ESPRESSO ANATOMY - The Espresso Basket Showdown 

Super helpful. Killing it as usual. Thanks Spro.

I bought a VST basket online about 6 hours ago just before this video came out. Was glad to see it wasn't trashed

Thank you for your informative videos! I got a couple of VST filters when they first came out, several years ago, to use with my very basic Vibiemme E61 single boiler machine. I noticed they required a much finer grind, and somehow never got a satisfying result. Not only a brighter, more sour taste, but also a much thinner texture and more uneven extraction overall. Of course this may also have to do with imperfections in my puck preparation, but in the end I reverted back to the standard basket which I have been using ever since. Thinking of upgrading my machine however, so precision baskets may yet become an option once again. Thanks again and keep up the good work!

Very nice. I was expecting virtually no difference, but your findings show that they all give an improvement and have a consistent profile. I upgraded to a VST years ago over a stock Livia 90 basket. It seemed to improve things, but it’s subtle. The main benefit is that it looks and feels better than the stock basket, so you get a nice experience when pulling each shot. But it seems like there’s more to it than feel and the placebo effect.

Thanks, was waiting fo this one!

On my coffee journey beginning with a Rancilio Silvia & Rocky the two largest steps in quality & taste I experienced were upgrading my grinder to the Niche and switching from the stock Rancilio Silvia basket to an IMS Competition Basket (later an IMS Baristapro Nanotech Precision)

I like my barista pro 22G basket. Great shots & the coffee doesn’t stick to them very well.

Great video I suggest using baristapro as a more equal top tier comparison. I have VST and Baristapro and like them both. Plan on buying a Pullman eventually.

Seeing microscopic photos of stock Gaggia vs. Ims precision nano baskets, my eyes were opened to the superior craftsmanship put into these more expensive baskets.

In my experience, yes its matter I've been testing out the strada, ims & vst... For me vst has more vibrant taste, simply winner... And now im waiting for the decent 10g basket to test... With love from 🇮🇩 indonesia

I wish you had repeated the experience with another roast, preferably something completely different from the one tested. Especially when it comes to taste, I would be interested in knowing if the same s precision baskets gave the same (or at least similar) results for the 2nd bean.

Fascinating!

If it hasn't already been pointed out, according to the forums, LM Strada baskets are made under licence from VST in the same factory and are essentially the same as VST, they have different quality control I believe.

great video, I am new to espresso, I have a 20G IMS basket on the way.

I remember that I could use common greasy dark roasts more easily in the standard tapered Gaggia basket. My VST had a much faster flow & made it near impossible to work with lower quality coffees, but it opens doors if you pair with it the nicer beans, nice grinder, and added patience. Higher learning curve to match higher potential rewards

Just bought a Pullman basket off Square Mile - RU-vidception. Thanks for the help =)

Hi thank you very much for your honest review and so much job done in espresso field :) Could you please specify, what type of basket from IMS did you use? I have the IMS B702TH26.5M, on the seller website and anywhere else there is specification, that this basket is suitable for 16g to 20g of coffe, but with 18g of coffe in it I feel some sharpness from bitter notes on the back of the tounge and also the chanelling is pretty heavy (pressure gauge 8,75 Bar). Is it possible there could be issues with overdosing the basket? I think you have said, that you brew 17g of coffe in it with 35g out and in 23 seconds. Thank you for answer and for you hard work :)

Here is another interesting concept... what if we could break this up further and look at first half vs second half of the extraction

I find that a precision basket allows a better grind to pressurize at the desired pressures.

I think that your premise that the doing the tests without pre-infusion will highlight differences between the baskets better is interesting. Do you have data to support this or a suspected mechanism for this? (| haven't tested this or anything but I would have thought that with pre-infusion the differences in taste and extraction percentage would have been bigger if not the same).

These guys are quite similar, have a try "Reneka micro sieve basket" you can definitely feel the differences

What a great video! Great that you took the time to taste and repeatedly measure all the baskets! It's good to hear that the precision baskets do matter and it's not just marketing bullshit. But on the other hand it's hard to get anything else than IMS here, just VST, which is expensive as hell, and I tend to prefer texture and thickness over clarity...

