Guide · Buying and safety
Beginner espresso accessory checklist
The accessories a new home espresso setup needs, in the order to buy them, with the sizes to choose for Breville, De'Longhi and 58 mm machines.
We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Unless a page says otherwise, our picks come from published specifications and listing research, not hands-on testing. How we make money · How we research
Short answer
Find your machine's accessory sizes first, then buy in this order: a scale, a tamper that fits your basket, a needle (WDT) tool and a dosing funnel. Add the cleaning basics your manual calls for. Leave puck screens, bottomless portafilters and precision baskets until your routine is steady.
Step zero: know your sizes
The easiest mistake is to buy by the portafilter size instead of the tool size. Look up your machine before you buy anything:
| Machine family | Portafilter | Tamper and puck screen | Dosing funnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breville Bambino, Bambino Plus | 54 mm[1][2] | About 53.3 mm[3] | 54 mm[3] |
| Breville Barista Express, Barista Pro, Barista Touch | 54 mm[4] | About 53.3 mm; IMS lists 53/53.4 mm for its Breville basket[3][5] | 54 mm[6] |
| Breville Express Impress, Touch Impress | 54 mm[4] | Not confirmed; Normcore's 53.3 mm dosing cup does not fit the Express Impress[7] | 54 mm[6] |
| De'Longhi manual machines | 51 mm class | 51 mm, per De'Longhi's own tamper[8] | 51 mm class |
| 58 mm machines | 58 mm | Your basket maker's figure: 58.40 mm for VST, 58/58.4 mm for IMS[9][10] | 58 mm[3] |
For a specific model, use the machine size finder or the basket and tamper size guide, which explains why the tool is smaller than the label.
The checklist
| Order | Accessory | Why it earns its place | Size to choose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scale with 0.1 g steps and a timer | Lets you repeat a recipe by weight | Any |
| 2 | A tamper that fits your basket | A loose tamper leaves an untamped edge | Tool size, from the table above |
| 3 | Needle (WDT) tool | Breaks up clumps before you tamp | Any |
| 4 | Dosing funnel | Keeps grounds in the basket while you grind and stir | Portafilter size |
| 5 | Cleaning basics from your manual | Keeps the group free of coffee oils | Machine-specific |
| Later | Puck screen, bottomless portafilter, precision basket, tamping station, knock box | Nice to have once the basics are steady | Per machine |
1. A scale
A scale turns espresso from guesswork into a recipe: so many grams in, so many grams out. It is the accessory with the clearest evidence behind it. In Socratic Coffee's tamping experiment, which used 20 g of coffee for 40 g of espresso, brew weight, not tamp force, drove the differences in strength.[11] Breville's own example dose for the Bambino and Barista Express is 18 g.[1][12]
Look for 0.1 g steps, a built-in timer and a platform that fits on your drip tray. Our scale accuracy guide explains why 0.1 g on the display is not the same as 0.1 g accuracy, and how to check yours.
2. A tamper that fits
What came in the box varies. Breville's Barista Express guide lists an integrated 54 mm tamper, Gaggia ships the Classic E24 with a plastic tamper, Lelit includes a plastic tamper with the Anna, and Rancilio gives the Silvia Pro X a wood tamper with a flat stainless base.[13][14][15][16]
Replace yours if it is plastic and flexes, or if it leaves a visible gap at the basket wall. Buy by tool size, not portafilter size. Spring-loaded tampers help if you struggle to tamp level, but you do not need a particular force: in Socratic Coffee's test, tamps from 5 to 20 kg gave the same strength.[11] Our tamper types guide compares the options.
3. A needle (WDT) tool
Grounds often come out of the grinder in clumps. A needle tool stirs them loose through the whole bed before you tamp, so water does not find easy paths through the puck. It is cheap and fits any basket. See what is WDT.
4. A dosing funnel
A funnel sits on the portafilter and stops grounds spilling while you grind and stir. Buy it in your portafilter size. Breville's own 54 mm funnel lists the Barista Express family.[6] Our dosing funnel guide covers fit, magnets and the model exceptions.
5. Cleaning basics
Follow your manual first. For the Barista Express, Breville recommends a clear-water backflush after each brewing session.[17] Profitec and ECM say to clean the group with a blind filter and detergent about every 90 to 140 cups.[18][19] A group brush and a cloth for the steam wand cover the rest. See how to backflush.
Pressurized or single-wall basket?
Some machines come with both kinds. Breville tells Barista Express owners to use single-wall baskets with freshly ground beans and dual-wall (pressurized) baskets with pre-ground coffee.[13] Gaggia ships the Classic E24 with one pressurized and two traditional filters.[14]
Start with the pressurized basket if you buy pre-ground coffee. Move to the single-wall basket once you grind fresh and weigh your shots; that is when a WDT tool and a well-fitting tamper start to pay off.
What can wait
- Puck screen: keeps the shower screen cleaner, with no proven taste benefit. See are puck screens worth it.
- Bottomless portafilter: a diagnostic tool, and it must match your machine's locking ears exactly.
- Precision basket: useful once you know your dose and want a published tamper size. See precision baskets explained.
- Spinning distributor, RDT sprayer: published tests found no extraction gain. See accessories you don't need.
Next
Questions
What should I buy first for a new espresso machine?
A scale. It lets you repeat a recipe by weight, and in Socratic Coffee's tamping test brew weight, not tamp force, drove the differences in strength (TDS).[11]
Do I need to replace the tamper that came with my machine?
Only if it does not fill your basket well or is hard to use level. Some machines ship with a plastic tamper, such as Gaggia's Classic E24 and Lelit's Anna.[14][15]
What size tamper does a Breville Bambino need?
Its portafilter is 54 mm, but precision-fit tampers for Breville's 54 mm baskets are about 53.3 mm: Normcore lists 53.3 mm for the Bambino and Bambino Plus.[1][3]
Should a beginner use a pressurized basket?
If you use pre-ground coffee, yes. Breville's Barista Express guide says to use dual-wall baskets with pre-ground coffee and single-wall baskets with freshly ground beans.[13]
Do I need a bottomless portafilter as a beginner?
No. It is a diagnostic tool that shows how the shot flows, and it can wait until your routine is steady. See why a bottomless portafilter sprays.