Thank you for sharing your experience! It's amazing how a simple hobby can bring so much joy and meaning to our lives. Keep exploring the wonderful world of coffee! ☕️
I'm retired and my hobby for the last 45 years has been building acoustic guitars (went to Spain and studied etc) and I thought that was a challenge - until I started making espresso - thanks for all the tips and explanations I now make decent coffee regularly and great coffee occasionally.
In spain specially in Malaga, never find a perfect coffee in the past 2 years ,but when im back to Bali, everywhere even though at the small cafe, they have great great coffee ever
Imagine building an espresso machine as a hobby, using commercial parts, in a custom build // no plastic, wood & metal // maybe glass or ceramic / carbon fiber or fiber glass / 3D printing //
I cannot thank you enough James. This is the single best piece of advice that has made my espresso so much more consistent. I was using an 18g basket. It is much easier to dial in a 15g basket. My first shot I pulled was better than 75% of my 18g shots. By day two, I was pulling top tier tasty shots consistently! THANK YOU!
Not coffee related: James, can you put out an audio book of bedtime stories? I swear your voice and delivery are like a warm blanket every time I watch your videos. 🤣👍 Cheers!
As a teacher I 100% agree. While English is my 1st language, But I always appreciate when a person on RUclips clearly makes the effort to think about people that don't have English as their first language.💕
James thank you so much for telling the caffeine topic, I went from two 20g coffees to first 15g and now I'm at two 7.5g coffees a day. I enjoy them so much more and it's way better for my health. Much love from Italy ❤️
I don't own an espresso machine and yet I'm fascinated by all these discussions. Thank you for your offer of free coffee to those in need. The caremongering that these times have brought about is truly inspiring.
I agree with you, the gesture of offering free coffee to those in need during these difficult times is truly inspiring. Even though you don't own an espresso machine, understanding the dosing process can enhance your overall coffee experience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
After 3 weeks of terrible tasting espresso it was as simple as adjusting my DOSE! Thank you, James. I went from 18g to 17g which allowed me to change my grind size from 11 to 9 and omg, it's the best shot I've ever pulled. 17g dose yielding 34g at 30 seconds. Tomorrow I'm going to try a 1:1.5 ratio at grind size 8 and see what it tastes like. Thank you thank you thank you. I can quit wasting beans and banging my head agains the wall. Who knew a 1g difference in grounds could make such a difference.
I AM SO GLAD I WATCHED THIS VIDEO. I've been using light roast coffee beans to make espresso and I was so frustrated that my espresso was coming out under-extracted. I didn't realize that light roast is just difficult to make into an espresso.
hey! what did you do to solve the issue? I am a big fan of light roasts. even though the ratio and the timing with my shots are on point, I am getting out an extremely sour mess. :(
This video was fantastic. Literally one of the first things I did when going into isolation the other week was finally order the Rancilio Silvia I'd been wanting to buy for YEARS. Since then I've been furiously learning the ins and outs of my new machine, and this video came along at the PERFECT time for my own personal learning curve. Bravo, James!
James you are the reason I upgraded my 4 year old Nespresso Krups pods machine to Delonghi Dedica and got sepatately bottomless portafilter and IMS basket. Now a few days after watching most of your videos and about 1 kg of beans waisted on tests I have turned from close to zero to my family Barista Hero. I cant thank you enough mate🙏
I imagine he's very kind and understanding of anybody's situation actually, would probably be more than happy to help you improve whatever brewing method you have
I often find that extending my extraction to more than 2:1 (e.g. up to about 2.5:1) improves the flavor. After I learned that, I haven't really touched my grinder settings. It was advice from a really great barista, regional champ type, and it's some of the best coffee advice I have received.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It's always interesting to hear about different extraction ratios and how they affect the flavor. Have you tried experimenting with different brew methods as well, or have you found that the extended extraction works well across the board?
Him- “You’re always going to have a sour harsh under extracted weak thin bodied sadness... and you don’t want that” .... me - *flashback to the exact coffee I just made* 😩
Recently bought a bottomless PF on Amazon to use with my housemates Smeg espresso machine (not ideal I know). Not sure what dose to use but seems like 18g prevents a watery mess. But now with a light roast I’m getting sour underextracted shots. Will increasing the dose increase resistance and therefore extraction? Or will it create too much work to be done and exacerbate the under extraction? I’m a bit confused. I could also increase the temp of the coffee machine to aid? I’m at the finer end of my grinder but still got a bit to go if I need to. Any advice for a beginner would be appreciated!! :)
@@talibalghafri9544 "Hi. This is Graphene. I'm not in right now. If you could please leave your name and number after the beep, I'll get back to you. Thank you..." *beep*
Hey James, You have a quality of delivery that just sucks me in. I very much enjoy listening to you. You could be talking about anything & I’d be committed to listening to what you have to say. Also I find all you have to say very informative, interesting & helpful. So a massive thank you 🙏🏽😊
simple tips and tricks which are quite obvious, but i never thought them through before. i always get to learn new things from each video from james. really appreciate his sharing.
