# What equipment for a single shot?



## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2012)

I am using the double spout portafilter which came with my gaggia classic to make my espressos.

However sometimes I only want a single espresso for myself, and I have to make a double.

I know from reading on this forum that I cant use a single basket in a double spout portafilter.

What do I need for a single shot? Do I have to buy a single spout portafilter?

I am a complete novice so any advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Where did you read that you can't use a single basket in a double spout PF? I think you've misunderstood.

You can use a single, double or triple basket in the double spouted PF. All the double spout does is split the stream up into two. Most people just direst the 2 streams into one cup anyway.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about making a double or single. Just concentrate on making a great tasting shot. Most people will use about 18g of coffee in the double basket and only make about 30g of liquid from it into one drink.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Does anybody drink singles? I find single baskets a pain.


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## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2012)

I was only asking because as I say I am a complete novice and have only had my machine for two weeks. I keep mucking up my shots and end up wasting double the amount of coffee! If I had a single basket then I could practice with twice as much coffee, if that makes sense?


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Single baskets are notoriously troublesome. Very few people bother with them. Get yourself a decent grinder and take it from there.


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## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2012)

I'll take your advice and persevere! Im saving up for a decent grinder just now so Im buying my coffee from a local coffee shop who are grinding the beans for me, both times I've bought coffee from them the grind has been different.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Well, you are doing the right thing by saving up for a good grinder. May I urge to to save up at least £250, and get a second hand Mazzer. A decent grinder will get you where you want to be in no time. Cheapo grinders throw up all sorts of problems that make life harder. As for the Classic, not used one myself, but I'm guessing that temp stability will be a big factor and you'll need to find out how to temperature surf. There will be loads of threads on this forum about it.

To be honest, I'd give up on the deli ground coffee. There are two reason why. The stuff will be stale withing a couple of hours, and you will never get a decent pour from it. Grind is critical, and as your preground coffee dries out it will extract faster. You can't win and you will be perpetually frustrated. Buy a cheap filter cone and enjoy some decent bright single origins until you get the grinder sorted. May sound harsh, but I think you wont find anybody on this forum who will disagree.

All the best


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Expo is right, very few people bother with a single basket because a) it's fiddly to get right, b) they prefer the taste using the double basket and more coffee even for a single shot.

I didn't realise you had no grinder of your own. That's going to make life very difficult for you. Even throughout one bag of coffee, you'll have to adjust the grind to get great shots, not to mention dialing it in initially. It's a constant tweaking game. You'd be very lucky if a shop ground it right for you to begin with and it certainly wouldn't still be right at the end of the bag. That's why they started shipping pressurised baskets/PF's with the Classics so that people could use preground and still get reasonable shots. Maybe it's worth getting hold of one of them until you can get a decent grinder? I'm personally a fan of Baratza but people speak highly of the MC2 as a beginner grinder. Obviously, the more you spend the less likely you are to have to upgrade in the future


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

- just to support the above, the Iberital MC2 is a great grinder for espresso and the only real choice under £150. Not really an option if you want to use the same grinder for espresso and filter or cafetiere but there's really not much wrong the the grounds it produces or the abiility to make fine adjustments.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

(double posted by mistake)


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

I can't think of anything to rival the MC2 at that price point but I'd still recommend saving more and getting a second hand Mazzer, it won't cost much more than a new MC2. The grind quality is much much better and that will reflect in quality of your shots. Even with a doser the MC2 was clumpy. Also, not that I do this, but the Mazzer can do instant massive changes in grind size for filter (like many I have a small dedicated grinder for filter). The MC2 has no practical grind gauge on it, and large changes are massively impractical as you'll be turning that bloody knob for hours.

In all honesty, upgrading from an MC2 to a Mazzer made a far bigger difference to the quality and consistency of my coffee than changing from a Silvia to an Expobar.


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

Expobarista said:


> Does anybody drink singles?


Just about everyone in Italy.

I am getting good results with the single LM basket (now available VST as well) and anything between 8g and 9g depending on the beans. It took me a while to refine the technique but anybody can do it.

No point in trying without a good grinder though.


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## Delfi (Jan 4, 2013)

Anyone got any reccomendations or know the correct size tamper for these VST single baskets? (I dont like plastic)


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Delfi said:


> Anyone got any reccomendations or know the correct size tamper for these VST single baskets? (I dont like plastic)


I use a 58mm tamper with my double VST and it works fine but I believe that 58.3mm is the correct size.

Steve.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## Delfi (Jan 4, 2013)

Cheers Steve - but was enquiring as to SINGLE baskets.  (heaven-forbid)


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Sorry Delfi, reading too fast. My recollection is that the single needs a 40 or 41mm (probably 40.5 or thereabouts) but I wouldn't swear to it.

Steve.


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## Delfi (Jan 4, 2013)

Further research leads to an answer of:

"Recommended Tamper for the VST 7-g: 40.7 - 40.9mm"sourced here: http://store.vstapps.com/collections/vst-precision-filter-baskets/products/vst-7g-precision-filter-single-europe


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