BTW, I did a crude experiment comparing the volume of an 18 g Breville with that of an 18 g VST. Taping over the bottom of each basket, I filled each with water, until the level of the water was above the steel. Then, using some paper towel, I wicked water out of each until, as well as I could judge, the top of the water was level with the top of the basket (no meniscus). The water in the Breville weighed 59 g, that in the VST weighed 64 g (My scale only reads to the nearest gram, so presumably each reading is + or - 1 gram).
So the VST 18 g basket seems to have about a 10% greater capacity than the Breville 18 g basket, even though the Breville is "taller", presumably because of the Breville's top to bottom taper.
The VSTs are definitely faster baskets than the stock Breville double. I pulled a shot today with the VST 22g and my standard grind that came out a full bar lower in pressure: it started at 9 bar and went down to 8.5. Predictably, it was more sour than the doubles I pulled with the stock basket. But it also had more flavors in it and massive crema, so I can see the appeal that a properly dialed-in VST is going to have. Too bad I've reached my caffeine limit for the day.
"I've Scaced many HX/E61 machines, seeing shot variances of up to 8-10F or more. [The BDB] stays within 1F." - Mark Prince
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,017 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Sat Mar 3, 2012, 6:41am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread
The precision that VST baskets are made makes them very uniform from one basket to the next, this is not something that most other baskets have. Measuring with calipers the inside diameter of all my double baskets there is a big range and while I have not measured the hole diameter or geometry the claim is they are uniform from basket to basket, over at HB there is a thread where people have. The greatest benefit of the VST baskets in my life is I can prep 2 or more 18g baskets and get identical pulls with out making grinder adjustments, I can't say that about other baskets I have, of course this makes a lot of sense for a busy cafe with multiple groups and multiple baskets being used with one grinder.
Another basket I really like at a 1/3 the price of VST baskets are the HQ baskets from Espresso Parts.
Edit, here is the thread at HB Click Here (www.home-barista.com) This thread also claims that because the VST baskets will amplify any errors of grind, distribution, and pack that this offsets the uniform consistency.
la marzocco and synesso are HIGHLY respected brands. la marzocco is the maker of the $6000 gs/3 that everybody eventually dreams of owning. a handful of CG elites own gs/3's. synesso's are even better still, but are way more than $6000. almost nobody owns them for personal use.
is there a zoom picture of a VST? hard to see how it (or anything) could have much more uniformly round, and same-sized holes--a little maybe, but not a lot. i can see how a vst basket might have more holes, tighter spaced, but that does not make them better in a quality and workmanship sense. best i've been able to find is this shot here, which is not as magnified as much as Phil's shots were. it would be interesting to see the vst as up close as phil has shown the breville.
Posted Sat Mar 3, 2012, 10:18am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread
Actually, VST is now making the Strada basket for La Marzocco. Here's a video on the Strada basket from Seattle Coffee Gear (Includes a good general discussion of various basket parameters, and some closing remarks about taste which mirror my experience):
Posted Sat Mar 3, 2012, 11:28am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread
dagoat Said:
reposted from a few days ago:
la marzocco and synesso are HIGHLY respected brands. la marzocco is the maker of the $6000 gs/3 that everybody eventually dreams of owning. a handful of CG elites own gs/3's. synesso's are even better still, but are way more than $6000. almost nobody owns them for personal use.
Stuart Senior Member Joined: 9 Feb 2012 Posts: 113 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler Grinder: Baratza Vario Roaster: Air Crazy popper
Posted Sat Mar 3, 2012, 1:27pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread
Just as an FYI:
If one were to undertake to adjust one's own OPV valve on one's BDB, and one should be so clumsy as to drop the clip from the OPV adjuster (adjustor?) down into the machine . . . just imagine with me here . . . it might be possible to recover said clip by removing the two screws holding the remaining back panel in place, then loosening the lower screws that hold (what I assume is) the "brain" in place. If one were to do that, one might just be able to fish the clip out from under the pumps and behind the brain with an implement not unlike a chopstick.
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