This teacher, James Hoffman, is a gold mine of high quality information! And beautifully presented! I even watch his ads! I’m learning how to make espresso with my old La Pavoni Europiccola, and Baratza Preciso grinder. Tried to learn 10 -15 years ago, but there were no RUclipss back then. A few blurry homemade short videos, or short written instructions -really almost useless. I’d print instructions out at the desk top computer to take to the kitchen where the espresso machine is. Thank you, James!
9 days into a 14 day quarantine in a hotel room, these videos are a salvation. Thankfully I have an aeropress go and enough coffee that I can watch the videos and play with brewing coffee and feel connected to the material I’m watching.
We need more material like these videos. Thought out, well structured, and fundamental education. Too many videos gloss over the details, or simply show off instead of teaching. I recently went from a Nespresso and a Mr. Coffee espresso machine with an old second hand Mazzer to a brand new ECM Synchronika and ECM grinder. So far I have produced a lot of OMG (as opposed to god)shots consisting mostly of battery acid with notes of turpentine and fermented cat urine. I have been struggling with dialing in a grinder and a sophisticated espresso machine without any known good starting point. I've tried changing too many things, not knowing where to focus, and I have upgraded my results from biohazard to merely bad, but I think your videos are going to help me focus on the correct variables and I have no doubt that I will produce something drinkable withinn the next 36 months or so 😊. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Once I get things sorted out my next challenge is to move from roasting for brewed coffee to roasting for espresso - any videos on that? Thanks again, best regards.
@@ΠαύλοςΚ-θ9ζ if we assume that the universe is infinite, then...yes. 100%. But in that case there is also 100% chance that there is someone somewhere named Hames Joffman, who hates cardigans and loves tea, soo... yeah not a great metric...
Just bought a Nuova Simonelli Oscar 2. No scale! Random dose. Extracted. Removed portafilter. Nothing inside. Coffee stuck in the machine. This video is now essential. Thank you James!
Here I am, a year after this video was uploaded, watching it again now that I have upped my game, and went from different size moka pots to a Breville Mini Barista (delivered just today) :) I blame/thank you, James, and the community you have built here on RUclips. Down the rabbit hole I go!
I am such a novice with all this……as I like cappuccino I have flexibility….though my good friend loves a delicious espresso…..so I keep on working at it. I really appreciate your videos and your gentle and informative, no patronising delivery. Whilst a daunting process, you make it all sound achievable. Thank you
i recently bought a breville double boiler and the smart grinder pro, due to them being readily available and seemingly reasonably priced for good entry level stuff imbo. hoooooo my god.... never again will i buy bitter, undrinkable blisteringly hot coffee... in a few short weeks im pulling shots that make me realise how good coffee can get, and ive only just begun. i cant wait to soak up all this great info and get better and better at this amazing drink.
Really glad the caffeine intake was mentioned here. I bought my first espresso machine (the sage/breville barista express) and all of the videos on this machine were demonstrated using the 2-cup filters. I tried that at first but felt my brain not enjoying the experience as I would suddenly end up with a headache. I am a coffee drinker but I don't think my daily intake ever caused me headaches. Started to realize that I need to start using the 1-cup filter to use less coffee/caffeine per drink. This was such a great decision as now I get to enjoy coffee more times a day and not suffer a migraine or risk my health long run. No one talked about this and I am super thankful for this kind of content.
Honestly one of the most well put together explanations of how to get better espresso. After the point that a lower dose is better for extracting a light roast coffee, I paused the video and proceeded to lower my dose and pull an espresso shot. That little change probably made me the best espresso I've pulled yet!
Actually i just watched part 2, and yes he does.. he was wearing a different jacket and swapped some elements from the background to match the color.. Gotta say, pure dedication right there!!
James, because of your tutorials i started learning a lot about coffee. I bought decent espresso machine(La Scala butterfly hx) an ok grinder( compak k6). And started my trip to wonderland. I want to thank you for such dedication and lot of patience to explain everything. Just want you to know that i really appreciate you a lot and will be grateful for the rest of my life. Keep on going you are the best. I hope that one day i try coffee from your roastery.
It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on pre-infusion times and how this might affect total shot time (which can be a helpful tool to dial in coffee as sometimes it can be hard to judge grind size by taste alone).
I've always been confused on this one. Does the shot time include the pre-infusion, or do you only start timing once the pump ramps up to full pressure.
@@muriaticfpv2328 typically when people use shot times they measure the total time from when water hits the puck (i.e including preinfusion times) Sometimes you do hear timings given from first drip (i.e) from when the first drop hits the cup
You'll just have to accept that shot time varies between different machines, therefore you won't get the same results if every other variable is the same. If you look at any prosumer espresso machine with a built-in shot timer (even those with pre-infusion) you'll find they all start timing when you flick the switch.
+1 for the original question. By default every machine does “pre infusion” because the pump can’t reach to the default pressure instantly. On e61 I assumed ~3 seconds.
