Not a major issue, this is just me wondering why...

I bought a new 14g basket, an IMS Barista Pro model (with the nice rainbow ring shine on the inside), but the extraction flow is different to all my other baskets: cheap Edesia, basic IMS, VST and La Marzocco's own (which someone said is made by IMS?).

All the others, with the same bean, grind and careful puck-prep, produce after a few seconds gathering a nice single flow with blonding (hurrah); however, the Barista pro basket never gets to a single flow it always (tested lots, never differs) produces multiple extraction drops in the central area (about 50% of the total area). The drinking coffee is still good and the extraction amount (ratio) is roughly the same as the other baskets, maybe a little more.

The espresso machine is the common, nothing fancy, La Marzocco Linea Micra and I think that is being its usual consistent self.

Given the extracted coffee is still up to the household standard (not that high bar, lol), I am not worried. It just makes a mess that's all, with splashes if I use a shot glass.

It is more wondering why? - I guess it must just be the hole pattern ?

Any enlightened insight, thoughts?

No doubt the hole pattern/amount, possibly basket taper to a degree is to 'blame', but if the end result meets your expectations then just stick with it and maybe get it a bit more dialed in for a smoother experience... Different baskets will often benefit from changes in dose, grind fineness, etc. to really maximize what it might offer.

If it's the "nanotech" version and/or the bottom is flat, it might be that the liquid coffee doesn't stick to the surface as much as on other baskets, thus preventing the coffee to travel towards the center and gather as a single flow.

The same does happen with the new precision baskets such as Weber UniFilter/UniBasket, Wafo baskets etc. AFAIK.

Shouldn't really be a problem, just stop staring at the flow