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I had given up on finding a good replacement for my original 1972 Cremina's basket once it bit the dust. I've tried the Pavoni basket, the Elektra one orphan sells and neither were able to beat the worn out Swiss original. So I just kept using that, crossing my fingers that VST or someone else would eventually come out with a quality 49 mm basket.

Yesterday, I saw a Strietman CT1 in person for the first time and the guy who pulled shots from it told me IMS makes their baskets. The website states the same, and they are very fairly priced. I asked if I could borrow one, so here we are:



For startes, I just ground some coffee and force-filled them to the brim, tapping them on the countertop repeatedly and stockfleth-ing in every bit of coffee I could before levelling off to find some common ground for comparison. In the real world, I'd work with approx. 2 g less in each basket and go from there. Interestingly, Pavoni and Strietman both take the same dose. They also look very similar. Depth and shape are exactly the same:



Once you look inside, you spot the difference (Pavoni top-left and Strietman top-right. Bottom-left is Olympia, bottom-right is Elektra).



The most marked difference (aside from depth and thus volume) can be seen once you flip them over:



The Strietman/IMS basket is the only one with round holes.

I can't really comment on what difference it makes in the cup (yet) but I'll report back once I do. For now, I'm happy to have found another alternative. They make a good first impression and look and feel very solid.

Does anyone else have experiences with different 49 mm baskets and/or other suggestions?

The IMS website lists their baskets as 50mm. How well do your tampers fit them?

I've read elsewhere that IMS does contract to make baskets on spec, so it's just possible Strietman has gotten a few thousand made in 49mm to fit his machines. They wouldn't be as cheap per unit as standard IMS baskets, but his machines don't come cheap either.

I use a 49.5 mm tamper in the Strietman basket. Pretty snug fit. Could probably go up to a 49.6 mm.

And here is the answer http://shop.strietman.net/product/strie ... lterbasket. The Strietman baskets should be 50mm.

A silly millimeter wider.

Interesting that they and the 49mm Pavonis have the same dimensions.

I have a generation I Europiccola, 1964. I also have a 1978 and a 1998. I got them all used. They all came with portafilters. I do not know which one came with which machine. I measured all three of the portafilters depth: 21.7mm, 22.2mm, and 24.0mm

I also have an Elektra Micro Casa a Leva. I got it new, and got two extras from Stafanos. These measure 25.7, 25.8, and 26.0.

I generally use the 24.0mm with all of the Europiccolas mostly out of force of habit.

There is a substantial difference between 21.7mm and 24mm!

Strietman also includes a tamper they confusingly describe as 49 mm on one page and 50 mm on another with the machine, however. And my tampers fit the Strietman basket exactly the same as they do the Pavoni, Elektra and Olympia baskets - perfectly. I have no idea, why they write 50 mm on one page and 49 mm on another but this basket will fit any 49 mm Pavoni and Cremina. I have a very snug fitting 49 mm naked portafilter for my Cremina that fits all of these baskets the same. Pavoni and Strietman are definitely the same size.

@Balthazar_B: The baskets are 12€ (=$ at this point) in Strietman's Shop. I'd be very surprised if these were custom made at that price point.

@rpavlis: Yes... I use the 23 mm one that came with my Olympia 99% of the time. It's the best size for 15g doses and a very solid basket. The deep Elektra one I like the least... you just can't really make it work with doses below 16-17g which is too much for my taste (I go 1:2-2.5 pretty much with every roast).

Going to give this Strietman/IMS one a fair chance, though. Interesting that you got so many different sizes with similar machines, however. With how big the 49 mm home lever market has become, I'm really confused how VST etc. haven't come out with a 49 mm basket yet.

Agreed, I can't understand why VST hasn't introduced one either.

Are you dosing 14g in the Strietman basket? 2 gram less than the capacity you compare above?

I use 15g with a med-dark roast and 16.7 with a light roast in the Strietman basket. The basket easily holds the 16.7g dose and up to 17g if the roast is light.