BEST WAY TO PREP ESPRESSO?: The Finale (WDT, WW Blind Shaker, Autocomb, NCD)

[@LanceHedrick]

Shameless plug (pun intended)- please give the video a like and channel a subscribe if you appreciate the effort going in! Much love, friends. Data in caption with full explanation by Dr. Keller. EDIT: to be absolutely clear, one does not need a weber shaker. Loads of similar ones on the market. Mine came with my eg1 and was cheapest to use since I owned it. I'd already purchased the other bits. Didn't see a need to purchase another shaker since I had one. Loads of other options people have been discussing in forums online and in comments. Cheers

[@tobiasbouma4071]

Hi Lance, I ordered a ww shaker to test the results too, but for my grinder I am just getting massive clumps after shaking. (The grounds are not clumped before grinding.) My grinder is very unimodal and aligned but I'm kind of stuck at that step. Are you willing to accept clumps before tamping? I'm just a little confused.

[@thmsbsch]

Thanks for doing all this work, Lance!!❤

[@jooger69]

We are not worthy.

[@chrisg1631]

QUESTION: with the blind shaker, are you putting it direct on your portafilter before pulling the plug? or do you have a dosing funnel on your portafilter, and you are holding the blind shaker a few inches above in the air when you pull the inner plug?

[@LanceHedrick]

Ive found better results with collar and pulling plug a few inches above.​@chrisg1631

[@TylerH266]

Your humility by retesting using the critiques of this community truly shows why we loyally support you. Thanks for your commitment and spirit of excellence in everything you do.

[@thekiwisage]

and the speed. he did all this in the past few days since the last video. it would've taken me longer to decide to make this video

[@emmanuelecastiello1955]

Ye we love you Lance!

[@hcr32slider]

He's a perfectionist so I'm not surprised he's so open to the possibility of improvement

[@vivrl]

I wish I had seen both these videos earlier but I agree completely. I honestly feel all of this second video was actually unnecessary, but goes to show that Lance really is just trying to get to the bottom of the question at hand. Reality is, even if your home setup is different, the methods used with higher end equipment would translate with lower end equipment because you're not changing the media that you're working with or the work being done. He could've ended at the intro explaining why he used the equipment he did, but he instead tediously made 3kg of coffee into espresso with home setup limitations , that's a professional🏅🏆

[@paulsutton5713]

This is grounds breaking! I'm all shook up.

[@LanceHedrick]

Ok. I may change the title to this.

[@abcabc-bu9wn]

This is clump breaking

[@h3xag0nal]

Martini. Shaken, not shook.

[@markharrison1404]

Actually it is grounds packing😊

[@ryno4573]

It’s a snake oil

[@fstjeanm]

Your patience to run all these shots for the sake of science and knowledge of coffee must be recognized and respected.

[@guckertott]

Yeh, there's another KZbinr who's channel is all about learning the best and most effective way to pick one's nose. Together him and Lance are real scientists.

[@musicexperiments]

​@@guckertottyes and there is this third KZbinr who, like a troll, sits in the sidelines doing nothing useful himself.. while making snide comments that he thinks are funny.

[@guckertott]

@@musicexperiments Everyone knows the usefulness of the useful, but no one knows the usefulness of the useless.

[@Avruthlelbh]

@@musicexperiments Yeah, just a third. Couldn't think of a fourth or fifth off the top of my head.

[@celstark]

That valid scientific methods are being used in a KZbin hobbyist video to better understand the hobby and prevent us from chasing false positives leaves me smiling from ear to ear. You’re doing such a great job not only doing all the hard work to get the data, but in the design of the experiments (eg your efforts to control for factors like heat) and in your interpretation of the data. I’m a research professor who teaches this to PhD students and does this daily for a living. You’re doing a fantastic job at this Lance!

[@jamescruz8678]

This is the type of stuff that makes me join new hobbies nowadays. The world of portable audio could use more of this.

