I've recently decided to go bottomless on my europiccola! Of course, I'm having some culture shocks trying to deal with sprays (usually not channeling jets, but I have them on occasion) that are now making my cup and machine look like something not so tasty happened. Oddly enough the shots are about the same, or even a bit better tasting. Still I would like the sprays to lessen and have everything look nice...maybe it also means my shot quality could improve!

My grinder (Mazzer Super Jolly) clumps like crazy, so I think this could be one of the reasons why. So far my coping technique that seems to have improved things a little has been:

(1) Grind a bit finer and lessen tamp.
(2) Pay more attention to breaking up clumps and to distribution in general

I'm thinking to go beyond this I might need to start using WDT and a yogurt cup or whatever works so I can really break up all clumps quickly. Any other suggestions?

I've also had the thought that maybe the bottomless portafilter wasn't really made for levers, some crazy contortions are necessary to both pull a shot and view on this machine. I do have plans to mount a mirror of some sort to view the shot while pulling...hopefully I can get these sprays under control tho.

Thanks!

Hey Droshi,

I converted my Pavoni's portafilter to a bottom-less a few months ago. There has been nothing more helpful than the WDT. It is impossible for me to get good extractions without it. The Pavoni's are really sensitive machines and every misstep that you make is displayed mercilessly. It took me a lot of practicing to get decent extractions.

You're completely right about the inconvenience of the bottom-less on the Pavoni. Oh, the awkwardness of the naked lever extraction...

Assuming you are not using your SJ doserless, tighten up the doser nut to dedcrease the dose so that you have to flick the lever more times to get the dose desired. This should break up the clumps. I have no problem with clumping on my SJ.

Other assumptions are that your burrs are sharp and clean.....

I've since switched back to the single basket. Much easier to get a good extraction.

It's been harder than expected to come up with a yogurt cup of the right shape and a pointy implement for WDT that works well. I've improvised, but paper clips don't work so well, and short pins are annoying. Anyway, the growing pains should be over soon. Lately I've been developing my home roasting setup more so I haven't had much time to fiddle with the Pavoni lately.

The SJ probably clumps because I don't start flicking the doser until grinding is finished. I really don't like coffee shooting everywhere while I try to dose, it kind of feels like filling up a cup with a hose on "mist" setting. I also use a 0.1g scale to be sure that I'm consistent.

Hopefully WDT will fix my problems Any suggestions on equipment that works best for it?

Flick while grinding but flick gently

There's no need to imitate a machine gun.

It can be done and of course you can hold your PF or basket slightly to the left if you're still shooting skew. You'll get very little clumping and very little waste.

Cheers

MIke

I don't know if this technique will be adequate for your Pavoni, but I have been using Mr. Brown's distribution technique for a couple of years: dose heaping into your basket, cover with an upended extra basket, give a toss upwards (grounds are contained in the upended basket), uncover and level. With a practiced toss, clumps are minimized and the basket, after leveling, is ready for the tamp.

Best wishes with the Pavoni.

Droshi wrote:I've since switched back to the single basket. Much easier to get a good extraction.
...
Hopefully WDT will fix my problems Any suggestions on equipment that works best for it?

Most people find the double basket yields easier extractions. Dosing is tricky with the single basket.

I've had good luck with 51-53mm funnels cut from Yoplait containers. You might try small plastic cups for 49mm pre-Millenium filter baskets. The trusty ol' dissecting needle is IMHO still the best WDT tool available.

ost people find the double basket yields easier extractions. Dosing is tricky with the single basket.

I've had good luck with 51-53mm funnels cut from Yoplait containers. You might try small plastic cups for 49mm pre-Millenium filter baskets. The trusty ol' dissecting needle is IMHO still the best WDT tool available.

Oddly enough the single basket for me seems much easier to get a good extraction. Maybe it's just the design or my technique. I'll try looking for the proper sized tiny plastic cups. I agree as well to the dissecting needle...but that might prove impossible for me to obtain! A long pin seems hard enough to find.

I don't know if this technique will be adequate for your Pavoni, but I have been using Mr. Brown's distribution technique for a couple of years: dose heaping into your basket, cover with an upended extra basket, give a toss upwards (grounds are contained in the upended basket), uncover and level. With a practiced toss, clumps are minimized and the basket, after leveling, is ready for the tamp.

Best wishes with the Pavoni.

I COMPLETELY forgot about this! I used to use it a long time ago, before I had the Pavoni. Will try it again as I think it might have some success.

If that doesn't work I'll try michael's suggestions to flick while grinding. Previous times I've tried have been disaster, but maybe if I'm not too crazy with it.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I have a bottomless Pavoni with a Super Jolly and have very good results as long as I do the WDT, but for me I have found the WDT to be essential even though I am an avid thwacker. In the US small single serving yogurt containers tend to be the perfect size for the 51mm baskets, but I'm not sure if they can be obtained in the same size in Europe.

I think chopping the bottom off the portafilter is also essential with a Pavoni exactly because it is so picky. If the machine didn't have a tendency towards chanelling and spritzes you wouldn't need a bottomless as much, but at least for me it has been a huge help in learning how to pull better shots (even though it does take some contortion to watch the shots closely and pull the lever at the same time).

Hugh

I got the chance to get together everything for the WDT today. It seems to help reduce the number of real channels I get, however I'm still getting a lot of splattering. While this doesn't seem to affect shot quality, it's quite annoying to lose that coffee and to have to constantly clean up so many things, not to mention the cup looks terrible. I'm kind of afraid this is just how things are with a bottomless on the Pavoni. Any other suggestions?

I think maybe I should have just left everything alone....it's too bad new portafilters are about $150.