Striptease

Part of the "3rd wave" espresso movement sometimes see's espresso outlets using naked portafilters.

Besides the fact that the espresso looks bloody cool coming straight out of the filter basket it also removes (read: minimal) another part of equipment that the coffee has to touch before reaching your cup. i.e. it's another thing that will no longer get caked with oils requiring regular cleaning otherwise messing with the flavour profile.


We haven't gone fully naked just yet, but this week I removed the splitter that splits the shot into 2 cups.

The only downside that I know of going naked is thermal stability. With less metal mass the portafilter and basket are more prone to changes in temperature which is not a good thing.

I did immediately notice the drop in weight of the portafilter as the Expobar handles are already quite light compared to a La Marzocco. Nonetheless, the shots looked and tasted great. Will have to keep an eye on the thermometer reading to see if we can notice any adverse changes.