[@lazzuuu21]

you're a blessing in coffee community

[@chriscline6483]

Bro!!! I was considering buying a expensive distribution tool, but I caught your video in a nick of time. Started using the blind Shaker and I have never pulled so many consistent, creamy, even extractions in my life. You completely optimize my espresso game with such a simple technique. I'm in your debt good sir

[@TheNicolaivlog]

I LOVE that you are clapping all the critiques with propper scientific method and help from statistics! Truly unique and just what I like! GREAT job !

[@Andrew-wp1bz]

Critiques are good though! That’s how we learn and progress. Of course good on Lance to do further testing to answer more questions!

[@TheNicolaivlog]

@@Andrew-wp1bz yea true. He properly adressed the questions/doubt that some people had; which is great. Being on the internet there will always be doubters, so at this stage, for Lance, i’d say he has explained himself, and any further doubters should perhaps try the experiments out themselvea

[@Phil_OG]

Yeah clapp those critiques Lance

[@Areys96]

That's what I love about science. If it's done the right way you reach the point where you reach a very certain truth, but with the respect to be proven wrong by more science.❤

[@ryno4573]

It’s still snake oil… too many variables when pulling shots to say this does anything

[@Raftylol]

I like that webber workshops blind shaker has a notice on the product about "due to an unforeseen influx of orders"

[@tag243]

Best ad.

[@didxogns1]

Lolll I noticed that too

[@blissrunner]

Weber be like $$$. Just shake at a cup damnit

[@briani812]

I went to buy it 😂

[@jmlaso]

​@@briani812out of stock 😢

[@ianshepherd6476]

I love how 2 years ago in your video you didn’t own a wdt tool and you had one on order and now wdt is out and blind shakers are in! Crazy how these technics change like fashion trends. Very cool test well done once again!

[@Madskills-hw2ox]

Infinite variables only testing can expose. I’ve only started researching 2-3 months ago. I’m glad there’s a channel that feeds my obsessive, compulsive disorder 😂😂😂

[@Jaroslav.]

Morale boost 😊 I can’t even imagine the amount of work gone into this to educate many, many people basically for free. Thank you!

[@LanceHedrick]

Wow! Huge thank you! Much appreciated, my friend

[@matthewhorne8499]

@Jaroslav So could a blind shaker fit on the super v pro forks if you dropped them or would you need to remove them completely ?? 👍

[@Jaroslav.]

@@matthewhorne8499 The fork consists of three parts. If you remove the lugs and top part of the fork, it will fit 😊

[@hcr32slider]

The blind shaker is a game changer. I can now grind alot finer without clogging the puck. Another huge difference i noticed is the grounds now sit way lower in the portafilter, almost as if there is 2 grams or so less coffee in the basket. Shots are consistent and way tastier now. Ive been struggling for a long time because of grinding directly to the portafilter for the exact reasons you mentioned. Ive ordered the mh2bomber blind shaker amd i the meantime am using a glass with a saucer as a lid to shake. Works perfectly. Thanks and awesome to see your channel has grown so much

[@allen.t]

I was one of the people who did have many doubts on the previous video to your method of testing and this was pretty much exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate that you quickly retested this for us to see. Good work Lance

[@DoussardDoug]

Been meaning to tell you what a difference the Blind Shaker made to my espresso routine. I was blown away how significant it was. Thanks to you I would have never thought is would be such a positive influence on my espresso. Pour over sure I thought it might be useful, but never thought it would affect espresso. I do all the other steps including the WDT... was a big believer in that device... and now it has actually dropped out of my routine. I still use the distributor carefully and lightly to help level before the two tamps. OK, well keep up the great work Lance!

[@markharrison1404]

Hey Lance, I think a lot of those folks who responded back asking you to test using different equipment, actually did not want to hear that there just might be a better process, that might not be so gadgety and some looked at using the WDT as a redundancy. When, in this case, the WDT is just used to level the peaks off of the top layer, while not disturbing under layer of the puck. After watching your first video, I immediately put this to test, grinding directly into one of my small metal milk pitchers, shook the grounds and was shocked at how evenly the shot pulled using a bottomless Portafilter. Thank you for what you do for the community. This spurs conversation for us to work in positive ways for more research and development.

