Gents please permit me.... What you are describing is simply impossible. You cannot get any granules of coffee through the holes in the filter / period. The holes in the filters are simply too small. Whether the group handle has had a big hole cut into it or is as standard, no matter...granules cant get through the filter. Any granules that end up in the cup have come over the top of the filter...ie the area between the top of the filter, and the rubber seal. So perfhaps the filter has been overfilled, the shower pushes into the puk when the group handle is done up..it forces the grains of coffee up the side around the shower, and possibly results in an incomplete seal at the top of the filter causing a bad seal... And of course as someone else said, there may have been a few grains of coffee on the bench while you were tamping, and they end up up the spouts to get washed out during brewing. Real "fines" are a different story but again they have to be pretty fine to get through the holes in the filters. Take a look...these are extremely fine. This is certainly a function of the consistency of grind but cant practically be eliminated as you cant help but have *some* coffee turning to powder during the process...and yes then, it will most probably be affected by the type of coffee being ground (ie density of individual origin). Regardz, FC.