What’s your take on baskets like the IMS Superfine and the Reneka Micro Sieve?

VST 18 g in 36 out, VBM super double boiler used, and lavazza Top Class, bitterness disappeared but less intense!!

😮 watching these videos after my standard baskets arrived... 🤝 I played myself.😂

Great video! Informative and succinct. I use the VST 18gr a with my ECM Synchronika. I also switched to the IMS shower screen, though I would love to see a video on shower screens.

Thanks, Sprometheus, for the video! However, I find the results in the video and in the comments below hard to believe! Findings: In all of my personal comparisons over the last 6 months, the VST baskets (18 & 15gr) have a much higher flow rate than the IMS comp baskets (18 & 16gr), or even the ECM OEM baskets. Only VST (18gr) and LM Strada (17gr) seem to be identical (which makes sense, also supported by Tim Murphy’s comment below; despite the different sizes of 18 and 17gr). So unlike stated in the video and in the comments below, there seems to be a huge difference. Set-Up: I've been consistently shooting for 17gr In, 40gr Out (ie. double-shot total, hence, 20gr per espresso cup each) at 27 seconds with a 80% Arabica 20% Robusta medium-dark roast coffee blend (Merchant & Friends House Blend) at 94°C, (w/ bottled “Blackforrest” water). I need to grind much much much finer, in order to keep all other parameters consistent, when using VST (18gr) basket [you even get a quality certificate with your VST baskets, hence, I don’t think my VST basket is not working as designed]. My espresso machine is an ECM Classika II PID (ie. Vibration Pump, not Rotary Pump, like LM Linea Mini; hence, from experience/comparisons, it takes approx. 5 secs. longer for the first drop to come out when turning on the pump) Ironically, the grinder setting for IMS comp (18gr) works perfectly fine with the special LM Single-Shot basket, where you would logically apply 8.5gr In, 20gr Out (in one single espresso cup), keeping remaining parameters consistent (ie. 27 seconds, same beans, temperature, pressure of tampering, etc.) Consequently, if not adjusting the grinder setting, VST basket brewed espresso will always taste exactly as expected: like an under-extracted espresso (ie. sour / high in acidity) when using IMS Comp optimized grinder settings. And even when the grinder setting is set accordingly finer, the espresso tastes much “thinner”. Maybe that is preferrable for lighter roasts, where you are expecting more acidity and less body, however, for medium-dark roast Italien coffee, this does not seem to fit (in my personal opinion). Has nobody else experienced the same differences? I mean, this is significant! Regardless of your machine and grinder at more than €2K, a little basket at ~€30 can really mess up the entire espresso experience and parameters. And with an espresso machine with a Rotary Pump vs. a Vibration Pump, it should even get more extreme, not less. Would love to hear from others, if they have made the same experience! I would have expected this to be consistently the same across VST/IM Comp users. Stunning. Not saying this video is wrong, just very surprised, Sprometheus. (But maybe you have an explanation 😉)

Would be interesting to see how the stock basket with a paper filter in the bottom made a difference compared to the speciality baskets. Maybe the stock basket with a filter would be better?

Great video thank you 👍🏼

It would be interesting to see a redo using the IMS Baristapro "Nanotech" basket. The wall is straighter/bottom radius smaller and the holes go out further to the edge.

Just came here to say that the VST is miles ahead of the IMS nanotech. Both IMS baskets I have are not perfectly shaped, causing some grinds to stick to the sides of the walls when tamped (58.5mm bravo tamper). Grittier cups. VST less gritty, and noticably more even extraction with bottomless portafilter on average, which i think is reflected in the taste. To top it all off, I can bang out the puck way easier in the VST.

