A lot of those look like knock-offs of the much more expensive and likely higher quality Sworks and Wafo baskets, like the Kafmasino Impeta is a lot like the Sworks Citrus Slice basket. I'm not a huge fan of the company, but the Weber workshops unifilter basket is about the same price maybe a little more than the Pesado HE, originally the Unibasket was more expensive, they dropped the price supposedly when they switched to an more efficient manufacturing process. Weber does tend to over-charge for shipping though depending on where you live. You say you're not sure about the claims they make about these baskets, but you did notice the Impeta that has a citrus slice look to it, brought out more acidity! Which if you look at Sworks site, on their original designed Citrus basket, they describe it as doing JUST THAT (which I thought might have been nonsense just because how it looked coincidentally correlated with how it tasted!?) I tried the Normcore version of the Wafo Spirit, it's like a bad knock off, it bends / deforms so much the coffee comes out convex/concave. I also didn't like the results, felt like something was missing from the coffee, maybe the holes were way too large and flow rates were too high on that one, it needed a very fine grind size. Similarly didn't love the IMS Big Bang basket but at least they were original with that one, some people seem to love it. I forget why but I remember just not being too impressed. Not sure I like the idea of controlled channeling, I think it's going to give you a more uneven extraction and is counter-intuitive. I actually think stock baskets (especially the tapered edge ones) are good for easier nicer looking extractions and if you want easier less channely espresso (great for starting out) The older upgraded precision baskets (not special high extracting or weird design ones) by VST and IMS I found were more finicky and often resulted in more channeling, it had a higher clarity, higher extraction vs stock baskets but you also have less room for error, so higher potential to make a great coffee but I found often it might give me a worse coffee. Stock baskets give you more body, more blended flavours generally, also better not amazing coffee, and most medium or darker roasts as a result! The Weber basket I actually expected it to be even more finicky than IMS or VST but I found it to be very forgiving, vs Pullman / Decent / VST type regular precision baskets, I get a higher success rate and more flavour clarity and punch which I believe is due to higher extractions, without the coffee being too intense, not bitter or sour usually, just stronger flavour. I haven't tried the Pesado or other high extracting baskets really to compare but I'm happy with the Weber basket for now. One downside of the higher extracting baskets is that they're usually thicker metal so coffee particles get stuck in the holes and is harder to clean out, so it's best to always use a bottom paper filter with them. Also helps with knocking the pucks out.
I tried the "DEX" from MHW3 and couldn't get a consistent shot, no matter what grind setting I used. However, this video has inspired me to give it another go. I was using a dark roast, before, which wasn't the freshest I've tried. I have a 10-day-old medium roast which I will try, later. Thanks for the video 👍
I have the 18g DEX. Using it everyday. Definitely better than stock basket. Shots were more complex, more flavour notes brought out. You should definitely have another go!
I struggled with my DEX and VST baskets but it turns out that my Lelit Fred grinder wasn’t up to the job. Upgraded to e better grinder and I’m really happy with the DEX
Pesado US has $20 shipping for under $100... And nothing else i want to buy to make up the difference. $78 shipped is rough. No apparent US distributer too. I'm not sure why pesaso USA is charging $20 for shipping a single basket other than upsell or margin padding.
@@homecafecharlie yes i understand but the DEX are a very old model from mhw , after that they got the BEP out and it was nice but had some flaws and the got the BEP v2 out few months ago and its very hard to beat for the price . Even few weeks ago they had 15g BEP v2 for sale that look very interesting too
Nice video. So crazy how many basket designs have flooded the market. When is "very soon" regarding the Philos? That's very, very intersting to hear your take on.
Just gotta switch the burrs and test the other set for a few weeks before I render my final verdict. So far it's great, but certainly not perfect (nothing is)
You're right, smaller grind particles have a larger surface area relative to their weight. So for a finer grind size, which you need to do to get a good extraction in a precision basket, it will have a larger surface area, so it is a more complete extraction of the grinds, which leads to a higher extraction percentage. It's possible to get overextracted this way, but for espresso since the total volume is low I find it almost impossible to overextract a coffee that is ground and distributed correctly. If you're not channelling and getting a good extraction timing in a standard 1:2 ratio shot, I don't think the equipment exists yet to overextract that coffee. ;)
Very honest review...thanks a lot for making this video!! I agree precision baskets are definitely an upgrade in the espresso game but comparing each one minutely is kinda insane and unreasonable, given the spectrum of coffee and coffee drinkers is too wide to be generalised
I agree, it isn't really possible. Too many variables especially with the equipment an average coffee person has. In short, just buy any PF basket you like. They are all much better than stock!
