Hi All,

First post. Just replaced my Gaggia Superautomatic with a Spaz Vivaldi II Mini. Upgrade from dishwater-coffee to my wife saying, "the house smells good, like coffee." Anyway, the baskets in both the single and double portafilters I have are really tough to remove - there's a spring mechanism in the basket. I rinse them well, but I don't like the idea of what might lurk behind after a week or so. Is it standard for the baskets to be such a bull to remove? Should I remove the springs? Thanks for helping to bring a newbie up-to-speed.

All you have to do is to invert another basket and use the lip to pry the other one out - very simple. no need for a screwdriver.

Thanks. I've been using a screwdriver. Not a huge deal.

This is another advantage of bottomless portafilters - nothing lurking underneath the basket but the cup.

And you can just push the basket out when you want to remove it.

Bend spring thus :

Excellent. Bending the spring is a great idea. Thanks. I'll give my bottomless portafilter a try too. However, I like to make doubles so my wife and I get a shot at the same time. Fast and easy... the coffee that is, not my wife.

A flat blade stubby screwdriver should be standard equipment for espresso setups.

And a paint can opener. Works wonders for popping out shower screens without bending them up.

Bending the spring as per CafeIke's suggestion is a good idea but I would buy an extra spring (or two) and practice my skills.

As an alternative, take the spring out altogether and simply let the basket "float freely" in the portafilter. Buy several extra baskets from these guys - http://www.espressoparts.com/SP_16 and you MAY find that weighing and prepping the dose "out of the portafilter" is a lot easier.

taking the spring out often results in baskets disappearing into trashcans.