Throw out that bottomless!

dfk41

Adrianmsmith

Absolute bollocks.

Have commented on YT as such!

I Never watch my shots, the mug hides the bottom of the pf . If I’m making straight espresso in my le creuset mugs i still do not watch it but only ever use bottomless pf for the convenience and lack of cleaning requirement

His videos are usually interesting .

This is crap!!

Needs to do a dialling in coffee by taste video not this rubbish.

Why so many thumbs up already.

Shocking.

dfk41

Adrianmsmith I agree with most of his sentiment. A bottomless was only ever used in a cafe so as the barista could check the pour and the shot from time to time. Then they became fashionable and now, unless you use one then you are a pariah. I mean, a spouted portafilter will always be far hotter and make the coffee taste nasty, like in the WBC finals……strange, they use neither bottomless or single dose grinders. I agree, if you know your craft why do you need to check every shot, or is it aesthetics……I grew up in the days pre lockdown where standard proceedure was to use a dosered grinder and if you had a bottomless you were a pouff!

Adrianmsmith

dfk41 Then they became fashionable and now, unless you use one then you are a pariah

I think there are at least two sides do this. I do agree with what you are saying especially when I read comments on Facebook and Reddit but….

For me, the bottomless portafilter is the only one I will ever use due to the fact I like to brew into mugs and whether it be for the sage, breville dual boiler, synchronika, vesuvius or the Evo. I cannot get a cup underneath with a spouted portafilter even if I wanted to use one.

It is not about watching the brew as I’ll never do. I think I do have a mirror that came with the evo but it is still in the accessories box!!

Also, I must be lucky as every time I read about the mess created by the bottomless portafilter I do not know what people are talking about and my puck prep is nothing out of the ordinary I grind drop into the portafilter and tamp. Currently using the manual 54.4 mm tamper. Nothing more. Nothing less.

crimson89

The bottomless causes too much of a mess especially with advanced recipes low contact fast flow etc. However there might be some value when it comes down to blooming profiles you want to see when it’s time to cut the flow and let the bloom happen before resuming. By the time you see the flow in a spouted portafilter it’s already too late to interfere. But I agree if it’s for standard recipes etc the bottomless is probably not as useful as we think and we should follow our taste buds.

Teaboy

A bottomless is great, not too hard to keep clean, the only time I find issue is when there’s loads of chaff left from a poor roasting as it causes spraying.

Tal

I agree with the sentiment of the video, it is doing nothing for the quality of the coffee.

However like others here, my reasoning for using it are workflow and ease of use related.

Can fit taller mugs beneath
Easier to tap (to settle the grounds) and to tamp on my worktop, without denting my oak worktop with the spouts, yes I have a rubber mat, but I do not want to risk my worktops, given the amount of work I put into installing them in the first place, if you have done it you will understand! I also know you can buy tamping stations, but it’s more stuff permanently on the worktop.
Gives me pleasure on occasion to take a look :)
Easier to clean, quicker to dry after rinsing etc

But I appreciate it adds nothing to the quality of my coffee

Adrianmsmith

Tal

I have to agree and in a roundabout way have said

It adds nothing to the quality or taste of the coffee.

Clodius

I still love to crouch and look at the flow.

dfk41

Clodius I still love to crouch and look at the flow.

Just wait until you cannot…..LOL I fully accept that using a bottomless does help in some circumstances but I guess the angle I was coming from really, was that taste is king and in my humble it adds nothing to that

Adrianmsmith

dfk41 I guess the angle I was coming from really, was that taste is king and in my humble it adds nothing to that

Fully agree there.

But definitely helps brew in to mugs 🤪😎☕

Its a mugs game!!

Clodius

dfk41 Just wait until you cannot

Occasionally have to do it with a toddler on my shoulders, considering it as training for the future.

Dusk

I’m a fan of bottomless purely from a ease of cleaning/tamping perspective. I get the very occasional additional bit of mess to clean up from a sprayer but I think it’s easier overall. I definitely don’t crouch down to check anything, it’s too far down for a lanky git like me!

Adrianmsmith

Dusk

I find getting down is easy….. then the trouble starts. Seems a lot harder getting up😎

Platypus

No problem viewing the undercarriage here! 😆

Put it this way, if I had a massive lever machine I would need a kick step to reach the handle.

Elcarajillo

Platypus I have just the opposite problem ,I have always had the Verona on 6 " legs to be comfortable.

Adrianmsmith

Platypus if I had a massive lever machine I would need a kick step to reach the handle

Come and see davids Mythos and we can test that theory🤓🤓🤓🤓

delta76

Nobody said bottomless makes better coffee. It makes it easier to make better coffee by having more visual/direct feedback of your puck prep. Also, much, much easier to clean. I’d never go back to a sprouted one.

dfk41

delta76 I’d never go back to a sprouted one.

Who mentioned Sprouts?

crimson89

I’ve just had a nice decaf from Round Hill maxing pressure at 4 bar on the group head. Earlier this morning I had the Christmas special from DAK maxing at 2 bar. Thankfully I’m using the one-spouted portafilter and I didn’t have to worry about any gushing mess so I get to enjoy shots like this. Both espressi super juicy and sweat :) my obsession to get the extraction looking “good” on the bottomless held me back for a long time, me personally.