Im getting my first espresso machine for my birthday. It comes in a couple days. So here I am at 3 in the morning binge watching espresso videos lol it helps that his voice is like asmr Ive learned a lot from this video can’t wait to learn more! (: I hope I can get the hang of ir. Sounds so complicated 😩
I love that you're doing this James, I've really enjoyed your dialing in vids, very informative, as to be expected from you of course :-). Looking forward to watching these vids, they'll definitely make the lock down more bearable! Cheers, Kev,
This man just unknowingly have me buy a Rocket Mozzafiato Evo R, Eureka Specialita, Bottomless portafilter for the rocket, a Hario V60 set, a Baratza Encore, several other tools all in one go. His knowledge and enthusiasm of anything coffee is impressive and quite contagious. I just find myself going through his videos and other coffee related videos trying get whatever information I can digest :)
You briefly mentioned Italian espresso, pulling those 7g shots. Having just come back from a few months in Italy... I would love to know more about Italian style coffee. Not only is it, as you mentioned, something that can be drunk several times a day, it also (for me) is less acidic and problematic to my tummy. And, when done right, its delicious. This is the coffee I would love to learn to make regularly.
Yeah, it's a darker roast, especially with neapolitan roasting where acidity is zero, but it's difficult to find because almost everyone use a cheap blend (70% robusta), roasted bad and brewed worst.
I do not own any espresso machine. And no plan to buy it and brew it. But this guy has an amazingly comfy voice. It sounds like a bed time story. Love it.
This was super insightful! I'm getting into the coffee business and completely starting from scratch on this. I also wanted to give you props for how you talked about the sponsorship. I really appreciated how you lead into it and it wasn't in my face. It was relevant and felt like just part of the conversation. Very well done!
Love the information in all your videos. Got our Breville Barista Express in September. My method is so simple. Weigh and grind on 4 at least 8 grams beans, use WDT tool then leveler and tamper. Start the timer when I press single button and run for 25 seconds. I get a beautiful crema. I sprinkle with cinnamon and add a little less than equal amount of water from my Breville. Add a splash of milk, grab my banana and I am in heaven. I look so forward to getting up in the morning.
Thank you, James! How do you always read my mind? Every time I want to ask, a video of your answer always pops up at the right time. Love that you don't hesitate to share your knowledge, the best coffee teacher ever!
Mr Hoffman you are the skillshare, masterclass of coffee. Thank you so much for helping me elevate my espresso from something that most people found acceptable to a truly extraordinary experience to drink.
Tamping, channeling, and my biggest grievance in espresso - cleanliness as a variable! As a barista trainer, it is frustrating to see people in cafes weighing and measuring and then using a dirty group head/ scales or worse, a caked/wet tamper. Cleanliness is the most underrated technical skill in a baristas arsenal.
How does a dirty scale effect your coffee? It's foolish to conflate cleanliness of things that touch the coffee to things that don't. One of these is significantly more important.
@@d077Z I think if you're weighing your cups, residue from the scale can transfer onto the bottom of the cup, so it reaches the customer all crusty. It can also get on the spouts of the portafilter and maybe transfer into the cup while pulling the shot.
@@d077Z honestly, once you understand that coffee is all about controlling variables, it's hard not to include cleanliness. Why wouldn't you just rule out old coffee getting in your cup/ affecting your brew if it's a potential question? Why guess? If you start off with clean tools every single time, that's one variable ruled out. I've been on the adjudication panel for the Barista Championships as a technical judge, and believe me, cleanliness counts. I just wish it would transfer over to the general public because it can make a huge difference in your coffee routine and preparation. Attention to detail is key.
@@noelledoyle88 Obviously anything that touches your shot matters. The work environment itself is just signaling much like late art. If you place your portafilter on the scale directly it must be clean. As should anything else that is in the path of the shot itself. Coffee comps are very much a game too.
Back home (Phil) I was raised to boil a coffee in a kettle, wait 20 min to settle all the coffee grounds, then enjoy. Watching him makes me proud of myself. Simple life.
4:34 James, you cleared a misunderstanding I had. I was unable to make a coffee without the puck extremely wet or with extreme tunneling. I got it to work with the small cup (9 g coffee) and filling it up until the temped coffee touched the shower head when putting it in. I thought that that is incorrect. No one every explained that this is actually how it is supposed to be. I thought I'm still doing something wrong and that it should work without filling the cup so much. Thank you for just mentioning this small bit of information.
I agree , his voice puts me to sleep if I watch at night , how many videos I’ve “watched “ then next day I had to watch them again because I fell asleep
I have listened to you for hours now. 🌿🌸🌿 I love your videos and signed up for the Oct 3rd coffee tasting. I’m in the states.You are so English it’s like watching someone do a caricature of an Englishman. “You don’t want that. No one wants that.” You are so enjoyable to watch and listen to. Thank you 🙏🏻 for the incredible wealth of information. I saw you flipping through “The World Atlas of Coffee” and ordered it used from Washington state. What a gem you are. What fun.
Hi James. I’ve been brewing espresso on my Silvia for the past 12 years. I’m shocked I’ve seemingly been doing it terribly wrong all these years despite enjoying myself along the way. At some point I equated 1 shot to 1 once and have genuinely been brewing 25 grams of coffee at 85 grams of liquid… embarrassed to write that but looking forward to dialing in the proper ratio that is ideal for my machine/grinder/beans. Would love a video about these type of pitfalls. Really really enjoying these videos… such a joy!
