I tried for 1. 5 years because i wasnt happy with my shots. Basically too much bitterness. So now i upgraded to a 18g IMS baristapro and IMS nanotech showerscreen and i hit the sweet spot for the fiest time! Amazing!! Hope i can reproduce tomorrow!
Besides blind test you should always use the same cups because you might be biased by your favorite cup :) Glass makes a big difference in taste perception ;)
From my experience using the same parameters, the IMS Is nice and the VST is “nicer”. I have found that now I favor the VST especially for expressive and lighter roasts. I was a IMS fan but have been finally convinced but this only happened after using the IMS consistently. Also I did the final switch to VST after I made and became very familiar with several useful upgrades to my machine over the course of a year.
Swapping to your ‘favourite’ espresso cup was very dodgy! Everyone knows the power of placebo. It’s a very real thing. And the fact that you swapped to a cup you call your ‘favourite’ sets your brain for a totally different experience. Then changing the grind on top. This makes much of the comparison totally unfair
have been watching your videos they're great and nice, i'm thinking to get the vst basket as i will only have to pay once and forget it, however which one you recommend? 18 grams or 20 and which you're using, i'm always using specialty coffee with 1zpresso k ultra, thanks in advance and thanks for your videos
I added a VST basket have a Bazzera Sette, Gaggia Classic, use you 20 second steam method and my shots pull in 7 seconds..... what do i need to do get a longer extraction? I have replaced the springs from 9 then to 6.5 BAR and it didn't change at all.... It doesn't matter how fine i grind the coffee......
I've had a Profitec Pro 700 and Eureka Specialita grinder for about 4 months now and I've always managed to pull great shots. I just recently upgraded to a pullman precision basket (17g-19g) with the Pullman big step tamper and I am now a believer when it comes to precision baskets. Its taken me a few days to get used to adjusting the grinder settings but I cannot get over the difference in flavour and mouth feel compared to the stock setup. Be mindful that trying to pull bottomless shots with a precision basket can be messy compared to the stock basket.
Hey Goran, when I bought my bottomless portafilter it came with a precision like basket. No name but it has all the characteristics of the name brands. It works better than the original so I'm happy with it. Keep up the quality content.
Great Video. I totally agree with the comparison as I have the same exact setup as you have (Gaggia Classic and Sette grinder). The only difference I feel is that my VST will yield the perfect cup when I dose 20g. I did the same experiments and it does taste different vs the stock basket. I use the stock basket only for milk based drink.
Thank you Ed 😊 The best dose for the basket will vary on the roast level of the beans your using. The lighter they are, the less surface area the cover, so you'll need to increase the dose accordingly
Hi Goran, I have upgraded to the IMS basket on my Gaggia Classic Pro. It was definitely worth it. On the negative side, I do find that there is more of a play between the IMS basket and my 58mm tamper compared to the stock basket. Thanks for great video's.
Hello, thanks for the great video! I have a Breville BES870XL machine and wanted to upgrade the basket to a VST precision basket. Can you please recommend which size would be comparable with BES870XL?
I upgraded to IMS Barista pro, much much better. And as you said, you have to grind much finer. I have Mignon grinder and I had to go down from 3 to 1 on average to get the same ~25 sec shots.
I just got the 18g VST basket, but I found that even with the stock 18g basket, I need to actually use 20g to get a non-soupy puck. Same with the VST now but I am in addition now having a really tough time getting the puck out cleanly (and the puck also seems slightly wetter at same weight). I got the ridged one but yours looks like the ridgeless. Do you think that makes a difference or any other ideas what could cause my issues?
I don't think the ridge would make a difference. I've had the same experience, I use lighter roasted coffee, so 19g is the perfect dose for the 18g basket. Anything below results in a soupy puck and increased channelling.
