Espresso texture from spouted versus bottomless portafilter

[RegulatorJohnson]

how do you think this changes things?



its the demitasse spoonspout hard to take a pic and hold the spoon.

seems to change the texture...sort of, but then you can also see the extraction. and you can use a clean spoon every time. either side of the spoon works.

what do you think?

thanks.

jon

[timo888]

Would you get a different shot from the naked portafilter if you put something under the cup that made it a lot closer to the basket? Perhaps an inch below?

Regards
Timo

[RegulatorJohnson]

did all my shots like this yesterday. the ones i was going to drink straight.

meh. slightly different

worth the effort? probably.

jon

[RegulatorJohnson]

what would be more harmful in the cup, over-extraction or the slightly different texture?

using a naked PF gives you instant feedback on the color of the extraction, with the spout it takes maybe 1 or 2 seconds for the color change to come through when you are looking at the color in the spout. might not be that long but it must still be a delay of some duration.

different texture, i guess your palate would be coated in a different way changing your experience. messing round with the spoonspout is fun.

jon

[RegulatorJohnson]

ok here are some better pics.



and a closer crop of the same pic. it seems to be mixed up after it leaves the spoon. its not as stripey.



no one has any input on this? maybe its just cuz im snowed in, and bored or something?

jon

[Psyd]

How 'bout the Babbie Spouted Diagnostic Tool?
"It allows the user to see the shot being pulled without that 'Naked' flavor. Tastes just like Spouted pulls!"

[RegulatorJohnson]

wow nobody wants to join in?

maybe there really is no difference between naked and spouted Portafilters?

i sure thought there would be some others talking about it?

i like to do this with the shots im going to drink straight.

i think it pads the fall into the cup and this make less surface bubbles and is more gentle on the crema. think pour a beer or a coke from high up vs. closer to the cup. this spoonspout makes it seem creamier and smoother.

if you use the back of the spoon you can see the reflection of your beads forming to verify your distribution. you can do this without having to kneel to the "naked PF god" as cannonfodder puts it.

overall i think it is the best of both. i hope someone else messes round with this.

the liberation continues.

jon

[SLC]

Jon,

You need to get out of the house and go skiing but before you do please bring me some roasted beans. I am running out since I cannot roast with this weather . I am on your way to the skii runs.

I stopped going naked. Too much mess for an OCD boy. Spout all the way.

Mark

[dgunter]

I really enjoy shots from the bottomless, but spouted crema is a more pleasing texture to me. There is always the heat loss argument when it comes to bottomless shots, but I haven't noticed any glaring differences in flavor. I love being able to see what I've done right or wrong, but the texture is almost too fluffy for me, so this spoon thing seems like a fun experiment.

[SLC]

spoutless is too fluffy for me. Too many bubbles. I like how the pouch/spout causes a mixture to happen and a smoother flow before it drops down.

Nothing scientific though. Jon, an experiment is needed.

Mark

[cannonfodder]

My opinion from a similar discussion on coffeed.com for 2006 in To Spout or not to Spout:

I shuffle back and forth between bottomless and spouted. I tend to prefer the crema that a single spout produces. With my bottomless, I get more crema volume but at the expense of texture. With the spout, I get slightly less volume but a finer, silkier texture in the crema that I prefer. With a new blend I go bottomless just to see what is going on, then back to the spout most of the time. It is difficult to explain especially since it is so subjective. Personal taste is just that, personal. The best option is the one you like the best.

Barry also brought up a good point. When comparing a spouted and bottomless shot, make sure you pull the shot by mass, not volume. The fluffed crema from the bottomless will exaggerate the volume. So unless you weigh your shots, you will not be making an equal comparison.

[miKe mcKoffee]

IMO nekkid PF's help assure a totally clean path of the shot to the cup. Pull all our Kafe shots nekkid. Obviously immediate feedback if someone does a bad build! So virtually zero chance of serving a channelled shot. Almost surprising cleaning the Linea end of day how little evidence of channel sprays.

Texture wise difference in the cup maybe. Definitely sometimes miss the cool look of a mouse tail!

[RapidCoffee]

wow nobody wants to join in?

Sorry, been busy with other projects.

Finally gave this a try today. My initial impression is positive. You still get the visual feedback of the bottomless pour, but the texture is more like a spouted pour. Nice work!

Beautiful nekkid shot, BTW.

[DavidMLewis]

It seems to be mixed up after it leaves the spoon. its not as stripey.

I haven't tried your solution. I used to have issues with larger bubbles in the crema that dissipated quickly when I first switched to a bottomless portafilter, particularly with Malabar Gold. Then I realized that I was used to holding the cup up to the spout and had been doing the same with the bottomless PF. Simply setting the cup down on the drip tray and letting the stream fall a few inches gave enough mixing in the cup to avoid the problem. I may try the spoon, but not on a morning when I have to leave at 6:20 to catch a bus, which is most of them during the week.

Best,
David