# VST baskets have arrived



## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

Cheers Dave mine are here. First thing in the morning and lots of playing to be done


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## drude (Apr 22, 2013)

Mine too - many thanks Dave for what must have been a massive ordering, sorting and posting effort.


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## reneb (Nov 2, 2011)

Mine's just turned up as well. Thanks to Dave for arranging all this and dealing with the orders and the posting - must have been a nightmare! Looking forward to comparing this with my 18g VST over the weekend. I assume I should grind slightly coarser to compensate for the larger dose.


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

reneb said:


> Mine's just turned up as well. Thanks to Dave for arranging all this and dealing with the orders and the posting - must have been a nightmare! Looking forward to comparing this with my 18g VST over the weekend. I assume I should grind slightly coarser to compensate for the larger dose.


Apparently, VST are engeneered to work with a similar grind across all the different doses.

I'm not sure how accurate this is though, the grind shouldn't be massively different apparently.

Mine just arrived too.









Overall quality 95.7, who has higher?


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## reneb (Nov 2, 2011)

thanks for the advice kyle

mine's 95.8 - i'm sure the .1 difference will be massive!


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

reneb said:


> thanks for the advice kyle
> 
> mine's 95.8 - i'm sure the .1 difference will be massive!


At least if your coffee is better than mine I can blame the basket.









N.B

Does anyone understand the hole size diagram?

I understand that it is measuring hole size, but none of the axes are labled and the variables are unnamed...

Actually, the data sheet tells me nothing apart from that I'm, just (by .7%) outside of the 95th percentile of baskets.


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## drude (Apr 22, 2013)

I got a 96.1 here - woo hoo


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## alisingh (Dec 31, 2012)

96.9!!!

Thanks, Coffeechap for organising this.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

And another 96.9 here


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

If you've never used one before, expect to grind finer!


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

Without a tamper I can't comprehend the results I'm getting at all.

Hurry up post guy!

Bring me my shinies


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Mine has arrived and survived the post. Cheers Dave, top man!


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Prego prego prego


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## chomer (Jul 4, 2013)

Mine landed safely. Thanks chap


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Do these have to be signed for?

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> Do these have to be signed for?
> 
> Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


No, you don't need to sign.


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

Arrived safely, no signature needed, thanks.

Many thanks for sorting this, guys.



Kyle548 said:


> N.B
> 
> Does anyone understand the hole size diagram?
> 
> I understand that it is measuring hole size, but none of the axes are labled and the variables are unnamed...


It looks like its just showing the distribution of the hole sizes, withe one axis being a count of the number of holes of each size, and the other axis being hole size. I can't actually read the sizes, to be honest, but I am approaching the age where a magnifying glass would be a good investment


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Both arrived today too








ones a 97.1 I'm sure it makes a massive difference


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Perfect, should be waiting when I get home then.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

If they are not there you will need to go to depot to pick them up or they get returned to me.


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## Spukey (Nov 4, 2012)

I have recd mine, can't wait to try a 20g shot of Jampit!

Cheers SSF!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Got mine safe and sound , cheers !


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks, mine arrived safe and sound today. Great work, Dave. Thank you for all your effort in this.


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Arrived. As always, many thanks, a Herculean effort.


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## Don_your_hat (May 13, 2013)

Got mine too. Really looking forward to giving this a try tomorrow. The basket is a much better fit with my Torr tamper than my previous Happy Donkey one. Many thanks for this Coffeechap!


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Received and your effort is much appricated.

In fact it was a RM bonanza today, I was away last night and came home to the VST baskets, VST Knocktop tamper, Beans and some Porasro shaving cream.

Wife not impressed!

Quick question, why does my 18g basket say 18g on the box but say17g printed on it?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

That is the stock 18 gram basket


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

They VST or LM Stradas ? 18/17g


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Got mine, cheers Dave.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

garydyke1 said:


> They VST or LM Stradas ? 18/17g


They are all VST in original VST boxes, you know strada don't do ridge less gary!


