Seems like your puck knocking issues are solved by.... breville who invented a knock box that sucks, literally.

Why do I want this? Breville Puck Sucker knockbox [1 min. VIDEO]

Does it need o-ring replacements after 6 months

cordy5134 wrote:Just got my unifilter with dogleg today to use on a flair 58. One important thing I noticed is that since the flow of the espresso does not come into one single flow, and the force I applied on the flair started to tilt the brew head a little bit and the flow started to flow over the handle. You definitely want to make some angle offset for it if you're going to use is on a flair 58. Also paper filter in the bottom is also very recommened as you need to grind finer than usual to accommodate the larger bottom, fine particles would stuck in the hole and you'll need more time to get it out

Any chance you'd make a video of your experience with Flair? I have as well and would love to see in action. Thanks! Brook

Got a "dogleg" version to use with Decent, and I just did a quick test using the "TurboBloom" 6bar profile, 18g/50g ratio. The bean is a medium-light washed Columbia. Using the 1Zpresso K-Max grinder, Unifilter required one notch finer (25=>24, which is 22um finer) than VST 18g, but the flow was still faster (21s=>19s).

What surprised me was that Unifilter resulted in LOWER EY (24.63=>22.97%). The flow rate was about the same (~3.5 ml/s) towards the end of extraction, but initially it ramped up much faster on Unifilter than VST. Taste-wise, the Unifilter was a clear winner, with less astringency and more clarity.

Why? My theory is that Unifilter definitely promotes MORE EVEN extraction, unlike VST in which the center of puck got extracted a bit more than the peripheral (even w/ paper filter). In comparison, VST (and other inferior traditional baskets) would result in a mixture of over/under extraction, which is also bad for clarity.

I tried pushing Unifilter further with one notch finer grind setting (24=>23). The result was clearly over-extracted with more pronounced bitterness. However, there are still good clarity overall and no sign of partial under-extraction (sourness), and I still like it better than the original VST yield.

btw when you say flow. is this total time or just first drip to end? curious because decent has all these options for preinfusion . trying to understand flow time now as it's hard for me to gauge on my grind settings with decent.

I received a Unifilter for Christmas and am quite happy with it after two weeks' use, despite the lengthy cons below.

Pros:

1. Espressos and milk-based drinks are tasting better than ever. Bright/floral/fruity shots with my M4 are sweeter and more drinkable; more traditional shots with my Key are more clear and intense without sacrificing balance.

2. Visually and through comparing expelled pucks, extraction appears to be more even than my VST basket.

3. I like that it sits flush and even on my countertops. Easier tamping and feels less clunky.


Cons:

1. With the more voluminous un-tapered basket, grinds don't have the same "height" as in my VST basket. I therefore have to periscope my Saint Anthony Industries leveler so much that there is a gap between the leveling portion and the body of the leveler, into which grinds can enter, causing rotational friction between the leveler and Unifilter. This is not a fault of either piece of equipment, but feels a bit sloppy in use.

2. Expelling the puck is a nightmare. I have the same problem as many others - I have to absolutely slam the Unifilter into my knockbox. Correction: I have to gently tap it until the puck screen comes out, pick this scalding piece of metal out of the knockbox, *then* slam the Unifilter until the puck finally loosens. It's a bit easier if I rotate the Unifilter so that one side of the PF hits the knockbox first so it's not a pure downward force, but it's still a struggle.

3. The passages get plugged fairly easily and I have resorted to a 1-2 minute post-expulsion routine of using my steam wand on the bottom and inside of the Unifilter to unplug them. With especially tough plugs, I sometimes have to let the Unifilter dry out and do this whole routine again. I've never had this problem with other baskets, but then again I've never been able to grind this fine.

Overall I would prefer a couple Unibaskets rather than a Unifilter for pulling back-to-back shots given how much of a hassle cleanup is. That annoyance aside, the proof is in the cup and I am happy with the Unifilter.

Thanks for the feedback. Funny I have been using the UniFilter as well for a month or so and I am experiencing the pros without any of the cons. I also use a st Anthony's leveler and I do have a very small gap btw the bottom and top pieces but havent had any problems with grinds causing a problem when spinning the tool. Maybe I have some grinds getting in there, I haven't looked. Also, I should note that I am using both the Rocket R91 and the Sanremo You and I don't know if it's me or the machines but I get very wet pucks out of both which I think is preventing the issues with puck removal and clogging.

I received my Unibasket today and used it for the first time. It's quite nice and very solid. The puck screen is also very thick. I'm using 20g espresso with the paper filter in the bottom and WW puck screen on top. There wasn't enough head room however and the puck screen became indented in the center by the shower screen screw. Is there a flat replacement screw I can get or is this normal? The puck screen is no longer flat as it's concave in the center. Will this effect the results? I also had to grind finer 1 tick as my shot time was flowing a few seconds faster with the Unibasket/paper/screen combo.

What machine do you have? some machine have flat screws for the screen. my decent has a flat torx screw. also curious on which grinder you have. can you also try with and without paper filter and how that impacts if anything? still waiting for mine. which order # do you have?