Bottomless Portafilters: Why & How?

If you are perplexed by the existence of bottomless portafilters, don’t worry, you’re not alone. This addition to the espresso scene was spurred on by the passions of world-class baristas who live only to extract the absolute best out of every coffee bean.

Bottomless Portafilter Vs. Spouted Portafilters 

By chopping the bottom off a portafilter, you are exposed to the good, the bad, and the ugly of espresso shots. The traditional spouted portafilters nicely gather the coffee into a clean, neat flow of extracted coffee into your cup. Any imperfections in the grinding, dosing, and tamping technique can be easily masked by using a spouted portafilter.

The bottomless portafilter will tell all. And it does so in a ruthless way.

An underdosed, overdosed, unevenly distributed, or badly tamped puck of coffee will result in your espresso sputtering out all over the place—a technique issue known as channeling. The water finds weak spots in the puck through which it can move easier and faster, so it doesn’t bother extracting properly through the coffee grinds.

Even Extraction

In the spots where water flows faster, the coffee shoots out the bottom of the portafilter at high speeds and in unpredictable directions. It is frustrating and somewhat embarrassing, but it makes you work harder to perfect your technique.

Channeling and How to Perfect Your Tamping Skills

If you are suffering from channeling shots, try distributing the coffee more evenly by moving the portafilter around during dosing. Allowing the coffee to fall evenly across the basket's perforated surface helps prevent weak spots around the edges. Also, ensure your tamping is always even and consistent.

When you get it right, the shot pours beautifully like warm honey. Smooth, silky, and delicious. That’s right; the coffee tastes better too. It makes all the pain and anguish worthwhile. Ensure you don’t wear your favorite white shirt when practicing with a bottomless portafilter!

For more on this topic, check out Even Extraction - The Pursuit of Perfection on our blog.