[@eric_has_no_idea]

I was kinda one of them. My issue was the grinder. I felt the more uniform grind led to different clumping. My hand grinder and electric grinds are differently fluffy. The settle differently when tapping. After wdt, they seem the same. This shows I was right that it would be different. I didn't know if it would matter post declumping.

[@Phil_OG]

Knudsen diffusion of fine particles inside pores of bigger particles. Didn't expect that in a coffee video. Great job Lance!

[@mikeontwitie]

This not only improved my workflow a ton, it also improved my espresso. Just grind into the Sculptor 078s cup, place it on my portafilter, little shake and dance, tap to settle the grounds and double tamp. Amazing. I ordered a blind shaker tho, but thats just because they look so nice..

[@MarkusBreindl]

Did you notice any issues at the basket edge as the sculptor cup is rather thick and might leave a kind of gap at the edges of the basket. Wonder how people deal with that without WDT afterwards (or if it is an issue at all).

[@mikeontwitie]

Yeah its thick. I lift the cup halfway up for the last few shakes, so the bottom half is filled 100%. The upper half seems to tamp just fine like that. Didn't try with the cup all the way to the bottom of the portafilter yet tho, so maybe its not necessary?

[@markosgd]

Thank you for always trying your best, putting your own hypothesis on multiple tests, being ready to change your opinion, and being open to listening to others. That is rare in today's world, and I applaud you for that, sir. I hope I'll be able to sit and have a coffee with such a good person one day.

[@isocle]

Returning to this video to say what a difference a shaker has made for consistency for me. It's crazy.

[@Foolsauce]

Very interesting. I do wish you had been able to test shaking in a catch cup vs. the blind shaker. The speculation on why it could be different is useful, but since we are already getting unexpected results and we aren't really sure of the underlying reasons, it could also not follow expectations. It would be cool to see so that I might not feel like I had to buy another tool to get the same results, haha. But I understand there are endless things to test and only one Lance Hedrick, so I appreciate all you've done!

[@thepatwalsh88]

totally agree with this. I was actually surprised he didn't include this as a test variant in this second trial.

[@Foolsauce]

Exactly. And I think it would have helped discern the reason behind the success of the shaker too--is it the shaking or way the blind shaker distributes the bed or something else? I don't see why Lance rushed into making this second video so quickly instead of letting it all simmer for a bit too. :)

[@thepatwalsh88]

@@Foolsauce yes 100%. and it would help quell all the questions on that last bit of speculation about just using a catch cup. (half of which I'm sure have been coming from me lol)

[@crzisme]

He addresses this at 11:41

[@thepatwalsh88]

@@crzisme he speculated about it there, yes. but @Foolsauce was saying it would be nice to see an actual test and comparison of results. as fool said, the whole "shaker vs. WDT" results didn't match initial speculation, so maybe these results wouldn't either. and either way, it would just be good data to have.

[@crazy4chickens]

As a newcomer to the espresso addiction I'm grateful for the scientific "don't waste your money on these" type of videos

[@MikeMastrangelo]

Well in this case he is suggesting to skip a $20 WDT and buy a $100 shaker.

[@crazy4chickens]

@@MikeMastrangelo that's still a 20 dollar savings if I was gonna upgrade eventually anyways

[@raaandym]

I don’t even drink, make, or really enjoy espresso much and this video was fascinating. I’m a pour over guy. But I love the knowledge being shared around coffee. You are absolutely SMASHING it Lance.

[@jojacobs4355]

I’m a big fan of the rotary wdt tools, with the ones with a funnel base in particular. Reason for this is that the grounds remain in the portafilter and the rotary wdt actually pretty much levels out the mound while you twist it. You can then tamp through the funnel. You don’t lose much coffee in the process and it’s pretty fast. The blind shaker usually requires a lot of more cleanup.

[@jasonguo6513]

My morning routine is always wdt in the dosing cup, and slightly do it in the basket again to even the surface(same direction). It works really well😊

[@sandrochiavaro7831]

I love this new controversy. The proof we can’t say anything without people being fragile and get offended lol. You keep doing you man.

