Solution:

1. Barista Pro The Single basket (8-10.5g)
2. 58,5mm tamper

I bought a Sage Dual Boiler 2 weeks ago. Like all beginners I quickly noticed the problem with the single basket (inconsistent shots/channeling), and I'm too sensitive to caffeine to settle for 18g coffee every time (or throw 50% away). So I started looking for a solution and found one in a YouTube comment. So I ordered above parts and.... it works: consistent shots, no channeling!

The tamper was my own idea: I noticed the one delivered with the machine was 58mm and did not fully cover the edges of the stock baskets (that's surprising for stock parts). I measured the baskets: 58,5mm. So I ordered a tamper accordingly. That and the Barista Pro basket: perfect!

Thought that could be useful to share.

the_blackbird wrote:Solution:

1. Barista Pro The Single basket (8-10.5g)
2. 58,5mm tamper

I bought a Sage Dual Boiler 2 weeks ago. Like all beginners I quickly noticed the problem with the single basket and I'm too sensitive to caffeine to settle for 18g coffee every time (or throw 50% away). So I started looking for a solution and found one in a YouTube comment. So I ordered above parts and.... it works: consistent shots, no channeling!

The tamper was my own idea: I noticed the one delivered with the machine was 58mm and did not fully cover the edges of the stock baskets (that's surprising for stock parts). I measured the baskets: 58,5mm. So I ordered a tamper accordingly. That and the Barista Pro basket: perfect!

Thought that could be useful to share.

I'm sorry but what exactly is the solution you discovered? Finding the right size tamper for a given basket size is pretty common practice.

The Barista Pro brand single basket. That solution does not seem to be too commonly known (did not find it on this forum; could have missed it though).

Thanks and welcome!

I'm glad that the basket is working out for you. I have one and have used it extensively in the past, but in the end, it didn't give me the same taste as my favourite double baskets. (I moved to la Marzocco-style straight-sided single baskets, but those work best for me with a 41mm tamper and a Tidaka dosing funnel. More stuff .)

FWIW, I agree with the comments on flavour that were made on "The Single" basket's introduction nine years ago. The branding has changed over the years, but the basket is the same. The extraction tastes different; not better or worse, just different - a "smooth profile, lower acidity, and a nice roundness" as Chris Coffee states in the video: (8:26 long) One of the big selling points back then was that one could use the same grind setting for both "The Single" and an appropriate double basket (with double the coffee). Doing that is also a great way to taste the differences.

Bought enough stuff already, I'll keep it at my current solution for now. But thanks for the additional tip

That video exactly describes the issue and solution.

baldheadracing wrote:Thanks and welcome!

I'm glad that the basket is working out for you. I have one and have used it extensively in the past, but in the end, it didn't give me the same taste as my favourite double baskets. (I moved to la Marzocco-style straight-sided single baskets, but those work best for me with a 41mm tamper and a Tidaka dosing funnel. More stuff .)

FWIW, I agree with the comments on flavour that were made on "The Single" basket's introduction nine years ago. The branding has changed over the years, but the basket is the same. The extraction tastes different; not better or worse, just different - a "smooth profile, lower acidity, and a nice roundness" as Chris Coffee states in the video: (8:26 long)
video
One of the big selling points back then was that one could use the same grind setting for both "The Single" and an appropriate double basket (with double the coffee). Doing that is also a great way to taste the differences.

You could try to make your own half caf blend of decaf and regular caf beans and pull regular doubles.