Hi Mr. Hoffmann, I've watched all your whole videos and, for me, this one it's the best. For two reason: 1.- I aware you are very clever because you notice things that almost all of us know but don't think about them and 2- You encourage a local consume. So you have my respect. Sorry for my English. Keep doing so well and thanks. 👍🙌👌
The small dose on a big basket may cause some other problems as well. I recently tried to replicate the "paper" (by C.Hendon, J.Cameron and others) and of course I was measuring the extraction of every single shot. When I switched to the 15g dose I accidently forgot to change my basket. After pulling out 10 shots I realised it and started over. What happened is that when I dosed 15g on the VST15 I noticed higher extractions on average than when I was dosing 15g on the VST20. It may be not be absolutely caused by that, I dont know. But the sample was around ten shots, so it is kind of reliable in order to make me think.
@07:19 I no longer needed to do this once I switched to storing small (105g) batches of coffee in an airtight container and weighing out my 15g to go in my grinder each time I wanted a drink. Originally so I could switch from caf to decaf without hassle and waste, but it made all my coffee prep so much easier that I kept the routine even though I no longer buy decaf. My 4cup Bialetti stovetop also takes the same doze, so I step the grinder down for that, beans in the hopper, grind out my 15g and then for the last few seconds of empty hopper time I step the grinder back up to my espresso setting. Works every time with no waste. Placing only what you need for your next drink in the hopper before you grind makes it a very efficient setup. I don't really need to change my espresso grind much if at all. Because I store it in such small batches. By the time I get to the last couple of coffees I know it'll start needing a bit more tamping to keep the extraction times consistent. And then it's done and a new fresh 105g bag of coffee goes in the airtight container for the next week.
A couple of days ago I made a decaf espresso without measuring anything : filled beans to « more or less » the line on the grinder, ground to whatever setting the grinder was at (Rok Grinder v.1) heated water, filled Rok Espresso GC to about half an inch from the top, pressed, preinfused, extracted. BRILLIANT! Perfect body, loads of flavours, a little crema (difficult on a decaf because of the process so I wasn’t expecting any), and especially no acidity and great aftertaste. Single origin Guatemala Coffee roasted in April and kept in the fridge. Wasn’t able to replicate that since ...
Decaf tends to be on the dark side, so in general you’d want to use a lower ratio (less than 1:2) to avoid pulling out the more bitter flavors and off-notes as a result of the decaf process
It’s rare to find someone this good at public speaking. It’s like having David Attenborough teach me about coffee instead of cuttlefish or something and I love it!
thank you so much. right now, i drink better coffee than in 90% of all coffee shops here in switzerland. i can't really believe it. so simple after i watched couple of your videos.
I've been pulling 13 gram double shots for awhile now and had no idea the average was 18! Been doing half a liter in a french press with only 19 grams too. Thought I was a caffeine maniac, but I guess I was wrong. Learning more and more about coffee everyday, and slowly getting better at making it. Thanks James!
I just needed to say that this series has been really helpful. I now have scales and a burr grinder and am able to make my machine work for me and understand what is happening with my coffee. However above all my espresso has become much better and much more enjoyable.
James, greetins from Chile. The algorythm recommended me you channel a year ago with a video on Why espresso taste different now than older days. Just loved it. Big fan. Hope you and you family are fine with all of this. Bye
I just enjoy my coffee the way the electric-magic-coffee-box decides to give it to me... but I enjoy this mans obsession with getting a precise dose! enjoyable content thanks man!
These concepts, especially involving basket size and dose amount, are what I tried to explain to my boss and colleagues years ago in the shop I worked in. Unfortunately, they were so hypnotized by meaningless SCAA standards and protocols that they were unable to see the forest for the trees. When people become so enamored by the numbers only, and lose sight of the greater context, the results are often poor coffee served with self-congratulatory smugness. Thanks for setting the record straight.
YES! This series is exactly what I was hoping for! I recently decided to take my espresso to the next level. I bought a more precise scale (I stayed clear of the smart scales after laughing my way through your reviews and settled for a Brewista II) and a couple of IMS baskets for different doses, then plowed through your dialling in series. This one couldn’t have come at a better time for me! Really looking forward to the next parts.
I weigh the beans before I grind - and the only way I can adjust the dose by 1/2 gram is to keep swapping individual beans till I arrive at the precise dose. 1 bean weighs more than a half gram usually.
James, just sharing my thoughts here. Your videos are really great. I'm a new barista and I've been improving so much last a few months after watching your videos. To other subscribers, I wonder if you are seeing James's contents just like a big puzzles where every single videos that he makes is connected to each other. From water quality, espresso, coffee equipment, and so many more! If it's a yes, please kindly like this comment (not for the sake's of getting so many likes), just trying to say how thankful we are lol. Anyway, Happy Birthday James!
Yes, I keep stopping his videos to look up the terms he uses. Educate myself and then go a little further. On the one hand it's like a super-condensed hyper-text instruction manual that keeps expanding ever outward. On the other, each phrase is like a zen koan - one can only grasp the meaning by not grasping....
