New Espresso Toys: IMS Big Bang Basket, Normcore Portafilter etc

Comparing the newer IMS Big Bang basket with the 'Decent' brand basket (made by VST I believe) which is my current favorite 'regular precision baskets'.
I have different categories for baskets:
There's standard low extracting basic baskets (typical stock basket with edges that taper inwards) smaller area of holes on the bottom.

Precision baskets (IMS, VST, Pullman) which have flatter bottoms, slightly more holes and wider hole coverage (these used to have better quality more consistent holes, but I think for many stock basket hole quality is just as good now). Often the Precision baskets seem more finicky, more likely to channel so puck prep becomes more important, but you can get more flavour clarity out of them usually at the expense of body I believe.

And then there's the special (usually expensive) high extracting baskets (Weber Unibaskets, Pesado HE, SWorks, Wafo etc.) which have sometimes many more holes which go more towards the very edges and walls that are basically straight. These give you higher extraction typically more flavour clarity or stronger flavour. Likely further reducing body.

I do also enjoy lower extracting baskets for certain coffees where you want more body and not as much clarity, such as the tapered 'stock' style basket. I find those are often less finicky and easier to get good results with and work well for chocolately roasty traditional coffees which you might want to use for milk drinks.


I Sold my main Espresso machine the ECM Synchronika, and got a bunch of new accessories / coffee toys, some of which actually work with 58mm E61 machines, which I couldn't really use :D
Eventually I'll have a Meticulous espresso machine coming though.

Picked up a used Breville Dual Boiler for a good price and have been impressed by that one, which makes me think the E61 machines might be over-rated. :O
It seems like I have a higher success rate on the BDB. Where on my previous E61 machines sometimes I'd have good coffee days and other times bad coffee days where nothing seemed to turn out nice.