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S1 "Triple" Basket Reviews

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:10 pm
by NewEnglandCliff
As the other VernaBasket thread is getting so long, I thought it might be best to start a new thread for actual reviews now that they're arriving.

I received my final basket (my others were prototypes) and it's a nice one. I measured the capacity with a couple of different coffees and it varies quite a bit, depending on the age of the coffee, grind fineness and, I suspect, the blend and the degree of oilyness.

Using an older (stale by most of our standards) Panamanian home roast I had laying around I measured 19 grams. This was using the Thor flat bottomed S1 tamper that Chris' Coffee sells, tamping to the bottom of the retaining spring groove. A flat bottomed tamper will account for slightly more capacity if you tamp to the same level as visualized at the basket wall.

I'm sure this reflects the dryness of this older coffee. While I've run no tests, it stands to reason that an oilyer coffee will weigh more for any given volume than dried out coffee, as a cup of oil weighs more than a cup of dry grounds.

Using my fresh (received 4 days ago) Stumptown Hairbender blend, and filling to the same level with the same tamper, I measured 22 grams. I inadvertently overfilled the basket once and it tamped just above the top of the spring groove. That weighed a whopping 26 grams. I suspect some people actually fill to this level, although I wouldn't recommend it.

These measurements were made with a grind resulting in a pour between 25-28 seconds. A finer grind will allow you to fit more coffee, while a coarser grind will allow less. dsherman was packing 19 grams into the stock double basket, but since he was getting 45 second pours, that must have been a finer grind than what is normally used.

The Hairbender is roasted on the lighter end of the spectrum for espresso roasts. The silverskin still remaining in the center groove of each bean is still tan. There are occasonal oil spots on some of the beans. I suspect some darker roasts would allow slightly more coffee to be fitted.

I poured 1-1/2 oz. shots from the 22 grams of Hairbender. There were copious amounts of crema after the first few seconds, making it hard to tell what degree of blonding, if any, occured. However, the finished shot was textbook, ie. the crema was dark and thick with nice oily flecking. There was no sign of any white remnants of blonding crema that pouring longer or with less coffee might produce. The taste was slightly fruity, with cinnamon and allspice. The body was very full, and the finish long and without flaws. I'd used a naked portafilter for these and saw no sign of any squirting which might indicate channeling.

I'll have to post some photos of the final product later.

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:25 pm
by barjohn
I just received my baskets today and will try them in the morning. I am using Vivace's Vita blend and will let you know how it goes.

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 3:02 pm
by barjohn
I have now used the new baskets for two days and the coffee is definitely richer ans smoother tasting. I see no signs of channeling in the pucks. Before, this was hit and miss. Sometimes I would not see any signs of channeling and sometimes I would. For reasons that I can't explain, the first pour tended to channel more often than the second. Now I appear to be channel free. The next big test will be to see how it looks with the crotchless porta filter. The poor definitely stays darker longer. I will post more as I get more experience with it and try different things.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:40 pm
by chas
I concur about a richer taste and less likehood of channeling.

Since there is more ground coffee in the PF, which also absorbs more water, you end up with less espresso made from more coffee. What you end up with is a double ristretto. Yum!

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:17 pm
by sbarry
The taste of the shots is definitely richer. Chas, your comment that the volume would be less with more grounds makes sense , but I probably haven't noticed since there seems to be more crema. I'll pay more attention next time or break out the shot glasses.

I have managed channeling but only for a couple bleary-eyed first-cup-in-the-morning pulls. Now when I fill and tamp to the indentation line there is no channeling. Before I would often overfill in an attempt to get a fuller, ristretto like taste - but my results were often inconsistent and the pours didn't stay dark to the end. So besides better flavor IMO, the triple basket seems to be helping me to be more consistent.

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 2:42 pm
by admin
I dumped out the grounds right before tamping this AM and measured 25g!!!

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:08 pm
by barjohn
Now, having used the triple baskets for over a week I can say they are FANTASTIC! Yes, they are expensive but anyone that owns an S-1 should spend the money because it makes that much difference. The pour is better, the taste is better and it is easier to consistently get very good (rather than good) results.

I highly recommend them and want to say thank you, thank you thank you to lino for making them. I tip my cup to you. :D

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:44 pm
by bobroseman
How many baskets did you buy?

Bob

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 1:28 am
by barjohn
I purchased 2. I make two cups in the AM and I prepare each basket first, then drop one in at a time into the PF and bang out two cups quickly.

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:20 am
by bobroseman
Thanks

Bob

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:06 am
by Tim
Is Lino still making these? I saw a thread that mentioned eBay but a search there didn't reveal any triple baskets. I would love to get one or two if they're still available.

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:06 am
by Tim
Is Lino still making these? I saw a thread that mentioned eBay but a search there didn't reveal any triple baskets. I would love to get one or two if they're still available.

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:27 am
by chas
When I "chatted" with lino via e-mail about 10 days ago he was just getting ready to order a batch of baskets from Chris and get started. He said he'd either post here or give me the info to post when he was ready to put them up on eBAY

The good news about the eBAY route is that since these will really only fit the S1 and most of those that might be interested are probably members of this forum, everyone that wants one should have a fair shot. That is unless he doesn't impose a per person limit and someone gets greedy.

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:43 pm
by Tim
Thanks for the update. Sorry about the double post earlier (above)--not sure what happened.

Triple baskets

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:57 am
by glittermom1
Has anyone heard whether or not Lino has any triple baskets for the S1 ready for sale yet?
Sherry

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 12:01 pm
by admin
Somebody asked me abouu this a few weeks back and I thought it might be a tad early to bug lino about it, but now seems like a good time. I'll let you know OR send me a Private Message and I'll PM you back with his e-mail addy.

As a matter of fact I did this for someone else a few weeks back, but if they got a direct update, they didn't report back with the news.

Oh and welcome to the group!

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 12:07 pm
by daerider
admin wrote:Somebody asked me abouu this a few weeks back and I thought it might be a tad early to bug lino about it, but now seems like a good time. I'll let you know OR send me a Private Message and I'll PM you back with his e-mail addy.

As a matter of fact I did this for someone else a few weeks back, but if they got a direct update, they didn't report back with the news.

Oh and welcome to the group!
The last email I received from Lino indicated that he has been extremely busy but he is going to try and get a batch completed this weekend. No confirmation yet. He said that he had a run of bottomless portafilters that he was going to do first and then knock out the triples.

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:22 pm
by lino
Hey Y'all,

Sorry I've been quite so long. As usual, I've been keeping busy. Actually, I'll have an announcement to make at the Charlotte SCAA show about a big "project" I've been working on.

Anyway, regarding the baskets, I have right now, 3 good ($35) and 4 seconds ($25) that I'll put on ebay in the next day or so, possibly tonight. I'm hoping to sell them with "buy it now", but I'm not sure if eBay will let me yet as my business account is young.

As usual, seconds are fully funtional, I just blew a hole in it while welding, repaired, and ground off the bump. Also, if you're unhappy with one you get, I'll buy it back from you.

Sorry so few, I'll do another batch if there is continued interest. I really am getting better at these, but it would sure make my life easier if these baskets didn't keep changing... This is the 3rd round, and I've yet to get two batches alike. -- New or modified jigs each time. Maybe I shouldn't wait so long between batches... :oops:

I haven't checked in here much lately, so I appologize if I haven't returned any PMs

ciao

lino
lino@1verna2design3.com -- take out the numbers--