When you start to get serious about espresso extraction, you quickly realise how it really is both a fine art and a science. Small differences in your grind setting or tamp can yield very different flavours in the cup, and sometimes tracing those back to root causes can be difficult. One of the biggest culprits in compromised espresso quality is channeling - where water doesn't flow evenly through the espresso puck. That's where a 'naked' or 'bottomless' portafilter comes in. This ergonomic bottomless portafilter is from Rancilio themselves, and will both look and fit perfectly with a Rancilio Silvia. By foregoing the spouts at the bottom of a regular portafilter, a home barista can have a much better view of how evenly the water is flowing through the coffee. This allows for adjustments to be made for that optimal extraction. Because the Rancilio Silvia uses a standard 58mm, E61 head, this portafilter can actually be used on many other espresso machines as well. Even better, it can fit various different baskets, including precision baskets like IMS. Rancilio Naked Portafilter features & specifications Made of stainless steel, plastic & rubber Fits most 58mm commercial machines Fits most 58mm baskets Has Rancilio logo on the handle Does not come with a filter basket Weight: ~0.5kg A note on distribution, channelling & spraying Using a bottomless or naked portafilter can be a humbling experience. If your tamp and distribution aren't exactly right, not only can you get a wonky extraction, you may even experience some spray. That doesn't mean anything is wrong with your portafilter. It, unfortunately, means that there's something wrong with your puck preparation. Those good old spouts that your original portafilter came with mask those issues, for better or for worse, but now that you've upgraded, you're seeing the naked truth, and sometimes it ain't pretty. How do you fix it, you may be wondering? Well, it's all about even distribution and an even tamp. You can achieve this without any extra accessories, but we have some tools that might help with the distribution part at least. These will help you make your extraction Instagram-video-worthy and your espresso exceptionally tasty: Nucleus Coffee Distributor Motta Coffee Distribution Tool Normcore Wire Distribution Tool For even tamping, there's nothing quite like a Puqpress!