[@thtr1310]

You’ve helped me refine my coffee brewing methodology and latte art so much over the last year. Thanks so much!

[@LanceHedrick]

Omg thank you! Means a lot! Do glad anything I've done has helped you! Appreciate it

[@markhornjr.4092]

This actually does seem to be a huge breakthrough. Specifically that the results are even more evident with a lower end grinder. It makes sense that higher end grinders would produce pretty good shots regardless. But the shaker method elevating a lower end grinder that much, which is closer to what the majority of people are actually dealing with (myself included), is revolutionary. I’m not going to buy a $4K Weber grinder anytime soon but I can buy a $100 shaker. I’m making the switch and can’t wait to see the results. The thoroughness of your method absolutely sold me. Great work.

[@edwardnixon1782]

Speculation: more shaking leads to more static charge from inter-particle friction? Further: if true, increased charge -> fines attracted to grind? Just idle, Saturday morning, post-first-shot brain.

[@Kuchenrolle]

I don't want to go back to check whether they used RDT (and if not I would like them to, I feel like this might change things regardless), but comparing spraying the beans with water vs not would allow to test this theory.

[@edwardnixon1782]

@@Kuchenrolle To be perfectly honest, because I make max 3 drinks a day, one of which is full of milk... all of this is really beyond my pay grade. I've worked with stats and simulation modelling; but they paid me to do that. No one pays me to make my morning coffee so I do my best, take what I can from the experts and fanatics and then take a deep breath of satisfaction when I pull one within the zone of "decent/interesting." Good luck on the quest!

[@hanalsechs2959]

You hold the metal shaker and therefore no static can build up, bc your body acts as a neutralizing potential. Also, most of it would prbly dissipate in heat rather than build up in static. That is of course, if you're using a metal shaker.

[@dpac9579]

Dude, i had the same thought.

[@Gk2003m]

@@hanalsechs2959 but that’s not the case. I have a metal cup that came with my grinder. Yet even though I’m holding it as I shake, there are occasional swaths of grinds stuck to the inside due to static.

[@malaeum]

Lance, I find the idea of the fines interacting with the porosity on the larger grounds to be very interesting. The binding force would almost certainly be electrostatic.... Which we all know can definitely Play a role in freshly ground coffee. One way to potentially test this would be to breathe on the dosing cup just after grinding, prior to shaking and distribution. The moisture in your breath is enough to help diminish the static forces. Separately, I'd be quite interested in thinking about how to try to test some of these hypotheses by more observations made with scanning. Electron microscopes. If this is something that interests you, let me know and we can have a discussion.

[@paths1111]

Interesting. This has me wondering about the use of RDT, if densification is due to electrostatic forces on the fines and does demonstrably increase extraction yields. Maybe we should skip RDT (and WDT) and just be shaking the grounds? I'm still curious whether the blind shaker is superior to simply capping the portafilter with a dosing cup and shaking that way, then remove dosing cup and tap to distribute if necessary.

[@malaeum]

@@paths1111 I think that the timing of the static mitigation matters. In this case, if the fines are indeed bound to larger grinds electrostatically, and this improves the shot characteristics, then perhaps a small amount of static leftover is a good thing. I think the process of RDT'ing is primarily about the earlier stages (i.e. during the grind and initial fall into whatever is catching the grinds). Perhaps, as with many things in life, moderation is key: a small amount of static is good while too much is bad. I'd like to try breathing on the grounds after grinding, but before shaking, to see if this changes the results. I am a slow adopter, I just started RDT'ing even though I've known for a long time I should be. I sort of want in ok the experimental phase of the blind tumbler development, but they're backordered until who-knows-when thanks to Lance's last video. I would like to see if we can get some insights from more electron microscopy, I have access to such things if that would be helpful.

[@TheTesterOfGame]

Did it for the first time today, it seems to work very very well !!

[@luccagiannechini2818]

Watching your videos evolve over time is inspiring, I think your might have the most sincere and passionate coffee channel out there! Keep up the great work!

[@zeltwood...]

Thank you Lance! You are the sole reason why I am a successful Barista.

