# La Spaziale basket for barista express advice



## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

Hi Everyone,

I have recently decided to try out the basket upgrade that I have seen on this forum, for the barista express, after nearly doing it on debatable other occasions.

Yesterday I managed to modify the rim to fit into the BE group and tried my first shots today. One thing that I noticed straight away was how much bigger the basket seems from it's larger height and straight sides. I thought that it was going to require a significant amount more coffee and I seem to be correct.

I would normally dose 18 - 19g in the standard basket. So I started with 19g and it was no where near enough after seeing how far down it was in the basket after tamping. Increased to 23.2g for my 4th shot and the extraction looked good in the bottomless. Not too much spritzing. I got 45.5 out in 38s which is longer than my usual 28 in the standard but the yield is 10g more. Is this normal or too long for the new basket?

I also noticed that the puck was very wet after extraction and broke apart when I knocked it out. Does this suggest that I still need to dose more? I appreciate any advice, particularly if you have a BE with the basket upgrade.

Tim


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## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

It is probably worth my mentioning that I got the basket which is said to be rated at 14/16g but im guessing that the shower screen is lower on the La Spaz machines as my dose needs to be much higher to get closer to the razor tool.

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/IMS-Spaziale-Competition-Filter-Basket-1416g---B652TH275M/m-2007.aspx


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Thanks for posting this. I was considering getting this but I was hoping for something smaller as I like drinks around the 14g mark


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## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

I'm glad I have given some useful information. It is something I would have found useful as well. I did see that @joey24dirt was dosing the same basket with around 18g on his DTP. I'm not sure if this is because he was using the La Spaz showe screen as well though. I didn't think changes in coffee could have 5g dose variation.


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## Joe shorrock (Nov 18, 2019)

kwadsncoffee said:


> I'm glad I have given some useful information. It is something I would have found useful as well. I did see that @joey24dirt was dosing the same basket with around 18g on his DTP. I'm not sure if this is because he was using the La Spaz showe screen as well though. I didn't think changes in coffee could have 5g dose variation.


 Spoke to joey about getting one of those 14-16 baskets, obviously said it needs modding to fit, can the shower screen be changed on the BE?


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## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

Joe shorrock said:


> Spoke to joey about getting one of those 14-16 baskets, obviously said it needs modding to fit, can the shower screen be changed on the BE?


 The basket fits in the group after making the rim smaller either with pliers or, I did it with a small jewellers hammer as my pliers couldn't bend it enough.

The shower screen can be changed by removing the small screw in the centre with the Alan key provided. After that it takes some force to get it off but it does come eventually.


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## Joe shorrock (Nov 18, 2019)

kwadsncoffee said:


> The basket fits in the group after making the rim smaller either with pliers or, I did it with a small jewellers hammer as my pliers couldn't bend it enough.
> 
> The shower screen can be changed by removing the small screw in the centre with the Alan key provided. After that it takes some force to get it off but it does come eventually.


 Ah I see cool! But did you find a different shower screen to fit?


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## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

Joe shorrock said:


> Ah I see cool! But did you find a different shower screen to fit?


 I believe the La Spaziale ones have fit from some other posts that I have read on the forum. I haven't tried personally.


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## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

I have ordered an IMS shower screen to try our. It does appear that it's much lower as it has two on top of each other. This could be useful @TomHughes as it may reduce the capacity of the standard basket to something closer to 14g. The larger IMS basket may then be closer to 18g rather than 23g. I will update my findings here.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

kwadsncoffee said:


> I have ordered an IMS shower screen to try our. It does appear that it's much lower as it has two on top of each other. This could be useful @TomHughes as it may reduce the capacity of the standard basket to something closer to 14g. The larger IMS basket may then be closer to 18g rather than 23g. I will update my findings here.


 Great thanks! 
Is that including the shower plate?


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## kwadsncoffee (May 2, 2019)

TomHughes said:


> Great thanks!
> Is that including the shower plate?


 I think you are referring to the second screen that La Spaziale uses, in which case, yes. I got it from espresso shop.

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/IMS-Spaziale-Integrated-Shower-Screen-ø-484mm---SP200IM/m-2022.aspx

I have been using it for a couple of days and have found a few things. It does reduce the dose in the basket by quite a lot. The IMS basket now has a maximum dose of around 19g. It was above this that I started to notice the shower screen making indentations in the puck (before extraction). The standard basket capacity has been reduced to about 15g. If you are a fan of single shots then this shower screen isn't for you as it isn't possible to get the coffee low enough in the basket and tamp it as the level would need to be in the tapered region.

Because of the hole size in the shower screen, the screw from the BE would need modifying or the hole in the screen making bigger. This is down to the taper on the screw head not allowing it to sink low enough in the screen. I haven't changed it yet but i will likely make the hole a bit bigger rather than modifying any of the stock barista express parts.

I am, however, still experiencing a very wet puck after extraction, particularly with the IMS basket. I accept that it doesn't always mean that something is wrong but I haven't had this problem before so I'm trying to find the cause but I have read conflicting information online so I don't know where to start.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

How's the experiment going?

Worth trying to put the IMS stuff on the sage?


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## Coffeenoobster (Nov 24, 2018)

Hi,

Can you use the IMS shower screen without the shower plate? Little confused as I see the smaller screen is sold as a stand alone as well.

https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/ims-shower-screen--la-spaziale-sp200im-6966-p.asp?uid=790BB209-58FB-4E1D-A9C2-155EBC2A6C18


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## Sean1ucc (Oct 24, 2020)

Coffeenoobster said:


> Can you use the IMS shower screen without the shower plate? Little confused as I see the smaller screen is sold as a stand alone as well.


 I've also raised this question with some people on here, I have the double screens but I can only make the smaller one fit and create a seal. With the two screens the smaller one sits off centre over the larger one and does not seal between the two screens.


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## Coffeenoobster (Nov 24, 2018)

Sean1ucc said:


> I've also raised this question with some people on here, I have the double screens but I can only make the smaller one fit and create a seal. With the two screens the smaller one sits off centre over the larger one and does not seal between the two screens.


 Thanks for the info.


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## Codsworthy (Jan 23, 2021)

Hi, sorry to tag onto your post but I've just got the SP200IM and cannot get it to fit onto my machine with the standard screw from my BE. Any tips you can offer?


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## Sean1ucc (Oct 24, 2020)

Codsworthy said:


> Hi, sorry to tag onto your post but I've just got the SP200IM and cannot get it to fit onto my machine with the standard screw from my BE. Any tips you can offer?


 Can you post a picture? The head of the original screw won't sit flush with the shower screen


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## Codsworthy (Jan 23, 2021)

Sean1ucc said:


> Can you post a picture? The head of the original screw won't sit flush with the shower screen


 Sure. It won't even pick up the thread inside the group head, if I stopped holding that up it'd fall off immediately.


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## Sean1ucc (Oct 24, 2020)

Is that just the bare group head underneath? Have you tried the second part that comes in the pack instead?


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## Codsworthy (Jan 23, 2021)

Sean1ucc said:


> Is that just the bare group head underneath? Have you tried the second part that comes in the pack instead?


 Yes I have, that makes it about the same. The screw thread just refuses to bite. It seems like I need to get the screw to the very top of the thread to get it to screw in.


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## Sean1ucc (Oct 24, 2020)

@joey24dirt @PPapa Any advice you could offer? I remember seeing that you fitted these screens to a 54mm sage


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