VSTs have two main advantages. First is precision manufacturing. All holes are the same size within tight tolerance, so you get even extraction and you know your basket should be directly comparable to anyone elses VST basket of the same size.

Second is high extraction. VST baskets have holes all the way to the edge, and larger total hole area, so that a fine grind is required to regulate flow. Finer grinds give higher extraction. This is a benefit to many coffees (especially light roasted ones) but it also is the aspect that makes them less forgiving. The flow is regulated more by the actual coffee than by the basket, so you need a good grinder and good distribution technique.

For a more forgiving well made basket you might try an espressoparts HQ14. Although nominally a 14g basket it has plenty of headspace to updose to 18. The HQ 14 (especially when updosed) will require a coarser grind than a VST and will thus be more forgiving and give a lower extraction. Lower extraction can be a good thing depending on the coffee and your personal preference.

I personally alternate between a VST 18 and HQ14 (using roughly 18g in each) depending on the coffee and my mood.

Nate42 wrote:Finer grinds give higher extraction. This is a benefit to many coffees (especially light roasted ones) but it also is the aspect that makes them less forgiving.

I am not in the camp that believes higher extraction equates to better extraction. Coffee has 1200 different chemical compounds; some of them taste wonderful, some taste like turpentine. For me, the goal of coffee brewing should be to extract as much of the good stuff and leave as much of the bad stuff behind. Higher extraction rates can dip into the distillates and make coffee much less tasty.

For example, I have a Bunn ice tea brewer. It makes 3 gallons of tea at a time, but only puts a portion of that as hot water through the tea. The rest bypasses the boiler and is added at room temperature. The result is a very smooth and tasty beverage, without all the excess tannins that can make tea bitter as it would be if all 3 gallons passed through the leaves at high temperature.

Almico wrote:I am not in the camp that believes higher extraction equates to better extraction.

Agree completely, and that is exactly why I suggested the HQ14, and why I personally switch baskets depending on the coffee. Edited my post to clarify a bit.

Nate42 wrote:Second is high extraction.

Almico wrote:I am not in the camp that believes higher extraction equates to better extraction.

I'd have said "uniform extraction" rather than "high extraction". I think that's the objective behind VST's design.

Jack

Agreed. And uniform in function but maybe not always perfect looking!

But that's ok if taste is there.

Ill just play devils advocate for a moment here..

Nothing against precision baskets, but me personally, I dont use them. I have used them, I own a ton of them. EP HQ baskets, VST and IMS. Have tried them all at different points, in the more common sizes(like 18 and 20).

Just not a major fan of them per say. I actually prefer the old school Synesso basket that was very popular before the era of precision baskets. The slightly larger one, which is like a big double, but not really a triple. I use it at around 20grams, give or take depending on coffee. If I wanna get silly and go higher, I pull out the classic straight walled LM triple.

I dont drink DARK roasted coffee, although by todays standards, I definitely am on the darker end. Realistically the roast level of my coffees probably rarely exceeds full city +, a nice dark brown bean color, no oil. Darkest is usually like Vivace Dolce, which has a SPARSE hint of a drop of oil on a few beans in the bag. heh, but by todays standards, Im basically drinking french roast

I do prefer the IMS precision shower screen over the regular E61 shower screens.

Call me crazy, but, thats me. Just to say, sure, by all means, try the precision baskets available out there, MOST people like them. But not EVERYone. So, give your stock baskets a try too. Unless you're using pretty lightly roasted coffee that "normally" wouldnt be used for espresso(if such a thing exists anymore), the basket isnt going to be the deciding factor between wonderful and horrible.

I have regularly used both 'precision' (VST 15g & 18g) and 'non-precision' baskets like the EP HQ, stock/unknown baskets, and the Synesso's. Personally, there's no need to rush out and get the VST. Nice to have but not a must. If you drink very light roasts yes sometimes they're helpful because you could grind finer and extract more uniformly (with proper techniques). The baskets look beautifully finished as well. For medium-dark roasts though, they're sometimes less desirable. The consistency between basket is a great feature for cafe, but doesn't matter much for home IMO. I also tend to pull normale (1:2 brew ratio) for VST, and tighter ristrettos for 'non-precision' baskets (between 1:1-1:2).

Keep in mind when you get the VST basket, you need to fork out more for a fitting tamper.

So I decided to dig out my VST-18 from the back of the drawer and try it with my Londinium/R120. After recalibrating the knob to allow for a finer grind adjustment I noticed 2 things: some very ugly pours (WDT'd like a madman) and quite a bit of sludge in the cup.

Almico wrote:I am not in the camp that believes higher extraction equates to better extraction. Coffee has 1200 different chemical compounds; some of them taste wonderful, some taste like turpentine. For me, the goal of coffee brewing should be to extract as much of the good stuff and leave as much of the bad stuff behind. Higher extraction rates can dip into the distillates and make coffee much less tasty.

For example, I have a Bunn ice tea brewer. It makes 3 gallons of tea at a time, but only puts a portion of that as hot water through the tea. The rest bypasses the boiler and is added at room temperature. The result is a very smooth and tasty beverage, without all the excess tannins that can make tea bitter as it would be if all 3 gallons passed through the leaves at high temperature.

Interesting you should bring up that tea brewing scenario, Alan. I use a similar method with excellent results.

I heat one cup of water with three of the large sized Lipton tea bags in the micro to just as the boiling point is approached (2 minute 30 seconds on high in my micro) then drop the concentrate into 1/2 gallon of room temp water in a re-purposed Vlasic pickle jar. The 80 oz jar looks cool with its OG looking 1 to 64 fluid oz scale & decorations relief-impressed into the glass.

I also slosh the bags around in the jar but that may or may not be a good idea.

This method produces a very enjoyable flavor and it's enhanced the next day; no bitterness, no cloudiness.

For our tastes I stir in one cup of sugar. I call it Charlene's Arizona Sweet Tea

We go through a half a gallon to a gallon a day. Takes less than 5 minutes to brew up a 1/2 gallon and I keep it in the fridge with the jar lid capping it.

samuellaw178 wrote:. The consistency between basket is a great feature for cafe, but doesn't matter much for home IMO. .

So at home if you only have 1 poorly made basket to work with, a high quality product wouldn't matter (since you dont need 20 basekts)?

I guess I don't understand the logic there as to me its the complete opposite.

I've spent a lot of time and money on good coffee, equipment, and learning proper technique. I would hate to be limited by because I got stuck with an inferior basket just by chance due to manufacturing tolerances.