Posted Fri May 25, 2012, 2:56pm Subject: Re: Need help with naked portafilter spraying everywhere
I stopped using spouted portafilters years ago. The last two machines I got, one of the first things I did was to take a portafilter out to the garage and fire up the drill press. The only reasons that I can see for using one would be: A - You are using the double basket to pull two single shots. B - You are too lazy to cure your sprite problem and are sick of cleaning up the mess. Reasons to use a Bottomless: 1 - The floor (inside bottom) of some portafilter bodies (like my Vibiemme portafilter) are very flat and retain some espresso, and it is almost impossible to move the portafilter from the machine to the knock box without dripping. 2 - I love the show! 3 - It gives excellent feedback as to grind and distribution. 4 - I love to dip a spoon in the flow and taste directly from the stream.
Weigh the dose and distribute the coffee evenly. That is why I like a doser-equipped grinder. Tamp all you like. 50 pounds is not a problem and it makes being consistent easy because after about 30 pounds there is little compression and after about 40 there is virtually none. Most importantly, tamp level. IF ll that is done correctly, and you are still getting sprites, try grinding a bit more coarse, or possibly lowering the dose a bit.
Coffeenoobie Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 2,314 Location: PNW Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: N S Oscar Grinder: Vario W
Posted Fri May 25, 2012, 3:28pm Subject: Re: Need help with naked portafilter spraying everywhere
I like the feed back my naked gives me. I used spouted at parties when I had to split my doubles but I went back to naked at home. Except for mess if I screw up and get a spritzy shot I see no reason at all for a spout at home where we both drink doubles.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
slybarman Senior Member Joined: 3 Nov 2011 Posts: 331 Location: usa Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 6:13am Subject: Re: Need help with naked portafilter spraying everywhere
frcn Said:
The only reasons that I can see for using one would be: A - You are using the double basket to pull two single shots. B - You are too lazy to cure your sprite problem and are sick of cleaning up the mess.
MikeReilly Senior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 277 Location: Vancouver Island Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Cimbali Junior D, Gaggia... Grinder: Mazzer Mini Drip: Cuisinart Roaster: Behmor, I-Roast 2, Popper
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 9:28pm Subject: Re: Need help with naked portafilter spraying everywhere
I have also gone to 100% naked pulls (naked PF, that is!) The feedback I get from it is invaluable. The hard thing when things aren't going well with your shot is that there are many variables and it's very tempting to play with too many of them at a time. Start with a sensible dose and rely on the experience of folks who use the machine you have for a starting point. Make sure you have fresh, but not too fresh coffee - too fresh and you'll get overabundant crema and a poorer tasting shot. Each coffee blend has it's own best after and before dates. In general I rest everything at least 2 days for espresso and more for Yemens. Now, with your good coffee and a sensible dose (for most machines between 14-16 grams to start with), you can dial in the grind. Here you are shooting for 1.5-2 oz of expresso after 23-35 seconds. The grinder you have should let you dial in any time in that range so play with it and taste the shots. Find out what time tastes best. Once you have that figured out, you can go back and dial in the dosing again. Don't mess with the grind, just updose and downdose a bit to see what happens in the cup. For my Junior D, it turns out that 14g +/- 0.5g is the sweet spot.
As to any distribution and tamping, it's really up to you. I started with WDT, then I dropped it for a while and now I've gone back to it. But I just give a quick stir to try to get the grounds distributed fairly evenly. Then I finger level and tamp. For me (and this may vary for others) it's best to tamp NSEW lightly (probably because I have a 56mm tamper and 58mm basket) and then give a little nutating rolling tamp and finally a finishing straight down tamp and a very light polishing twist. If I get side channeling, doughnut extractions or spritzers at the edges, I usually need to either grind finer, give a better nutating tamp, or a combination of the two.
Now, this is my own barista voodoo. Everyone develops their own over time and with luck, you will get a great system that works well for you. Because of my grinder (at least that's what I'm going to blame!) it took me a fair while to get where I am today. With any luck, you'll have this nailed down fairly quickly. Some great articles both here an on HB guided me through all of my worse pulls and now I pull better than I can get in any local shops.
But really, just keep it simple. Grind, dose, distribution and tamp. Don't play with too many variables at once. Sit down with a half pound of coffee and pour until it clicks.
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.
= No New Posts since last visit 