[@erik5024]

Gotta say, the blind shaker method has been the one thing that has greatly reduced/eliminated channeling for me. Perhaps is my Mazzer Mini E (new OEM burrs), but always have dealt with clumping, despite wdt. As soon as I started using a dosing cup (normcore, dosed directly into portafilter and used the dosing cup as a blind shaker) my channeling went away. After only a few shakes, the grounds look fluffy and are free from visible clumps, then wdt to even out the bed, tap and tamp. I appreciate your dedication to the scientific method and doing your experiments to seek a result, not to achieve a desired result. I'm not a scientist, so I can't speak to your methods, but what you say seems to make sense and your results also work for me.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

I've used a blind shaker for the last month, thanks to this video, and my results are now far more consistent and with less channelling. The shaker cost a mere £15. 👍Thank you for the info, Lance!!!

[@y2kcurran]

Which one did you get?

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@@y2kcurran Just a cheap knock off from Amazon. Works a treat! 😄

[@milunbosiljcic]

Very good Lance. Thank you. Good fun.

[@NickChristo]

turns out I've been kind of doing some densification to improve my shots without even knowing it... I've always used the wdt needles to poke holes in the puck before tamping and i experience a similar phenomenon. thanks lance, you're a saint

[@jasiumodrzynski861]

I love how scientific your approach is❤

[@mejasiu]

Thanks @LanceHedrick for being the person who is curious and asks these questions and then actually goes and tests. This is really taking coffee to new heights! Thanks for all that you do!

[@alexlazaridisf.7276]

Been trying the shaker method for a week. Seems to improve the taste. Thanks Lance.

[@randrescastaneda]

Dude, each and every one of your videos is sooo informative and pleasant to watch. I literally check how long your video is and then make sure I have uninterrupted time to watch it. Thank you. Keep the good work.

[@MandySR]

More data? More information? More reason to make espresso? Can’t go wrong!

[@nicomohler8133]

Thanks for all your effort you put into your videos!

[@helloweeny]

This is an amazing contribution to the coffee community. Thank you

[@xitanul]

Thanks for your time and effort with this and the last video, impressive.

[@vojtechpilar5809]

It's absolutely amazing that you retested everything based on people's feedback and so quickly after the first test!! You're becoming my favourite coffee icon in the industry!

[@Thomas_Hogsplitter]

Hey Lance, Thank you for all the info and well-documented research! I have tried replicating this Just with what I have (a fellow opus and a flair neo) by flipping the bottomless portafilter for the neo with the dosing ring over the little cup attachment that came with the opus (I think It is sized for a 58mm basket but the dosing ring fits) and shaking it that way and what I noticed is some of the super fines also come out of the portafilter while shaking! and of course my cups have started getting better since I started doing this. of course the only thing I can't replicate with my setup is the grounds getting well distributed on the portafilter after shaking, I wish there was a tiny weber for flair sizes haha Still this was a great improvement to my workflow and my coffee! thanks

[@FreewindSP]

Thanks! Lance! Was planning on getting the moonraker but now will be purchasing the WW Blind shaker! Super appreciate all the effort you put into these videos! Super helpful in my journey!! Cheers, Randy

[@sina4909]

This is my read: Fair to say OCD (/NCD) was a great invention even though it didn’t prove to perform as well as we would’ve hoped it to. It did make us all start thinking about distribution and puck prep more critically. Today, there’s not much of a case that could be made for their usage (maybe they still have a place in a busy cafe [?]) WDT is probably still a good option for non-58 portafilters as I don’t see shakers made in say a 51mm size. I still use it for a shallow leveling of the top grinds after using the shaker, and anecdotally I think it is doing good.

[@paprikar]

the amount of great centent in the last couple of weeks is insane

[@yonkocommander5531]

Like everyone said, I really appreciate your commitment to the art, even going against your biases.