Great review, great video I think that the big difference will be if you pass from a basket that requires a totally different size of grind, just like the standard Gaggia basket, which requires a much coarser grind In all these baskets you tested, if you fine tune the extractions, my opinion, the results will be the same, or almost the same And i am saying that with disappointment, cause we baristas like to buy new "toys" 😂

I would've been interested to see the standard deviations of the EYs for each basket, given that these companies are marketing them as being more consistent. Would probably be more useful to know that the basket can produce the same extraction over and over rather than an overall higher average EY.

Ι have an idea for your next video What about understanding(and how to) the case that a below average extraction is not a fact of the barista or his equipment, but a fact of a bad coffee, that doesn't follow the profile described on the sticker Happened to me several times

Awesome. Thanks

Upgrading to a more precise basket is the only reason I would ever buy a Flair Pro 2 or 58, it's the one real limit of the Signature that you can't just work around.

Love the clear takeaways!

Buenas tardes. Tengo una Rocket Mozzafiato evoR, al porta sin fondo le he cambiado la canasta por una IMS E&B LAB H24 de 16-18g, la ducha por una IMS E&B LAB RNT y una junta nueva de Rocket,…. la molienda admitiría más ajuste, para un capuchino sería bien una extracción de 25”??

A standard La Marzocco basket is probably way better than others espresso machine brand baskets. My rocket basket is terrible. Some holes were closed. I use a 20g IMS Baristapro Nanotech basket and its way better. Great work. love your videos.

Question… was the IMS basket a 18gr basket? I don’t see a 17gr basket for sale as the standard la marzocco. Thanks

What was the name of the standard control basket that you used? I listened a few times and didn't catch the name

I've been using a VST basket for years, upgraded my grinder and espresso machine and lately been liking the stock ECM basket better. But I think I need more comparing before making a final conclusion. Update: I think the VST requires a finer grind size, it might improve clarity but it seems to suffer from channeling more than the stock basket or IMS superfine basket which has a similar shape to the stock basket with curved edges instead of the straight wall (not sure if that's why). So VST is more difficult to work with but MAY give you better results for LIGHT roasts if your puck prep and grinder is near perfect.

Hi does 58.5mm tamper suit all those precision basket ???

I would have liked to see a minimum of three shots with each basket and a blind taster. I have a tough time accepting that these differences are really that noticeable and/or not due to inconsistencies between the shots. Good data and video to be sure, I just have some issues with the experimental methodology.

Great review as always. Would you know if any or all of them would work in a flair58 porta filter ? Thanks.

Great video! Would you say the taste differences were as big as comparing one grinder to another, or more subtle?

I'm using a VST basket. My opinion is that the grinder/burr set's particle distribution has a big influence on this. I've seen some comments in forums say that they have gone back to their original OEM baskets and found that they were better tasting (??), possibly this may have been after they changed grinders or burrs, who knows? The thing about the precision baskets is that they are consistent compared to the OEM baskets that each may be slightly unique.

i think splitting those into 3 categories like fast normal and slow flow filter would be easier to understand . use a fast flow filter for light roasts and a slow flow filter for dark roast .

I got a VST basket and I immediately noticed less channelling, I was surprised

Do you think its okay to put 21.5 gram coffee into Lamarzocco's 17gr basket? its still under the ridge line though

Are there any noticeable differences between a ridged and ridgeless basket? Do the ridgeless stay in the portafilter when banged on the knock box?

My Rocky Rancilio is a beast!

I owned 18g IMS nanotech and VST. I much prefer IMS as i can grind finer and much more smooth tasting imo....

Nice video! For some reason, while I can dial in a perfect flow rate + zero channeling on the Rocket stock basket, the IMS basket has beautiful flow at first but always ends up in crazy channeling second half of the shot. Tried changing dose and grind size but nothing seems to help. Waiting for a flair puck screen to experiment for any improvement 😅

So to be fair. 18g in 38g out within 28sec. What tastes better?

I am curious whether the grind size was dialed in for each basket. It would be surprising if they all worked at the same grind size. If they were dialed in per basket, then what we are tasting becomes harder to attribute, due to the effect of the grind change...

Was there any big difference in grind settings between baskets to hit the standard recipe window?

