# Can't decide which VST basket to buy for my needs



## yo842 (Jan 16, 2020)

Hello guys.

I have Silvia v2 and using the oem v2 double basket while putting 15.7 grams of coffee in it for one shot of espresso of 32 grams in the cup, and I'm interested in buying a new VST basket. Now the obvious choice is to go for the 15 vst basket, but I read that many people recommend the 18 one.

I thought about buying the two of them for a reason that I would like to hear your opinion about: the 15 basket would be used for a one cup of espresso, while the 18 would be used for one shot that would be seperated to 2 cups of cappuccinos thinking it will save me from making 2 seperate shots. Now the question is whether the yield from the 18 basket will be enough for 2 cups of cappuccinos in a way that the coffee taste will be well felt, because we like the cappuccinos quite strong. In general we add about 100-120 grams of milk to a cup of cappuccino.

Maybe some of you will recommend to buy the 20 or 22 baskets, but I'm questioning whether Silvia would cope with this big amount of coffee, because as you know it has a little single boiler which gets cold quite fast as water go out from the group head, and as the brewing process goes on the colder water gets out, affecting the coffee brewing and taste in the end.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

The 18g is the one to go for IMO. The 15g can be finicky. If you want to split.... go for the biggest you can have, bear in mind you'll require a bottomless PF.

Edit: for 20g or 22g, depending of the shape of your portafilter, it may not fit, requiring you to to use a bottomless PF which will not allow you to split it - or you find a suitable spouted PF which accommodates larger baskets. Also, bear in mind, if you are fussy about getting it "right" you'll need to adjust the grinder slightly - as they are not interchangeable as such.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

15g VST ridge-less is now my go to basket for 30 to 36g yield. Agree the 18g would be the one you wish to split the shot.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Agree with M R S, go for the 18 gm, the 15 gm IS finicky . The 18 gm will give you a rich cup of coffee, I would NOT try splitting for two milk drinks.


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## yo842 (Jan 16, 2020)

El carajillo said:


> Agree with M R S, go for the 18 gm, the 15 gm IS finicky . The 18 gm will give you a rich cup of coffee, I would NOT try splitting for two milk drinks.


 Thank you all for your replies!

How much coffee do you put in the 18 basket? I heard you should overdose a bit to get optimal results. Putting 19-20 grams of coffee for one cup of espresso is quite a lot, isn't it? I'll need to buy new beans in every week ?

@El carajilo, would you recommend to split a bigger basket for 2 milk drinks with the Silvia?


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

yo842 said:


> Thank you all for your replies!
> How much coffee do you put in the 18 basket? I heard you should overdose a bit to get optimal results. Putting 19-20 grams of coffee for one cup of espresso is quite a lot, isn't it?


Clue is in the name: 18g. Go up or down by .5g, but the idea is that you dose 18g.

Re: too much coffee.... it's up to you. At the end of the day, the idea these days is that you measure a ratio. Most of us start with a 1:2 ratio, so, for every 1g in, you output 2 grams. So, for 18g in, you'd expect 36g out. If you'd rather have a stronger, richer drink, you can try a 1:1.5 ratio. So, think about how much drink you want in the cup and then pick your basket. But it's not as simple as that because, if the coffee puck is thinner (like in the 15g basket) there's more to go wrong at high pressure.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

yo842 said:


> Thank you all for your replies!
> How much coffee do you put in the 18 basket? I heard you should overdose a bit to get optimal results. Putting 19-20 grams of coffee for one cup of espresso is quite a lot, isn't it? I'll need to buy new beans in every week
> @El carajilo, would you recommend to split a bigger basket for 2 milk drinks with the Silvia?


VST baskets have a +/-1g tolerance so anything between 17 & 19g depending on the bean you're using to get the correct fill height.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

ashcroc said:


> VST baskets have a +/-1g tolerance so anything between 17 & 19g depending on the bean you're using to get the correct fill height.


I've never been successful with 19g or 17g with a VST 18g on an e61 machine. What worked for me was between 18g and 18.5g.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> I've never been successful with 19g or 17g with a VST 18g on an e61 machine. What worked for me was between 18g and 18.5g.


I usually stick to 18g but have started varying it a bit since I moved onto a fixed height tamper.


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## yo842 (Jan 16, 2020)

Ok so I think I should give up on the 15 basket and go for the 18. You wouldn't recommend to also use a bigger basket for seperating the shot for 2 cups of cappuccino, instead of making 2 seperate shots with the 18 basket for example?

Do you guys have an experience with these VST baskets on the Silvia? Because Silvia is very finicky and certain things just don't work as intended with her.



lake_m said:


> 15g VST ridge-less is now my go to basket for 30 to 36g yield. Agree the 18g would be the one you wish to split the shot.


