Basket Sizes and Dose Range

A basket has a size, and the maker usually states a dose range for it. The dose is the weight of ground coffee the basket is designed to hold. The two go together, and the manual is where you'll find the pair.

Size and dose go hand in hand

A basket is a cup, so a bigger cup holds more coffee. That's the whole idea behind the usual small and large baskets. The stated dose range tells you how much ground coffee each one is built for¹.

Here's what one maker's manual gives for its supplied baskets:

The manual puts "approx." in front of both figures. They're a guide, not a hard limit. And they're for that maker's baskets. Another machine's baskets can have a different range, so don't carry these numbers across to your own machine.

Diameter and depth

Diameter is how wide the basket is across the top. Depth is how deep the cup goes. Both affect how much coffee fits.

None of the sources saved for this site give a standard diameter or depth for home machines. Portafilters and baskets can differ between makers, and the portafilter itself carries the puck "within its basket"². Because of that, the safest move is to look up your own portafilter in the manual or on the maker's support page.

That's why this page won't list diameters. A figure that fits one machine could be wrong for yours.

Pre-ground and fresh coffee fill differently

Dose by weight isn't the same as dose by scoop. The manual notes that pre-ground coffee is often coarser, so it "occupies more volume" than finer coffee¹.

For its larger basket, the same manual¹ gives these counts with its own scoop:

• Pre-ground coffee: about 3 level scoops¹.
• Freshly ground coffee: about 4 level scoops¹.

The manual adds a point about fine grinds. With a finer espresso grind in single-wall baskets, you may need to increase the grind amount to dose the basket correctly¹.

Single and double: a size choice

Machines often come with a pair of baskets. One product page says its machine is supplied with filters for "1 x single shot and 1 x double shot"³. The single and double baskets page covers which of those suits a given machine.

Working out your own dose

1. Find the basket section of your manual.
2. Note the dose range it states for each basket.
3. Treat that range as a starting point, as the word "approx." suggests.
4. If the manual says to adjust, change one thing at a time.

If the manual gives no dose, or you've fitted a basket that didn't come with the machine, contact the maker. Don't guess a weight and assume it's right. The wall types page also helps, since the wall type can change how a basket is meant to be filled.