Would be keen to see you try out the latest IMS superfine basket. I'm toying with buying one but they're so expensive.

Would be interesting to see the same for different shower screens too

Great test - really useful, thanks. Quick question - your recipe of 17g/35g in 21-23s seems a short time, if that’s including pre-infusion. Or are you timing from first drip in the cup? Thanks.

Does these work with the linea minis stock Portafilter or did you buy a new one?

I've been using a Pullman precision basket with my big step and believe it's well worth the money. Also, it's important to note how amazing their customer support is. Couldn't recommend Pullman enough.

The only one I've used is the IMS, I noticed an immediate improvement over the stock basket on my Gaggia. I could grind a bit finer and get a much richer shot.

Thanks to your video, I just ordered my IMS Basket Baristapro Nanotech 18 gram - 58mm Precision Ridgeless Double Expresso Basket. Should have it tomorrow. I hope it makes a difference over my Bezzera BZ10 stock basket. Fingers crossed.

If my shots typically vary between 18-19g, should I go with an 18 or a 20g basket?

Notification squad! But I'm really curious about this topic and there's not enough guide on youtube, the cafe I work for uses a really bad espresso machine and I was thinking about convincing my boss into buying a precision basket to at least fix the uneven extraction (among other problems like the fixed 80°C temperature and very wonky pressure profile). They really should just get a better machine (and grinder, and beans) but they're not gonna be easy to convince, maybe I should just look for a better workplace where I'll be treated like a professional, but I wanna see how far can I push the quality with limited resources.

Yesssss

Pullman basket can fit flair58?

Do precision baskets really matter is you’re using paper filters?

What about comparing it with cheaper machine brands like Rancilio/Gaggia baskets

What is the difference between ridge and ridgeless baskets? Can either one fit in a portafilter that has the wire around it? Thank you

Why does it seem like 18g hardly fills up an 18g IMS basket? I had to dose 20g and could have gone higher

I purchased a ims but really prefer to use my stock rancilio Silvia m double shot basket(I dose 15.5g).

Switched to an IMS basket over the default breville, can't notice any difference.

Is there any 51mm precision basket for my delonghi dedica?

I'm using IMS and it's a big step from the standard la pavoni BUT my ims looks nothing like yours. It has straight sides and the area of holes covers most of the base like the Pullman in your video . I suspect by the hole numbers and patterns available for Pullman, that they are rebranded IMS anyway...anyone know differently? So the results are not just ims vs vst vs Strada. That's way to simplistic...but a specific model vs another specific model. I'd wager that similar results could be found with any single brand with varying models of basket.

Would love to get one, but can’t find a 54mm one for my Barista Express 😔

Short answer: Yes Long answer: Yes, they do.

Do you think your results with the Pullman basket are benefiting from your use of the big step? In other words, do you think the results would be the same with another high end tamper like the Kafatek levtamp or BH tamper?

Spro, whose cups are we seeing?

im using ims comes with bianca , i switch to vst it's feel like downgrade idk why . ims much better

4days off roast? Isn't that a bit early? I usually let my beans rest for 6-7days.

I have pesado that not included to the comparison 😭

Little giatn 8 oz bag for 20 bucks? You're crazy. I guess I'm lucky enough to be able to get freshly roasted here. For that price, I could roast my own.

21-23 seconds is a rather fast shot time

I have both IMS and VST. Which is better depends on the type of coffee I use.

That's what she said 🤣🤣🤣

I like coffee

But the strada and the VST are the same basket. Which blows many of these conclusions out of the water. They don’t taste different, because they’re physically the same basket.

It is actually matters for espresso machines other than la marzocco

Thank you for making these reviews, they are well made w/very good details to consider. But I can only see one per day due to the speech tempo you chose make it sound robotic and unnatural. (respectfully, I think you must have a reason for choosing this but a more natural tone can really help) Best of luck!

That's what she said 😎

blind test?

Unifilter all the way.

nice i'm first ;P

On todays episode of: "Look everyone, I have a Linea Mini"