$200 ESPRESSO BASKETS: Fancy Lancy Baskets 

Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) 1. Dissatisfaction 2. Desire 3. 'Research' 4. The purchase! 5. Guilt 6. Acceptance 7. Relapse

You are the coffee nerd we need. Please keep up these techniqual geekery

6 minutes in and I just have to say: I LOVE LONG FORMAT EXHAUSTIVE COMPARISON VIDEOS thank you lance for giving us the money saving content for the people who this kind of thing actually matters to

Nothing better than coming home after a Workout and finding a 44min Basket Video by lance

I was so excited when you announced this because no one is going to have as well structured/in depth video on this basket frontier as you. keep it up lance, you’ve single handedly made my espresso game FANTASTIC

Hi Lance! I love that you put timestamp for the summary! I'll admit that I first skipped to that part, but got so hooked on the topic and your video that I actually watched the whole thing two times. Keep up the good work, your the best

Lance, your content has been a veritable treasure trove of wonderful and helpful information as I've embarked on my espresso journey. It's thanks in part to your videos and knowledge you've shared that I've been able to begin brewing better coffee and dialing in shots. I also just want to say I find your personality and style of presentation delightful, and never once has your integrity been in question. Most importantly, I love that you're making what you want to make. Passion and genuine effort will always attract those seeking to tear it down. Now, regarding coffee: I'm so happy you decided to do this video. I've been dealing with some consistency issues and had become curious about these baskets, but no way could I drop a couple hundred to just experiment. Can't wait to learn from this. Lastly, as someone who is newer to espresso, I'm still trying to take in as much information as possible and learn. If you decide to do another video on core espresso concepts (a la your fixing sour shots video) it would be helpful to hear you talk more on puck integrity/degradation (which you've mentioned before) and how the base variables we manipulate (dose/grind/temp etc.) can impact it. My own experience has been that when pulling a shot and the streams off the spout are steady with minimal flow rate increase as the shot is running the flavor is cleaner, sweeter, more balanced, and tastier in general. This is contrasted with shots that may start off nicely, slow and steady but about halfway have a greater increase in flow rate that ramps up until it's going flowing about twice as fast; the taste isn't bad, the shot is still dialed in and tasty, just not AS tasty as I know it could be. Puck prep and all variables are held constant, proper size filter paper in the bottom of the basket, flat 9 bar machine, ground in the same hand grinder, but some shots seem to do this and others not.

I have been rewatching a lot of your old videos & while you’ve always been entertaining & informative, the production quality has really stepped up. Your dedication is obvious & appreciated.

I do love these long in depth videos, watched every second of it, liked, subscribed and shared. Thank you for you efforts

Thanks for doing the legwork to bring us all a more thorough understanding of the basket craze! Great video with useful data beginning to end, as usual. Appreciate you Lance!

I only brew pourover and I still gobbled up this video. Great work guys! And the editing/intro gets better and better each vid - way to go, Hugo!

Seriously appreciate such an extensive review on this fairly newer trend of high end baskets. Definitely can’t see myself investing into any of these in the near future but maybe if the prices dropped significantly I would give one a go. Also just wanted to say that I was pleasantly surprised with how many questions you answered on the r/espresso AMA and how detailed your answers were.

I like that you can get by with a 10c paper filter rather than a $200+ precision basket :)

Lance, I'm blown away by the quality, amount of information and length if this video. I actually scheduled to watch this one because I knew such a lengthy video and coming from you it MUST be quality. You didn't disappoint and I hope to see more of this format in the future. Cheers!

Finally subscribed! I’ve been watching for a while now. I really appreciate the details you go into. Keep up the good work!

Absolutely excellent video as usual! Extremely valuable information that would be inaccessible if not for your exhaustive efforts. Thank you Lance!!

Great video, gives me clear understanding about all these baskets without punching my own pocket. Money is a thing, but the time to invest is totally invaluable. I always have Pullman on my daily roster, added Weber since it came out, more handy than the unifilter. I consider myself a coffee geek, you are god of the coffee geeks

A very educational video & great to watch. I've seen some content about the Wafo already, but its always great to get another view - with scientific data to back it up. The microscope images of the hole uniformity said it all... Thanks for the comparison to a VST basket with a filter paper - this is my current workflow. I'd say you've answered a lot of peoples questions about the value of a $200-00 basket.

