# Silvia bottomless Portafilter and extraction



## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Just got myself a bottomless Portafilter for my rancilio silvia machine. It came with a 21g basket pre installed. I tried dosing it with 18g and what came through when pulling the shot was main water and very quick. I guess this is down to not fully dosing the basket or can a basket be under dosed and still give good results? If not would the best option be getting a VST 18g one?

Also I am finding that with the stock Portafilter and double basket dosed with 14g I am getting good results with one bean (25g extraction in about 30 seconds) but with another the same 14g dose takes up to 40 seconds and hence tastes over extracted. Do I need to grind courser for the second bean or maybe dose slightly less?


----------



## bronc (Dec 10, 2012)

Each bean requires a different grind setting - this is called dialing in a bean. You need to adjust the fineness for a different basket as well.


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Dunk said:


> Just got myself a bottomless Portafilter for my rancilio silvia machine. It came with a 21g basket pre installed. I tried dosing it with 18g and what came through when pulling the shot was main water and very quick. I guess this is down to not fully dosing the basket or can a basket be under dosed and still give good results? If not would the best option be getting a VST 18g one?
> 
> Also I am finding that with the stock Portafilter and double basket dosed with 14g I am getting good results with one bean (25g extraction in about 30 seconds) but with another the same 14g dose takes up to 40 seconds and hence tastes over extracted. Do I need to grind courser for the second bean or maybe dose slightly less?


Yes if the taste isnt to your liking then grind coarser for the 40 second shot

If you change beans they will need different grinds

general rule of thumb

Lighter roasts = fineer grind

Darker roasts = coarser grind

Slow down an extraction = grind finer and or dose more ( i would do one only though )

Speed up extraction = grind coarser and or dose less ( as above )

In the end you are changing grind and extraction time to get a balance of taste/ strength and clarity in the cup you enjoy

If you dose more , you may find that you need to coarsen the grind again to get the same output in the same time ....

Have you read these

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?22879-Beginners-Reading-Weighing-Espresso-Brew-Ratios

You dont have to us a 21g with a naked pf , you could use your 14 g basket if you want


----------



## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

Stick the 14g basket in the bottomless and make sure everything looks ok, get used to making even extractions with the kit you're used to. Pick up a VST basket and then switch over to that. Generally VST baskets are more tricky to work with so maybe make sure things look good with with 14g first.

Do you have a grinder at home or are you using pre-ground? If you have a grinder at home then what the others say is true, adjust the grind to compensate. If you are on pre-ground then the only option you have is to change the dose and there may not be enough you can do if it's gushing.


----------



## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Got a grinder at home so will try making the grind corner next time with the naked Portafilter.

As for VST baskets would you get the 18g or the 15g / what are the bonus of each one?


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Dunk said:


> Got a grinder at home so will try making the grind corner next time with the naked Portafilter.
> 
> As for VST baskets would you get the 18g or the 15g / what are the bonus of each one?


They old different doses , nominally +/- 1 g

18g vst hold 17-19g g

15 g vst hold 14-16g


----------



## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Yeh so for an 18g basket for a normal brew ratio you'd get extract 36g and for a 15g basket 30g. So I guess which basket you use depends how strong you want the coffee / the size of your cup? Will a 36g extraction leave much room for milk in a 6oz cup?


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Dunk said:


> Yeh so for an 18g basket for a normal brew ratio you'd get extract 36g and for a 15g basket 30g. So I guess which basket you use depends how strong you want the coffee / the size of your cup? Will a 36g extraction leave much room for milk in a 6oz cup?


Really will come down to how strong you want your milk drink

Most on here seem to prefer stronger milk drink than me

I drink a 36-40g shot split into two

One as espresso

One in a 5oz cup for a cappuccino

I think I am in the minority though


----------



## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Fair it's all about personal taste I guess then. Need to find out what the coffee shops I like are doing to try and replicate it









Guess I need to try and get an 18g basket then to try the difference as 21g is definitely to big!


----------