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Good point Gary. As far as i know the VST's have tended to be labelled up 18g and the LMs as 17g for the same basket size. Where these VSTs are labelled in the same place but as 17g


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

I have just sent hasbean an email to clarify this, what does your vst say gary, the 15,20 and 22 all have the corresponding number on them as I have just checked the remaining ones.


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## Spukey (Nov 4, 2012)

My VST states 17g on the basket but 18 on the box. From searching the web this is normal, its an 18 g basket


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Spukey put a photo up if you can please


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

I am sorting this out folks so will get back very shortly.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Spukey said:


> My VST states 17g on the basket but 18 on the box. From searching the web this is normal, its an 18 g basket


What about on the side beside the QR code?


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## lukeap69 (Apr 23, 2013)

My 18g VST bought directly from VST in US is labelled 17g. I read somewhere before that this is common.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

lukeap69 said:


> My 18g VST bought directly from VST in US is labelled 17g. I read somewhere before that this is common.


This is correct - VSTs come in a box marked '18grm' but the basket has '17grm laser etched on the basket's side - weird. But the 15grm basket's box says 15grm and are are etched '15grm'. All VSTs can be dosed plus or minus one gram from stated capacity on the basket. It helpful for VST to explain why they put '18grm' on the on the box containing a '17grm' basket.


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## lukeap69 (Apr 23, 2013)

Agreed. I think it is only the 18g basket has this 'issue'. My 20g basket is labelled 20g.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

I bought a ridgeless vst 18g basket from hasbean a year or so ago and it says 18g on the rim and side. There seems to be some variation.


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Made a couple of coffees this morning, one with a 22g VST basket and one with the 18g aka 17g VST. Dosed as 22g and 18g respectively with the same grind setting (eureka mignon). Found I would have had to grind finer on the 18g to achieve a 1.6 ratio.


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## lukeap69 (Apr 23, 2013)

How do you compare the VST baskets against the stock ones? I find the VST baskets less forgiving. Having said that, I use them more and more to remind myself to always be consistent.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

lukeap69 said:


> How do you compare the VST baskets against the stock ones? I find the VST baskets less forgiving. Having said that, I use them more and more to remind myself to always be consistent.
> 
> Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4


Yes The VSTs are less forgiving but you do get better results compared to gaggia stock baskets IMHO.


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## lukeap69 (Apr 23, 2013)

In my case, the difference is not very noticeable compared to my Simonelli stock basket.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

This 17/18 might be due to differing markets Europe versus U.S/Aus/Asia. The baskets hold 17-19g regardless. They will be exactly the same


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Gangstarrrrr said:


> Made a couple of coffees this morning, one with a 22g VST basket and one with the 18g aka 17g VST. Dosed as 22g and 18g respectively with the same grind setting (eureka mignon). Found I would have had to grind finer on the 18g to achieve a 1.6 ratio.


That is my findings, only a small difference but a finer grind the smaller the dose. 20g shots seem huge! Need to nail one to find taste differences to my 18g.


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

I got an 18g VST from Square Mile in April and it is laser etched 17g too. Works fine and Never bothered me tbh.

Used my new 22g VST for the first time this morning with my regular grind and beans. I'm very happy. Seems to taste smoother and richer. Very nice.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Partly to say thanks to coffeechap for sorting out the bulk buy.

Also to say what a difference a basket makes. Previously I had a larger trippleshot basket that came with my bottemless PF from HD, I would very often get spurts shooting out and the extraction would be all over the place. I had my fingers secretly crossed that it wasn't my lack of tamping skill but actually the basket being rubbish.

A great workman never blames his tools.... but in this case it looks like it was the tools. This basket has no spurting whatsoever a more even extraction and a better taste.

What a difference from a basket!

edit: thanks mod, did not notice this thread


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

When I dose 14 in the 15g, after pulling the shot I get the shower screen imprinted onto my puck.

I'm assuming this means I have no headroom in the basket.

14 is the lowest recommended dose for the 15 vst.

Also the PF locks in really tight because the gasket seems too big.

Not sure if this is a problem or not.

In anycase, any idea how to improve the amount of headroom?


