How does the Ultra Espresso Basket by Heavy Tamper differ from a regular coffee basket? We give it a try to find out.
BY TANYA NANETTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT
Photos by Tanya Nanetti
My coffee routine has always consisted of a balanced mix of espresso and filtered coffee. And yet, whenever I have the opportunity to try a new coffee tool, I often find myself tinkering with something totally unrelated to the espresso world: drippers of different shapes, the AeroPress and all its tools, professional Moka pots, and the list goes on and on. Throughout my time working in specialty coffee, I’ve come across some amazing coffee tools, but until this moment, nothing has satisfied my desire to play with an espresso machine a bit.
Everything changed when I got in touch with Radek Moutayrek, the founder of Heavy Tamper, who, more than a decade ago, created his company to produce barista accessories and bar tools with a focus on the specialty-coffee world. Adding to his list of many patents and innovations, Radek recently released the Ultra Espresso Basket: a unique basket with interchangeable extra-fine meshes, including a 250-micron mesh that, thanks to its 5,000 fine holes and impressive permeability (which is 10 times higher than that of a regular coffee basket), promises a final cup of espresso that will reveal the full spectrum of flavors, without blemishes or complex recipe tuning. When I first heard about Radek’s creation, I was very curious to try it.
Getting to Know the Ultra Espresso Basket
While my Ultra Espresso Basket was on its way, I took the opportunity to chat with Radek to find out how he came up with something so different from the normal espresso basket.
“Some time ago, I was testing some innovative beer filters I had invented, and during the production phase, I noticed that the mesh would be perfect for filtering espresso,” he says. “With the help of a friend who works very well on CNC machines, we made an initial prototype (of the Ultra Espresso Basket) that worked, but initially fell outside the parameters. However, we felt it was worth working on, and once we developed the fifth prototype, we knew it was the right one.”
Radek goes on to explain the most interesting features of the Ultra Espresso Basket. “Made primarily for coffee professionals, (the Ultra Espresso Basket) is designed to work with professional coffee machines with a 58 mm head assembly,” he says. “One of its main features is its easy disassembly, which is essential both for proper cleaning and for easy changing of the 250-, 200-, and 160-micrometer mesh sizes.”
Finally, I ask Radek if there is anything specific I need to keep in mind before I start using the basket. “Personally,” he says, “I prefer the 250-micrometer size for light city roasting. As for the recipe, I always suggest a new recipe: This means a new adjustment of the grinder and the weight of coffee that needs to be finely ground. The difference between the regular basket and the Ultra Espresso Basket is that the coffee extract passes smoothly through the basket, without encountering any obstacles (as can happen with the regular basket that can collect coffee).”
The Test Drive
Once my Ultra Espresso Basket was delivered, I was ready to experiment with it behind the counter at Rum Baba Coffee in Amsterdam.
Even with its simple appearance, it was clear that the Ultra Espresso Basket is completely different from the regular coffee basket, for several reasons. First, the holes in the mesh are much smaller than those in a normal basket, and with its honeycomb bottom, the structure of the basket itself is quite unusual. In addition, the basket has a silicone rubber that is so reminiscent of that of my dear Moka pot, designed for easy mesh changes.
Enthusiastic about this new coffee tool, I began my coffee routine by brewing one of my favorite coffees: a delicious, lightly roasted, lactic natural Indonesian variety, which I already knew works well for espresso. Contrary to Radek’s suggestion, I started brewing following my usual recipe, and from there I experimented for a few hours, going finer and finer, trying to extract more and more to test the full potential of the Ultra Espresso Basket.
Once I had practiced long enough with the 250-micro mesh, with the help of the included tool (and a little hot water to soften the silicone ring), I proceeded to disassemble the basket, easily removing the mesh and installing the 200-micro mesh to continue testing some more.
Final Thoughts
After the first few hours of testing, I was already able to draw some conclusions.
The Ultra Espresso Basket is an interesting coffee tool to play with, and one that, without too much effort, produces juicy and delicious espresso. Even without proper tools to check parameters such as extraction and TDS, it is clear that there is a lot going on in this “simple” espresso, and the few tests I have done have made me want to do more tests, next time using specific tools to study what actually happens in the espresso. After all, it is a new product, and there is much to test, discover, and share.
Sure, the retail price might be higher than most of the regular professional espresso baskets, but it is important to remember that we are talking about something completely different here—an innovative basket that, with the included alternative links that turn the Ultra Basket into three different baskets, guarantees a lot of fun, and a lot of ground to keep practicing and exploring something new.
It’s definitely something to try for the most demanding espresso lover.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanya Nanetti (she/her) is a specialty-coffee barista, a traveler, and a dreamer. When she’s not behind the coffee machine (or visiting some hidden corner of the world), she’s busy writing for Coffee Insurrection, a website about specialty coffee that she’s creating along with her boyfriend.
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