OK, I've done more comparison testing between coffee made with nekkid vs conventional portafilters. The short answer is that the only real difference I find is the greater amount of crema in the nekkid shot.
Shots that are ground, dosed and tamped the same, pulled for the same amount of time, with the same amount of coffee and the same amount of water delivered by the machine, weigh virtually the same (with the usual shot-to-shot variation, of course). There is no significant difference in Total Dissolved Solids. With my equipment, beans and technique, the nekkid shot are approx 15% higher in gross volume (liquid plus crema) when measured immediately after the final drops have fallen into the cup. But if you let all the crema collapse, the net volume of the nekkid vs conventional shots would be virtually identical.
I could not distinguish any flavor difference per se, except that the nekkid shots, with their larger head of crema, seemed "lighter" and occasionally seemed "fruitier." This is not surprising, considering that the crema is light and it helps deliver aromas to one's nasal apparatus.
The nekkid shot is obviously not going to suffer from off-flavors due to coffee residue building up in the portafilter bottom and spout. And if you want to make a nekkid shot taste more like a conventional shot, let it sit for an extra half a minute or so before trying it. The excess crema will collapse and you'll be back to just about where a conventional portafilter would have delivered it.
That's what I found so far. YMMV.
None of this refutes the tremendous training value that results from the barista's ability to monitor the nekkid extraction so closely.
A couple of thoughts. I'm an amateur, many of you are pros, so maybe take these with a grain of salt...
There have been a couple of comments about how a naked portafilter may not retain heat like a regular one. Maybe someone needs to create a portafilter that doesn't have a removable basket, or where the basket touches the sides of the portafilter. This would maximize heat retention in the basket, wouldn't it? Besides, who needs a removable basket in a naked portafilter?
I've also read comments about how the basket flexes under the intense pressure of the machine. Could it be that the tamped puck cracks as it flexes, and this creates channeling? It makes sense. Yet another reason to create a solid pf/basket.
Posted Sat Oct 30, 2004, 10:55am Subject: Re: Simply put: Espronography
MPantani Said:
Maybe someone needs to create a portafilter that doesn't have a removable basket, or where the basket touches the sides of the portafilter. This would maximize heat retention in the basket, wouldn't it? Besides, who needs a removable basket in a naked portafilter?
I've also read comments about how the basket flexes under the intense pressure of the machine. Could it be that the tamped puck cracks as it flexes, and this creates channeling? It makes sense. Yet another reason to create a solid pf/basket.
The bottom of the basket flexes and eventually cracks. At that point, it must be replaced. It's a lot cheaper to replace a basket compared to a hypothetical one-piece portafilter/basket.
Also, replaceable baskets allow you to try various shapes and hole configurations in single, double and triple sizes....
MPantani Senior Member Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 124 Location: Seattle Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Millennium Grinder: Pasquini Moka Drip: Never
Posted Sat Oct 30, 2004, 3:40pm Subject: Re: Simply put: Espronography
andys Said:
The bottom of the basket flexes and eventually cracks. At that point, it must be replaced. It's a lot cheaper to replace a basket compared to a hypothetical one-piece portafilter/basket.
Also, replaceable baskets allow you to try various shapes and hole configurations in single, double and triple sizes....
Posted Sat Oct 30, 2004, 6:07pm Subject: Re: Simply put: Espronography
The quantitative benefits vs qualitative benefits are what is at heart here. When using a naked PF, the results are qualitative: the espresso tastes better (qualitative) as has been shown in many tests (using tasters, on Malachi's page) despite some differences in basket temperature (quantitative).
What are you most worried about? How the espresso tastes, or what shows up in your thermocouple's readout?
I started thinking yesterday, i dont have either time or money to do a naked PF right now, but i got one thing. I noticed that on my Gaggia handle, there is enough room below the portafilter for the extraction to float free, so i just removed the spouts. With a good extration, the crema never touches the PF, just like on a naked PF. Or rather, it touches the PF in the beginning before it stabilizes in the center, and then it comes straight down the hole without touching its walls.
So if its really a improvement in taste, you can get most of it just by screwing off the doublespout. On the other hand, you lack the pure estehics of a naked PF. Oh well, another time, another PF.
I just got a new Wega Atlas, and was wanting to get the portafilter mod done to the extra portafilter that came with the machine. The portafilters are fairly thin and I was wondering... can I put completely different portafilters in the machine(A la la la marzzoco style)? As long as it's the same size? It is an E-61 grouphead. And the portafilter size is 58mm. Any experiance with this?
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
![andys: pour 6c.jpg](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/11312/pour6c.jpg", 696, 800, "andys: pour 6c.jpg");)
= No New Posts since last visit 