These videos are amazing, I love them! So many types of analysis makes it so damn helpful

Great review Lance, this is exactly what I was waiting for! 🙌🏼

Thanks, Lance, you massive efforts in producing these information packed videos is really appreciated.

Lance, this video is great. It explains everything thoroughly. Thank you.

Thank you Lance, Awesome experience to watch and listen. So glad I already bought the Webber as they will all probably sell out now.

40 minutes flew by! Loved the deep dive into baskets and the detailed analysis. really great video! cheers.

Thank you, Lance, for doing this very thorough, comparison video on precision baskets. I have a Pullman and VST and had been considering one of the ultra precision baskets by Sworks or Webber. I appreciate all of the work you did and will I save for future reference. ☕😁☕😁☕

U spent 45 minutes convincing me that the $4 pack of filter papers for my cafelat robot is a good purchase, thank you lance!

Great video, I think this is your best yet! Well presented and polished. I have typically stuck with the VST baskets as it's what I'm used to, but might give the bottom filter a go and see how noticeable the difference is. :)

Incredible content! Please keep these coming, I love the long format videos. I can't believe how raggedy the holes are on those $200 baskets...

Awesome video Lance, appreciate the time put into this!

Great video, it really helps a lot for people like me who are starting in the world of coffee. We realize that some accessories can be quite expensive, and these types of videos help us identify where we can get more value for our money when preparing a cup of coffee at home. I've already liked it and copied and pasted the link! :)

Love you Lance, what a great thought out video!

Thank you so much for all the time and knowledge that you give us . I enjoy your videos ,and have learned so much. You and James are the best. thanks, Jon ALL WELL COFFEE.

Thank you Lance, excellent review on these baskets. I am sticking to my VST with bottom paper filter!

Just had to explain to my husband that it is VITALLY IMPORTANT that I watch this video RIGHT. NOW. Really I should have just shown him the baskets cascading onto the counter and let this masterpiece speak for itself.

So much more than I could’ve asked for, for the comparison video! Great wrap up too, reminding my inner obsessive that my VST baskets are still sufficient! (Now to try with paper filters)

Great source of credible data.Thank you very much for all the work you did in compiling. I'm a home barista and as you stated shot time is not a factor all. I have been using VST's since I started making espresso and just today I used a paper filter in the bottom of the basket for the first time. What was significant to my palate was the improvement of flavor and sweetness. I am looking forward to confirming this. I don't think I am interested in spending $600 of baskets especially after your comments about the paper filter with VST's. Great job..Thank you.

Just watched the Kaffeemacher grinder comparison and now your basket video. It’s crazy to see that there is still so much room for improving your espresso. And I’m sitting here being totally happy with somewhat traditional puck prep (WDT/tamping) no puck screen, no paper filter, no singledosing. But now I’m thinking what could be.

Woo great job with this video Lance! Excited to see this finally drop

Definitely worth the time. Very organized and analytical hugely appreciated. Thank you.

Lance, you knocked it out of the park again! Amazing considerations exist within this video. Those involved in cafes certainly will appreciate this review as no one else could/would do it like you did! Congratulations on being the nicest guy, the best coffee guy, and my favourite on RU-vid!

Maaan! That is such a huge piece of work over here. Really appreciate it, love such a nerdy deep dives. Great video for sure

I've been waiting for this video. You really outdid yourself with this one :)

I've watched it all. Just felt like saying so to let you know there is someone appreciating all your work and effort put into making this video. What I liked the most about the video is that the conclusions were supported by the data. It felt more realistic compared to hyped opinions of some other people. I own 3 fancy baskets and I really like using them (I've stopped using standard baskets completely) but I definitely do not thing everyone needs them and no one ever needs every single one of them in existence (except maybe to make a content out of it).

Excellent content man. Thanks for the science focused content.

Thanks for your effort as always. Appreciate it a lot!

I watched the whole thing. Thanks for all of your time that you put into

I really love this kind of deep dive videos, keep it going Lance 👍

Just a thoroughly super great video Lance. Thanks once again for taking the mystery out of a subject that has not been covered well previously.

Nice! Finally it's out.🤩Thanks for the hard work:). I've started to use a paper filter but I find in addition to be able to grind finer without choking the machine or anything the shot does taste more intense with more clarity but it's also paper filtered which changes the taste or mouthfeel (hard to describe). For light roasts I like that but for everything medium not so much. I'd guess that would be different as well with one of these baskets simply because they are still metal filters.

