Anybody pay attention to the extraction cone on the bottomless portafilters?

I've been using some really old beans, so I've just given up on fine-tuning my technique to produce orgasmic extraction cones, but recently, I received some new espresso beans from Metropolis Redline.

But I'm sorta disappointed, 'cause the roast date is 4-6... aka two weeks ago. I thought they'd send me a fresh batch.

Anyway, I noticed there are plenty of resources on reading the extraction on bottomless or naked portafilters. But they all talk strictly about channeling issues...

I wanted to know the idiosyncrasy involved with the size of the cone. What are the factors involved with the size of the extraction cone?

For example, if I want a larger cone, should I grind coarser?

I found out that I've been tamping too hard, and thus fracturing the puck... so lately, I've started to tamp very lightly... erring on the side of less-than-30lbs. I notice this makes a slightly bigger cone.

Or are cone sizes mostly dependent on the freshness of the roast date? I'm assuming the cone correlates with the oiliness of the beans.

Anybody with specific knowledge of extraction cones?

If you don't know what I'm talking about...

This is a relatively decent-sized extraction cone...



The following is a massive cone...

bigbad wrote:For example, if I want a larger cone, should I grind coarser?
Anybody with specific knowledge of extraction cones?

Er, you have "cone envy"?

As Jim noted, the second video demonstrates massive channeling. I would expect it to be a thin, sour, dull tasting espresso. Apart from the telltale sign of channeling, cone development can give you clues about when to stop the extraction; see When did this espresso extraction go blond? for discussion. Note that excessive degassing due to uber-fresh coffee can produce big cones, as do Robusta coffees.

Assuming you're interested in the taste of the espresso, the shape/size of the cone isn't particularly important. Andy chided me about this same point in The goal is great TASTING espresso, not great LOOKING espresso.

another_jim wrote:The size of the cone is proportional to the flow rate, so gushers, i.e. a too fast extracting espresso, have big cones. I don't think there is any way to get a big cone without having a hopeless shot like in the lower frame.

In general, the flow speeds up, and the cone gets larger as the pour progresses. But once it hits the point illustrated at the bottom, it's well beyond the time the shot should have been ended.

In my experience, when the flow rate increases, it just ends up cracking the puck and sending out a sloppy stream through the middle of the basket, as opposed to the second video, where the cone grows massive.

HB wrote:Er, you have "cone envy"?

As Jim noted, the second video demonstrates massive channeling. I would expect it to be a thin, sour, dull tasting espresso. Apart from the telltale sign of channeling, cone development can give you clues about when to stop the extraction; see When did this espresso extraction go blond? for discussion. Note that excessive degassing due to uber-fresh coffee can produce big cones, as do Robusta coffees.

Assuming you're interested in the taste of the espresso, the shape/size of the cone isn't particularly important. Andy chided me about this same point in The goal is great TASTING espresso, not great LOOKING espresso.

Could you expound on the "degassing" part? What is that?

And also, I know the ultimate goal is great tasting espresso, over great-looking, but from my experience, the two coincide more often than not.

Thanks for the links. I chose E, which wasn't far from the right answer (F). I guess better safe than sorry.

bigbad wrote:Could you expound on the "degassing" part? What is that?

Freshly roasted beans give off gas for a while (that's why coffee bags have that one way valve in them). If you are pulling shots with super fresh beans, some of that trapped gas could be released during the extraction.

In my experience, the wider cone is a function of steam usually. If the water is overly hot, steaming water enters the group head and causes the wide foamy extraction you see in the 2nd video. Also, if your grind is off and the flow rate is crazy high, that can do it as well. Try dropping the temp and tightening up the grind a bit (and/or tamp). That will usually cure it.

On my extractions, I like the stream to be tucked up against the bottom of the basket as much as possible. The thicker and slower the better generally and that translates into a stream that clings up against the screen usually.

Ray

I see. Thanks for the clarification.

A video I uploaded once, naked on Rancilio.

The big cone makes it look like it's all going too quick, yet, after the 25 seconds, there's a double espresso in the cup.

it's just the extra gas in the beans from freshness.



It's not necessarily tastier, by the way.

That's a great extraction.

1. What coffee are you using?

2. What's your routine like? Do you tamp hard? Light? And do you tend to grind fine or coarse?

Again, don't get caught up in how pretty the extraction looks. I can pull you a shot that looks good enough to frame and hang on a wall, but tastes like road tar and asphalt. You can pick up certain visual cues from a bottomless portafilter but the primary things you should be looking out for are spritzing and uneven extractions. Don't get overly concerned with the 'size of the cone'. It can give you some insight to the overall freshness of the beans but play with grind settings, doses and timing just to get 'a big cone'.