I am the recent purchaser of a Ponte Vecchio Lusso, and have been enjoying it so far! I am still learning the equipment, much less how to pull decent shots with it. (I will start a "PVL shots" thread soon after I play with it a bit more )

My question is as follows. Online most people seem to suggest that the machine comes with only 2 baskets, described as as "double" and a "single". My machine actually came with three -- a small (with walls that slope inwards), a medium (also with inward-sloping walls, but deeper) and a large (a much deeper basket with walls that are orthogonal to the bottom of the basket).

The small seems so shallow as to be utterly useless -- I can't imagine decent coffee coming from it. I am thus wondering if perhaps my medium is what others refer to as the "single" (or, if my machine had only come with two, it would have come with just the 2nd deepest and deepest of the 3 I have, which would then have been the "single" and the "double").

I ask because I have had trouble getting 16g into the triple, and even when I do, the puck is unevenly saturated (I dose directly from my Vario). In fact, it's not even really a puck, as it comes out of the basket in layers with obvious channeling. People seem to suggest that they were able to updose and get 16g into what they refer to as the "double", which, if it's the same as my double, seems quite impossible I prefer ristretto so would would be helpful to figure this mystery out!

I puzzled over the same question when my Ponte Vecchio Lusso arrived about a year ago, though mine came with a total of six baskets -- two of each variety. I finally figured out that the shallow basket is meant for those paper espresso pod things. So you are correct -- that one is totally useless. And yes, what you are calling the "medium" is actually the single, and the deep one is the double. It definitely takes a while to get everything dialed in, and of course the first task is to order a proper tamper. Good luck -- you'll find a lot of great information on this forum.

If you are pulling light roasts, I've gotten as much as 18g in the double. I'm not usually a fan of updosing so severely, but the Export (dunno about the Lusso) seems to do much better with high doses - more or less eliminates channeling issues.

Yes, the little one is for pods. I seldom use the single, but some love it.

The double is the one with the straight walls, no taper. I use a minimum 15g, often 18g or more (does depend on the roast level and grind fineness). I use a techinque wherein I fill, level with the tamper (no tamp, just flatten), then fill again, level, fill one more time. WIth the correct grind you can fill the basket quite full this way, and get perfect pours every time with no channeling. I use two half-pull preinfusions then one full pull, to get about 30g espresso, a perfect ristretto.

Oh cool, I will try that method peacecup! A couple clarifying questions:

1) When you say level w/o tamping, I assume you mean "place the tamper into the basket and let its weight compress/even out the coffee w/o actually pushing". Is that accurate?
2) When you say fill, do you fill to the brim? Or do you stop dosing partway before ? Also, do you dose directly from the grinder?

I fill it quite close to the rim. Each machine requires a slightly different level depending on the basket shape thickness of the group head gasket, position of the dispersion screen, etc. If you overfill you won't be able to properly lock in the PF. Underfilling for me makes for poor extractions so I try to find the maximum usable level. Be careful to lock the PF in tightly - they are prone to untwist under pressure causing a rather messy and potentially dangerous explosion of coffee grinds, boiling water, and broken glass. In general I try to keep one hand on the PF handle at all times.

A video says a thousand words:

Peacecup's cut corner doser

Good luck with it - I can't tell you how much I love these machines.

I use the same method- pack as much in the basket as you possibly can- I give a moderate tamp with some pressure. I also use two pulls and a fellini maneuver with the double baskets. You can leave headspace above the coffee- but then you must grind finer. I find filling the baskets is always best.

and yes- those small baskets are for pods- though you can make a very tiny micro shot with them- a single pull only.