These tutorials have been immensely helpful. I was just about to "upgrade" from my tricked out Gaggia Classic and I think you've turned my head around thinking that I have to upgrade my skill set before I upgrade my machine. It would be so disappointing to spend $2000 or more only to have no better coffee than I'm getting with my $500 brewer. You should see the logs I've been keeping!
Thank you for this series, James. I watched all your videos back to back and it helped me paint a better picture for dialing in my espresso. For my current coffee I was able to make sweet espresso at 16g, slow ramp up to 7 bars, slight ramp down at the end, aimed for making Slightly coarser coffee in the end to prevent the channeling I was getting at the beginning. All starting with 8.5 bars, 15g coffee, no ramp ups/downs. The coffee went from bitter to pleasant :)
Loving this series. Very helpful since I was struggling dialing in light roast single-origin and +0.5g (16 - 16.5g) higher dose solved the issue and increased my shot time to bring the sweetness up. Painful but rewarding to work with super light roast coffees. Understanding brew pressure would be interesting. It's fairly common to see shops (especially dealing with Nordic roast) lowering pressures to even as low as 6 bars. I dropped mine from 9 to 8 and have seen it reducing my channeling (again dealing with super light roasts) and been able to extract more (no evidence, tho). BUT I have no idea what I am doing here and I feel like I am trying to pull too many variables the same time.
Thank you for the breakdown! I work at a commercial coffee shop and only get to learn superficial knowledge. I’ve been watching you to determine what machine and grinder to get for home :)
When you gonna talk about time I would like to hear if you should include preinfusion in total brew time. A lot of home machine have programable preinfusion or flow / pressure control. In example - you take straight 9 bar / full flow shot in 28 second or you use low flow / low pressure for 10 second and then full 9 bar - should total time still be 28 seconds or forget about time in this case?
Got myself a new sage barista Pro.. First grown up machine since being a barista at a local bagel shop in my late teens, had to brush up on my knowledge and sweet coffee gods is your content useful. Someone else said it already, but thanks coffee dad 😁😁😁
One question i've had with coffee is if certain blends etc pair better with certain drinks - for example what kind of coffee would suit a latte best or a cappuccino?
I'm not nearly coffee nerd yet, but I think I can answer you. The milk tends to dampen[?] the coffee taste, so blends / roasts with stronger taste is good for latte (more milk). For cappuccino, may be a slightly less stronger. source: I can't stomach konbini/minimart/hotel/cheap instant dark coffee without milk. They hurt my face.
In my country (idk in other) we use a 70% arabica 30% robusta mix for coffee milk drinks, robusta added i think because it has a really unique strong bitter coffee flavour so when added, milk doesn't dampen the coffee taste too much
@@whoami724y that's the traditional blend in Italy. Robusta also produces thicker crema. Yes, you can also create crema with 100% arabica, but it tends to be more difficult and you need high enough quality beans for that.
You can either use any single origin or blended coffees. The roast profile is important when talking about milk beverage though. A more developed coffee roast (I dont like to use the term "darker") is more suitable for calibrating with milk.
We used to have a grinder, which didn't have micro adjusting and also was not a 'fresh grinder', but the one with a dose. We were using it as a fresh one, so we would grind one portion, circle it out from the dose, adjust the weight and use it. The problem was, there was a huge difference everytime we wanted to change how coarse it is, so the only thing possible to change something was weight. So, we have started at 18, if too fast, go slowly by 0,1 - 0,2 stepsd up to 19, if too slow, go down to 17. If it did not help, we would finally change the grinding at those 'limit numbers' (17 and 19). The problem is, we have just finally got our new grinder with microadjusting. And we can't get rid of the process we have developed over these years...:D I'll try to work more with the grinding itself, thanks for your good video. I hope, you are healthy and doing great. Thanks for the video :)
Thank you coffee dad.
Father of coffee
caffeine daddy
@@HavokTheorem i like that better
Daddy Hoff, like Lance Hendrick called him in one of his videosXD
😄
This man is about to cost me a LOT of money.
Antonio de l'Enclos haha. Me too
Why does this twenty year old has white hair?
@@simonb9573 He forty bruh
So glad he can’t see me making mine each morning. I can hear his review each step of the way. Ouch!
This man has already cost me A LOT OF MONEY.
The gentle but intelligent way he speaks makes me think "ah the david attenborough of coffee"
this is so true
Funny, when I started watching this channel, my first thought was "ah the Alton Brown of coffee".
So true
How did coffee become a hobby for me?! You James, you are the reason. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your experience! It's amazing how a simple hobby can bring so much joy and meaning to our lives. Keep exploring the wonderful world of coffee! ☕️
I'm retired and my hobby for the last 45 years has been building acoustic guitars (went to Spain and studied etc) and I thought that was a challenge - until I started making espresso - thanks for all the tips and explanations I now make decent coffee regularly and great coffee occasionally.
Mmmmm! Caracoles in the Spring and Amontillado in a catavino Jerrzano! Ole!
I loved coffee in Spain. 😊
In spain specially in Malaga, never find a perfect coffee in the past 2 years ,but when im back to Bali, everywhere even though at the small cafe, they have great great coffee ever
Imagine building an espresso machine as a hobby, using commercial parts, in a custom build // no plastic, wood & metal // maybe glass or ceramic / carbon fiber or fiber glass / 3D printing //
@@ggetoile Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.