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## acousticcoffee (Aug 9, 2008)

Hi All

Dale from HasBean here - huge thanks to all of you guys who took up on the VST offer, and of course Dave who has worked really hard to make things happen smoothly for you all

Unfortunately we have had a couple hiccups....

firstly we were 16 baskets short in one style, these have been ordered and I believe are arriving with us early next week - as soon as we receive we will send the incomplete orders out direct to those of you waiting

secondly - as some of you chaps who received 18g ridgeless baskets have noticed there is a problem with some rogue baskets that were not meant to have been shipped with your order....

The filters are VST 18g filters, produced to the same rigorous specification as all others - the certificates match the units, but the printed serial information on the basket has a fairly glaring error

We had set aside a few 18g units marked incorrectly as 17g baskets that VST recalled last yr, (due to a typo that occurred when they changed to a new laser engraver, and the operator accidentally typed the wrong number vs loading the saved engraving parameters - VST believe there are approx 150 of these in the world but due to shipping to 53 countries were unable to locate them and asked resellers to check their stock)

Any of you affected with these baskets please drop a mail to [email protected] and I'll get a double checked basket sent directly to you along with an envelope for returning the offending items

alternatively if you wish to retain the limited edition '17g' version please feel free to present it at me at any public coffee event where I shall inscribe an apology and my currently worthless signature across the side with a sharpie - ebay is bound to pay loads for these one day!

yours

Dale


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Thanks for your update Dale

Wouldn't worry me if I had a 17g or 18g printed on the side.

Misprinted postage stamps have an outstanding value due to their rarity


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

That's interesting. I've got a '17grm' marked ridgeless VST which I bought several weeks ago but I'm pretty sure I got mine from CoffeeHit.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Must be part of the same batch from VST.


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## Walter Sobchak (Nov 29, 2012)

My 18g has arrived, many thanks.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

URGENT info required.....

if you received an 18gram basket please resend your address so that i can collate the change of baskets, thanks


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## CoffeeDiva (May 9, 2013)

If people are sending back their misprinted ones and this means there is a spare, can I nab one? Not fussed what is printed on the side.


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## CoffeeDoc (Dec 26, 2012)

Firstly a big thanks to Dave for arranging the purchase of the baskets. I have a new 20g and 18g basket.

Here is a photo of my new 18g VST basket, it would appear that I have one of the rare limited edition 18g baskets that are labelled as 17g, I am not bothered by this and don't need to change it.

I do have a question however, I have been using a 15g VST basket overdosed to 17g until now, would I be better using the 18g basket with 17g in it or continuing to over dose the 15g one?









Paul


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## CoffeeDoc (Dec 26, 2012)

Sorry I have realised that the writing is illegible on the attached photo, so here is an enlargement

Paul


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

From what I gather the baskets should be used +/-1g so best to go with the 17g.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

*coffeechap* has advised that baskets should be with those who are still yet to receive them on Friday, Saturday or Monday.

if you have not received the baskets by Tuesday please contact coffeechap by PM


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

This isn't specific to VST, but my baskets are never 'full', even if I go 1-2g over - I couldn't swipe my finger across the top to level the grounds, for example. Is this just because my grinds might not be as fluffy as others and therefore not as voluminous?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

When I was using a bog standard tripple basket, I used to level to the top of the basket and tamp. I am using a 15g VST now and if I do the same then I get a shower screen indent on the dry coffee, so I dose a cm or so under the rim (I lost my scales







)


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## Wobin19 (Mar 19, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> This isn't specific to VST, but my baskets are never 'full', even if I go 1-2g over - I couldn't swipe my finger across the top to level the grounds, for example. Is this just because my grinds might not be as fluffy as others and therefore not as voluminous?


Jeebsy, thats exactly my experience. The same weight of coffee from the SJ is more voluminous in the basket than it was from the Mignon. After tamping though, the level is the same in the basket of course. Not sure that helps!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Yeah it does, thanks. Suspected that would be the case - in some Youtube videos where they're using mega grinders the basket has a mountain of coffee in it where mine only looks half full sometimes!


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Got my baskets this morning. Many thanks to Dave for sorting this out


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

Finally used my 15g basket, awesome espresso 14g James Gourmet, formula 6 fantastic stuff. Not as much body as I'm used too but that's to be expected I guess?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4


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