My bottomless portafilter made a huge mess on my first try

I finally got a bottomless portafilter from a local shop for about $20 last week. I thought it would be a quick upgrade to see if my puck prep was decent. Filled my basket, tamped like usual, and pulled a shot. It sprayed coffee all over my machine and counter like a fire hose. I learned that my grind was way too coarse and my distribution was uneven. So I went back to a finer grind and used a toothpick to break up clumps before tamping. Now I get nice steady streams with no spraying. Has anyone else had to change their whole routine after switching to a bottomless portafilter?

2 comments

2 Comments

rivera.henry11d ago

The real test is when you switch beans and that perfect grind setting turns into a geyser again, I basically have to dial in from scratch every new bag now.

the_sage11d ago

Haha yep, that's the espresso gods reminding you who's really in charge. Nothing like a nice 5am surprise shower from your machine to start the day, right?