[@marc-oliviergiguere3290]

Excellent research and video as always Lance. Here is my two cents. I've tried all of the prep methods in the past year and I settled on a method that, for me, is the most direct and simplest method that trumps all of the methods I've tried. I will try to describe it here. While grinding coffee directly into my portafilter, I hold the portafilter with my right hand, I tap the portafilter sideways vigurously against the wrist of my left hand (I put my finders on the side of my grinder (Eureka Specialita) for better stabilization.). Done. The beauty of this technique is that the coffee distributes itself evenly as it falls into the basket. I achieve the same level of extraction with this technique than with the blind shaker technique, in one less step. You can't go simpler than that.

[@LanceHedrick]

ive tried this and did this on bar for many years in cafes. It does a solid job.

[@marc-oliviergiguere3290]

@@LanceHedrick Glad to know that! Keep up the good work.

[@PurajitMalalur]

You really are something else! Truly I see your passion bursting through.

[@0whitestone]

Thanks for the follow-up so quickly! I want expecting it that fast. Appreciate you!

[@williamolenchenko5772]

This is truly groundbreaking. I now grind into a small glass which happens to fit perfectly into a dosing funnel while extending half way into the portafilter. I can then shake and fill the portafilter without making a mess. I still have to do a very light surface WDT and vertical tap on the mat to be able to remove the dosing funnel. Results are very good without having to purchase another accessory. I no longer use my Asso leveler.

[@belin-died]

Thanks for this briliant follow up viedeo. Your a gem in the coffee community.

[@philep123]

Sensational Lance! This style of content is excellent and invaluable. Can't wait for more

[@manuelester3035]

Thanks for repeating with a cheaper grinder, adds some valuable rigor to this experiment! Interesting results... Since by definition using the blind shaker is not direct to portafilter, I suspect a significant contributor to your observed difference is DTP vs non-DTP prep. Definitely a strong argument against doing DTP at home!

[@tceinna]

The previous video compared only non-DTP with all the methods shown, and even then the blind shaker was better than everything else. It blew my mind!

[@clericneokun]

This is so groundbreaking that I got motivated to pull a 2nd shot this morning just to try out the shaky shake. It really does feel weird to see all that caking but realize later on that it's not actually affecting the shot negatively at all.

[@MW-df2fm]

Damn Lance, you're starting to blow my mind and wouldn't even need to justify yourself in this kind of way as you're not a studied scientist in this profession but your humble work and attitude seem to make you a coffee person (/nerd) wich tends to work in a scientific direction which I absolutely admire and adore. Let's see which brands will release shakers like Weber did. Wish you, your friends and family all the best. And stick with your own path, even if critique might be a lot.

[@tomasmampuys]

At this rate I can only imagine all the new things we will know in a year from now. Exciting times for coffee enthousiasts! Thanks for yet another contribution!!

[@robertpassaro4089]

Dude - great followup. Your increased hustle is evident and appreciated.

[@quantitativecafe]

This is really great stuff. Thanks for taking the time to repeat the experiment. It's telling that the results are even more dramatic when the intermediate dosing cup is removed from the process.

[@greeneggzzz]

This is a generous, meticulous, valuable and surprising vid. What a demystifier! V cool. TY.

[@MZ-nw7wz]

People who bought all those distribution "tools" without having any evidence that they help are losing their minds. I for one am very happy to have this evidence backed presentation available to me, and to never have jumped on the bandwagon. I will certainly look at the WW blind shaker in the near future. Bravo.

[@JanGoh-jb5ge]

I bought a cheap WDT because it did seem like there was some improvement over doing nothing at all, and it's a little less wasteful to use it rather than a toothpick or two every time. But I didn't see what the point was of using a $100 WDT, so I 100% do not feel bad about spending $12 on it. :D And I grind into a Baratza dosing cup already, so it's actually no problem for me to invert it and shake while it's on the portafilter; I have to imagine it's the same in the end, as long as the coffee has some room and time to move. The simpler the setup the better.

[@demmidemmi]

Feel like this really calls for a video doing a closer like at the blind shaker to see more where the effect is coming from. Great video as always.

[@shawnsgear]

Thanks so much Lance! These last two videos about the shaker have made me put mine back to use. I’ve had one for a couple years now and it’s just been sitting in my drawer. Today I’ve already been pulling tastier shots with just the blind shaker and some slight WDT on the top of the puck. I have noticed they pull much quicker too, but still tasty! Your work is much appreciated my friend! Keep it up! I’m sure WW is selling some more shakers now!

