Hey,
looks like a good start :p
very tough to produce anything drinkable at all without a tamper.
I have a triple basket, and although it fits into regular bottomless portafilters the inner diameter is just a mm or so more (so maybe 59mm).
This makes it so that neither my 57mm nor my 58mm fit in there really tightly.
The cups come out ok, but if you look at the bottomless extraction it is really obvious that the coffee just comes from a halo shaped extraction from the edges.
I am absolutely sure that your tamper will immediately take you light years further into good espresso
In the pic you posted it is difficult to say whether the shot ran too long, or whether the water just gushes through the puck.
or whether it is doing just fine. Was the stream that homogenous (even colored) to the real eye?
Did the stream run quickly like water or more like a staticy goo? (it is the best way I can think of describing the way the hydrophobic crema behaves. I bet BW would have a better description of it as I am clearly not the only one who did chemistry as undergrad degree)
The stream looks blond, but that could be the flash, because what is in those shotglasses looks like essence of AWESOMENESS sprinkled with excellence. It makes me want to drink it anyways.
cheers,
Felix