I cannot thank you enough James. This is the single best piece of advice that has made my espresso so much more consistent. I was using an 18g basket. It is much easier to dial in a 15g basket. My first shot I pulled was better than 75% of my 18g shots. By day two, I was pulling top tier tasty shots consistently! THANK YOU!
Not coffee related: James, can you put out an audio book of bedtime stories? I swear your voice and delivery are like a warm blanket every time I watch your videos. 🤣👍 Cheers!
Yes!
Please
Reminds me of narrator in the Winnie the Pooh series.
Yes! His voice is like honey, he could definitely do voice work.
HI CHARLOTTE!! good to...C...you 🤓
As a foreigner I appreciate your understandable English
As a teacher I 100% agree. While English is my 1st language, But I always appreciate when a person on RUclips clearly makes the effort to think about people that don't have English as their first language.💕
James thank you so much for telling the caffeine topic, I went from two 20g coffees to first 15g and now I'm at two 7.5g coffees a day. I enjoy them so much more and it's way better for my health.
Much love from Italy ❤️
Did you have to use smaller filter baskets per the smaller coffee dose? And end up with a smaller drink?
I'm trying to decide between a 15g and a 18g vst basket. Any thoughts?
@@djentlover take the biggest because you can always underdose
I don't own an espresso machine and yet I'm fascinated by all these discussions. Thank you for your offer of free coffee to those in need. The caremongering that these times have brought about is truly inspiring.
I agree with you, the gesture of offering free coffee to those in need during these difficult times is truly inspiring. Even though you don't own an espresso machine, understanding the dosing process can enhance your overall coffee experience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Eating the cake after the espresso is what completes the meal.
My left eye twitched into another dimension after reading this
The cake is a lie.
i giggled
*_t h e f o r b i d d e n b r o w n i e_*
Classic barista prank of offering a co-worker one of those tester brownies we were sent from a new bakery down the road.
After 3 weeks of terrible tasting espresso it was as simple as adjusting my DOSE! Thank you, James. I went from 18g to 17g which allowed me to change my grind size from 11 to 9 and omg, it's the best shot I've ever pulled. 17g dose yielding 34g at 30 seconds. Tomorrow I'm going to try a 1:1.5 ratio at grind size 8 and see what it tastes like. Thank you thank you thank you. I can quit wasting beans and banging my head agains the wall. Who knew a 1g difference in grounds could make such a difference.
I AM SO GLAD I WATCHED THIS VIDEO. I've been using light roast coffee beans to make espresso and I was so frustrated that my espresso was coming out under-extracted. I didn't realize that light roast is just difficult to make into an espresso.
x2 jajaja thanks
hey! what did you do to solve the issue? I am a big fan of light roasts. even though the ratio and the timing with my shots are on point, I am getting out an extremely sour mess. :(
“Weak thin bodied sadness”....felt that
Lol
This video was fantastic. Literally one of the first things I did when going into isolation the other week was finally order the Rancilio Silvia I'd been wanting to buy for YEARS. Since then I've been furiously learning the ins and outs of my new machine, and this video came along at the PERFECT time for my own personal learning curve. Bravo, James!
James you are the reason I upgraded my 4 year old Nespresso Krups pods machine to Delonghi Dedica and got sepatately bottomless portafilter and IMS basket. Now a few days after watching most of your videos and about 1 kg of beans waisted on tests I have turned from close to zero to my family Barista Hero. I cant thank you enough mate🙏
what IMS basket did you buy for the Dedica machine?
Imagine having this guy as your visitor, and when you offer him a drink he says ‘coffee’.
You put on a denim shit, wear an apron, get out a your scale and make sure he sees you doing this
@@davidp605 Then put your instant coffee in the cup because it's the only thing you've got.
@@MisterDibitybopty Followed by a lot of crying.
haha Nescafe do
I imagine he's very kind and understanding of anybody's situation actually, would probably be more than happy to help you improve whatever brewing method you have
I often find that extending my extraction to more than 2:1 (e.g. up to about 2.5:1) improves the flavor. After I learned that, I haven't really touched my grinder settings. It was advice from a really great barista, regional champ type, and it's some of the best coffee advice I have received.
I mean it’s all up to if YOU think it tastes good, everyone thinks differently
Thank you for sharing your experience! It's always interesting to hear about different extraction ratios and how they affect the flavor. Have you tried experimenting with different brew methods as well, or have you found that the extended extraction works well across the board?
Him- “You’re always going to have a sour harsh under extracted weak thin bodied sadness... and you don’t want that” .... me - *flashback to the exact coffee I just made* 😩
Coffee's..
I think that has happened to everyone that started off with dark roast and afterwards tried out lighter ones.
it's easier to underextract lighter than darker roasts.
That grass juice of old store bought ground medium roast cheap arabica coffee...
Recently bought a bottomless PF on Amazon to use with my housemates Smeg espresso machine (not ideal I know). Not sure what dose to use but seems like 18g prevents a watery mess. But now with a light roast I’m getting sour underextracted shots.
