IMS Precision 16-18g Filter Basket compatible with Delonghi La Specialista, DL2TH26E

Simple, shiny, and effective. I can easily fit 18g of espresso grinds. The price feels decent for a precision manufactured part. The rim has a slight rounded ridge at the top of the basket, but there do not seem to be any issues with leaks. I would prefer a flat top to better accommodate magnetic dosing rings, but I am generally not turning the portafilter on its side while loading. This is a good piece of decent puck prep, which means it is mostly easy to clean with a good puck. Espresso flow seems a bit more consistent though I would not say the end product is drastically different, at least for me.

I just switched to this basket and it’s been life altering for my espresso. I purchased a bottomless portafilter and was using the included basket. After about a weeks use and 50 shots later, I was about to give up. My shots were sour and completely undrinkable. After switching to this basket, my shots are delicious. I can taste every nuanced note of my freshly roasted beans. And no more sourness or bitterness! I’m now enjoying every sip! My 51mm Iptake spring mini tamper fits perfectly in the basket!

This is a "2-1/2 shot" basket; if you want the "2 shot" then the 22 is the one to get. However, a bit more coffee never hurt, right? You DO need a decent grinder that can produce a good, even grind. The factory basket, if you remove the pressurization piece (it can be disassembled and removed) is a maybe 1-1/2 or 1-3/4 shot basket, so this (or the 22) is a definite improvement as the factory basket produces shots that IMHO are a bit thin in a double espresso cup. With this basket you can pull full double shots and get what you expect. This basket WILL fit in the factory portafilter with the plastic insert -- you will have to finagle the retaining spring a bit to hold the basket in place so knocking the puck out doesn't dislodge it (unless you toss both basket and puck in the sink to cool before dumping) but that's not a big deal. You DO NOT need a bottomless portafilter for this one; the taper is sufficient at the bottom to clear the factory plastic insert. Between either of these baskets, a decent tamper (the plastic one it comes with is garbage) to get a consistent tamp, a good roast (fresh please!) and even an inexpensive -- but burr -- grinder that can produce a consistent grind these machines will return very-acceptable shots with a decent amount of crema. Its not a Quickmill Vetrano but it also doesn't cost like one. A definite and worthwhile upgrade considering the modest price; I use one of these inexpensive Delonghi's as my "travel" machine (along with a grinder) and like it plenty for what it is. Recommended.

Nicely made filter basket, however the basket does not fit the Stilosa EC260BK - the ID is the same as the OE basket but the OD of the top flange is about 1.5mm wider. The basket gets hung up on the brew head of the EC260BK machine.

replaed my portafilter with this on (after some tweaking) and it instantly improved the espress yield, quality, and most importanly taste. I appreciate that the indicate exactly how much the dosage is for each basked so I know I'm not over or under filling the basket when extracting. Lovely, high quality product.

H26 matches delonghi maestro dedica machine (EC950m). I used this with Capfei 51mm portafilter which seems to be another exact match for this machine. Great shots though I probably need to adjust the grind size to get better extraction. The tamper that comes with EC950m fits perfectly and does not get stuck.

This is the 51mm DL2TH26E IMS with 499 .3mm holes in a uniform 40mm wide pattern. I am using it with Breville Cafe Roma with the plastic insert in the filter holder in place and new silicone head gasket. You may have to trim about .5mm off the foot of the plastic insert srew receptacle to give extra clearance at the botom of the filter but because the basket tapers to the bottom, it works. With 16.3g dark roast beans, 40 clicks from stop on K6 Kingrinder, tamp twice to 22 Lbs. (30lbs scaled to smaller area of 51mm versus 58mm). Using the technique of backing off the switch to turn off pump without releasing pressure, first insert the holder without the filter and pump hot water for a count of 2 to preheat being careful not to turn the switch back to center position. Remove the holder and shake out excess water insert the tamped filter with timer on 30sec pulse pump on for 3 count, off for 3 on for 3 and when timer has 17seconds left pump on until 28g of liquid then off and remove cup at 33g. Balanced cup, wide range with preserved brightness. Puck comes out clean and easy with no signs of channeling or residue on head and tapered diameter promotes uniform flow through the puck which allows more lattitude in total extraction time beyond 30sec. Tastewise the DL2TH25BB in comparison is rounder, smoother and less bright.

