Hudiny wrote:A question about the ridgeless baskets, e.g. a VST on a BDB. To what extend do they stick to the portafilter? Would I end up knocking out the basket every time I use the knockbox. Or alternatively, would it be hard to take the basket out every time for dosing?

Taking out my ridgeless VST baskets is easy even with the spring in the LM bottomless portafiler and also in my Rancilio bottomless. I also have an IMS competition basket, and this is a bit of a problem. The walls of the VST basket are not straight and the diameter at the bottom is a bit smaller. So, it is easy to insert the VST basket in the portafilter. With the IMS, though, I have to apply force, and this is not good especially if you already have coffee in the basket. This is because the walls of the IMS basket are straight, and it is the bottom of the IMS basket that meets the springs in the portafilter.

Comments:

1. In the matter of baskets: I use VST ridgeless baskets. Unless forced to it by some unforeseen event, I will never use a ridged basket again. I have experienced no problems whatsoever with the ridgeless VST baskets, and have saved myself from countless rapped knuckles, pinched fingers and frequent scrapes. The basket stays firmly in place while using the knockbox, and yet pops out easily when I push it from the bottom. (I use a bottomless portafilter.)
2. In the matter of portafilters: I use a bottomless portafilter, which in my opinion is head and shoulders (figuratively speaking) above a spouted portafilter, unless of course you're simultaneously pulling a double shot into two separate receptacles. With no annoying spouts to deal with, the bottomless portafilter behaves nicely while its contents are being tamped. It sits nicely on the Acaia Lunar scale too.

Caveats:

Neither the bottomless portafilter nor the VST baskets are forgiving if you cut corners on the distribution and/or tamping process. Get lax with your preparation and the VST basket and the bottomless portafilter are quite capable of conspiring together to spit espresso in numerous and creative directions nowhere near your intended target. In short, they will inspire you to do the job right.

Accurately weighing your dose in and your shot out is vitally important in attaining your desired ratio and achieving consistency in your shots. Nothing worse than getting a great shot and not being able to duplicate it because you're not certain of the weight in/out.

Espresso machines... so many available, so hard to choose. I suggest you thoroughly research the quality of build and the historical longevity of any/all machines you might consider for purchase. I recently laid to rest a Breville machine that, despite light use and the best of care and maintenance, only reached the tender age of 17 months before the pump died. The cost of repair was prohibitive, parts could not be purchased, and there was no local shop that would touch it. After much research, which I should have done prior to purchase, I found my experience was far from unique. Therefore, I decided that, at least for me, the purchase of another "made in China" espresso machine, no matter how many bells and whistles it might boast, would likely be throwing good money after bad. (YMMV)

Hudiny wrote:I would like to get an easy workflow in which I weigh the grounds in the portafilter after hopper dosing. Ideally with 0.1g precision.

I couple of questions:
- Would this be an accurate approach? Most scales advertise 0.1g precision until 500g.
- Which scale would you recommend that (a) accommodates a portafilter and (b) fits the accuracy requirement?

Aside from single-dosing, would you recommend an easier and more streamlined workflow?

There are many scales and many baristas. I chose the Acaia Pearl for the job of weighing grinds in a portafilter post grind. Not sorry I did. I would tare the portafilter (with PF funnel mounted on it) on the Pearl, dose the beans into the PF for weighing, dump the beans into the grinder, then grind into the portafilter with a PF funnel mounted on it and return it to the Pearl to check grinds weight.

Recently, I've switched the workflow to do all that with a LynWeber Blind Shaker then dispense grinds from it directly into the portafilter. The Blind Shaker is a lot lighter than a portafilter thus a less expensive scale limited to 500g is usable.

Acaia Lunar if you want a fancy scale with lots of features.

If you want an inexpensive one that gets the job done, get a 0.01g digital scale like this https://smile.amazon.com/High-precision ... cale+0.01g

It has a 500g limit... but just tare the scale with the PF+basket before grinding and it will be fine. I used that for quite a while before my wife bought me the Lunar.

I highly recommend a 0.01g scale instead of a 0.1g scale. With a 0.1g scale, I found the scale took several seconds to detect a change in weight if I would scoop a little out or in to adjust the amount of grinds. With a 0.01g scale, it detects the change immediately.

Also, the 0.01g scale should be more accurate than the 0.1g scale.

See this thread 3D printed portafilter rest for the AWS SC-2kg scale for a 3D printed plate for the PF to use with scales.

jchung and Amir 0.01g precision for the win!
I went with that scale and will post results after I accumulate some experience with it (and test the weighing with the portafilter).

@jchung - did you also printing a cover/tray for the Amir?

Ironically, I just bought a used HG-1 grinder - will likely not need to weigh grounds in the portafilter

Glad you like it! Its a great inexpensive scale. I did print a plate for the scale and PF. It works great. Much easier to place the PF on the 3D printed plate.

Thank you, jchung! Could you also share the files for the printout (for the Amir 0.01)?

I've been thinking about getting into 3D printing for a while

The link to the STLs are in the thread I linked to previously.

jchung wrote:I highly recommend a 0.01g scale instead of a 0.1g scale. With a 0.1g scale, I found the scale took several seconds to detect a change in weight if I would scoop a little out or in to adjust the amount of grinds. With a 0.01g scale, it detects the change immediately.

Also, the 0.01g scale should be more accurate than the 0.1g scale.

Sorry, gotta disagree. I've got Triton T2 (550gx0.1g) and T3 (400gx0.01g) scales. The T3 is slower to respond. YMMV.

Re resolution (not necessarily accuracy): yes, the T3 has 10X the resolution of the T2. So what? 0.1g corresponds to the weight of one coffee bean. You simply do not need resolution greater than 0.1g for weighing coffee. The extra decimal place is merely a distraction.

But hey, scales are cheap enough that you can buy several and decide for yourself. Get a 0.001g scale if you want, they're under $20 on Amazon.

I've got the cheap 0.01g scale linked by jchung above, and that particular one is fast compared to other scales I've had. The speed is great for not having to pause while weighing beans, and for weighing the pour as it happens. Yeah, the resolution is overkill, but I can put up with that.