I've been using the double basket that came with the machine for the most part. I tried a few tamping routines, like light tamp + heavy tamp, light tamp + tamp around the edges + heavy tamp, etc. I eventually decided to just stick with a single heavy tamp and no knocking the basket to eliminate any sources of channeling.
Two annoyances with the (Izzo?) basket: It's wider than my 58mm RB tamper, so I miss the edges when tamping, and it holds SIGNIFICANTLY more than 14g of coffee. This is an important point to me because it makes it very difficult to effectively use grind distribution techniques unless I want to pull shots with 19 or 20 grams of coffee. I've been sticking to 15g from the beginning, and it's difficult, if not impossible to effectively distribute and level grinds when they're so far below the top of the basket (especially around the edges). I have also noticed that several of the perforations in the middle of the basket are not formed properly, which noticeable affects the way the shot pours.
I noticed the Rancilio triple basket that came with my bottomless PF fits my tamper perfectly. I wanted to replace the double basket with one that had proper perforations, and the selection from stores in Canada was not great, so I ended up just ordering a Rancilio double basket from Green Beanery. It arrived yesterday, and I've been trying it out this morning.
It's much, much smaller than the one that came with my Duetto. It's pretty obvious it was designed to hold around 14g of coffee at typical espresso grind, before tamping. Unfortunately, because of the way it's shaped, I cannot tamp with my RB tamper. It binds on the side of the basket before I can put enough pressure on the puck, and there is always a deep impression from the dispersion screen. The fit is so tight that the suction from removing it from the basket is enough to release the entire puck from the basket and pull it up. I discovered this by dumping a freshly-tamped basket of grinds down my shirt
Is there another brand basket I should try, am I making too much of a deal out of the perforations and volume issue with the Izzo basket, or what?




