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Permalink Reply by Fraser Jamieson on September 28, 2011 at 9:33am

How many single espressos would you do in a typical day? If you are asked to produce a good many of them then you could think of picking up a second tamper just for those.

There have been many posts here about singles vs. doubles so I won't get back into it; however, where I work we simply don't pull them.

Honestly, the only time we're asked for "single" espressos is by Mediterranean clients, of which we have but few. Most people around here, myself included, are looking for a drink of about 60 ml. pulled from around 16 grams and that's what we are doing.

Getting back to your question: Many will say that a single basket makes a better single than a split double does. You should get some interesting answers here.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Alcala on September 28, 2011 at 7:48pm

Your tamper is most likely 58mm and the single basket in question most likely has a ridge in it that is made for a 57mm tamper. You could spend $50 on a new 57mm tamper for your colection or you could spend $10 on a new single basket. This is the one I would buy http://www.espressoparts.com/F_869?&search_id=948407 

I hope this helps

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Diaz on October 16, 2011 at 8:09pm

I am so against using single baskets, I don't at my job and dont think anyone should just because you're actually wasting coffee that way. You're using more than half the amount you would for a double, hence with out the double basket, waste of coffee! Also, I think it's just plain unnatural. Also I noticed you had mentioned that there is a tamp on the grinder that is used to tamp espresso, so you're probably using a SuperJolly Mazzer something something as your grinder, yeah? Well those tamps are just plain unlagitamate. If you're working somewhere that is serious about their coffee, tell your boss that kind of equiptment is novest. A good tamping has to be about 40lbs of pressure, something that is not possible when you're tamping upwards.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on October 17, 2011 at 3:40am

To the original question: "Is there a legitimate way to pour the equivalent of a single shot from a double portafilter?" I say no. That truncated cone shape is really important for pulling shots with smaller doses using a standard espresso machine. To try smaller doses in a double basket would give you a really shallow bed and a flawed extraction.

 

I think the suggestion to pick up a new single basket is a good one. At 6 bucks plus shipping, that's certainly the easiest idea.

 

The challenge will be in getting a good extraction, even using the basket that'll fit your tamp. It'll take some practice. To get an idea of what you're facing, try pulling some shots with the basket you have either without tamping or with a NSEW using the grinder's "nose" tamper. You may find that a different grind setting is required to get a decent single, which is kinda impractical and not a way to reduce coffee waste. There are some good discussions on here about pulling singles by the way, so look around.

 

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Bob Von Kaenel on October 17, 2011 at 8:37am

You're going to need a different (finer) grind for singles even if the basket and tamper issues are resolved. If you have a spare grinder and can dedicate it to just singles, this would make it feisable to draw singles. A high volume shop I used to work at had seperate grinders for 14 gram doubles and 21 gram triples. This is the only way I can see to keep the grind perfectly dialed-in for each shot. Trying to adjust the grinder and re-adjust for the varying shot sizes would be a nightmare and leave your shots frequently out of adjustment on both.       

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Permalink Reply by Jimi Myers on October 17, 2011 at 9:02pm

Thank you all for the replies.  Given the information I've gathered through this discussion, I think I can justifiably just not use the single.  That's really what i wanted, haha.  Thanks again!

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