I have both the Pesado and Weber Workshops baskets and frankly, the Weber leaves little to be desired. I called BS on Weber a long time ago. While I do live the EG1 and the Moonraker (which many would call BS on as well), the precision baskets aren't anything to go out and get if you can get your hands on the Pesado baskets.
Hi, I currently have DEX in 15g and 18g. I recently ordered IMS B702TH24.5M because of its different, rounded shape. However, it has significantly fewer holes than DEX. I'm also waiting for BEP 2.0. What do you think about this IMS basket? Have you tested it?
How are the BEP and DEX so far? I'm only interested in how both are durable to deformation? Because the stock basket comes with the espresso machine will always be deformed whenever i pull a shot
@@whoami724y it's very durable, stainless steel. Honestly one of the best baskets on the market in this price. BEP has more sweet flavour but it's really hard to clean. DEX is more neutral and very easy to clean and daily use.
normcorewares has a new pvd coated HE basket. Worth a try, for me it was a middle ground between a VST and a Pesado w/o the clogging holes of the pesado :)
The time is less important since the grind settings are the same, the main thing is output weight which I tried to keep as close to 1:2 ratio as possible. Without an advanced machine like a Decent this is as close as I could get. It might influence the results a little bit but we're talking a tiny fraction of a %. I also taste tested. Like I said at the end the differences are less clear than manufacturers say, but all of them were significantly better than stock, so basically you should get one cos the stock is bad 🤣
Well... it's the reverse for me. I have VST baskets and my coffee is ground extremely fine. With the VST the machine does not develop 9 bars. When I use cheapo ridged baskets that taper at the bottom, the machine works better and pulls better shots. The cheapies are "Brewvana" I got on Amazon for $7. Machine is a Turin Capriccio and the grinder is a Eureka La Specialita, so I'm working with good equipment. My machine just doesn't like the straight-wall baskets for some reason. Go figure. Do whatever works.
Yeah that's not a bad grinder so it doesn't make sense that you can't grind fine enough for the basket. Your burrs might be misaligned so you get channelling when you go finer. Worth doing a burr alignment test. If that's what it is, then forget baskets, you'll get immediately better coffee from the grinder being properly adjusted.
Lance has said something to the effect of paper filters give you around 90% of the precision basket benefit. And, there is the added benefit of pucks coming out very clean, and no holes being clogged. It would be interesting to see how these baskets perform with paper filters VS a VST with paper filter.
@@paul--b it’s much less significant than saturated fat. It might depend on whether you’re a hyper absorber of cholesterol or not (like with eggs on serum LDL). The literature does show some correlation with unfiltered coffee on higher LDL compared to paper filter. It’d be great to see a study to control for it. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to use paper for the benefits you mentioned already and retest my ApoB.
Check local distributors. I got my Pesado HE in the UK from Functional Accessories and the shipping wasn't much. Not sure who the distributors in the US are, but worth checking cos it'll be cheaper for shipping
@@PaoloItaliano-k9v Oh I see. I didn't know that. Yeah I think they should standardise the basket fit, and like I said it got stuck in my Flair so I haven't used it for that since. If it fits, it's a killer basket, but it's a shame that it doesn't universally fit
My next coffee machine will be lever. There are only 2 top lever machine on the market: La Marzocco Leva X and Kees van der Westen Spiritello. The last one is just too expensive 😢
Great video, @homecafecharlie ! I'm sure not all stock baskets are created equal. Was this test with the Nuova Simonelli stock? I know you have an Silvia Pro X and I thought that came with IMS made stock baskets.
I don't have the pro X anymore unfortunately, I had to sell it when I left Japan (wrong voltage for UK and shipping would have been expensive). But yes not all stock baskets are made equal - it's about the number and pattern of holes, but most stock baskets are similar and can't hold a candle to most precision baskets
I'm stuck between two IMS baskets for my Delongi Dedica 51mm. The main difference is the ammount of coffe they can hold: H22 can hold from 12g - 14g while the H24 range from 14g - 16g. Which would you advice for making expresso only on this machine?
I find it unlikely that no one submitted a question about Brexit. It is irresponsible not to talk about Tory responsibility for this generally agreed mistake and what to do now to remedy it.
