As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The basket is the cheapest part of an espresso machine and one of the most overlooked. It’s a steel cup with holes in the bottom. On a lot of stock baskets those holes vary in size and spacing, and water takes the easiest exit. You can do everything right at the grinder and the tamp and still get uneven extraction because the basket was stamped a bit carelessly.
Precision baskets have uniform holes, evenly spaced. That’s the whole difference, and it’s enough to matter.
VST
VST baskets are the strict ones. Each comes with data on its hole pattern, and tolerances are tight. They’re sold by dose, 7, 15, 18, 20, 22 and 25 g, in ridged and ridgeless versions. An 18 g VST is meant for roughly 16 to 19 g. Go well below the rated dose and they get tricky. The ridgeless version is easier to pop in and out, and it’s the usual pick with a bottomless portafilter.
IMS
IMS baskets came out of competition use around 2011. They have finer holes than VST and are a little more forgiving across doses. The model codes look cryptic but they’re simple: B70 or B68 is the rim size (B68 suits Gaggia), H and a number give the height, and NT means a Nanotech coating that releases pucks and cleans more easily. “BB” is the Big Bang hole pattern. Clive Coffee calls IMS the most cost-effective upgrade, and many people find they knock out the cleanest pucks.
Pullman
Pullman 876 baskets are laser-cut in Australia, with 876 holes, and sold in three ranges: 17 to 19 g, 19 to 22 g and 22 to 25 g. They’re built around Pullman’s own tamper and take a 58.3 to 58.55 mm tamper, so check your tamper size first.
Picking a Dose
Buy the basket for the dose you actually use, not the biggest one. Too little coffee in a big basket leaves too much headspace, and the puck turns soupy. Too much in a small one and the shower screen presses into the coffee before water even arrives. A simple check: after a shot, if the puck carries a clear imprint of the shower screen, the dose is too high for that basket.
For a cortado made with a standard 18 g double, an 18 g basket is the obvious choice.
Breville and Dedica Owners
IMS makes precision baskets for Breville’s 54mm portafilter in several heights, from about 12 to 16 g up to 18 to 22 g. Search for IMS 54mm baskets for Breville and check which portafilter it’s listed for. On the Barista Express and Barista Pro, this is one of the best small upgrades.
For the 51mm Dedica, precision options are scarce. A good non-pressurized 51mm basket is the first step away from the pressurized stock baskets. See our Dedica guide for the full upgrade path.
What It Won’t Fix
A precision basket evens out the water’s exit. It can’t fix a grinder that makes clumps and dust, or a puck that was tamped crooked. Get the grinder right first. And baskets wear out: Clive suggests replacing them every year or so on a machine used daily.
A good basket costs about as much as two bags of decent beans. Few upgrades cost less and change more.