Breville 800 Series gasket and IMS screen

Replaced both the shower screen and gasket on a Breville Touch Impress. Interesting design on the shower screen with its integrated membrane and intricate details in each of the holes. IMS explains that the membrane helps to block the passage of extraction residue which assists in maintaining a clean group head. The complex pattern in the little holes is said to increase turbulence contributing to a claimed 30% increase in crema. Extract times remained consistent, and the shots appear to have additional foam, even as the coffee aged over a few weeks.

Note that the new gasket seems a bit more firm and offers a slightly better fit with the IMS screen compared to the Breville one. I reached the screw stop when snugging the new screen up to the four-month-old original gasket but it's fine with the new one. These IMS screens also have two small notches on each side, presumably to help keep the surface cleaner where the side of the screen fits up against the gasket. They seemed a bit sharp initially and so I used emery cloth to smooth them a little along with the top ring of the screen so as to preserve the gasket surface. After about a dozen or so extracts and normal group head rinse and backflush, the screen was nearly clean as new with very little visible residue. Overall, the screen kit looks to be doing its job very well.

The screen and basket made a tremendous difference. Consistantly getting good shots now.
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