kajer wrote:Most Silvia V3 bottomless handles come with the triple basket. I still use my double basket in the bottomless handle. That triple basket is crap in my opinion.

I actually didn't buy a portafilter from Rancilio because it was 20 dollars more. I bought one from Espresso Parts that is factory cut for La Marzoccos, but works with the Silvia. It comes with an HQ 21 Gram basket.. but I still don't think I'll use it. Oh, and just out of curiosity.. how is that Epoca running? I was looking at you thread a moment ago.

LukeFlynn wrote:...how is that Epoca running?...

Awesome. Very reliable. I have been getting some really good pulls lately. Not bad for a weekend machine. I love the HX and E61. I have to run a cooling flush before each shot, but nothing that a E61 group head thermocouple wouldn't tell me. I can't install a thermometer directly due to the casing of the machine, so it's best-effort guessing method. :)

kajer wrote:Awesome. Very reliable. I have been getting some really good pulls lately. Not bad for a weekend machine. I love the HX and E61. I have to run a cooling flush before each shot, but nothing that a E61 group head thermocouple wouldn't tell me. I can't install a thermometer directly due to the casing of the machine, so it's best-effort guessing method.

The Epoca is a good machine for cafes... but it's on a whole other level in the home, especially considering the price you paid.. I would love to have one!

Let us know how that both of your 14G and 21G baskets work out. I was looking at them on espressoparts, and they look MUCH MUCH better than the triple VST my bottomless came with.

The 14G ridgeless is THE BEST $6.95 I've ever spent. The minute I started using it I was mesmerized at how much better my shots where looking, especially with the new batch of Heartmender I just picked up from commonplace. I can't wait to see how it works out with my new bottomless PF. (Hoping that comes saturday!)

Edit: I've not used VST or the La Marzocco triple baskets.. but I can tell you one thing... why bother paying $20+ for them.. especially considering all parts ship free from espresso parts.. my basket came in 2 days from Washington.. and I'm on the east coast!

sold

I'm ordering both baskets.

So, I just received my bottomless PF, I decided to use the ridgeless double basket hq-14 I ordered from EspressoParts instead of the HQ-21 triple basket (Non ridgeless). I was honestly surprised to see that there where no barista or newbie errors. There didn't appear to be channeling and it was a nice even pour starting from the outside of the basket using 18 grams of coffee that I weighed with my new scale.. For me this confirms that weighing the dose is vital when you are first getting started on a machine like this. I think I will be trying 19-20 grams on the next shot I pull as I noticed the shot was somewhat wattery.. that may also be due to the fact the coffee is almost 3 weeks old.. going to get a fresh batch today!

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

As you now have a scale, I would suggest that in addition to weighing the dose, you also weigh the brewed coffee.
On November 3, I brewed a double shot which weighed 66.3g and noticed that the hopper on my grinder nearly ran out of beans. I topped it up with more beans from the same batch, and the next day I brewed a double shot which only weighed 40.6g. Both shots were brewed with the same dose weight, and on the same grinder setting, yet the first one produced > 50% more coffee than the second. Not surprisingly the two batches tasted very different.
I have noticed that when the hopper gets very low on beans, the consistency of the grind seems to be affected. (At least, that's my explanation, as it has happened twice over the past month.)

Alan

Considering I don't use the hopper on my Super Jolly I don't think this will be a problem, I tend to always clean out the grind chamber of a loose bean or two as well. One thing I did notice this morning is a little bit of channeling, I think I might try WDT later when I get a chance to help remedy this. Otherwise, I'm going to post a video.

Weighing the dose prior to brewing only gives you half of the equation. Weighing the coffee after brewing provides the other half.
With both weights, you can monitor your consistency, and adjust your grinder settings when necessary. The grinder settings do need tweaking every so often, and you can reduce the amount of coffee brewed by grinding a bit finer, or increase it by grinding coarser. The required grind is affected by numerous conditions, such as the coffee beans used, the level of roast, the time since they were roasted, and the humidity. (There are probably other conditions of which I am unaware.)
My consistency has improved greatly since I started monitoring both weights.

Alan