Why we DON'T use a Single Shot Coffee Basket to make Coffee

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[Glorifire]

I never had the thought of putting a big basket in a single spout portafilter!
Thank you for opening my eyes! O_O

[daglar]

With a good grinder and experience. You can get an awesome single shot from that basket with 9 grams of coffee. I don't understand why people try to put 7 gr in a single basket. We put 18 gr in a double, so half is 9 gr.

[loveyourdesign]

So helpful, I have cut back on my coffee and using the smaller basket. Takes ages for the coffee to start to come through and then drips too slowly. I had tried everything I could think of and couldn't solve the problem, but now I have the reason!

[NopdonEakbuse]

I use Spring Lever machine with 9 gram basket. It is consistent good. (Many variables are constant.)

[saeidonline]

The reason is that in water tubes you get a sharper flow is NOT changing in pressure. The velocity of water changes as it passes through different surfaces so that the flow rate (amount of water passes through a surface unit) stays the same. This doesn't have any thing to do with pressure. Also, in the watering you exemplified, the relative pressure becomes zero as it sprays to the air. What the velocity changes during this cross changes is the FORCE it applies. The same almost happens to single dose portafilter. I said almost, not thoroughly

[TheNakedWombat]

I don't own an espresso machine at the moment but when I did, there was a definite difference in quality between the two. This explains why.

[judelhj]

I use BBE single basket for my coffees. 9+gm, default volume (1:3) . Also pull allonge using default 2 cups button, grind 2 clicks coarser.

[Yirgamalabar]

I can't say much about a commercial environment, but at home I don't find it difficult to get delicious espresso with a single basket (11.5 gram) or even a smaller one (8g) that requires a special tamper. Grind size needs to be right, and distribution / tamping needs to be done correctly, but the result is excellent. I see absolutely no reason to make more coffee than I need and want, which is usually a single and not a double. I only use the double basket when I'm hosting and need to make a lot of coffee quickly.

[adamscotera]

Nice channel guys, thanks for all the great info! I just wanted to add that one situation in which a single basket can function just fine is with a home lever machine. I just got a single basket for my pre-millenium Europiccola and have no trouble at all getting similar quality to my double shots using the same grind, for two reasons: the diameter is small, only 49mm, which means the shape of the basket is not so flat, and I control the brew pressure directly with my hand so I can easily prevent the water from blowing the puck apart. But I agree, it's darn near impossible to get a good single shot from a 58mm basket on a pump machine.

[drazenbabich]

"Why we DON'T use a Single Shot Coffee Basket to make Coffee?" Because you haven't replaced the standard basic faema-style e61 or LM single basket that comes with the coffee machines. The upgrade path will take you to the IMS so called "The Single". These come in 5 sizes, from 7.5g (miniscule 19.5mm high) to a whopping 12g single (23.5mm high). Do give these a go, then report back here. I did and many of us who caught on these since their release by IMS and E&B (subsidiary of IMS) on the 2014 international coffee show. We use them now in all our cafes, and as soon a customer requests a ristretto or a machiatto...these get pulled out and deployed. It'll change your perception on pulling singles by a mile, believe you me. Cheers mate.

[bfkmnemonic]

I don't really have a problem with them. It works great at my place. :) I think your garden hose illustration is simplifying things a little too much. Remember it is the resistance in the grinded coffee that is building the pressure, not the brew basket.

[allygulamali]

Great video!
Quick question, say I were to use the 21g basket, how would I then manage making two espresso’s at once and then at a separate occasion making one espresso?

[bojanbugarski]

LaMarzocco has a good single basket with straight walls 41mm - fits between 7-9g. My ECM stock single basket nominates itself to 9g but it needs a bit more, around 11g. I honestly never had issues with channeling or bad taste from both baskets. It's just the trial and error phase till you figure it out.

[AndySK]

After buying a new la marzocco micra I can do amazin coffe also using a single dose basket. I think better thant the double for absurd.... I'm, using the single basket Renato 90+ and grind a little finer than the 18 grams basket.

[OptimusCrime_]

the single basket from decent espresso (10g for E61 groupheads) is an exception. full 58mm diameter bottom, works perfectly.

[PedroJohnston]

I should add that when working with dark roasts, the imperfections and difference betwen a double and single basket matter much less, as the coffee is so soluble. The countries where the single shot is used (most mediterranean countries) drink almost exclusively coffee roasted very dark in single shots of 21-25g at over a 1:3 ratio, at which point the coffee is always very well extracted anyway, and the bitter taste is already dominated by the roast level.

[RaduBadita]

I don’t agree with your reasoning about the pressure you brew at being higher when using the single basket: you are right that restricting the flow theoretically increases resistance hence pressure IN the basket (same as grinding finer does), but the machine also has an over pressure valve (OPV) which you set at the highest pressure you want to brew at and obviously this will limit the pressure in your basket at the set point - say 8bar. Therefore you won’t brew at higher pressure with the single dose unless with the double you brew at a lower point than OPV setting because you are grinding coarser.

Personally I drink espresso at home, and about 1:3 times I find myself needing to use the single dose basket because I want to limit my caffeine intake and don’t want to throw away half. I haven’t noticed any significant difference in taste/extraction between using the two baskets - but this is way too subjective to judge by; maybe my taste isn’t that refined. But the technical arguments seem to confirm this.

[path]

a) If I put a single dose (7-9g) of coffee in a "single" conical basket (for 7-9g), I am going to face pressure variation along the puck height (explained in this video)

b) If I put a single dose (7-9g) of coffee in a "single" cylindrical basket (for 7-9g), I have a less deep puck and less resistance to water flow (more potential channelling?)

c) If I put a single dose (7-9g) of coffee in a "double" cylindrical basket (for 14-18g), I am going to have higher empty space above the puck AND a less deep puck (more turbulence? more potential channelling?)

Which scenario is preferable to reduce risks? Or it offers an easier procedure to prevent potential troubles?
(e.g., in case b, a finer grind to balance the puck resistance)

[tonyg]

I reckon this advice applies equally to home machines - at least those with an E61. I have put up with 'sludgey' and inconsistent single shots for years and only gave up finally in the last couple of weeks. Immediate improvement well worth the occasional few extra grams. More good advice from Artisti.

[simonshandrinov]

C'mon, if it was same water VOLUME going through, than OK(as with garden hose example), but we're talking PRESSURE here...all the extra will go to the drip tray via OPV etc.
Good single baskets are designed in such a way that you shouldn't even (almost, as I'm still not there) change the grind size as the coffee mass, diameter of the basket and holes/total area are adjusted accordingly.
The reason it's difficult to get stable extraction without channeling is the puck prep only. You'll need different 41mm or so tamper and, ideally, extra funnel to fit both, basket and tamper.
Owning LM Strada single 7g basket (it has actually straight walls, not sloped ones). Loading 8.5g in it and getting predictable results (grind size/time/yield wise). Why not perfect you ask - I'm still not very confident with my HX machine)
Pros in coffee shop environment are obvious