I’m pretty sure I prefer a spouted portafilter to a naked… Anyone else? I did a bit of a two week trial, a week on the spouted and a week on the naked. There’s 100% a difference in flavour and crema, I thought I was imagining it at first but it’s definitely there. The crema tastes thicker too, less tiger-striping and more of what I’d call ‘traditional’ crema but the shot from the naked is thinner, with more pronounced intensity. Of course, for diagnosing puck prep inconsistencies the naked is clearly the way to go, but in terms of in the cup, I prefer spouted. However, what I don’t understand is why it tastes different? I used the same dose, same grind, same basket and exactly the same extraction. Another bonus is they’re cleaner, even with a clean rat-tail from a naked, the shot has further to fall and the first drop causes splashes over the machine. I could use the thing that came with the Bianca to raise the cup but that’s one more thing to have lying around.

I have just started to use a naked PF. I thought the change in texture was instantly obvious and for the better. It just seems more viscous, I put it down to not being broken down by contact with the bottom of the PF and the spout. I have noticed no mess at all so far with the naked PF. Overall, I am enjoying the new PF although I miss the heft of the dual spout in the hand. Cheers Ross

@"Goodfella"#p15713 I think the general consensus is definitely that they prefer the naked PF. Great that you’re not seeing any mess, they can be a bit of a fountain if the prep isn’t good!

I prefer the taste from a spouted portafilter too. Dont know why it tastes cleaner, smoother.

prefer the naked, easy to keep clean, better tasking shots, less metal to impact the shot temp.

I though I preferred the spouted until I nailed it with a naked. Before that I thought a naked PF makes a mess so went back and forth, but once I found that it was me making the mess, not the PF, I moved to naked and now won't go back.

Just the thought of soaking a spouted portafilter every couple of weeks and see all that brown water afterwards made me retire the spouted portafilter a long, long time ago! With the bottomless portafilter, you pull a shot, you rinse the basket and that's it. I actually tried soaking the PF and the basket as I thought it would have coffee oils built up afterwards… Nope. Nothing. So bottomless PF it is for me!

I know you can get a single spouted portafilter but the double spout was to split a shot, can you get a single that is just a single straight down funnel?

I prefer the naked as it's easier to clean for me (the pf and basket, not the backsplash and drip tray!) I have started to experiment with higher flow and longer ratios though and spouted would definitely limit the mess from that. I still use the naked as it's easier to wipe down the machine and countertop than soak a spouted pf 😅

Interesting to see the different preferences! Glad there’s at least a few votes for team spouted! I think I also just prefer how it looks when fitted in the group. The E61 just looks a bit… naked to me with a bottomless!

Just gonna come out and say this…

Ernie1

I think a lot of my success with a relatively carefree approach to prep comes from sticking to a handful of med-dark roasts. I must’ve made hundreds of flat-whites with Rave Chatswood, I know it inside out and it’s very rare I get an off extraction.

Dark roasts, especially with milk, are so much more forgiving. I think if I enjoyed lighter roasts for espresso more I’d probably single dose and use a naked PF.

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