Unfortunately my Gaggia Factory portafilter was not born naked. It required a bit of help from my machinist friend, Brett Wilsey:


It was fun to watch the master at work:


I think the surgery turned out really well:



Nekkid pours are not easy to photograph on a lever machine. Have you ever tried pulling down on a lever with one hand, using your other hand to stabilize the machine with an upward pull on the portafilter handle, while simultaneously crouching down and wielding a camera?

PT's Finca El Patio, a somewhat finicky SO Costa Rican.


Downdosing to 12-13g gave better results than 14-15g doses.

Brett has graciously offered to chop portafilters for the bargain basement price of $20.
Please PM me for further info (i.e., do not post asking for ordering information).

RapidCoffee wrote:Nekkid pours are not easy to photograph on a lever machine. Have you ever tried pulling down on a lever with one hand, using your other hand to stabilize the machine with an upward pull on the portafilter handle, while simultaneously crouching down and wielding a camera?

Downdosing to 12-13g gave better results than 14-15g doses.

Brett has graciously offered to chop portafilters for the bargain basement price of $20.
Please PM me for further info (i.e., do not post asking for ordering information).

Great photos and nice post. Brett might be a busy guy in the next few months.

Yes, I have tried to take photos while doing the other stuff and it isn't easy. You did well.

When you say 12-13g gave better results, what do you mean? Flavor, crema, ease of pull?

I've often enjoyed Costa Ricans for drip/press/vac coffee, but never as SO espresso. PT's Finca El Patio is a lovely surprise in this respect.

However, I found it a bit difficult to get really nice-looking naked pours, even on the Vetrano. I had problems with channeling and uneven extractions at higher doses. For whatever reason, a slight downdosing was the key to "pretty" pours on both my pump and lever machines. The taste seems improved as well.

This was a bit surprising, since I'd expect a SO to be easier to pull than a blend. But PT's Bella Vita espresso blend was noticeably more forgiving, especially of higher doses.

nice - im hoping my machine shop friend can hook mine up shortly

regarding costa rican - ive been pulling GREAT tasting shots with La Amistad coffee all week... luv the stuff in french press and my lever

ps - have you seen http://espressoporn.blogspot.com/ ?

RapidCoffee wrote:
Nekkid pours are not easy to photograph on a lever machine. Have you ever tried pulling down on a lever with one hand, using your other hand to stabilize the machine with an upward pull on the portafilter handle, while simultaneously crouching down and wielding a camera?

how bout a tripod.. and the timer?

jon

RegulatorJohnson wrote:how bout a tripod.. and the timer?

That would be much too easy.

RapidCoffee wrote:That would be much too easy.

Or a hi-res digital video camera, and extracting stills?

I turned the stock p/f that came with my Microcasa a Leva into a bottomless p/f recently. No lathe but a 2" hole saw, die grinder w/1.5" cut off wheel & a hand file did the job nicely.