New perspective on value of the naked portafilter - Page 2

[Spironski]

You mean to tell me you've never had a sprite shot that sprays coffee all over the front of the machine, the drip tray, the counter? PLEASE tell us your secret!

LOL. Oh yeah I did have coffee all over the place! But these days it is rare that I have a sprite... Of course I have to wipe the front of my machine with a tissue, but thats quick and easy. With cleanliness I mean that I don't have to scrub the portafilter and the spout every time, and that there is no metal touching the coffee after the filter basket.

[CoffeeOwl]

You mean to tell me you've never had a sprite shot that sprays coffee all over the front of the machine, the drip tray, the counter? PLEASE tell us your secret!

Well... not to put anyone down nor greet myself arrogantly ... but I didn't have that at all.
Don't ask me for secrets... I don't know - usually I just dose about 15g and level it with a needle, then either:
- 3 thumps, light tamp, 30lbs tamp and go or:
- light tamp, tap, 30lbs tamp and go.
If I put more then 15.5g into the basket I just do Stockfleth.

Maybe it's all so easy due to my over one year lasting strong determination to get good coffee out of the Saeco?
(ahhh the 3 emos per post limit!)

[Spironski]

Actually, these days I don't even do a Stockfleth thing. This is how I do it the last few weeks, and it works!: 18 grams dose, maybe a little distribution, then 8-10 gentle knocks to settle the grind (and thus an even and almost level distribution), then a 30 lb tamp.
No gushers or sprites!

[malachi]

Pros: probably the best distribution diagnostic tool out there. Useful for training in some other ways as well. If you're the type who doesn't clean your equipment well/frequently* it stops your shots from tasting like they're being served out of a dirty ashtray.

Cons: inferior mouthfeel, hard to differentiate specific flavours, high probability of grounds transfer to bottom of basket during shot building, harder to clearly identify the exact moment to kill a shot.


* by well/frequently I mean every single day, and not just a rinse and wipe. Feel free to unscrew your spout and discover the lovely tar-like resin you've accumulated. If you're fanatic about being able to taste your coffee, you'll have stripped all chrome from the inside of your portafilter (either scoured off in some way or stripped using acid), you'll scour the portafilter every day with a green scrubby as part of your cleaning and you'll break down your portafilter (removing spouts) and soak in an espresso cleanser bath at least every week.

[AndyS]

hard to differentiate specific flavours,

Like I said, I often have no problem differentiating the flavor of hot brass when I use a spouted pf.

high probability of grounds transfer to bottom of basket during shot building,

If somebody can't avoid that, maybe they should forget espresso and take up...barbeque? :-0

harder to clearly identify the exact moment to kill a shot.

Interesting, I will have to go back to spouted and experiment with my shot-killing skillz.

[RapidCoffee]

Cons: inferior mouthfeel, hard to differentiate specific flavours, high probability of grounds transfer to bottom of basket during shot building, harder to clearly identify the exact moment to kill a shot.

I agree about the mouthfeel, and have a slight preference for the silkier texture of spouted PF crema. (Note that allowing the espresso to fall onto a spoon is a reasonable option.) But harder to tell when to kill a shot? I think it's much easier with a naked PF. You can watch the shape of the stream changing and pulling up towards the basket, and observe precisely when it begins to blond. There's much less info in the espresso stream that exits from the spouts.

[CoffeeOwl]

When I use spouted, I tend to stop the shot earlier then with naked pf. I stop just when the color gets blondy. With naked pf there is a wider field for maneuvers if one knows their beans.

[japa_fi]

I've noticed the crema with naked PF is noticeably darker than with normal PF. Same basket, same dose, same beans. anyone have an explanation why?

I don't like my naked PF because of the sprays, there's almost always at least one. On the other hand, the possibility of seeing the shot starting to form up, no cleaning, no dripping from the spouts after the shot etc. All override the problem of sprays and that's why I continue to use it.