Espresso Shot Reader
Ilscipio GmbH Food & Drink In-app purchases
For bottomless portafilters: see first drip, spray jets and blonding.
- Price
- Free
- In-app purchases
- Updated
- Nov 9
- 2026 · v1.0.1
Screenshots
About Espresso Shot Reader
NEEDS A BOTTOMLESS PORTAFILTER. Shot Reader reads the bottom of the basket. A portafilter with spouts hides it, so shots made with one cannot be read.
Shot Reader films your espresso from below, through a bottomless portafilter, at up to 240 frames a second. Then it reads the video and tells you what the shot did.
WHAT IT READS
• First drip – when the first coffee comes through the basket, timed from the pump start.
• Spray jets – each jet that shoots sideways out of the basket, with the time and its clock position. A jet is the visible sign of channeling.
• Blonding point – when the stream turns pale and the shot starts to run thin.
• Flow balance – which side of the basket wets first, as left/right share and an evenness score across eight sectors.
EVERY SHOT BECOMES A CARD
Each card keeps the slow-motion video, the extraction ribbon (the stream color, second by second), the basket map, and your dial-in: bean, grinder setting, dose, yield and time. Replay the shot at a quarter speed and see the jet the moment it happens.
COMPARE WITH THE SHOT BEFORE
Each card compares with your last shot of the same bean and shows what changed: one step finer on the grinder, and the first drip came 1.3 s later with one jet instead of three.
HOW IT WORKS
All analysis runs on your phone. Your videos stay on your phone, and there is no account. Each reading shows a confidence value, and the app tells you when steam or poor light made a part of the video hard to read.
WHAT YOU NEED
• An espresso machine and a bottomless (naked) portafilter that fits it, with a basket that is not pressurised. Many home machines come with a spouted or pressurised portafilter; a bottomless one is a separate purchase (often 51, 54 or 58 mm).
• Your phone, held under the basket with the camera up – upright, or sideways for a low machine. The app finds the basket and follows it while your hand moves.
• Good light – a small lamp or the phone's flashlight helps
PRICE
Your first shot analysis is free. After that, unlock unlimited analysis with a single one-time purchase. No subscription.
Shot Reader films your espresso from below, through a bottomless portafilter, at up to 240 frames a second. Then it reads the video and tells you what the shot did.
WHAT IT READS
• First drip – when the first coffee comes through the basket, timed from the pump start.
• Spray jets – each jet that shoots sideways out of the basket, with the time and its clock position. A jet is the visible sign of channeling.
• Blonding point – when the stream turns pale and the shot starts to run thin.
• Flow balance – which side of the basket wets first, as left/right share and an evenness score across eight sectors.
EVERY SHOT BECOMES A CARD
Each card keeps the slow-motion video, the extraction ribbon (the stream color, second by second), the basket map, and your dial-in: bean, grinder setting, dose, yield and time. Replay the shot at a quarter speed and see the jet the moment it happens.
COMPARE WITH THE SHOT BEFORE
Each card compares with your last shot of the same bean and shows what changed: one step finer on the grinder, and the first drip came 1.3 s later with one jet instead of three.
HOW IT WORKS
All analysis runs on your phone. Your videos stay on your phone, and there is no account. Each reading shows a confidence value, and the app tells you when steam or poor light made a part of the video hard to read.
WHAT YOU NEED
• An espresso machine and a bottomless (naked) portafilter that fits it, with a basket that is not pressurised. Many home machines come with a spouted or pressurised portafilter; a bottomless one is a separate purchase (often 51, 54 or 58 mm).
• Your phone, held under the basket with the camera up – upright, or sideways for a low machine. The app finds the basket and follows it while your hand moves.
• Good light – a small lamp or the phone's flashlight helps
PRICE
Your first shot analysis is free. After that, unlock unlimited analysis with a single one-time purchase. No subscription.
What’s new
Version 1.0.1 · Updated November 9, 2026
Initial release