Many machines supply a smaller basket and a larger one. The smaller one is for a single drink. The larger is for two, or for a stronger one1.
What the makers say
One manual is clear about it. Use the 1 CUP basket when brewing a single cup1. Use the 2 CUP basket when brewing two cups or a stronger single cup or mug1.
It's a short rule from one maker's manual for its own machines. Follow your own manual if it words things differently.
A different Breville model's product text says its machine is supplied with filters in a pair: "1 x single shot and 1 x double shot"2. Not every machine is the same, so check your own manual.
Side by side
| Single basket | Double basket | |
|---|---|---|
| Use, per one manual | A single cup1 | Two cups, or a stronger single cup or mug1 |
| Stated dose in that manual | approx. 8–10 g1 | approx. 15–18 g1 |
Dose here means the weight of ground coffee. The sizes and dose page goes into the figures, including how pre-ground and fresh coffee fill differently.
Who each one suits
Single. This suits someone who usually makes one drink at a time. It matches the manual's advice for brewing a single cup1.
Double. This suits someone making two cups, or who wants a stronger single cup, as the same manual describes1. It also holds the larger stated dose.
Neither is a better choice in general. It depends on what you pour.
Matching the basket to your machine
Two things decide it, and neither is the size alone.
First, which baskets your machine can use. The maker's blog warns that a machine can be built around a single basket type3. If your manual lists only certain baskets, stay with those. A basket that fits the portafilter isn't automatically one the maker intended.
Second, the wall type. A single or double basket can come in either a single-wall or double-wall form. What single-wall and double-wall mean is covered in its own explainer. It matters as much as size. Read it.
Reading the labels in a manual
Manuals often write the size in capitals, as "1 CUP" and "2 CUP"1. Other models' text says single shot and double shot2. Both pairs of labels name a single and a double.
The words describe the basket's size, not the number of drinks you must make. A "stronger single cup" is a use the manual names for the larger basket1.
If your machine only offers one
That's fine. Use what the manual names. Don't fit a basket from a different machine, because the fit and dose may not match.
Not sure which of your baskets is which? Looking over the basket itself will tell you.
Where the facts come from
- Breville BES870XL manual, selecting a filter basket, Breville (via ManualsOnline)
- Breville BES830XL product resources, Seattle Coffee Gear (reproducing the maker's product text)
- Pressurized vs. non-pressurized baskets, Breville
More on baskets
What a Portafilter Basket DoesWhat the basket inside an espresso portafilter is for, and how its design shapes the way water moves through the coffee.
Pressurised vs Unpressurised BasketsHow pressurised and unpressurised espresso baskets differ, who each type suits, and how to tell which one your machine uses.
Single-Wall and Double-Wall BasketsWhat single-wall and double-wall mean for an espresso basket, how the two are built, and which coffee each is meant for.