# Lelit bottomless portafilter first try (feedback wanted!)



## JamesB (Nov 11, 2017)

Hi guys!

I am new to the forums and just today got a bottomless portafilter for my Lelit PL41TEM. I've had the machine around 2 weeks and am managing to get some quite good tasting shots, but nothing super thick yet. Here's a video of a good tasting shot:






I used Populus beans (a local roaster here in Berlin), a relatively light roast. My grinder is a Barazza Encore, set to 5. Used 18g of coffee (was using 18.5g but the extraction was much too slow) and a relatively heavy tamp, plus WDT.

Problems I can see:

- some dead spots where no coffee is being extracted(?)

- took a while for the stream to come together

- when the stream finally does come together, it's quite thin - you can still see the basket underneath

- quite bubbly crema - actually the first time I had this problem!

- I probably didn't stop it quick enough before it blonded

Here's a picture of the puck afterwards (was there too much coffee? quite a heavy indent):









I'm new to the machine, and to non-pressurised PFs. I just upgraded from a Delonghi, and I know I have a lot to learn. Your feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks

James


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## Obnic (Jan 14, 2014)

Good self-diagnosis.

Lower the dose or loosen the grind. Probably former if you think you're getting a strong shower screen impression. This will make the shot flow faster. Looks to me like you're choking your shot and getting very low output in nearly a minute.

Take more care over distribution of grounds in the basket before you tamp. This will ensure you get one central tail and no blank spots.

Weigh your dose and output so you can stay consistent.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

The best way to test if you're too close to the shower screen/over dosing is before you pull the shot.

That indent could be puck expansion of a long shot or sucking when you stopped the shot.

Use a coin placed on top of the puck, fit portafilter and then remove again - see if coin has left an imprint in puck.


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## JamesB (Nov 11, 2017)

Obnic said:


> Good self-diagnosis.
> 
> Lower the dose or loosen the grind. Probably former if you think you're getting a strong shower screen impression. This will make the shot flow faster. Looks to me like you're choking your shot and getting very low output in nearly a minute.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the helpful feedback!

When you say 'loosen the grind', do you mean coarser?

I have a question about WDT. I use it because the Barazza makes very clumpy grinds. I'm unsure as to whether I should be going right to the edges of the basket when I do it, because I don't want to break the edge seal (between the coffee and the basket). Any ideas?


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## JamesB (Nov 11, 2017)

kennyboy993 said:


> The best way to test if you're too close to the shower screen/over dosing is before you pull the shot.
> 
> That indent could be puck expansion of a long shot or sucking when you stopped the shot.
> 
> Use a coin placed on top of the puck, fit portafilter and then remove again - see if coin has left an imprint in puck.


Thanks for the help! I had been doing this with a different coffee and hadn't been getting an indent, with this coffee I do, I guess they produce different volumes when grinding. There's another video/pics coming...


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## JamesB (Nov 11, 2017)

So I tried 17.5g, took extra care to break up all clumps I could see as I put the coffee into the basket, used WDT again. Slightly lighter tamp.

I got 30.7g in just under 1 minute(!). Here's a video:






To me, once it gets going it looks a little better than before, a little thicker and less dead spots. The taste was about the same as before, but maybe not as sour - somehow I preferred the last one!

Here's the puck after the coin test (should there be any indent at all?). There is a slight indent of around 0.5mm.









Here's the puck after extraction:


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## Obnic (Jan 14, 2014)

Loosen grind = coarser, yes.

Indent suggests you are overfilling the basket. Lower dose should mean 15g in, 30g out, aim for 30s.


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