Many thanks Lance! This is very extensive and probably the most detailed in the world.

I think the one with the rice slits are cut so imprecisely because when cutting it can go against the grain sometimes compared to circular holes which don’t go in any particular direction.

Incredible video. Thanks for putting in the time to do this testing and share these results.

Great as always Lance. Best time stamps. :)

Great job on this video, Lance. Thank you. I appreciate your efforts.

I love how people today have taken what has been guessed or just coincidentally hit upon over the last 100 years of espresso and improved it with modern thinking , physics and science . We spent years as baristas pulling shots with machines direct from factory’s or restored vintage machines. A few coffee roasters and working off an ideology of classic Italian recipes. To think what I can just upscale on my home machine alone with my vst basket etc really gives us such room to personalise flavours and textures. Live your videos ! Keep up the great work .

I love you Lance. This was amazing. Thank you.

Hi Lance. Really appreciate all that are doing. As a home barista, it is really hard to get information and ideas so we are grateful to you Daddy Hoff and Spro for exposing the home baristas to idea and thoughts about brewing. Question, I drink straight espresso only, Tim Wendelboe almost exclusively and use a Mahlkonig k30 vario with SSP HU burrs on a GS3MP. Recently, started using filter paper on my VST and have seen great improvement on my numbers on refractometry and the flavor is less bitter. However, it seems to suffer a little from the "rose without thorns" concept, ie it lacks a base note or something seems missing, but I do love the increased clarity. Is there a way to get some of that body feel while still using filter paper? thanks, sorry for the ramble..

Just before you showed the surprise basket, I went and checked my Breville basket and noticed it had really clean cuts and I was a quite surprised. I checked this video because I was just about to order some IMS filters, thinking I'd up my espresso game, but I'm happy I have decent baskets out of the box, at least regarding the cuts. Thanks for the really detailed explanation!

Really enjoyed this! Thanks for uploading

Such an amazing, and very thorough video! Bravo!

I have been very excited to see this kind of comparison. I've been paper filtering my vst, but now I kind of want to expect with Pullman...

Bloody amazing thank you. I love how I can get a similar result using my basket with bottom paper filters. Massive win. Now after watching the video I’m curious as to if I should be grinding finer with a paper filter to get the same time as without one, or using the quicker time with one?

Thank you for this, very informative as always. We have started to use the Uni-basket from weber in our store. And with our style of roasting and brewing it makes a noticeable difference in taste quality. It's not "night and day" but another small step towards better overall quality.

I used to hate long coffee videos until I watched Hoffman and Lance’s! Their videos aren’t boring and you watch the whole thing before realizing how long it was! Thanks Lance for providing unbiased content that’s much needed by the coffee community.

Amazing video Lance. So clean and well produced.

Very very valuable information, thank you Lance!

Just received my multipurpose portafilter, High Extraction baskets, puck screen and shower screen from Pesado. IMPRESSED! Shipped to Norway in no-time and have tried the portafilter and small basket. I have been using VST precision basket before and I don't know how Pesado does it, but the taste difference of the coffee is noticeable. Taste is an individual thing, but for me: I totally prefer the Pesado! I have yet to change my IMS nano tech shower screen as I ran into some trouble pulling it out and the result is a need to change the shower gasket. All products seem to hold excellent quality levels for a reasonable price.

Very informative! I love the long form videos, as usual. I'm going to stick with my IMS basket and look into bottom paper filters.

Love this deep dive! I would be interested in hearing more about the Weber Workshop's UniFilter

Lance, I've enjoyed this video a lot! What a great piece of art 🎨

I already liked the video a couple of seconds in because of the intro... When you asked to like at the beginning I almost took the like out 😅 Keep up the great work, Lance. I love your videos and this is no exception. I will revisit your older content on the gaggia classic pro as soon as I get my hands on one but in the meantime I keep my coffee education going thanks to you! Ciao from Italy!

Absolutely fantastic in-depth video. Thank you!

Once again, I'm amazed at the technical level this man lives at. It's fascinating and I can't stop watching 🤘🤘

It's out!!! Looking forward to this one.

I love these long form videos, I love how in depth you go Lance!

Thank you very much for this in-depth review.

Thank you for this! I already had a spirit on order. Fun stuff!

