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
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.
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 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.
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!
It has been pointed out that describing the holes in the WAFO as shaped like rice could be seen as racist. I want to ensure everyone there was no malintent here. As always, I speak off the cuff and the word "slit" sounded funny to me. The holes in, specifically the spirit, looked like grains of rice to me, so while discussing the holes during the microscope portion, I referred to them as such. My sincerest apologies if that upsets anyone. I'll do better watching my words going forward. Thank you for understanding the verbal faux pas and supporting the video. Much love, as always.
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.
I think the 300€ pricetag (with import related costs) reflects supplier’s ability to meet demand. It will get cheaper in time, and I’ll wait until it does. As you said, there are better ways to boost EY%. Great video Lance!
Pullman baskets at the moment are $36.30, without calculating shipping and import to EU. VST are more or less the same too. Are these the same Lance was referring to? If yes, then your comment about the price tag is spot on. I happened to be on the lookout for a basket that's smaller than the 21g my ECM bottomless came with and had to re-visit this video, but Lance's comment about the price got me confused.
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
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! :)
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.
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
"EXHAUSTIVE COMPARISON" more like exhaustive assumptions. Keep your pretentiousness in check because none of his sources did. Don't get me wrong, I like the video but you have to take it in the right context. None of this is quantified reality just a bunch of guessing. Bases solely on flawed human perception.
@@zedorda1337 my guy, are you sure you know what pretentiousness means? Lance is easily one of the most thorough, non-BS reviewers whose opinion and palate is more often than not in sync with mine. Having said that, I'm sure Lance has given a ton of disclaimers as to which information is quantifiable reality, which is purely subjective, and which needs to be understood in context to the limitations of his testing. All of that is part of what makes this video and his content 'exhaustive'.
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.
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. :)
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
Excellent video!! Watched every second. Was very curious about these ultra premium baskets because it wasn’t immediately apparent whether they would be a gimmick or not. I think you make an excellent point about these being targeted at commercial settings where $200/basket could be justified with improvements in quality, workflow, and efficiency all in one go.
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!!
Would you say that the actual flavour on the fancy baskets is different? Say for example, the cafe runs a standard recipe 18g - 40g in 28 seconds, would you be able to recreate the same flavour profile that customers are used to, in a shorter time? Or does the shorter extraction actually change the flavour profile/change the sweetness/change the acidity? We're talking about the effect on average joe latte drinker.
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.
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).
Really appreciated this video! I have not seen any videos (let alone an exhaustive video) on the wave of new high-end baskets. My big take-away was to use a bottom paper filer, and save myself over $200. Thank you Lance!
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 .
@@LanceHedrick you're welcome Lance, I'd honestly love a video or a few videos that talk about the basics of some of these espresso concepts like extraction, flow rate, etc. as I begin my espresso journey I'd love to understand some of the fundamentals, idk if you have any videos like that :)
for anyone looking to get one of these "high extraction" full width straight-walled baskets with a lot more holes, the Mischief Spirit/Classic baskets are cheap and do the trick. i recommend buying paper filter for the bottom though.
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!!!
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?
Great video, Lance! I love your throrough breakdowns. I’ve had a Unibasket for a week or so, and have definitely noticed consistently tastier shots. Generally agree that I’ve found it a bit harder to dial in, but maybe I’m still getting used to it. One thing that I’m not sure you mentioned - I found it a lot harder to knock the puck out of my unibasket. So much so that sometimes, I have to just scrape it out. Weber said that’s common but not sure there’s a nice solution to it. I’m not a huge fan of this hit to my workflow but the shots are definitely tastier so I’m torn!
I said this in brief early on when discussing the bevelled bottom of the wafo. But probably could have spent more time on it. I have not found issues knocking the puck out- I just beat it on a knock box. But it certainly isn't as easy as one that is more cone shaped
I have the wafo classic and have been using it daily home use for a little over 2 weeks now. The first time I used it, didn’t have trouble knocking puck out but I did noticed holes in the basket clogged. Tried to just rinse it doing a group head flush and it was still clogged. Not happy about that. Coming from a vst basket, that was never an issue. Had to use a water pik on the massage setting at full blast to get it unclogged. On my second use of the wafo classic, decided to put a bottom paper filter. That helped a lot. It still clogs but only on the outer rim and at max 4 holes.
weber is now down to $85 for the basket and it comes with paper filters (i think 100) and the puck screen. still a lot for a basket, but it makes it much more appealing than the other $200 options right now. would love to see you review the sworkzdesign high flow basket some time.
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 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.
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!
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.
you should review the high-uniformity Flair basket, its holes go all the way to the edges, it's thick at the bottom to prevent bulging, and the price is much lower than the others.
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! 🎉
thx Lance! I got a Wafo Spirit and a Flair 58 standard high-flow basket (not the new one). There's a noticeable difference in taste even with filter paper, especially with light roasts. The Wafo Spirit seems to amplify everything compared to the Flair 58 one with filter paper. Filter paper plays an important role in a standard basket, and different types of filter paper can significantly affect the flow rate and taste. I tried different brands, and some are noticeably thicker, which impacts the shot time and the flavor. Finding one that matches your taste can be challenging, especially since it's difficult to know the filter paper specs from the packaging. I hoped the filter paper trick would save me money, but at least with light roasts, it didn’t. I tried the knockoff one from MISchief. Compared to the Wafo SS, it brings out more upfront acidity, but the overall presentation lacks harmony. The MISchief one has a completely straight wall and slightly larger holes, while the Wafo SS features a slight curve at the bottom.
At 80€ price point, the Weber Unibasket is such a good value. I made the jump for my cafe and the difference with my Pullman (19-22g) is huge, my shots gets more clarity and it’s not even like it’s the same coffee anymore. (Not using paper filter) I was pleasantly surprised that the puck screen was included with each basket, with paper filters. Worth it !
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)
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.
If you think for one moment that I’m going to sit here and spend almost an hour of my life listen to a guy talk about espresso baskets… YOU WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!
Still using the original baskets on both portafilters since 2005 when I bought my VBM Domobar Super. I clean them and make my espresso everyday and tastes fantastic. No need to waste so much money on these.
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.
Are you doing faster shots? I've found replicating the time parameters of normal espresso gives only marginal improvements. I've seen a bit more with faster shots. Thanks for watching and commenting! (BTW lotus should arrive tomorrow)
@@LanceHedrick We extract 19 - 22 sec (start to finish) using Ditting Sweet Lab (SSP) or EK 43 (standard coffee) and lower pressure. The main difference is in the ratio. On a 1:3 it makes a significant difference. But on a "comp-style" set up with a shorter ratio it's not that impactful.
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!
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?
Hi, I'm not Lance but maybe something like the AutoComb will be for you in part 2. Part 1 does not resonate, all my pucks come out squeaky clean from my sworksdesign baskets (I only have high and regular flow). Maybe your dosing or grinder is part of the issue? I'm not experienced in this regard so can't offer more insight sorry!
