There is a new thing in the coffee circle that is not only a good barista training tool, but also looks beautiful, it is called the "bottomless handle". Its bottom was removed or cut off, making the entire bottom visible, completely exposed to "peeping toms". This will allow baristas during training to see the bottom of the filter bowl and see how coffee drips from the machine into the cup.

Bottomless handle and standard handle

At first glance, the “bottomless handle” is a new concept. Can it really help aspiring baristas train better?

The dream goal of a barista is to make coffee that not only looks good, but also tastes good. Perfect extraction is a hodgepodge of perfect grinding, loading, and pressing, not to mention roasting, water temperature, air pressure, and water pH.

Ideally, the thickness of the coffee powder should be the same. When the powder is loaded and pressed, the compactness of the powder cake should also be the same in all directions. Of course, absolute perfection is impossible, and the "bottomless handle" can help us judge: flow column, flow speed, color, flow column stripes...

Bottomless portafilters are a very popular espresso machine combo. Why is it so popular? Does it really make the difference in coffee? Next we will take a look at what is so mysterious about the bottomless handle.

What is a bottomless handle?

Simply put, a bottomless handle refers to a handle with the nozzle and bottom removed, leaving the bottom of the powder bowl exposed. With the bottomless portafilter, espresso flows directly from the powder bowl into the coffee cup.

If you look at the specification sheet of an espresso machine, you will find that it often mentions that one brewing head can make double espresso at one time, and the handle with a spout can divide the double espresso into two cups.

Within the specialty coffee industry, where single-serve espresso drinks are typically few and far between, some baristas have decided to try bottomless portafilters.

Why use bottomless handles?

There are many reasons for those who support the use of bottomless handles. Here we list all the relevant reasons.

1. Quality control inspection

The most commonly cited reason for using a bottomless portafilter is that it allows us to judge the evenness of the extraction, thus helping to produce a tastier and more consistent espresso. Traditional handle nozzles can cause false spray or drainage, but with the bottomless handle, this is clearly visible. In theory, a bottomless portafilter would help baristas judge the quality of the brew. In this way, they can focus on the research on extraction methods and improve extraction quality by adjusting aspects such as dispensing, grinding, or tamping.

When using a bottomless handle, when you see multiple streams of water at the bottom of the handle quickly integrating into a beautiful tiger stripe, it does not mean that it is better than the tiger stripe that is slowly integrated. Remember, we are not directly seeing the process of water passing through the powder, but the process of coffee liquid passing through the powder bowl, so drainage does not always mean uneven extraction.

I have been using bottomless handles for several years and have found that some of the water flow looks weird but tastes great. Sometimes when you use the same coffee to extract a more beautiful stream, you find that the taste is not as good as those strange streams. Therefore, I don't think there is always a strong correlation between water flow quality and extraction quality.

This is not to say that poor quality water flow is not a bad sign. You won't know how it tastes until you taste it. Bottomless handles can reveal some bad qualities. If there is spraying during extraction, it indicates that the coffee beans are not fresh, unevenly ground or unevenly packed.

2. Higher starting point

Another advantage of the bottomless handle is that it can increase the height of the water flow. It is more convenient to use takeaway cups because they are taller. A high starting point may cause the espresso to bubble. Just attach a vertical spigot to the cup and those worrisome bubbles will disappear before serving.

3. Improve oil

Some would say that bottomless handles produce more and better grease. This could be caused by a lack of surface area for the espresso to flow. Because the grease's foam doesn't have the same area to cling to, it cools more slowly, resulting in thicker, more foamy foam. I don't believe that more oil means better extraction, and I'm not sure if a bottomless handle will extract more oil.

4. An aesthetic pleasure

The extraction process of espresso is very beautiful. Using a bottomless handle can intuitively appreciate this beautiful scene. This is a function that bottomed handles do not have. With the bottomless portafilter, you'll quickly be mesmerized by the glistening golden-brown water as your espresso flows. I think this might be reason enough for people to opt for bottomless handles.

What are the disadvantages of bottomless handles?

1. The increased height of the water flow makes the coffee liquid easy to splash and stain the coffee machine, but this is almost offset by the fact that the bottomless handle itself is more convenient to clean.

2. The bottomless handle cannot divide a double shot of espresso into two cups. If the customer orders a single shot of espresso, he or she needs to weigh the single shot from the double shot.

There are some disadvantages to bottomless handles, but it’s safe to say that these are minor. Bottomless handles have advantages and disadvantages. If you are interested in it, you might as well buy it and give it a try.

