As widely suggested, I started out with a bottomless pf and eventually got good results. However, I always had trouble seeing exactly where the blonding point was (yes, I have watched the video and read the many threads on this). A fairly gradual blonding transition was an issue to one degree or another with every coffee, and it may just be a characteristic of my setup. This made it pretty hard to decide when to stop shots.

Anyway, more recently I decided to experiment with the spouted pf (same Synesso basket), and to my surprise I saw a much clearer reference for stopping shots, based on a clear point when the mouse tails collapsed inwards. It turned out to be around the same timing I had reached before with the bottomless, but it was much easier to see. With the bottomless, I generally had not seen such an obvious cone collapse moment or other indication.

I'm not saying that point is exactly when to stop a shot, just that it was a lot easier to see as a reference point than anything with the bottomless.

Based on my experience, I would use the bottomless only to check pour quality at first, and once it looks reliable, go to the spouted pf for everyday use.

Has anyone else noticed the spouted portafilter giving a clearer indication of when to stop shots? Or is it just my setup/technique? I believe I'm generally getting clean pours and good espresso with either pf.

da gino wrote:If you watch carefully the flow will pucker as it does in that video and five seconds after that is an excellent time to stop the flow.

Yes, I have watched the video many times, but I generally do not get such a clear cone collapse indication when I make coffee on my equipment. I see the collapse much more clearly with the spouted pf. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this experience.

Hoenen wrote:Which one shows the blonding better?

I agree that on your videos it's much easier to see on the bottomless. But my extractions look somewhat different. The cone on the bottomless tends to be less full (maybe I usually run more towards ristretto?), and collapses more gradually. And my spouted stream is generally more steady, and then thins out rather abruptly.

Yes, I have noticed the greater transparency at the end with spouts. I had been thinking it might partly be due to the dissipation of some of the crema bubbles in the spouts, because I also can see it in flow below the spouts.