[@Sebb747]

I don't think your first analysis was wrong, I just wasn't obvious that this would transfer to mid-range grinders, especially since the WDT aims to fix grind defects. That being said, kudos for taking the critique and proving to us that this is something useful for the sub-2000$-grinder barista :-)

[@fuzzyevil2]

Awesome follow up! So cool to see all this data. Thanks for the dedication Lance!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! Means a lot

[@TEDXX123]

Your videos are always masterclasses, watching them make me feel smarter 😅.

[@TiagoPELira]

I grind to a dosing cup and then transfer to the Portafilter. Because of the results of the last video I started tossing the ground coffee in the cup side to side, replicating what you were doing. I noticed a much faster shot than usual, which led to possibility of finer grind, and sweeter espresso. Didn't see this video yet but wanted to point that out. Edit after seeing video: yep, exactly as experienced

[@mvadu]

Hats off to your dedication Lance!

[@ForeverLearningAnaes]

Thank Lance, I handgrind my coffee. After watching your vid, I used my handgrinder like a blind shaker, then dumped the powder into my portafilter, skipped wdt and tamped. The espresso tasted slightly better than usual..

[@theismathieu]

Thank you so much Lance for these videos. I talked to Taka about the blind shaker as he used it in comp since many years. He reported to be the most effective by his own experience. Thanks to your videos we have a better grounded evidences for it. I’m now changing my habits and start using the blind shaker. Thanks for helping us being better baristas.

[@XeonX__ASMR__METAL-experiments]

0:24 Nice BIG microphone on your right dude ! Thanks!

[@LivingTheLifeRetired]

You put so much effort into your videos and research. Excellent channel. Well done.

[@willweerts1291]

Fantastic! Thankful for continuing to push the boundaries of coffee "common knowledge"

[@cegottardi]

Thanks a bunch, Lance! Espresso lovers like me really appreciate what you do!

[@bjjazoresrule]

Posting for some morale boosting. I have learned so much from you and your love of coffee. Your love of learning helps a considerable amount as well. The world could use more people of your quality.

[@AntwanMounir]

Most interesting videos on espresso and coffee in general in a very long time! Kudos! Although I do miss the more lighthearted vibes and random singing

[@Yourbeautyformyashes]

Just wanna say thank you for making coffee research based as of late. I remember 10+ years ago when people were theorizing that using chopsticks to create a channel on grounds before blooming, or vigorously twirling the v60 during blooming was the right way to agitate with no actual evidence. Not that any of those methods are wrong, but seeing data to back up what does or doesn’t work really helps me feel like we’re getting somewhere. Thanks Lance!

[@darrenmontgomery49]

I love your video release timing being in the morning. Start my day off with a smile when I pop back in bed with a fresh cappuccino, turn on the tv and watch a Lance Hedrick coffee video. Thanks Lance! You are an important part of the coffee fanatic community!

[@tylerblack9220]

Same!

[@billeterk]

If you watch after making coffee there’s a significant chance you’re going to feel the need to make another shortly after though…

[@JuliaPee-x9t]

Great video!!! I appreciate what you did and how you busted most of the critic! Science for life!

[@AlexanderLabial]

After the first video I’ve been trying out the shaking rather than the manual wdt I used to do. I was actually really confused that the shots was tasty and yet fast. Really another point to remember that taste is king and not “standard” time measurements ☕️😁

[@ondrejmitas3325]

Love the curiosity and empirical approach! I feel like every succesive video has more useful ideas and insights.