I did not skip, watched the whole video. I do not have a budget for any of these but your research, time, expenses, and effort are highly appreciated. THANK YOU!!!

thanks for the effort here! All very helpful

Thank you for such a fantastic and thorough examination of these very hyped instruments of extraction! 😁

Thanks for this! Highly appreciated!

Thanks for the very comprehensive video. I found it interesting that for the testing you dialed in on the vst/pullman/ims and kept the same grind size for the weber/wafo/sworks baskets. My impression was that because these achieved higher flow at the same grind size I should be grinding finer (I have a weber basket) but from your testing and what was presented in the video it seems I should not be changing my grind size much if at all and instead just letting the shot just pull faster?

Incredibly informative. I’m going to try the paper filter in my VST for now. Might think about an upgrade later on! Appreciate ya, Lance!

Lance, I don’t know who helps you in content creation from raw recording to final cuts but I have to say your team is the best and you are out of the scale. Exceptional content. Doesnt matter what you do, it always create great experience - Thanks a lot! 🎉

Yay! I've been waiting for that!😍😍😍

Well done Lance! What a great video!

Also, great video as always. I have old IMS for my La Pavoni and VST for my ECM and love them. However, I have had problems with the newer IMS with the “nano” coating and returned them A LOT of channeling for some reason. I mean, grab an umbrella while you make coffee channeling.

Another great video! Thank you Lance!❤ I can’t wait to watch it while drinking something tasty that I made with your recipe!

Amazing video! 2 questions for you lance: 1. Have you tried turbo shots with these? Would they pull at like 15s? 2. It sounds like the testing you did primarily was without paper on bottom other then the VST. did you try the sworks or Weber with paper?

Brilliant research and a well-formed point of view about the commercial setting. Will definitely start using a bottom paper filter on my IMS before shifting to the latest and greatest

A+ seriously explored and surprising results! Great vid!

Absolute coffee nerd and I love it!! Thank you Lance!

I just got my new Weber unibasket, it came with a puck screen and filter disks. I’m glad you said it will look like rain because that’s what it did. I tried the screen and I hate how I have to dig it out of my knock box to get it back after I dump the grinds, which by the way do not come out very well even with the paper in the bottom. I’m not sure I’ll continue using the Weber.

Hi Lance. I love your video. This one is definitely up there among my favorites. I have spent a lot of time dialing in my billet basket from Sworks design. I think there are 2 key points you didn’t discuss in your video: 1. Puck observations after extraction: the biscuit is very difficult to get out due to the shape. I think this has huge impact to professional users as it messes with the work flow. And I don’t think customer what to hear baristas banging the PF trying to clean out the puck. I don’t think barista wants to waste time saved from extraction on cleaning on the puck, and risk the puck not clean and make another drink. I think WAFO is a winner in this part. Can you please comment on what you think? 2. The consistency of operation: it is easier to have higher yield extraction only if everything is done right with these new baskets. However, we should also consider how easy it is to operate with these new basket. From my own experience, I find myself prone to mistakes when using these new baskets: anything done wrong will result a bad extraction. I think the new baskets make the operation less robust, meaning sensitive to mistakes in this case. I’m only a home hobbyist. What is your thoughts?

Dude, thank you for that Breville stock comparison. I bought IMS initially and wasn't able to pinpoint an improvement. I did keep the IMS filter since I bought their 21g version vs 17g of breville. Even when I put the filters under my smd soldering 🔬 I wasn't able to see much of a difference. Your analysis proved I wasn't crazy!!

Watched the whole thing Lance! Great great vid!

Been waiting on this I’m excited to watch!!! I got the spirit myself! I’ll get into it!

Hey Lance...great analysis and have been loving your whirlwind presenting style. Very thourough in every way. Just a query though ... In your refraction figures at 11:27 mins you list the Pullman with bottom filter, but in your taste test at 31 mins the 4th cup you said was VST with bottom paper filter?? Just wondering what was what? I have the Pullman 19-22g so was very interested in this test. Thanks again.

Great video as always. I have to make sure you know that you have taken my espresso game to the next level and my wife and i thank you for that! A suggestion for the next vid? Tell me where i can get the coffee beans youre sippin on bro!!! Im tryna taste what you taste!!!

Honestly stuff like this is fascinating as it gives the sort of detailed inside into this market, so that those suffering from GAS can make a more informed decision, as well as answer any questions from those who are just curious. Amazing work, thanks for the huge effort, never stop being yourself with this content!