Two versions of the same part

The Profitec Pro 800 ships with three portafilters as standard: one spout, two spouts, and bottomless. These are the replacements for two of them, so this is what you order if one gets damaged, if you bought a used machine that came up short, or if you simply want a second handle so you are not rinsing and drying between shots.

Which one to pick

A bottomless portafilter is a diagnostic tool first and a brewing tool second. With nothing under the basket you can see exactly where the espresso starts to run, and a spray to one side tells you the puck was not level or the grind was too coarse before you ever taste the shot. That feedback is worth more on a spring lever than on a pump machine, because the pressure curve is doing its own thing and puck prep is the main variable left to you. If you go bottomless, a consistent tamp matters, and a spring-loaded tool such as the Normcore Coffee Palm Tamper takes one more variable out of the equation.

The two-spout version is the one most people leave on the machine. It splits the flow into two cups, keeps the espresso off the drip tray when the puck misbehaves, and holds a little more heat in the metal below the basket. Many owners keep both and swap depending on whether they are dialling in a new coffee or just making breakfast.

Why the Pro 800 takes its own portafilter

The Pro 800 does not use an E61 group, but Profitec kept the 58 mm standard, so ordinary 58 mm baskets fit. The portafilter itself is a Pro 800 part, listed separately from the ones Profitec supplies for the GO and the Pro 300 to Pro 700, and the handles are the same American walnut used on the machine’s hand lever and steam valves. The previous generation of the Pro 800 used black plastic handles instead.

Bottomless vs. two spouts