You might know bottomless portafilters are popular, but do you know why bottomless portafilters are actually better for espresso? They make pouring a shot look absolutely gorgeous (there’s a reason you see them so often online — they make for great content), but they can actually help you improve the taste of your shot. In this guide, we’ll break down everything from what it does to the benefits of a bottomless portafilter. Whether you're chasing better crema or trying to diagnose channeling, a bottomless portafilter gives you visual, instant feedback.
What is a bottomless portafilter—and how does it work?
Traditional portafilters have a basket for the coffee grounds where the puck is saturated and then a spout that funnels your coffee from the basket into the cup. A bottomless portafilter removes the spout and lets your coffee flow straight from the basket into your cup. It’s a simple change that can have a big impact on your shot, but not because it works any differently than a traditional portafilter. Ultimately, everything about the brewing process is exactly the same between the two, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some key differences, so let’s take a closer look.
A clear view of your shot from the start
Without the bulky spout in the way, the entire basket is exposed so you can see exactly how your espresso is flowing. But why would you even need to do that? Other than enjoying how cool it looks, of course. Well, it’s because it’s the fastest way to see exactly what’s going on with your puck. If there are problems with your grind or puck formation, it can cause channeling, where your puck is being unevenly saturated. That means you’ll notice that more espresso is flowing out of one side or the other of the basket, or that there are areas that seem to have almost no flow at all.
You can also note other variables, like how quickly your brew is coming out, the symmetry, and even the color. All of that information can help you quickly and much more easily make adjustments to your process for the next shot. Faster corrections mean faster improvement and better-tasting espresso.
Easier to clean, fewer parts
Removing the spout to create a bottomless portafilter quite literally means there’s one less piece of equipment for you to clean. The spout creates an extra layer of steel between your coffee and the cup, and there are a few reasons this can be an issue. The first is that because coffee contains somewhere between 12 and 16% oils, which can be left behind in residue form after brewing, your gear needs to be cleaned thoroughly. The extra piece of equipment means not just one more thing to clean, but one more place with more curves and crevices for oils to hide. And when coffee oil is exposed to oxygen, it will eventually go rancid, ruining the taste of your brew.
The bottomless portafilter, however, is incredibly easy to rinse and wash clean. It has fewer places for coffee oils to cling to and ultimately reduces the chance of any leftover gunk ruining the taste of your shot. This is especially important if you’re pulling multiple shots per session
Steeper learning curve—but worth it
One of the bottomless filter’s main drawbacks can be a little discouraging, but very possible to overcome: the learning curve. Unlike pressurized and spouted portafilters, the bottomless portafilter is the least forgiving. You’ll clearly see every mistake, and the filter itself can’t help cover them up or correct them. But that’s a feature, not a bug: it accelerates your improvement by forcing better technique.
Many at-home espresso enthusiasts tout the bottomless portafilter’s ability to help them improve, finding it a useful tool even as they’ve upped their game considerably. It’s a great way to check your process whenever you make a change, like a different grinder or new beans, even if you normally use a spouted portafilter.
Why bottomless is better for serious espresso
As you work to improve your daily espresso, you’ll start to see why a bottomless portafilter is the way to go. Let’s look at some of the other benefits you can expect to see.
Essential for shot diagnosis and improvement
As we mentioned above, the bottomless portafilter is great at helping brewers and baristas diagnose their shots. If you’re getting serious about your espresso, though, it goes from a nice-to-have to an absolute must. Getting the spout out of the way simply helps you access a wealth of information about your shot before you even take a sip. Monitor everything from flow rate to color to saturation. Catch issues like channeling immediately so you can quickly adjust your process to correct the problem.
It isn’t that any of these things are impossible to do with a traditional portafilter, but they will be much harder. The bottomless portafilter is also great for when you’re changing any part of your regular process, like the beans or grind. You’ll want to make sure you’ve got the settings just right, and that means bottomless is the way to go to keep your quality up.
High compatibility with precision tools
With a bottomless portafilter, you can expect it to pair well with other high-quality tools. After all, you want your suite of espresso tools working together in harmony, not trying to correct for one another. Without a spout, you’ll have fewer limits on basket size and type, and if you opt for one of Pesado’s 58.5mm baskets, you’ll get ultra-tight fits that can give your shots an edge.
Plus, once you’ve got the right portafilter for your setup, upgrading the rest of your tools will make it easy to track how they affect your brew. Try adding them into your routine one at a time and watching the results with your bottomless portafilter
Better crema and fuller flavor
Finally, there are some that argue a bottomless portafilter actually produces a better crema and thus a richer flavor. That’s because running the coffee over the metal spout actually dissipates some of the crema because of the way the coffee interacts with the metal. No spout? Expect up to 50% more crema in your cup. All that extra crema can lead to an even smoother mouthfeel, and some argue that there’s even a deeper body of flavor in their shots.
Final takeaways
So why get a bottomless portafilter? Because you want full control and visibility—no guesswork. It’s the perfect way to improve your abilities after you learn the basics of your machine’s OG portafilter. Then you’ll be ready for the learning curve of bottomless, and before you know it, you’ll be learning more and faster than you were before. Pair it with a precision basket and proper distribution for pro-level results. Shop Pesado’s entire collection of professional-quality tools and start tasting the difference.
