DrForinor Or is that not a great idea? Is it better to improve my skills with perhaps lesser quality items, and then move up?

Assuming the goal is great coffee, use whatever means necessary. I know a certain YouTuber said the first thing to do with a new machine is chuck out the stock basket in favour of a VST, but it’s one thing for a world champ barista to say that and another for an amateur. I’d wager that suggestion has led to more frustration than it has to better coffee.

To use a terrible analogy, give Rembrandt a set of WHSmith brushes and he’d have painted you a masterpiece regardless. Hand a set of the finest sable brushes to a beginner and the painting won’t improve.

Master the tools you have first, then seek out new equipment when there’s a need for it. Often people find that actually there’s no need for new equipment after all.

      Ernie1 Dude, that made perfect sense. I have the fancy baskets if I need them, until then I can enjoy my coffee in the standard basket. Case solved.

      My issue with dialling in actually makes a whole lot more sense now! 🤦🏽‍♂️😅

          DrForinor a taper in a basket is not as good as a basket without a taper

          It’s not so much that it’s not “as good” - it’s (usually!) more difficult to get consistently good results with.

          DrForinor Is it better to improve my skills with perhaps lesser quality items, and then move up?

          It all depends on what you want to achieve, but as Ernie1 said, use what you need to get you where you want.

          DrForinor if I use the 17g basket using 17g, I’m not really changing the dose much?

          No, you aren’t, but if you want to bring your caffeine intake down (I understand from your previous posts that’s one of the objectives), then using 15 grams in a 14 g basket is 10% less coffee than 16.5…

                    CoyoteOldMan No, you aren’t, but if you want to bring your caffeine intake down (I understand from your previous posts that’s one of the objectives), then using 15 grams in a 14 g basket is 10% less coffee than 16.5…

                    Ah yes!! I might give that a try as well and see how I get on. Thanks 👍🏼😁

                      DrForinor

                      I feel the frustration. When I first bought a Silvia, first thing I did was get a VST basket and just pulled sinkers for like a week straight. Almost gave up on espresso altogether.

                      Stock basket, dodgy prep - great coffee and I was happy.

                          DrForinor

                          Nope, it’s just because the last two machines I’ve had (Bianca and now Linea Mini) have come with IMS and VST baskets. If they hadn’t have done, I’d have just used the standard ones.

                          My puck prep is still lax. This is why I’m not sure if the La Marzocco baskets are the same as aftermarket VST. It seems to be far more forgiving than I remember the VST being but then it was a totally different machine with its own inconsistencies so too many variables to really know without seeing them side by side.

                            Firstly, it may be worth taking a look at this thread Basket Case - Coffeetime - World’s best non-commercial coffee forum (freeflarum.com) to hear more people talking about how much of a difference baskets make to the end result.

                            Assuming it’s the same basket that comes with the Mara as it is the Elizabeth, I find that 16.5g one (dosed with 15g in my case) is pretty forgiving, and I rarely end up with a poor shot. In particular I think it produces ‘round, sweet’ tasting espresso.

                            Recently I’ve switched over to the VST 15g (at 15g does) almost permanently as I find I have dialled in my prep such that I rarely get bad ones, and I find this basket (or probably more accurately the change in grind and flow) gets more ‘fruity’ notes which I prefer. However, it took a bit more practice to hit upon a good grind and prep level.

                            I would note that if I end up with a bag of dark roasted coffee I will generally switch back to the IMS/Lelit one as it brings out the sweetness more which counteracts the ‘burnt’ flavours.

                            Don’t forget that it’s about what you want to drink, so if you’re happy with the IMS/Lelit one, don’t be afraid to stick with that for the timebeing.

                              coffeeb I find that 16.5g one (dosed with 15g in my case) is pretty forgiving, and I rarely end up with a poor shot. In particular I think it produces ‘round, sweet’ tasting espresso.

                              This is exactly what I’m also finding.

                                Sounds to me the fill height has been changed. Another way of looking it applies to any basket. The dose can be reduced but there comes a point where things do not work out. So put more in the problem basket and at some point it will function correctly.

                                The capacity of a basket is a bit tricky as in practice the real capacity may relate to the machine it’s on as machines vary,

                                Sometimes people buy a 15g VST basket and run into problems. Large area of perforations and a fairly shallow depth of grinds. People reply stresses the grinder more. I’d say prep gets more critical. Being a cheapskate I use a Fracino light double said to be 12g. In practice it runs ~13g on my machine. A very dense bean might make 14. With a much less dense unusually light bean it’s about 12,7g, 13 is a bit too much,

                                IMS are a major filter basket maker for a whole variety of machine makers. Competition baskets are for just that competitions. All taking part have to use the same basket. They also produce such things as nano coated probably for the prosumer rather than commercial market.

                                @DrForinor if you want to check the headspace just prep your portafilter, place a small coin (e.g. 5p) on top, lock the portafilter in, than take it back out. A slight impression and you’re probably at max load, no didn’t at all and you could go higher, significant impression and you’ve probably not got enough headspace

                                  I would say no impression of a 5p but another thing to look for is any sign of an impression of the shower screen on a used puck. Maybe the fixing screw, It can be ok to run with a slightly overloaded basket but it means that the grinder will be set coarser than it need be for some fixed time and ratio. The grind expand when they get wet.