Will increasing the dose increase resistance and therefore extraction? Or will it create too much work to be done and exacerbate the under extraction? I’m a bit confused. I could also increase the temp of the coffee machine to aid?
I’m at the finer end of my grinder but still got a bit to go if I need to. Any advice for a beginner would be appreciated!! :)
@@roshankumarage4126 yes.
That moment when you thought you´d have one question answered, but end up with 75 new ones instead.
100%
@@graphene1487 no, you dont have 100% knowledge
yoU hAVe 25% KNoWlEdGE
@@talibalghafri9544 ok buddy
@@graphene1487 *happiness noise*
@@talibalghafri9544 "Hi. This is Graphene. I'm not in right now. If you could please leave your name and number after the beep, I'll get back to you. Thank you..." *beep*
Without doubt you are the most succinct educator on brewing, streaks ahead of anyone else on here 🎉
streets ahead
@@editdev but I do like streaks ahead better…
Hey James,
You have a quality of delivery that just sucks me in. I very much enjoy listening to you. You could be talking about anything & I’d be committed to listening to what you have to say.
Also I find all you have to say very informative, interesting & helpful.
So a massive thank you 🙏🏽😊
Yes, thanks James! Now I know why my Ascaso Steel comes with a 7gr portafilter basket. So I can pull more shots through out the day. ☕
Your conversations (lessons?) make me understand how to brew better coffees.
And I like it!
You are a mentor and an inspiration.
Thank you James!
simple tips and tricks which are quite obvious, but i never thought them through before. i always get to learn new things from each video from james. really appreciate his sharing.
This teacher, James Hoffman, is a gold mine of high quality information! And beautifully presented! I even watch his ads! I’m learning how to make espresso with my old La Pavoni Europiccola, and Baratza Preciso grinder. Tried to learn 10 -15 years ago, but there were no RUclipss back then. A few blurry homemade short videos, or short written instructions -really almost useless. I’d print instructions out at the desk top computer to take to the kitchen where the espresso machine is. Thank you, James!
9 days into a 14 day quarantine in a hotel room, these videos are a salvation. Thankfully I have an aeropress go and enough coffee that I can watch the videos and play with brewing coffee and feel connected to the material I’m watching.
This stuff is more convoluted and precise than my heroine addiction
Gotta love those lady heroes! 🤪
and more expensive!
I could never get this kind of information from my 1975 set of Brittanica Encyclopedia . Thanks James.
You shouldn't down the AMAZING Brittanica Encyclopedia system.. it was the biggest Form (still is and isunbiased) of Information for decades!
We need more material like these videos. Thought out, well structured, and fundamental education. Too many videos gloss over the details, or simply show off instead of teaching. I recently went from a Nespresso and a Mr. Coffee espresso machine with an old second hand Mazzer to a brand new ECM Synchronika and ECM grinder. So far I have produced a lot of OMG (as opposed to god)shots consisting mostly of battery acid with notes of turpentine and fermented cat urine. I have been struggling with dialing in a grinder and a sophisticated espresso machine without any known good starting point. I've tried changing too many things, not knowing where to focus, and I have upgraded my results from biohazard to merely bad, but I think your videos are going to help me focus on the correct variables and I have no doubt that I will produce something drinkable withinn the next 36 months or so 😊. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Once I get things sorted out my next challenge is to move from roasting for brewed coffee to roasting for espresso - any videos on that? Thanks again, best regards.
You are the best coffee person in the observable universe, I think.
Are you suggesting there is a better coffee person in the unobservable?
Agreed.
Absolutely agreed!
Agree!
@@ΠαύλοςΚ-θ9ζ if we assume that the universe is infinite, then...yes. 100%. But in that case there is also 100% chance that there is someone somewhere named Hames Joffman, who hates cardigans and loves tea, soo... yeah not a great metric...
Just bought a Nuova Simonelli Oscar 2. No scale! Random dose. Extracted. Removed portafilter. Nothing inside. Coffee stuck in the machine. This video is now essential. Thank you James!
I used to think pulling an espresso was a pretty straight-forward affair. This now explains that aloof intensity of my local barrista.
Its crazy how i instantly trust this man teaching me this skill. Incredible videos, ive seen quite a few. Bravo 👏
Here I am, a year after this video was uploaded, watching it again now that I have upped my game, and went from different size moka pots to a Breville Mini Barista (delivered just today) :) I blame/thank you, James, and the community you have built here on RUclips. Down the rabbit hole I go!
How has the mini barista worked? I’m thinking about purchasing one
I am such a novice with all this……as I like cappuccino I have flexibility….though my good friend loves a delicious espresso…..so I keep on working at it. I really appreciate your videos and your gentle and informative, no patronising delivery. Whilst a daunting process, you make it all sound achievable. Thank you
i recently bought a breville double boiler and the smart grinder pro, due to them being readily available and seemingly reasonably priced for good entry level stuff imbo.
hoooooo my god.... never again will i buy bitter, undrinkable blisteringly hot coffee... in a few short weeks im pulling shots that make me realise how good coffee can get, and ive only just begun.
i cant wait to soak up all this great info and get better and better at this amazing drink.
