# VST basket for Gaggia Classic Pro and possible issue



## TNich (Jan 6, 2021)

Hi all,

My wife and I are brand new into the world of espresso, though i must have watched about 10 hours of videos and tutorials and read a thousand posts!

We just bought a Gaggia Classic Pro alongside the Nemox LuX grinder and a metal tamper.

We've been using Costa beans for now (We have an order of much nicer beans coming over coming days).

We were pulling (in our opinion) really nice shots in the standard non-pressurised basket at 17gram doses with the grind setting one above absolute zero at ~24-25 seconds. This was acceptable for where we are

However, I just bought the VST Ridgeless 18gram basket as the stock one was leaving lots of residue on the top of the grouphead as it was touching slightly, and its recommended just about everywhere. However, I CANNOT for the life of me dial it in and pour a decent shot. I've tried 17-18 grams at the same grind setting and one finer (there's no lower to go to) but each one of them is pouring in ~14-16 seconds, so clearly something wrong. I have also noticed that on some of the shots the puck is wetter than it was with the previous basket.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do here? Is our grinder too low end for the more specific baskets? Is it the beans (though they were fine on stock basket?)

Many thanks,

Tom the mildly stressed espresso beginner!


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

VST baskets are renown for being challenging. Sadly, it may be your grinder isn't able to get the best out of it. If you were getting decent shots from the standard basket, probably a good idea to stick with it.


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## Deegee (Apr 5, 2020)

Hi there Tom, one of the problems the Classic pro has is the high pump pressure (12 bar+) that it comes preset to, so it can cope with the pressurised basket and ESE pods out of the box. What Gaggia don't say is that if you're using a conventional basket as supplied (or aftermarket) the pressure is too high and needs dropping to the industry standard of 9bar, it won't compensate for a poor grind size (if that's an issue), but it'll help get you nearer to what you want. It made a big difference to mine, the mod kit cost me £10 and took 10mins to fit, it's well worth it imho. Have a look at the Gaggia section of the forum, and in particular look for @MrShades who runs an online shop selling the mod kits for the Classic models.

@The Systemic Kid Would this thread be better off in the Gaggia section where it would attract more help from fellow Gaggia owners?


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## ting_tang (Jul 26, 2020)

Also you may need to consider that Costa beans could be stale, and require finer grind. With the fresh beans you may get a better result.


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## TNich (Jan 6, 2021)

Thanks both for the quick replies.

One of my concerns with modding for the pressure is the potential risk of ruining everything and voiding the warranty (I'm more academic than hands on shall we say).

What would be the best way to determine whether it is poor grind size vs pressure? As if it's just going to be really chalenging for my grinder I will not use the VST basket (gutted to waste £30 on it though!)

With regard to bean freshness- I've got 3 different espresso specific beans coming from madam pumphrys in next day or so so may get better results from them. Wasting a lot of coffee on poor shots does sting a bit though!

thanks for all the advice so far


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## ting_tang (Jul 26, 2020)

VSTs are less forgiving baskets, with them you need a much finer grind and a proper preparation. You will know for sure when you try with the fresh beans, but even with the fresh beans you may be limited to tweak with your grinder. Also pressure lowering will force you to grind finer as well. Finer grind = more taste, that's why you get recommendations about baskets, pressure etc.



TNich said:


> As if it's just going to be really chalenging for my grinder I will not use the VST basket (gutted to waste £30 on it though!)


 If you decide, you can easily sell it in this forum and reduce your loose.


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## TNich (Jan 6, 2021)

Thanks Ting_tang, i'll have a bit more of a tinker when I get the new beans and worst case scenario I can fall back on the stock basket. I wish the Nemox Lux had a few more options at the finest grind settings but unfortunately didn't have much budget for a better grinder


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## Deegee (Apr 5, 2020)

Modding the pressure setting is an easily reversible process (should you have to return it) that requires a cross point screwdriver and a 10mm spanner, it's just 1 spring you're changing fwiw.

As @ting_tang says, once you've got a minimum number of posts you can offer surplus kit on the For Sale section or even buy someone else's for that matter.

Old beans aren't the best to try and zero in on, I had a bad experience with a 500g bag of free Gaggia beans, I didn't get a single drinkable shot out of them (using a good grinder fwiw), had I spent my hard earned on them I'd have been hopping mad.

Hth, DG.


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## Pete10uk (Jan 3, 2021)

I have just received my vst yesterday and I noticed straight away that the puk was soggy and the extraction was about 6 seconds. Today I mixed the grinds in the basket before tampering down harder. It made it 10x better. May be worth a try.

I had a classic until about 2 years ago and the pressure reducer kit helped massively.


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## Tinkstar (Nov 27, 2020)

Pete10uk said:


> I have just received my vst yesterday and I noticed straight away that the puk was soggy and the extraction was about 6 seconds. Today I mixed the grinds in the basket before tampering down harder. It made it 10x better. May be worth a try.
> 
> I had a classic until about 2 years ago and the pressure reducer kit helped massively.


 How hard 🤣 really wonder what's a good way to know whats hard enough lol


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## Deegee (Apr 5, 2020)

Tinkstar said:


> How hard 🤣 really wonder what's a good way to know whats hard enough lol


 The best description I've read was on here somewhere (I forget the author so apologies to them), they described it as using enough pressure that the coffee puck pushed back, I know that sounds a bit hazy, but it worked for me.


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## Pete10uk (Jan 3, 2021)

Deegee said:


> The best description I've read was on here somewhere (I forget the author so apologies to them), they described it as using enough pressure that the coffee puck pushed back, I know that sounds a bit hazy, but it worked for me.


 This is a really good description. I have been using a stock basket for the past 2 years and have always put 25g in it, just because that's what fitted. If I tampered with any pressure the flow would be non existent or be way over a minute. Got the 18g vst and because it says 18g put 18g in and tampered as I normally would and got 5-6 second dish water. Now if I pop in 18g and give it a good mix and tamper, the puck just pops back and that's it. Looking forward to trying the old basket with this new method to see if it's really the vst basket or the technique which has made the difference!


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## TNich (Jan 6, 2021)

Thanks for the extra replies, we found that just going back to the stock basket with new beans made the tastiest espresso. We couldn't get the VST basket right at all and have kind of given up for now. One grind setting was too coarse and the next one down was too fine. Definitely found the biggest change we've made is being more consistent with tamp


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## scapepicture (Jan 27, 2021)

Hi, wanted to know if you were keen to give the 18g VST basket a new home?

Thanks


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