.

Third Note: I lied in my first note in that I did try another collar, only it wasn’t one of the cheaper ones. It was this cool-looking, adjustable collar that I tried to like, but hated. It was super heavy—I mean, ridiculously heavy—and inevitably made a mess when I removed it from the portafilter after grinding. This was mostly because it was a collar, not a funnel. It made for a deeper holding spot for grounds, but didn’t catch the ones bounced around on the edges. I recommend a dosing funnel that sits on the outer edge of your portafilter, like Asso’s.

Magnets

Remember Art Bell on Coast to Coast radio? It was a UFO and paranormal AM radio talkshow back in the day. Well, it still is, but Art Bell retired long ago. He was one of the masters of the live, inline commercials, and he used to talk about magnets a lot. My friend Dave did a great Art Bell impression, and one day he did this bit where he started talking about the benefits of magnets, and how he was wearing them now, in his shoes. I thought he was quoting Art Bell, but he was making it up, and the whole thing was hilarious. At least I thought so!

Why am I telling you this in a dosing funnel review? Mostly because magnets are awesome. Think about all of the ways Apple has made using our devices a better experience with innovative magnet use. iPad smart covers are the bee’s knees, and then some. It is the clever use of magnets that really make the Asso Dosing Funnel so good. Those magnets are exactly strong enough to keep that dosing funnel in place while you’re using it, and to guide it into place when you plop it on your portafilter. At the same time, those magnets aren’t so strong that they make removing it a pain, and it doesn’t make a practice of walking around your countertop collecting every little thing with a hint of ferrous content.

Using the Asso Dosing Funnel

Using the Asso Dosing Funnel is easy. I pop it on my portafilter, the magnets guide it into place, and I grind my espresso beans, all of which go into the portafilter. That’s it.

Tip: I use a 21 gram basket for my double shots, and fill it with 21 grams of ground beans—in other words, my portafilter basket is full. Before I take the Asso Dosing Funnel off, I give the portafilter a couple of light taps, as shown in the video below, to settle the beans enough that they won’t spill out when I lift it.

I have another friend, Grant, who is the master of the quip. He has his own espresso setup, and knows the pain of keeping things neat. I showed him the collar, and his quippy reaction was, “Oh, so you don’t even have to try.” He was exactly right. When grinding your espresso using this dosing funnel, you don’t even have to try to not make a mess to not make a mess. That’s when it hit me that I should write about this thing.

Construction and other Materials

The Asso Dosing Funnel is lightweight, yet strong. I’ve been using mine daily—FINE, SOMETIMES MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY!—for a couple of years and it’s not banged up. I put it in the dishwasher once a week just because, but really, you could just brush it off if you wished. It’s a high-quality product, and I strongly recommend it.

One last note. You can sort of see the ECM Tamper Station in my video. That’s my second favorite espresso accessory, and I’ll likely review it in the near future, too. And then I might do an update on my entire espresso station, as it has changed a lot since I first wrote about it several years ago in my Death Wish Coffee review.