Hello,

Wondering if someone can point me towards some LM cups and the like. I see them all the time in SCG videos and whatnot, but the only place i can find them for sale online is direct from italy and shipping is about seventy bucks

Any tips for finding some in the US?

Thanks!

Contact Chris at LM USA Parts, just go to the website and email him or call their 800 number. I have a set of their 5oz Cappuccino cups and love them, they are even in use at the moment.

thanks for the response, im not seeing his email specifically as listed on the LM site. do you have it handy? thanks!

for the curious:

spoke to chris (really nice guy), basically they are attempting to open the US store ASAP, but no ETA as of yet :/

informed me i *should* be able to purchase from the italian store, provided im willing to pay DHL to get it to me in California, but to email them just to double check.

went ahead and emailed the powers that be over in italy, ill update again when/if i get a response.

news from italy, shipping to the US is a GO! provided, of course, you are willing to pay to play.

having more money than sense, i went ahead an ordered some cups, but i forgot to purchase a Strada basket while i was there :/ anyone know if anyplace stateside has that 17g double basket in stock?

I recommend that you get the VST baskets direct from VSTAPPS.COM. This is the USA company that developed the Strada baskets for La Marzocco and VST manufactures them under their own brand name (LM subcontracts them out to one or more local makers).

Not only is the VST line wider (available in five sizes 7g - 22g and you can get them either ridged or ridgeless) but the manufacturing and test standards are generally acknowledged to be more carefully controlled than the LM subcontracted versions. For the record, I've also found their shipping to be very quick and the customer service has been excellent.

awesome tip, thanks!

i think ill do that!

pardon my ignorance, but i would want NO ridge for my GS3, correct?

Ridged vs ridgeless is a matter of preference. I'd recommend ridgeless for home use (easier to wipe clean and remove) and ridged for commercial use (where portafilters tend to get thrown around much more roughly, banged against knockboxes, etc.)

lifeis11 wrote:pardon my ignorance, but i would want NO ridge for my GS3, correct?

As Alex said above, it's a personal preference, and the GS/3 itself (or its portafilter) won't care.

You would use the same tamper (58.4mm recommended) either way. If you don't have the ridge, there's no little groove on the inside wall where loose grinds can hide, and it's easier to get the basket out of the PF if you like using multiple baskets. So on balance, I like the ridgeless version, especially since I dose and tamp multiple baskets outside the (un-sprung) portafilter and then run off the shots back-to-back in series.

That said, I have several ridged VSTs purchased before the ridgeless version became available, and I can assure you that I feel no pain when using them.