[@nssomething8370]

Ok, so I watched this video last night and I kept thinking about it. This morning, I tried to replicate the shaker method by just grinding into my Acaia dosing cup, which I never use because my grinder grinds into the portafilter perfectly (Ceado E37s). I macgyvered a cover for the dosing cup and really shook it hard. Then I did the reverse portafilter onto it and spun perfectly depositing the coffee in the centre. Then I tamped. Some observations: Usually, the coffee comes out of the E37s perfectly fluffy, no clumps. A bit of WDT and it is perfect for a shot. Now it was co pressed and clumpy, VERY VERY similar to how coffee would come out of the Rancilio Rocky with Doser. The Rocky makes nice clump free grounds, but when you have the doser, it compresses and clumps it all up as you pull the lever 10-15 times to get your coffee in the portafilter. So, what was the result with shaking and tamping: VERY GOOD no channelling, no spraying, no mess (Profitec Pro 600 + Naked Portafilter + IMS E&B Lab Super Fine Filter Basket), great coffee. But, here is the kicker, I took the Rocky out of retirement this morning. Took it from the basement, cleaned it up ( @LanceHedrick the stuff your videos make me do, I swear) and ground a batch. The results are not as good as the Ceado+Shaking, but damn it's similar with the doser. I'm going to try "shaking" for the next week instead of WDT and see how it goes. This is all with very light single origins from 49th Parallel. Anyway, sorry for the wall of text, thanks for the video!

[@Alex-if8ug]

Lance is a legend. Love these analyses.

[@c.j.c350]

Some of the most comprehensive and interesting testing we've seen out of anyone in a while, thanks for all the effort!

[@almaandrade4003]

You’re amazing. Love the deep diving into experiments you do. 🧡

[@KarLArschaffe]

KZbinr with a better statistical analysis than the last science paper I reviewed! :D Love it!

[@MikeMastrangelo]

Thanks for these videos. Super fascinating. I always wondered if wdt moved fines to the bottom of the basket. I would love to see more analysis with other dosing cups. The DF64 has one with a dosing collar that might help see what the final shake did (all on one side or nice and level). It would be nice if there was a technique where I don’t need to buy a $100 shaker.

[@bluemystic7501]

It would be great to put this in perspective. Let's see a blind taste test.

[@pztothez2091]

Lance I admire your passion. Thanks so much for taking this even further. Loved both videos and again I admire your passion and the approach. Big cheers to you. You rock buddy.

[@ryo1981to]

Lance, great job in collecting the feedback, incorporating it in a new run of your experiment and run all those shots again. I missed the 1st video but then i read about the reactions on Reddit and now I am smiling from ear to ear seeing that you went into this again keeping an open mind. My comment will probably end up buried under the other thousands but i still wanted to thank you for the time and effort in creating high quality content. If you read this, feel free to let me know by replying or, I dunno, blink twice 😂 It's a pleasure as always, Cheers

[@miroslavfaist1298]

This is incredible, thank you for the dedication that you put into making these videos. Sounds like I have to adjust my prep according to new findings. Thank you

[@chen8857]

Real nice quality content. ❤ Love that you took the critics+ advise/help from experts to interpret your experiments data and discussed possible theories on why the results are the way they are. Bringing together these skills with your experience with coffee is really pushing the community forward! Love it, Thank you.

[@pacman5590]

Fascinating stuff! I no longer feel the need to shell out for a wdt tool & you’ve made my mind up on what grinder to get - I was torn between the Eureka Oro single dose or Eureka Libra - Oro into a shaker seems the way to go! 🤙

[@patrickmclaughlin6516]

The densification concept was very interesting to me because a similar principle is used in dental materials engineering to make composite resin fillings with ideal properties. Large boulders of filler material make stronger fillings, but they polish very poorly and aren't esthetic. Smaller particle sizes yield fillings that polish well, but are weak. The solution to this, that more or less all composite manufacturers use now, is to take very small particles and stick them together into big boulders that allow for harder fillings that polish well. These are usually referred to as "nano-hybrid" composites.

[@tcharp100]

What a great, informative video. I guess I will stick with my tried and true "horizontal tapping" method. There was a time, not long ago when that was all anyone did before tamping that puck. Although, I think my personal methodology is far from the standard these days. I do have a WDT mixer, but I seldom use it as I can tell very little difference. Thanks again, sir.

[@BorisDesmond]

Amazing, thank you so much for your great quality analysis and videos!

[@mymusings5948]

You’re killing it, man. Great stuff.