I mainly pull singles, but it depends on the bean.

For example, recent Yirgacheffe and Sidamo singles have been to die for good.

On the other hand, Londinium Esopresso has roasted my Wild Bean 1 degree less and it makes a fabulous difference. Wonderful in singles but now also very very good as a double. Did I say very very good?

The Blawan Java I have recently fallen in love with is nice as a single, but as a double ristretto it is amazing....

Call me fickle, but I think you have to be flexible and follow the bean

Cheers

Mike

A while back, I picked up a La Marzocco Single basket and played around with some single origin coffees that you wouldn't make your first choice on a 18gr dose... Some of them did quite well.

aside from that little experiment. . . I dont do singles.

If Im making shots, or even when Im making a cappa, its the double basket. If Im making two drinks, build two shots. In a 6oz cappa, a 1.5-1.75oz shot is great. After getting used to it, I tried it with a single basket pull, ending up a bit under 1oz. The drink lacked the deep flavor that Im used too.

Im not against singles, and if there is a coffee which someone tells me is exceptionally good as a single, I will give it whirl. On my Anita, I used only the LM Single basket, and I had a nice fitting tamper I made so I could pack only the inner recess. I have not yet attempted singles my VII, Im still getting a handle over the doubles.

Oh, the singles from some Yemen coffees! One in particular still brings me to (near) tears...
A Yemen Matari from about 2 years ago, not sure where I purchased, I think SM's.

Also, some wonderful singles from my former Anita with a Yemen Ismaeli, maybe 6 years ago.
My Cremina singles have improved a lot due to a grinder change.

I use the LM triple basket in an open PF. The coffee is right up to the line inside the basket. I don't know exactly how many grams of coffee it is because I time the doses. I suspect it's in the 25 gram range. I will have to weigh it one of these days. Most drinks are 10-15 oz in size.

My Espro tamper doesn't fit the single or double LM baskets very well.

I only use single baskets in my Elektra Semiautomatica. The single basket for this machine holds about 9-10 grams of ground coffee; that, I believe, puts it somewhat between the smaller 7 gram single baskets - and the double baskets.

Howard

I use a double basket almost exclusively. Occasionally I will switch to a triple basket when I need the extra caffeine boost or just want a change. I tried using the single basket that came with my Miss Silvia and it was an awful experience that turned into a sink shot and the basket returning to the drawer where it has been collecting dust. I have not revisited the single basket since. If I want less volume than a normal double then I will adjust the grinder/tamp and pull a ristretto.

Not sure I'll ever really use the single basket. It's been a double basket for the last couple of years. On occasion I'll pull out the triple basket, but that's just a bit much.

<Mark>

I change between doubles and triples; lately I've been pulling 2 triples in the morning, 2 in the afternoon.

Interresting. On March 11, 2009, I wrote:

zin1953 wrote:Straight doubles in the morning. Straight single at night.

No longer true, if it ever was . . .

Typical morning has now become a doppio alto lattè, or "DAL"*, for my wife and a double cappuccino for myself. This is most often followed by another DAL for the older of my two teenage daughters, and a second double cappuccino for me.

During the rest of the day, the routine varies with how much work/"running around" I have to do. I've noticed that I rarely pull singles if I'm busy, but if I have the time to "sit and savor," I will often pull out the single basket -- even if I end up pulling two singles (back to back, not simultaneously) -- to enjoy the different flavor profile the single shot provides.

Cheers,
Jason

* Old-time Peet's customers may remember the "DAL," from the pre-Starbucks days when the drinks were tracked on a white board (as opposed to computer screen), and a "small" wasn't a "tall" . . .