# Naked Portafilter - adjustment order



## NitJay (May 18, 2020)

Hi,

My Naked portafilter arrived today and pulled a couple of shots with it, Happy Donkey sent a double basket. 18g Happy Donkey Espresso beans (2 weeks old), aiming for 36g espresso in between 25-35 secs.
Grinding using SGP set to 11 then 9 for the second shot.

First shot, nice and clean, no spitting espresso everywhere, but way too fast and sour.

Just changed the grind setting down to 9 but kept everything the same.

Second shot, much better, tasted good, no sourness.

However, it was a bit messy with the main 'stream' right over to the left hand side of the puck, moving across to the middle with the odd spurt of espresso coming out the edges.

Here is a picture of the puck and I have a few questions which I'm sure you'll be able to help with



You can clearly see an indent of the screw from the shower screen, should I be concerned? The screw is only hand tight to try and avoid jetting.


See the hole at the bottom of the puck? This keeps happening and I don't know why - any advice here?


Finally - What variables should I adjust to neaten up the extraction so I can get that beautiful central pour?


My tamping is not fantastic, I find it really hard to not have to tamp 3 or 4 times to get a fairly level puck. Have a Motta 58mm tamper, but it seems a bit small to me, there's always part at the edge that doesn't get tamped properly and the edge furthest away from me is always higher than the closest part.

Thanks as always for your help, totally addicted to this hobby!


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## Gubbo89 (Dec 5, 2018)

Will try to help with a couple of things but when you say you have to tamp 3/4 times, is this on top of each other or do you distribute grinds again?

On distribution, how do you do this? Do you have a method like WDT or tamp n the grinds from SGP?

I used to have a SGP so know it can come out clumpy so used to mix it all up with a toothpick first and still do it now even though I have a better grinder.

Also find some videos on tamping and find a technique that works, this is just about being consistent and compressing the already well distributed coffee flat.


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## NitJay (May 18, 2020)

Thanks Gubbo - I kept seeing WDT referenced when searching for other posts about this and after posting this looked up what it was. By the way since you have the same grinder, what range of grind settings do you use? I was using 9.

I've been grinding into the little tub you get with the SGP and then stirring with a small straight piece of metal. Does that sound right?

In terms of tamping.... To be honest probably 3 or 4 times on top of each other. I always find my tamper isn't level and will be higher on one side than the other. I was thinking about getting a Motta leveller (when in stock) and using that to help a little.

One other thing I read this afternoon is that I might be putting too much into the basket. I've got a stock 14g gaggia basket but have been using 18g of espresso.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

You need to tamp level and once, not three or four times. You can't correct an uneven tamp by tamping again. You probably need to dose less in the basket (do the penny test). There are techniques to tamping, personally I stand side on and get my elbow up above the basket so my forearm is aiming straight down.


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## Gubbo89 (Dec 5, 2018)

I used to dose 17g into stock basket so maybe try and few different doses.

But probably best to get distribution right first and the consistent tamp. As @Rob1 said, need to find a method that enables you to tamp once. I tamp facing the portafilter with my arm to the right at a right angle and with my fingers over the lip of the tamper - I then use this as a guide so when I tamp down, my fingers touch the outside of the basket as well as on the tamper so I can get a level tamp.

Grinding into a pot is fine, I personally ground into portafilter then did WDT method straight in there, then tapped sides of PF to get grounds level before tamping. https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/how-to-distribute-by-tapping/

Cant remember grind setting to be honest but think it was high single figures 7-9.

Also what beans are you using, are they supermarket or roaster?


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## NitJay (May 18, 2020)

OK cool, I will look up some tamping methods and try and find one that suits. If I grind 16g/17g it will probably be easier to grind straight into the PF as it won't overflow so much.

I'm using happy donkey beans at the moment. I've got the standard espresso blend and also Costa Rican.


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## 9719 (Mar 29, 2015)

All you need for tamping...Chris Baca shows how to do it right give it a go otherwise sort your distribution out before tamping... https://www.invidio.us/watch?v=SnieoHAGlds


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## NitJay (May 18, 2020)

That's an awesome how to video, thanks for sharing. Wish I'd seen it before my morning cuppa.

I tried stepping down the dose to 16.5gs, one was sour and far too fast which I expected, the second was a steam shot and third was much better extraction but still too hot. Think I've got the grind settings right, now with this video and tamping practice I think i can get it.

Still getting this massive channel in the exact same spot though. Is my distribution still off, or something?


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