 Do you also have the 18g basket? Why do you prefer the 15g?


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

yo842 said:


> Ok so I think I should give up on the 15 basket and go for the 18. You wouldn't recommend to also use a bigger basket for seperating the shot for 2 cups of cappuccino, instead of making 2 seperate shots with the 18 basket for example?
> 
> Do you guys have an experience with these VST baskets on the Silvia? Because Silvia is very finicky and certain things just don't work as intended with her.
> 
> Do you also have the 18g basket? Why do you prefer the 15g?


 I have them all ?, plus all of the LM baskets too which seem to be in between the VST sizes e.g. 14g, 17g etc.

I settled on the 15g because that suits the yield and strength of espresso I want to drink / size of cup etc. for flat whites.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

yo842 said:


> Thank you all for your replies!
> 
> How much coffee do you put in the 18 basket? I heard you should overdose a bit to get optimal results. Putting 19-20 grams of coffee for one cup of espresso is quite a lot, isn't it? I'll need to buy new beans in every week ?
> 
> @El carajilo, would you recommend to split a bigger basket for 2 milk drinks with the Silvia?


 It depends on the size of drink you are used to / enjoy. Personally I only drink doubles whether as espresso or as flat white. Mrs El c finds doubles too strong in flat whites but enjoys 9 /10 gram 1=2 flat whites as her prefered drink.

As already stated you cannot normally use the larger basket's in a normal P/F as they are too deep and you cannot use the spout to split them .

Mrs El c tried the 15 gm basket but found it too much / strong.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

lake_m said:


> I have them all , plus all of the LM baskets too which seem to be in between the VST sizes e.g. 14g, 17g etc.
> I settled on the 15g because that suits the yield and strength of espresso I want to drink / size of cup etc. for flat whites.


If the standard LM baskets are the same as the LM Strada baskets, their tolerance is +2g so a LM Strada 17g basket is the same size as a VST 18g.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Actually they're different depths (I clocked it straight away). E.g. the LM 14g is deeper than the VST 15g. So I can only assume they also have different tapers and hole densities.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

lake_m said:


> Actually they're different depths (I clocked it straight away). E.g. the LM 14g is deeper than the VST 15g. So I can only assume they also have different tapers and hole densities.


Interesting. Is it a standard LM basket or a Strada? I only have the LM Strada 7g & LM triple so a direct comparison with my 18g VST isn't really possible. I meant to write *dose* size but missed a word typing. Even though the LM Strada is made by VST, it makes sense for there to be differences.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Can't remember exactly where, but recall someone saying that LM strada and VST baskets are "one and the same".

Let me google.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

On this forum actually....

Post number 4:
https://coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/7545-vst-and-la-marzocco/

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## yo842 (Jan 16, 2020)

Considering that I usually use medium-dark roasts, should I prefer one over the other?


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Mine are the standard LM baskets not the Strada so there may be a difference.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

yo842 said:


> Considering that I usually use medium-dark roasts, should I prefer one over the other?


 It's down to personal preference. The VST baskets can achieve higher extraction% if you have a suitable grinder and equipment. But for medium / dark roasts this may not be desirable and could bring out some nasties at the higher end. Have you considered the IMS baskets? I used these on my La Spaziale with very good results.


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## yo842 (Jan 16, 2020)

Oh so this is changing all the story ?

I thought about getting the Ims baskets, but my problem is that I recently bought a new 58.35mm tamper thinking it would fit both my Silvia double basket and a VST basket once I'll decide to order it. Unfortunately and surprisingly this tamper is too big for my Silvia v2 basket, and if I won't buy the VST basket it means that I have no use for this tamper and it sucks. For IMS basket I need a 58.8 tamper or at least 58.5. ?


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## Ian S (Oct 3, 2014)

Measured with digital calipers.

I have a 15gram VST and it's 58.5mm, or more, down to about 16mm from the top rim.

My 58.5 tamper will go about 16mm down.

14g of coffee in the 15g VST is about 12mm down from top.

So, there's 4mm of clearance.


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> I've never been successful with 19g or 17g with a VST 18g on an e61 machine. What worked for me was between 18g and 18.5g.


 Same for me. I used 19g in my VST 18 basket and never got great results. Now with 18g of coffee results are much better.


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## Ian S (Oct 3, 2014)

That's interesting, I'm currently having 16.5g in my 15g VST. I'll try 15g again.

A while ago I did try 15g with a more coarse grind and a lower brew pressure, maybe 4 Bar, which seemed to produce more initial flavour in the cup than a higher dose with finer grind and more pressure.


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