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All about individual espresso baskets

Are Single Espresso Baskets Worth It?

Normally, to pull a decent espresso using a single basket, you need either more ground coffee, a finer grind, or sometimes both.
But increasing the dose means wasting several grams of coffee with every extraction.

For example, if you prepare a doppio with 18 g of coffee, and use 11–12 g for a single espresso, you end up using 2–3 g more coffee per shot.
And if you also need to adjust the grinder just for that dose, you may even need a second grinder.

For this reason, in a café setting, using single baskets is simply not profitable. In third-wave coffee shops, they have practically disappeared.

But Are They Completely Useless?

Not necessarily.

If you brew coffee at home or use a single-dose grinder, changing the grind setting is not a problem.
So the question is: is it possible to make an espresso just as good using a single basket?

In this article, we explain their limitations, the different types available, and which one can give you the best results.

Conical Single Baskets

Some single baskets are designed so that their top diameter is the same as a double basket. This allows you to use the same tamper for both.

To achieve this shape, the basket narrows toward the bottom, forming a truncated cone.
The problem is that this shape leads to uneven extraction, because water does not flow uniformly through the coffee puck. The flow is faster in the center and along the edges, which encourages channeling inside the puck.

In addition, it’s impossible to achieve even compression when tamping coffee in this type of basket.
Imagine the ground coffee as tiny “springs” being compressed by the tamper. In a conical basket, the edges reach maximum compression before the center does.
The result: the coffee at the edges becomes more compact, the center remains looser, and water flows more easily through the middle—once again creating channels.

Straight-Walled Single Baskets

Some manufacturers offer a different design: straight-walled baskets.
In this case, the ground coffee fills only the lower part of the basket, which acts as a mini version of a double basket.

These baskets require a smaller-diameter tamper, and some machines even include two tampers for both sizes.
It’s also easier to dose and tamp the coffee if you use a small funnel or accessory to prevent spillage.

What Happens in Practice?

To evaluate their performance, our instructor and 2009 World Barista Champion, Gwilym Davies, tested three types of baskets:

• one conical (for a standard 58 mm tamper),

• one straight-walled (with a smaller tamper),

• and one semi-conical (straight at the bottom and flared at the top).

With the straight-walled basket, we reduced the dose by half and the extraction time did not change significantly, even while keeping the same grind setting.
The resulting espresso had a slightly lower TDS, but a balanced and pleasant flavor.
Only faint “dusty” notes appeared, likely due to some channeling during extraction.

When comparing the semi-conical basket with a double basket, extraction time was slightly longer with the single basket, and extraction uniformity was lower.
And in tests with the conical basket, even after grinding finer to maintain the same extraction time, the extraction yield was lower than with the other types.

In Summary

Among single baskets, straight-walled baskets provide the most even extraction.
While they still don’t match the consistency of a double basket, they can produce a perfectly enjoyable espresso.

But Even Straight-Walled Baskets Have Their Quirks

Despite their better performance, they also have drawbacks.

In some models, the walls are not perfectly vertical, meaning part of the coffee may not be tamped properly—especially if the dose or tamper doesn’t fit perfectly.
Additionally, since they’re usually made in a single size, they offer little flexibility in dosing.

The headspace between the coffee puck and the group head is also larger, which can affect extraction.

Channeling is another risk: it often occurs along the basket walls, where water finds the easiest path.
This is caused both by uneven tamping pressure and by the wall effect itself, which encourages water to flow along the edges.

What About Cafés?

Even if a single basket could achieve the same extraction quality as a double basket, it would still be impractical in a professional environment.

It requires its own tamper, a dosing funnel, and often a second grinder or a different grind setting.
All of this slows down workflow and increases coffee waste.

Moreover, in many countries, single espressos are simply not in high demand.
In cafés, baristas usually pull a double espresso and use one of the halves for another drink.

In our tests, we found that even after an hour, espresso still tastes good when mixed with milk.
From an economic standpoint, single baskets just don’t make sense.

At Home, It’s a Different Story

For home brewers, however, a well-designed single basket can produce an excellent espresso.

So don’t be influenced by what you see in your favorite café:
if it tastes good to you, you’re doing it right. ☕