How to use a portafilter correctly - Your complete guide to the perfect espresso

A portafilter isn't a household appliance like any other—it's a precision tool. If you use it correctly, you can prepare espresso at a professional level—with perfect crema, full body, and balanced flavor. However, the path to achieving this requires understanding, practice, and care. In this article, I'll show you step by step how to get the most out of your portafilter—from bean selection to tamping to regular maintenance.

What exactly is a portafilter?

A portafilter is a manual espresso machine that allows you to control every step of the espresso preparation process yourself. The name comes from the removable portafilter with a filter basket that you fill with ground coffee. You have complete control over the entire process—from the grind size to the tamping to the pressure.

Main components:

• Brewing group: Place where water is pressed through the coffee grounds
  
• Portafilter handle: Is clamped into the brewing group
  
• Sieve: Contains the coffee grounds
  
• Boiler/steam wand: For hot water and milk frothing
  
• Pressure gauge (optional): Shows the brewing pressure

When you work with a portafilter, you have full control – and full responsibility.

Preparation: Foundation for quality

1. Coffee beans: Choose wisely

Without high-quality beans, you cannot extract a good espresso even with the best machine.

• Roast: Choose an espresso roast – darker, stronger, less acidic
  
• Freshness: Beans should not be older than 6–8 weeks after roasting date
  
• Storage: Airtight, cool, dry. Never refrigerate.

2. Grind: The key to extraction

Too coarse? Espresso runs through like water. Too fine? Drop by drop and bitter.

• Use a high-quality grinder with stepless adjustment.
  
• For espresso you need a fine grind – finer than filter coffee, but not dusty.
  
• Target: Approximately 25–30 seconds run-through time at a ratio of 1:2 (e.g. 18 g coffee → 36 g espresso)
  

Tip: It's better to set the grind too fine and work your way up gradually. A grind too coarse will immediately ruin the extraction.

3. Dosing: Precision with the scale

Use a precision scale with 0.1 g accuracy.

• Single dose (Single Shot): 8-10g
  
• Doppio (Double Shot): 16-20g
  
• Target ratio: 1:2 (in/out), e.g., 18 g in – 36 g espresso out
  

Tamping: Pressure, Technology and Precision

Tamping is much more than just pressing. It determines whether the water flows evenly through the coffee grounds—or creates channels that ruin the extraction.

How to tamp correctly:

• Tamper size: Must fit exactly to the sieve (usually 58 mm)
  
• Technique: Press vertically downwards , not diagonally
  
• Pressure: Approx. 15–20 kg – but consistency is most important
  
• Smooth the surface: With a leveler or by gently turning the tamper
  

Avoid tapping the sides after tamping – this will destroy the puck structure.

Espresso extraction: timing is everything

Once the portafilter is clamped in place, every second counts. Keep the following in mind:

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Flush brewing group (5 sec.): Rinses coffee residues & stabilizes the temperature
   
2. Insert and tighten the portafilter
   
3. Start dispensing: Activate stopwatch (or shot timer)
   
4. Observe: The espresso should flow after about 6–8 seconds – as a fine stream
   
5. Extraction time: 25–30 seconds at a 1:2 ratio
   
6. Assess crema: Fine, hazelnut brown, no bubbles
   

Typical signs:

• Too fast: under-extraction – flat, sour
  
• Too slow: over-extraction – bitter, heavy
  
• Irregular flow: Channeling → usually caused by tamping

Tip: Note down the grind size, dosage, extraction time and taste – this way you can systematically improve.

After moving in: Cleanliness = Quality

Espresso machines are sensitive to coffee grease and residue. Proper care determines their taste and longevity.

Immediately after each use:

• Remove coffee grounds (ideally in a knockbox)
  
• Rinse the sieve and portafilter with hot water
  
• Briefly flush the brewing group
  

Daily cleaning:

• Insert blind sieve + rinse with water (if necessary with coffee oil remover)
  
• Rinse and wipe the steam wand
  

Weekly care:

• Blind sieve with cleaning agent (e.g. Puly Caff)
  
• Unscrew and clean the shower strainer
  

Monthly:

• Deep cleaning of all water-carrying parts
  
• Check seals, sieves, brewing group
  

Tip: Use soft water or a filter to minimize limescale buildup.

Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Professional tips for even better espresso

• Use pre-infusion: 3–5 seconds of light pre-moistening → improves extraction
  
• Single Dosing: Freshly weigh, grind, extract – reduces dead space loss
  
• Temperature management: Keep boiler temperature stable (PID recommended)
  
• Shot Timer & Scale: Indispensable for reproducibility
  
• Optimize workflow: Grinding → Distributing → Tamping → Extraction – always the same

If you want to work at a competitive level, a bottomless portafilter is also worthwhile – this way you can immediately see whether your technique is clean.

Conclusion: Whoever controls wins

Using a portafilter correctly means consciously choosing against the easy way and for control, precision, and craftsmanship. Anyone who thinks an expensive machine automatically guarantees great espresso will quickly be disappointed. The real difference lies not in the technology – but in the user. In you.

The portafilter requires an understanding of beans, grind size, extraction, and temperature. It requires patience: you'll make mistakes, you'll have to experiment. And it demands discipline: maintenance, cleaning, and a consistent workflow aren't optional, they're essential.

But once you understand the principle and master every step, you'll be rewarded – with results you can't achieve with any capsule machine or fully automatic coffee maker. You'll create taste, not just consume it. And you'll develop an understanding of coffee that goes far beyond the surface.

What you need is not a barista diploma, but:

• a high-quality mill with stepless adjustment
  
• good beans, freshly roasted
  
• a reliable machine that keeps temperature and pressure stable
  
• and above all: desire to engage with the process

The portafilter isn't an everyday appliance—it's a learning tool. It forces you to be mindful, to analyze, and to make conscious decisions at every step. If you're willing to take this path, every cup of espresso will become a small proof that precision and quality are worth it.

The machine only gives you what you give it. But if you're serious about it, you'll soon be making espressos that are better than those you'd find in many cafes.