Something that experienced espresso makers repeat is that the grinder is more important than the espresso machine, and you can get good results with a good grinder and a less expensive espresso machine. It was time to upgrade our coffee grinder, so I retired our Capresso Infinity and ordered a Eureka Mignon Silenzio, I don't regret that purchase at all. This filter basket is a perfect fit in our Breville Cafe Roma espresso machine. I had the itch to try my hand at "real" espresso, so I needed a non-pressurized basket, which our machine did not come with. Based on my reading as well as my experience with two cheaper baskets (one for $1 from AliExpress which was terrible, and one for $10 from Amazon- better, but I still couldn't get shots dialed in because the holes were too big), I began looking for a precision filter. I finally contacted IMS in Italy and was referred to a representative in the US who alerted me to the upcoming offering through Amazon. There are other 51mm filters out there, but the Cafe Roma needs the ones with the flat flange like this one. It's specified as a 16-18 gram basket, but 16 grams seems to fill it to the top. This filter dropped into the porta-filter with no changes required, and it holds in there like the factory one did. I have to say I'm thrilled with how delicious our morning cappuccinos are. I tried some coffees from a local roaster and it's amazing how much flavor we are now getting in our cup, and it's easy to distinguish the Costa Rican coffee from the Brazilian or the Guatemalan. So, is the improvement all due to the filter? No, I'd credit the grinder first, followed by good coffee, followed by the filter basket. I paid 35 for this basket, which is a lot more than the generic baskets go for, but given that we are super happy with our espresso now, and therefore I have no urge to upgrade our espresso machine- that's a huge savings! If you have not gotten yourself a good espresso grinder, do that first. If you're good to go in that department, give one of these a try, they are good and will improve the quality and consistency of your espresso shots.

IMS genießt zu Recht einen sehr guten Ruf. Die Verarbeitung ist absolut top, man bekommt eine sehr gute, gleichmäßige Extraktion. In Kombination mit dem Normcore bottomless Portafilter und der DeLonghi Dedica keine Probleme: Der Filterkorb sitzt gut im Siebträger, lässt sich aber mühelos aus dem Siebträger entfernen und der Puck lässt sich dank der konvexen Form mühelos abklopfen (besser als mit dem Normcore-Sieb!). Was will man mehr, fünf Sterne!

Les comparto mi opinion teniendo en cuenta que yo utilizo esta canasta en mi Delonghi Stilosa, con un portafiltro sin fondo, anillo dosificador, tamper, y un puck screen, todos estos accesorios de la marca Normcore. En cuanto a lo que es la maquina de espresso, si tengo un gran inconveniente con la canasta ya que esta se queda atascada con la ducha de la maquina, por lo que resulta molestoso tener que estar batallando cada que quito el portafiltro, tengo que buscar la forma de destrabar la canasta que se queda pegada a la ducha. Ahora debo decir que esto tambien pasa con la misma canasta que viene por defecto en el portafiltro de Normcore, por lo que no sabria decirles si ese defecto es solo de la canasta IMS o si es algo que pasa con cualquier canasta que no sea Delonghi. En cuanto al portafiltro sin fondo, tamper y puck screen, todos de 51mm, no le veo ningun problema, encaja perfectamente. Donde si siento que es mejorable es con el anillo dosificador, si llega a imantarse pero se siente muy debil, por lo que se debe de tener mas cuidado para no tirar el cafe. Por ultimo me gustaria agregar que en cuanto a la molienda no cambio mucho como lo advertían otros comentarios. Mencionaban que tenian que moler un poco mas fino. En mi caso no fue asi, si lo comparamos con las canastas presurizadas que vienen por defecto, obvio, si vas a tener que moler mas fino. Pero en comparacion con la canasta que viene en el portafiltro sin fondo de Normcore, al menos en mi caso, no. Puede que esto se deba a que antes preparaba 16gr en esa canasta, mientras que ahora con la canasta de IMS preparo 18gr, y esos gramos de diferencia compensan que siga siendo la misma molienda.

Received proper unit and original item. Seller is genuine and the IMS basket is of very good quality as well. As for Value for money it’s okay and not the best. The item since imported took time but ultimately got delivered within stated timeline. Happy.

Best basket for the price. Bought for delonghi stilosa and neuza portafilter. It works great it didn't stick to the group head like many saids at least for me . Works great good flow

OK