Do you use your spouted PF ?

JHCCoffee

When I bought my Lelit Elizabeth I automatically bought a bottomless PF. The spouted PF is collecting dust. The thought occurred to me that there may be occasions to still use it.

Do you use your spouted PF? When? Why? How (compared to your bottonless PF)?

And, all other factors being equal) is there a difference in taste? Why?

JHCCoffee

Sorry for the duplicate post. This topic is well covered here How many use a bottomless portafilter

dfk41

For those who find channelling an issue, switch to spouted and it is hidden from view! That is not why I use one. I do not have a suitable tamper stand for a bottomless at the mo but even if I did, I am not sure I would use it, simply because the current thing is to use one. originally, they were used by Baristas when dialling in/fault finding. How many proper cafes use them? Too many people hung up on taking photos of polished machines with strategically placed mirrors for my liking!

MediumRoastSteam

It’s a lot easier and simpler to keep a bottomless PF clean than a spouted one. With a spouted one you need to periodically soak it in detergent due to oil build up. It’s pretty grim.

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam Cafes seem to manage!

Inspector

Even though I use bottomless portafilter for convenience %90 of the time, I occasionally use spouted for a change and everytime my conclusion is; espresso is somehow smoother.

FadedFrontiers

Inspector wonder if it’s something to do with the espresso being cooled down by the additional contact with the metal?

Ernie1

Inspector

It’s likely down to the crema being different. Inevitably coffee that runs down a spout travels a different path at a different velocity to coffee that falls directly from the basket. Creating a different texture in the cup.

It’s not a huge difference and can be mitigated by raising the cup closer to a bottomless PF.

I prefer a spouted in the cup, but not enough to have to clean one. One look inside a spout that hasn’t seen Pulycaff for a while is probably enough to put a lot of people off.

The LM spout parts are removable, and seeing inside was not a pleasant sight.

MediumRoastSteam

dfk41 Cafes seem to manage!

Of course they do. They also have a lot more PFs than we do, and they will soak clean them a daily (if not more often). How often do you clean yours?

Elcarajillo

It is also much easier to change / swap baskets, I use the 18 gm change to 9 gm for Mrs Ec. Several times a day.
A large thumb does wonders😀

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam When it is dirty of course! There again, I am not hung up on the topic. How often do traditionalists clean their Yorkshire pudding tins?

Inspector

FadedFrontiers yea, either that or crema being different.

MediumRoastSteam

dfk41 When it is dirty of course!

Let me rephrase it for you then: Based on your usage, how many days does it take for the PF to be considered dirty and consequently needed to be cleaned by soaking it in detergent?

Cuprajake

MediumRoastSteam

if its for your mrs coffee then its fine 😁

jokes aside, i take the basket of the double and rinse after every shot,

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam I will give you an honest answer. If I do it once a month it is lucky. After each shot I rinse the basket and pf under a tap which helps. But, since we are drinking the coffee we produce then I do not go along with this if you cannot see your face in it then it is not clean. If I could taste a difference then I might do it more

Ernie1

My first thoughts when seeing how much buildup there was in there was not so much the health aspect but more how much it’s likely to be imparting flavours in the cup.

Seemed kind of foolish to be carefully portioning out ultra fresh coffee, carefully distributing and tamping and then pulling a shot through two weeks of coffee residue…

Cuprajake

naked ftw

MediumRoastSteam

dfk41 - Taste is subjective after all. So it’s your coffee, your tastebuds… As long as you are happy, then it’s all fine :-)

Pompeyexile

I use both and whichever I use, once I’ce knocked the puck out I immediately rinse throrughly in hot water and I have seen no build up of coffee oils in my spouted portafilter. However, I still do a Puly soak once a month..belt and braces and all that.

mathof2

I use a double-spouted pf when I want to pull two singles simultaneously. When I want one single, which is most of the time, I prefer a bottomless pf to a single-spouted one.