I am about to order a new bottomless portafilter from Brooks with the double basket. However, my tamper is only 42mm wide and it bugs me so I'll probably get a new one as well. Since I don't like the aluminum one sold by Brooks, I was thinking about having one made by Reg Barber.

I read in the huge Caravel thread that the baskets are a tiny bit smaller than the original one. Is it still the case? If so, does anyone have the exact measurment?

On a related note, for those who tried them, do you think it's worth it to order the basket with the smaller holes as well?

Thanks!

Yeah the baskets are slightly smaller so that another tamper didn't fit quite right. I've started using lower doses so my very tiny tamper is useful, though!
I like to use the 0.3 hole baskets for lighter roasts and 0.25 hole baskets for darker roasts.

SimonPatrice wrote:I am about to order a new bottomless portafilter from Brooks with the double basket. However, my tamper is only 42mm wide and it bugs me so I'll probably get a new one as well. Since I don't like the aluminum one sold by Brooks, I was thinking about having one made by Reg Barber.

I read in the huge Caravel thread that the baskets are a tiny bit smaller than the original one. Is it still the case? If so, does anyone have the exact measurment?

On a related note, for those who tried them, do you think it's worth it to order the basket with the smaller holes as well?

Thanks!

Later on today I can take a picture with the Brooks basket and a 43mm tamper inside basket. I found that I prefer a slightly larger tamper than 43mm.
I went with a Etsy seller of tamper. Retired engineer who makes custom tampers at a very fair price. https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1876639 ... _active_19

* N.B. regarding Brooks baskets. Twice I ordered the both the .25 and .30 basket and twice only received that .25 baskets. Brooks rep claimed that the item is shipped from the manufacturer directly and that he requested the correct basket both times. I'm still trying to find .30 to trade for a .25 to even out a set.

aecletec wrote:Yeah the baskets are slightly smaller so that another tamper didn't fit quite right. I've started using lower doses so my very tiny tamper is useful, though!
I like to use the 0.3 hole baskets for lighter roasts and 0.25 hole baskets for darker roasts.

Would you have the exact dimension of the basket? I normally would order a 43.5mm tamper but I am pretty sure Reg Barber and the seller from etsy could do a 43.4 or 43.3mm (or even smaller) if needed. Right now, there is a pretty good gap around my 42mm tamper with the original basket.

Thanks!

redbone wrote:Later on today I can take a picture with the Brooks basket and a 43mm tamper inside basket. I found that I prefer a slightly larger tamper than 43mm.
I went with a Etsy seller of tamper. Retired engineer who makes custom tampers at a very fair price. https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1876639 ... _active_19

* N.B. regarding Brooks baskets. Twice I ordered the both the .25 and .30 basket and twice only received that .25 baskets. Brooks rep claimed that the item is shipped from the manufacturer directly and that he requested the correct basket both times. I'm still trying to find .30 to trade for a .25 to even out a set.

Two questions for you:

1- The tamper from Alperwood has an aluminum base. Is it still well balanced? I thought about ordering there but was under the impression that a stainless steel base would be better.

2- Did you get refunded when you received the wrong basket? If so, maybe I could order two .30 basket and we could trade one (if I do get two .30 basket indeed).

Thank you for your answers!

P.S.: If you have time for the picture, I would greatly appreciate it.

SimonPatrice wrote:Would you have the exact dimension of the basket? I normally would order a 43.5mm tamper but I am pretty sure Reg Barber and the seller from etsy could do a 43.4 or 43.3mm (or even smaller) if needed. Right now, there is a pretty good gap around my 42mm tamper with the original basket.

Thanks!

Sorry, I don't have anything precise enough to do so - but I have the 43.5mm tamper from http://sorrentinacoffee.myshopify.com/p ... m-zerowatt and it works great in the original basket but jams at near the top of the Brooks ones.

Thank you! This is really helpful. Maybe, I'll wait until I get the basket to order a new tamper.

What just happened? The baskets AND the bottomless portafilter just disappeared from Brooks' site... Let's just hope it's temporary. I've been looking at them for weeks trying to decide what my exact order would be.

You can contact Thijs via Brooks contact area. Just ask him regarding the baskets and PF directly.

Late to the party here but I can provide a few numbers from cheap digital calipers.

I have a tamper that measures 43.5mm in diameter and will go ~6.8mm down into an empty original basket and about 2.8mm into a brooks. At the top of the basket there is side to side play in the basket but more in the original basket.

I also made some thumb tampers that allow me to tamp a specific distance from the top of the basket. These are ~43.9mm diameter and either 2mm or 4mm in depth. The 2mm depth one fits well in both with almost no play. The 4mm one goes all the way into the original but will not fit all the way into the brooks. I think it probably has to do with the taper on the basket.

Pics:

Brooks left and orig right