54mm Bottomless Portafilter
Bottomless or “naked” portafilters are extremely useful tools for perfecting espresso, and, they are beautiful to look at. However, like many espresso accessories, they have never been widely available for the 54mm range of Breville espressso machines such as the Barista Expresso and Barista Pro.
FINALLY someone has solved that problem. This 54mm bottomless portafilter has been specifically designed for these 54mm Breville espresso machines.
The portafilter uses the stock filter basket that came with your Breville machine, and converts it easily into a beautifully finished, wood handled, bottomless portafilter. Bottomless portafilters are useful for 2 key reasons:
1) Shot Diagnosis
A bottomless portafilter allows you to see exactly what is going on with your shot as it progresses. With a traditional spouted portafilter, all of this information is covered up! This can be an advantage when dialing in, or when trying to address issues with shot consistency. We’ve laid out some common issues below:

Channeling

Perimeter Flow
2) Temperature / Crema Retention
With a bottomless portafilter, there is no physical contact between the espresso and a metal spout. The espresso drops straight into your shot glass. This is an advantage because it doesn’t break any of the fine crema bubbles on their way into your cup, or pull heat away from your shot. The result is a warmer, better textured, crema-rich shot of espresso.

Final Word
I’m glad that someone finally took it upon themselves to make a bottomless portafilter for breville espresso machines. Just because 54mm machines are typically labelled as “entry-level” doesn’t mean that users don’t need to analyze the shot flow to tweak and improve. I highly recommend this product for anyone looking to step up their espresso making skills, or simply add a classy wood accent to their home espresso setup.