Little bit of fun!
Who uses a bottomless pf?
I use a bottomless pf77%
I do not use a bottomless11%
I switch regularly between the two11%
How many use a bottomless?
I was a spouted fan until recently. The crema is slightly different with a spouted PF.
However, I pulled off one of the removable spouts on the LM portafilter a couple of weeks ago and saw the inside after 6 months use…
Needless to say I now exclusively use the bottomless.
I know you can soak in Pulycaff etc but it’s extra faff.
Never use anything else - you get so much feedback
I must be the only weirdo deliberately not looking at the bottomless PF during extraction…
If I spot an off-centre flow or a dry patch on the basket I’m already making my mind up the shot is going to taste terrible.
Haven’t had a bad tasting one since 😂
Systemic Same here, only use spouted when I am testing a unit with manufacturers portafilters.
Spouted for me as a bottomless would be an insane mess extracting into my preferred thimble sized demitasse… Also wouldn’t like the .4 degree temp loss from less metal mass.
I initially moved to bottomless to check that I was tamping the coffee well enough to ensure a single outflow without it squirting randomly from the basket. Now I have the hang of tamping I don’t really need to check the outflow but am staying with bottomless as it’s really easy to clean the portafilter🙂
Bottomless user here, even though spouted portafilter produces tastier shots to my liking.
Always bottomless, just for the ease of cleaning. I tend to use the spouted with a blank on hand for my back flush.
I occasionally need to split shots and I don’t want another portafilter hanging around as I don’t have the space.
2 years later
There’s a conversation going on about Spouted/Bottomless PF in the wrong thread (about scales) - So I’ll follow this up here.
I’ve been using a bottomless for a while now. I find it easier to keep it clean (i.e.: I make my coffee, I rinse the basket, I dry the basket, I put it away). I also don’t need to keep it hot in the group if I don’t need to - there’s no significant mass to heat up - only the basket. If I were to use a spouted PF, I could do the same, but I also need to clean the bottom of the PF, and now and again, soak it in detergent so remove the coffee oils which build up in in the spout. So, even though the bottomless is more messy… I still find it more practical overall.
Agree, use a bottomless for when dialling in a new bean but predominantly use it for ease and cleaning up etc.
All this talk is inspiring me to go back to spouted. I do prefer the crema from a spouted but you definitely have to stay on top of the cleaning.
The LM PF’s have a gasketed removable spout section (not like the entire section on the Micra / LM R) and looking inside the hole they attach to, it’s a pretty grim sight if not kept clean.
La Marzocco Linea Mini - Mazzer Philos
My spouted PF broke when i was trying to change the handle and i bought a bottomless replacement. I prefer the bottomless as it’s easier to clean.
Tbh I’d forget about regularly cleaning the spouted PF and then have a fright when I finally got round to it…
Never used anything else. Apart from the visual feedback in respect of evenness of flow, there’s something hypnotic watching the plume develop and then flow.
I detest bottomless portafilters. They had a function which was to allow a barista to check his shot in a coffee shop. Then they became fashionable. There are plenty of ways of working out if your shot prep needs work!
dfk41 I detest bottomless portafilters. They had a function which was to allow a barista to check his shot in a coffee shop. Then they became fashionable. There are plenty of ways of working out if your shot prep needs work!
How do you keep your spouted PF clean?
MediumRoastSteam What do you mean by clean? A Yorkshire pudding tin should never be washed as it is recognised the build up of fat etc aids the taste.
Not sure I see the logic of that one :)