Same experience, and whether my pucks to be soggy or not depends on beans. Last time I used a bag of medium to dark roast and it knocks out perfectly, dosing 17g. But now the medium roast blend I use dosing 17.5g is soggy. The taste is good and no channeling, though. If I use stock basket instead I have to grind coarser which I don’t like, but it leaves a clean basket. Anyway I prefer the taste from VST, but yeah if in cafe it’s a problem coz it slows you down in the workflow.
@@user-gt5sz8yf6f that's to be expected. Darker roasted beans cover a larger surface are than light roasted beans, so that's why you can't use the same weight when dosing different beans. When using light to medium roasted beans, try dosing 19g and you should have a better experience. At least that the case with me 😊
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 I’ll try it out tmr. Btw have you checked out the “spraying some water on your puck” trick by Decent Espresso? That’s quite interesting, especially for those whose machines don’t do pre-infusion. It results in a more resistant puck, which means less channeling!
I hope you get money for this Voodoo Show, i will make you a blind setup and let you taste the same coffee with different basked. I'm 100% sure you can't tell the difference.
Hi its me again. You are almost there (in terms of camera and image quality)! Add just a little warm light so skin tone looks more natural. Red leds or 2k home led lamp might do it, depends.
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 But did you have to mod your Gaggia's pump temperature, to use it with unpressurized VST and other single wall baskets?
Hi Goran, before I jump to a better basket I have 2 questions. 1. the microscope exam was impressive. Do you know if some of the less expensive baskets you mentioned have similar quality to the VST? 2. Will this basket fit in the gaggia handle or do I need a bottomless?
Hey Lauren, great questions. I haven't compared all of those baskets, but in my opinion there should be little to none difference. They are all precision products, so expect similar results. You don't need a bottomless portafilter for any of those baskets.
Thank you !! I believe there must be a difference since the coffee only come in contact with one area (in my case, I work with bottomless) Would you have any suggestions for a 57mm ? I have a Avanti Capri
I have a 18g VST and it’s great! I have a few questions though. When I want to do a doppio or double espresso how many grams do you use? And for how long ? I use 18gr but I don’t know if I have to brew for 70 secs
Here is my one question, does the VST Precision basket fit inside the stock gaggia classic handle? I like to split my shots for my milk drinks. If it doesn't, is there a handle with dual spouts that this basket fits?
Good video addressing a very interesting question. I have an IMS precision basket in my Gaggia Classic and have been very pleased with it. I will say that I don't think my palate is as developed as yours but, when the time is dialed in, I enjoy the shot. As an interesting aside, when I would grind with my Rancilio Rocky grinder, 18 grams into the 18-gram basket worked well, i.e. not too much coffee that ends up being leveled off before tamping. I have a new Niche grinder and an 18-gram starting dose way overfills the basket. I cut it to 17 grams and there is still a lot of coffee that gets brushed off when leveling. It really fluffs up the grounds. I haven't experienced this on my Eureka Mignon grinder either. You used a 19-gram dose into an 18-gram basket. Perhaps you could go into depth on dose size versus basket versus grinder. Thanks for the video. One last thing and this is a nit. You should look at the lens, not the camera's fold-out display. The lens is your friend.
Excellent comment Matt, I'd say you should try collapsing before levelling and tamping with your niche, the fluffy grounds take up more space because there is more air between the coffee particles. When it comes to the part about looking at the camera, it's like that because I'm cross eyed 😁
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 Well I stepped in that one. I never meant to offend! After another frustrating morning trying to get the fluffy ground coffee into the basket, I failed. Thank goodness for small vacuums! The Niche may go on the sales block soon! Take care amigo!
Thanks for your reviews. They are very helpful. I have heads in US discussion forums that IMS basket delivers better coffee quality than VST. What's your oppinion? Why don't you buy a 20 g basket ratber 18g? You can put 18 g. in a 20 g basket. Am I true? Thanks again mate.
I'm not sure if IMS is better than VST, in my opinion the difference might be very little. I don't need a big basket, I actually just got a 15g VST to be more efficient with coffee consumption. The number on the basket indicates the "minimum" dose, so No you can't dose 18g in a 20g basket.
