One Portafilter or Two?

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
jwCrema
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#1: Post by jwCrema »

On my La Pavoni, to make drinks for myself and the wife, my practice was to grind and load two portafilters. These portafilters were not pre-heated, and I had a rubber band holding the thermometer probe to the group head. This allowed me to see the group head temperature being the same for both shots. After pulling the first shot, I'd flush and get the group head to the same temp, load up the second portafilter and go. While my thinking at the time was consistency, I've got a Technika coming and am rethinking my process.

I've ordered Eric's Thermometer, and will use it to develop my flushing process. I'm going to pre-heat the portafilter, load espresso, shoot the shot. Then instead of using a second portafilter, I need to load espresso into the one I just used and wait a bit for the temp to come back to the same place then shoot. Does anyone use a second portafilter like my previous process with an Hx? Or will I actually be better off using one portafilter?

I'm also going to use my same roaster (Blue Star!) and will start with my same Pharos grind and dose (16g). There was a miracle temp I could occasionally hit with the La Pavoni that made for some heavenly shots. Hoping the Technika will give me more consistency in my shots.

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[creative nickname]
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#2: Post by [creative nickname] »

I don't use an HX machine, but on my lever machines I find it easiest to use one portafilter and multiple baskets. I typically pull one shot, prep the next basket while the pressure is dissipating on the machine, and then swap it in for the next shot. Seems like this would be an easy solution for the Technika, and cheaper than buying multiple portafilters.
LMWDP #435

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RapidCoffee
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#3: Post by RapidCoffee »

[creative nickname] wrote:I find it easiest to use one portafilter and multiple baskets.
+1. Remove the portafilter spring so that baskets slide easily in and out, or go with ridgeless baskets. It's easier to prep multiple baskets outside the portafilter, and you have a better chance of maintaining grouphead temperature when the portafilter stays locked in the group (except for the few seconds it takes to insert the basket).
John

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keno
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#4: Post by keno »

Agree with the other posters here. Definitely use one portafilter and keep it locked in the grouphead during warmup and until you are ready to load it and pull the shot. Putting a cold portafilter into the group will suck the heat right out of it and make it harder to achieve a stable temperature.

If you want to prep multiple shots in advance use ridgeless baskets. I don't prep in advance but I prefer ridgeless because it makes it a lot easier to pop out the basket for cleaning.

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HB
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#5: Post by HB »

jwCrema wrote:While my thinking at the time was consistency, I've got a Technika coming and am rethinking my process.
Assuming you keep your dose/tamp time reasonable (say 30 seconds), there's no need for a second portafilter. See the Profitec Pro 700 Review for the recovery time and flush details. It's really quite straightforward.
Dan Kehn