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IMS 16-18 gram basket
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Going from 19.5 to 19g is only 3% less coffee so not a massive change, but sometimes the small changes make a huge difference in flavour.
I do find when I get to a certain point around the max extraction sometimes weird things can happen. A slightly coarser grind can lead to a smaller shot and conversely a finer grind a larger shot - I think it's due to being right on the line where channelling occurs. I also find that puck prep makes a massive difference around then too. A well prepped puck will have a huge difference on flavour and shot volume then a coarser grind.
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I tried changing from my usual 17g dose, tried 19.5 (too much), then settled on 19g , puck knocks out clean now.. and the thing that surprised me is that grind setting didnt have to adjust much at all. I think taste wise its a bit of a more balanced mellow taste (19g) than more punchy sharp at 17g in. I like it !
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This is very true, noticed different blends give you more volume once ground
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Something I forgot to mention earlier is bean density. Some beans are naturally more or less dense than others. Also the roast levels affects density. The darker the roast the less dense the coffee. The lower the density the more volume the ground coffee will take up. The lower the density the less room the same weight of ground coffee will take up in the basket. So if whoever described the basket as "16-18g" is using darker roasted (or otherwise less dense) coffee than you, then your level of coffee will be lower in the basket than them.
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Yea i think getting the 15 gram vst basket is the way to go.
I have a niche so weigh my coffee beans and I weigh each shot as well. When I dose 18 grams the puck is also a bit wet so still under dosing. I now understand that the dosing description is a rough guide, but as a relative new comer to the coffee scene, I am just surprised that even dosing 18 grams, on a basket that indicates average size of 16-18 grams, that i am still under dosing. It seems that IMS have an 18-20 gram basket that seems to have same depth.
Thanks again for all of your help.
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I would second the under-dosing. Even with 18g there is a large amount of head space with this basket.
Maybe suggest the VST 15g or similar if you want a lesser dose.
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With a soggy puck, I think you're under dosing. I have the Mechanika Slim and using the stock basket with 20 grams 1:2 ratio over 45 seconds, the puck knocks out nicely. I've tried less than 20 grams and it did leave a soggy puck, that could probably be solved by grinding finer.
You haven't said if you're weighing your shots, or tried grinding finer. The main thing is does it taste ok?
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Not sure if it will work for you but one trick to get pucks to knock out easier is to leave the portafilter in place for an additional 30s-1min. Do everything else for the next shot except loading the portafilter and do that last. Might help, you never know.
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I bought the B702TH26.5M. I am happy with the coffee that it produces, I just was not expecting that when I dose 16 grams in it, that it would go up half way in basket and how sloppy the puck would be. It makes doing back to back shots a bit harder given how wet the puck is and cleaning required after.
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I think you need to look at the basket specification which is what you never gave us. I have the B70 2T H26.5 basket and this works nicely with 18g. If you have a H28.5 then 20g might be the target.
They are good baskets, work fine.
As said the sloppiness of the puck is related more to head space, the less head space generally the more solid the puck comes out. I used the standard portafilter and basket with my Wega, put in 18g and I was shocked how tight and dry that puck came out. I remembered though that it sloped in more than my IMS basket and so the basket had less volume and the 18g filled it up noticeably more.
I mainly use a VST 15g basket these days for the sake of less caffeine in my system. It is the lowest amount without going to a single basket which requires special tampers.
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Yea give it a shot. When you dose 17 grams in, roughly how high in the basket is it after tamping?
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I have the 16-18g IMS competition basket, I dose 17g in and dont have issues with flavour and extractions - I do note my pucks are bit sloppy too though
So you're saying from your experience I can probably push to 20g dose .. interesting must try that
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I have found since the updated basket and shower screen, the coffee does taste better.
So since I have bought it an researched further, it looks like the depth of the basket for the 16-18 is the same as the 18-20. The first time I dosed 18grams in I was shocked to see if only fill half the basket. I guess I just assumed if its marketed as 16-18 grams that the basket would roughly take that without it being overly sloppy.
I will have a look at VST and IMS further and see if there is a shorter basket.
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The sloppiness of the puck is unrelated to the quality of the extraction, does it taste any better?
Sloppiness is generally related to the gap between the top of the coffee and the shower screen. Different machines have the shower screen at different heights relative to the group head seal where the top of the basket presses against, so different machines will require a different amount of coffee to achieve a firm puck that knocks out cleanly.
I'm pretty sure IMS rate their baskets in height by mm, not grams. Some retailers label them by grams.
There are other baskets out there, VST make a 15g. Decent make a 10g and a 15g. You could always buy a shallower IMS basket and put 16g in.
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