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 Thanks Goran.I think IMS have a range of doses Please, heck these links www.amazon.es/dp/B01L810G8U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_9D7Z8NNH7QV1RHW1GE60 www.amazon.es/dp/B01L81YUBO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_8W48TH9TNSEDT2D2R1AN And this only indicates 15 g. I don't know why....
Thanks Jacob. I wasn't aware Lelit machines use 57mm portafilters, I have a Mara X and I'm using a 58mm VST. Try your luck with IMS, I don't think VST make 57mm baskets
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 thanks mate! LeLit entry level machines using 57mm portafilters so a bit tricky to find some accessories for it. Great, will try ims basket then. Cheers.
Fantastic video Goran!!!! I’m using the IMS Barista Pro 18g Precision Basket and noticed a huge improvement in taste from the stock Gaggia Classic basket. I want to pick up a VST and compare it to my IMS. Any idea if it will be worth it?
Thank you Jason 😁 There might be some minor differences, but overall I think all the precision baskets do a similar job. Might be a waste of money, but also a cool experiment to do 😊
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 thanks for asking. I'm not getting much crema and the shots seem bitter and under extracted. I've got a Gaggia classic. I've been using a variety of freshly home roasted beans.
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 I ended up doing the ovp and PID from shades of coffee plus a deep cleaning and more consistent descaling. The results have been much more consistent. Thanks for all the work you did showing up how to get the most out of the gaggia classic.
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 I did. All you did was a similar shot time taste comparison using different grind size. Of course you're going to have a different favour profile with a different grind setting. It would be interesting to see the difference in taste at the same grind setting... all you mentioned was the extraction was longer.
@@LivingRad although it would be interesting, it would also be irrelevant to answering the Question: does a precision basket make a big difference and should you upgrade to one?
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 It would absolutely help answer the question. How can you be sure the taste difference is not from the change in ground size? It's more realistic to think the taste difference was from the grind size than the basket. If you compared the grind setting for the stock basket on both the stock basket and the precision you could answer the question of did the basket improve the quality of the shot.. would it need some extra dialing in beyond that to get the appropriate time etc? of course and you've done done just that which resulted in a better shot. Both are needed I guess to make a comparison.
@@LivingRad you just answered your own question. That's the whole point of the precision basket, it allows you to grind finer and because of that you increase extraction % etc. So the reason a precision basket is better than the stock basket is because of the grind size difference.
Hi, I'm curious, did you get more channeling on the VST basket? The legend has it, straight edge precision baskets with higher flow don't pair well with home single boiler machines. Apparently because of the uneven flow of the Ulka vibe pumps on most Italian home machines. Thanks!
you do exprerience more channeling on any precision baskets, mostly because of poor distribution. Once you distribute well, you'll get excellent tasting espresso
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 thanks, but would there still be more channeling with precision baskets on single boiler groups like Gaggia Classic or Lelit Anna than on commercial ones (HX etc.)?
Great video and explanation! In your opinion, is it worth the upgrade if you're only ever drinking milk drinks, never just straight espresso? Also any recommendations for a smaller basket? Trying to find either a single that doesn't have such extreme sloping or a smaller/traditional size double like 12 or 14 g... But struggling to find!
Thank you Tony. The upgrade is worth it, but it all depends what "worth it" means to you. The smallest I could find was the 15g VST, but you'd always need to dose more than 15g in order not to get a soupy puck.
Nice video, professional presentation is great! On the messy second shot, is this due to the VST basket? I've an IMS one and usually get some spraying on the scales with the bottomless portofilter. Not sure what's causing it but it varies with the bean I find.
Thank you. It got messy because I put the cup slightly off centre, and the coffee started pouring all over the rim. Also when using a bottomless portafilter, you get a lot of splash back, which is kinda annoying. If you're getting spraying on the other hand, it's due to some channelling. If it is happening at the beginning of the shot, it because you haven't distributed the coffee properly. If it's happening towards the end, it's due to puck degradation under pressure.