Extracting a cup of good concentration requires stable pressure, appropriate water temperature, appropriate grinding degree, appropriate amount of powder, etc. So what does it mean to be suitable? For example: WBC stipulates that one serving of Espresso is 1oz (25~35ml, including Crema), brewed at a temperature between 90.5~96 degrees Celsius, brewing pressure 8.5bar~9.5bar, and extraction time 20~30 seconds (no mandatory regulations) . In order to meet the above requirements, a good espresso machine and grinder are essential. Many novices often have trouble extracting and concentrating because they don't understand it at the beginning and want to get started first. As a result, they buy a relatively inferior so-called 15bar pressure espresso machine and a grinder that cannot accurately adjust the scale or is only suitable for grinding coarse powder. Single product grinder. I would like to appeal to all novices, don’t rush to buy espresso coffee equipment. You must do your homework before starting, otherwise it will be easy to spend money and not be able to make good coffee!

The following process may be cumbersome, and some of the steps are not necessary and are only for reference. A suitable amount of powder is required. Strictly speaking, a difference of 0.5 grams will change the flow rate, so the amount of powder each time should be controlled within 0.5 grams, preferably 0.3 grams. Use an electronic scale to weigh the beans, put them into the grinder, and then grind them out. This is inaccurate (unless it is a grinder like HG-ONE), because the grinder will "eat" the powder, or there will be too much "Spit" out the remaining flour, so be sure to weigh the flour that falls into the flour bowl to get the most accurate result. An electronic scale is used here to weigh the beans as a demonstration.

Appropriate grinding degree is very important. When other variables remain unchanged, the scale will determine the speed at which Espresso flows out. Often we also adjust the scale to adjust the flow rate of different formulas of espresso beans. Why is an Italian grinder so important? Because the amount of powder, extraction time, and pressure can generally be fixed, we can achieve the flow rate we require by adjusting the grinding scale, and then slowly fine-tune other variables to find the flavor we like. Single-product grinders and ordinary hand-cranked grinders are not suitable for making espresso coffee, or even espresso coffee, because the adjustment range of one scale is too large to meet the fine-tuning requirements.

When making espresso at home, you generally don’t have a few cups a day. In order not to affect the extraction of the next cup of coffee, the grinder must be cleaned, including the powder channel of the grinder, which needs to be cleaned with a brush, air blower, vacuum cleaner, etc. If there is residual powder in your grinder, it will definitely affect the flow rate of the next cup of coffee, and stale powder will also make the taste worse. Of course, the grinding disc does not need to be disassembled and cleaned every time. It is recommended to clean the grinding disc once every 1 to 3 months.

As mentioned above, the amount of powder must be weighed into the powder bowl to be accurate, as shown in the picture below. If the powder is seriously agglomerated, be sure to stir it up. You can use a toothpick. Severe agglomeration and failure to press the powder well at the back may lead to channels. The so-called channel simply means that during the extraction process, one or N small holes or cracks appear in the powder cake. At this time, high-pressure water will flow down the channel quickly, and other parts of the powder cake are not fully extracted, eventually leading to partial extraction of the channel. Overextracted, underextracted elsewhere. If you observe through the bottomless handle, you may find that the flow rate is very fast, the color quickly becomes lighter, and there are jets and other phenomena.

"Handle" is the filter handle we use to extract Espresso.

You may be wondering if there are any cool coffee gadgets to improve your crafting skills. Of course, there's the ubiquitous powder tamper and the sexy digital scales that measure how hard you're tamping.

The "channel effect" will make it easier for water to pass through cracks and loose spots in the powder cake, which will cause uneven coffee extraction and result in a bad cup of Espresso. Common reasons are uneven force when pressing the powder, or too much powder (excessive coffee powder).

Espresso extracted from one side

When coffee is being extracted, a white stream may appear, bringing a bad taste. It usually appears at the end of the extraction, but generally does not appear during the extraction.

The whitened Espresso is being extracted

If the tiger stripes on the flow column are uniform, it is a good sign. As long as the color of the stripes is medium to dark and the flow rate is not too fast or too slow, it is considered good. Most people believe that the extraction time for a 2-ounce cup of double concentrate should be between 22-30 seconds, but in the end let the taste speak for itself!

Espresso splashes out, white in color

The bottomless handle allows the barista to clearly see everything under the coffee machine. The influence of the "channel effect" can be judged by the "splash column" and "intermittent flow column", where the coffee splashes out at different angles.

Espresso with multiple flow columns

Multiple small flow columns leaning straight down may also be affected by the "channel effect". Usually there is only one unified flow column. And assuming that your coffee machine is completely level, if this unified flow column is biased to one side, it indicates that one side may be affected by the "channel effect".

A perfect extraction will not have these imaginations mentioned. Of course, a cup of espresso that looks good may indicate that the barista's skills are good, but no matter how good the cup of espresso looks, it still has to taste good in the end!

This cup of coffee "doesn't taste good". Can you find anything wrong with it?

Regarding beans, many novices buy very cheap beans in order to practice. In fact, this will not help you improve your extraction skills, because the extracted coffee does not taste good, and it is impossible to determine whether it is a machine problem or a technical problem in roasting. Or the bean question. Therefore, with a pack of similar beans, you can at least know that the reason why this cup of coffee "does not taste good" is not because of the beans, and then you can look for other reasons and try to narrow the scope.

Reference: kafeigongfang, makecoffee.cn