I wanted to pass along this tip which I picked up from EricS and have been been using for a few months now because I don't see it discussed a lot and I've found it super helpful.

On my old E61 I could easily pop the basket out of the portafilter with my bare hands. But when I got my Linea Mini I found it very difficult to remove the basket except with a spoon or other implement. I considered using the chopped PF because it's a lot easier to swap baskets, but I've generally preferred using a spouted PF for two reasons: I sometimes like to split shots and I find I get better tasting shots with the spouted PF. My chopped PF has generally been relegated to use for backflushing and occasional diagnostics.

In the few months now that I've been using a
springless spouted PF I've realized a whole host of benefits to my workflow, including:

• Makes it a lot easier to weigh my dose. Since I use a small digital scale it's hard to balance the whole PF on the scale but it's super easy to tare and weigh just a basket.
• With an on demand grinder it's much easier to dose and distribute the coffee into just the basket than a whole PF with basket since I can turn the basket as the grinder dispenses the coffee.
• The LM PF has a breakaway spout to make cleaning easier but the downside is that it's not real stable for tamping. You either need to tamp at the counter edge, which my counter edge shape does not allow, or use a tamping stand, which I don't like. By dosing the basket without the PF I can easily tamp with just the basket by itself.
• While I'm doing all of this the PF remains in the group and stays fully heated. I only remove it long enough to drop the dosed and tamped basket into the PF and then lock it in.
• Once the shot has been pulled I can easily remove the basket from the PF and it makes rinsing and cleaning both things super easy.
• Another advantage is that It makes it a lot easier to switch baskets or to have multiple baskets prepared to quickly pull shots in succession.

If you use the spouted PF you may want to give going springless a try.

One thing bothers me about using a portafilter without a spring is that you can't properly knock out the coffee puck without the basket falling into the knockbox.

You can hold the basket with your finger and knock the puck out but you will burn your finger.

This is a lesson I've learned from owning a La Pavoni, sure using a portafilter without a basket has a lot of advantages but this one issue spoils it.

Kfir.

I use a bottomless portafilter that's springless with a ridgeless 18g VST. And it doesn't fall out when I knock the puck. So I'm not sure why it stays put. But it works for me. Since I single dose in the basket, confirm weight, and distribute before putting into the portafilter. Then I do a couple of flat, vertical taps on my bench, tamp and go.

Kfir wrote:One thing bothers me about using a portafilter without a spring is that you can't properly knock out the coffee puck without the basket falling into the knockbox.

Yes, it's definitely hot. But not so hot that I'd say I burn myself removing it. You can also just dump the puck and basket into the knockbox and then wait a few seconds for it to cool.

Ideally, it would be nice to have all ridgeless baskets but they seem hard to find and I've got a bunch of LM precision baskets that came supplied with the Linea Mini that all have ridges.

keno wrote:Ideally, it would be nice to have all ridgeless baskets but they seem hard to find and I've got a bunch of LM precision baskets that came supplied with the Linea Mini that all have ridges.

As I've only used ridgeless baskets with all my machines, could you explain why a ridged basket complicates any of this? When I first got my Cremina, the original PF was springless and I really did hate needing to dispose of the puck from the basket.

I have always used springless portafilters until just recently.

My knockbox is a old cereal bowl that is very thick. I drop my baskets into the bowl and drop the next basket in the portafilter.

Hot, yes, but I let them cool a bit before empyting them. Sometimes leave them for the day.

I only recently picked up a Ricard Penny bottomless for the Cremina and it has the spring. I am so not used to the basket being stuck in the portafilter. It does come out easily though but it will take me a while to get used to it.

Quality ridgeless baskets are a good investment at a relatively low cost: https://www.espressoparts.com/search?q=hq+baskets . For the home barista, it makes multiple shot preparation much easier. At least one café, http://gandbcoffee.com/ , had thoughts of prepping baskets ahead of time for the morning rush. Whether they actually practice this is unknown.

I buy the 14g (SKU# EPMZ_107A) and 21g (SKU# EPW10813) in quantity and resell them essentially as a convenience to various customers.

I use springless portafilters in my mini Vivaldi. So, I have 2. I dose one, pull a shot for my wife's cap, while its pouring I dose the other basket. When hers is done I just take the basket out quickly, put it on the drip tray, (I move fast. No burn) put the basket in for my shot. Steam milk while my shot is pouring. Split the milk between us. Pull out my basket and put it on the drip tray. We drink our drinks and by the time they're done, the baskets are easily knocked out and rinsed and dried and ready for a second round. Only problem I have is occasionally, the 3 way valve sucks the basket out of the portafilter and I have to patiently wait for it to release.

I mostly bent out the flat spots on the spring in my Vivaldi's portafilter. This way, the basket stays in but is easily removed without the need for tools. Before doing so, it was even difficult getting the basket out of a bottomless portafilter.

I'm still using the stock baskets which have a ridge so this may behave differently with ridge-less baskets.

jpreiser wrote:I mostly bent out the flat spots on the spring in my Vivaldi's portafilter. This way, the basket stays in but is easily removed without the need for tools. Before doing so, it was even difficult getting the basket out of a bottomless portafilter.

Cool, can you post a picture? Might have to try this.