Really glad the caffeine intake was mentioned here. I bought my first espresso machine (the sage/breville barista express) and all of the videos on this machine were demonstrated using the 2-cup filters. I tried that at first but felt my brain not enjoying the experience as I would suddenly end up with a headache. I am a coffee drinker but I don't think my daily intake ever caused me headaches. Started to realize that I need to start using the 1-cup filter to use less coffee/caffeine per drink. This was such a great decision as now I get to enjoy coffee more times a day and not suffer a migraine or risk my health long run. No one talked about this and I am super thankful for this kind of content.
“I like to knock out a clean puck.” Yes, indeed.
Nobody likes a sloppy puck.
5 pucks a day
I dont really give a puck
Vromyiari
demetrios anagnos Fancy a quick puck?
Honestly one of the most well put together explanations of how to get better espresso. After the point that a lower dose is better for extracting a light roast coffee, I paused the video and proceeded to lower my dose and pull an espresso shot. That little change probably made me the best espresso I've pulled yet!
Did anyone notice that his sweater is a combination of all the colors anywhere else in the background!
Actually i just watched part 2, and yes he does.. he was wearing a different jacket and swapped some elements from the background to match the color..
Gotta say, pure dedication right there!!
god damn you 🤣👍
😂😂😂
James, because of your tutorials i started learning a lot about coffee. I bought decent espresso machine(La Scala butterfly hx) an ok grinder( compak k6). And started my trip to wonderland. I want to thank you for such dedication and lot of patience to explain everything. Just want you to know that i really appreciate you a lot and will be grateful for the rest of my life. Keep on going you are the best. I hope that one day i try coffee from your roastery.
It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on pre-infusion times and how this might affect total shot time (which can be a helpful tool to dial in coffee as sometimes it can be hard to judge grind size by taste alone).
stages
I've always been confused on this one. Does the shot time include the pre-infusion, or do you only start timing once the pump ramps up to full pressure.
@@muriaticfpv2328 typically when people use shot times they measure the total time from when water hits the puck (i.e including preinfusion times)
Sometimes you do hear timings given from first drip (i.e) from when the first drop hits the cup
You'll just have to accept that shot time varies between different machines, therefore you won't get the same results if every other variable is the same. If you look at any prosumer espresso machine with a built-in shot timer (even those with pre-infusion) you'll find they all start timing when you flick the switch.
+1 for the original question. By default every machine does “pre infusion” because the pump can’t reach to the default pressure instantly. On e61 I assumed ~3 seconds.
My favorite aspect of your videos is the breadth of knowledge you provide, what I wish I knew more about is how to develop a solid beginner set-up!
Im getting my first espresso machine for my birthday. It comes in a couple days. So here I am at 3 in the morning binge watching espresso videos lol it helps that his voice is like asmr
Ive learned a lot from this video can’t wait to learn more! (: I hope I can get the hang of ir. Sounds so complicated 😩
You always make it simple and direct to the point, I like the way you explaine, your voice and how you are confident and calm when you are talking..
I love that you're doing this James, I've really enjoyed your dialing in vids, very informative, as to be expected from you of course :-). Looking forward to watching these vids, they'll definitely make the lock down more bearable! Cheers, Kev,
I love your vids too mate.. keep it up
This man just unknowingly have me buy a Rocket Mozzafiato Evo R, Eureka Specialita, Bottomless portafilter for the rocket, a Hario V60 set, a Baratza Encore, several other tools all in one go. His knowledge and enthusiasm of anything coffee is impressive and quite contagious. I just find myself going through his videos and other coffee related videos trying get whatever information I can digest :)
How is your Eureka Specialita holding up after a year? I have been eyeing on Eureka (the silence version). Did you buy the warranty?
@@sciencescience9102 hate it when they don't answer
Same hahahaha :D
@@sciencescience9102 sorry I dont normally get notifications for youtube.... two years later the grinder is still fine.
You briefly mentioned Italian espresso, pulling those 7g shots. Having just come back from a few months in Italy... I would love to know more about Italian style coffee. Not only is it, as you mentioned, something that can be drunk several times a day, it also (for me) is less acidic and problematic to my tummy. And, when done right, its delicious. This is the coffee I would love to learn to make regularly.
Yeah, it's a darker roast, especially with neapolitan roasting where acidity is zero, but it's difficult to find because almost everyone use a cheap blend (70% robusta), roasted bad and brewed worst.
I do not own any espresso machine. And no plan to buy it and brew it. But this guy has an amazingly comfy voice. It sounds like a bed time story. Love it.
This was super insightful! I'm getting into the coffee business and completely starting from scratch on this. I also wanted to give you props for how you talked about the sponsorship. I really appreciated how you lead into it and it wasn't in my face. It was relevant and felt like just part of the conversation. Very well done!
Love the information in all your videos. Got our Breville Barista Express in September. My method is so simple. Weigh and grind on 4 at least 8 grams beans, use WDT tool then leveler and tamper. Start the timer when I press single button and run for 25 seconds. I get a beautiful crema. I sprinkle with cinnamon and add a little less than equal amount of water from my Breville. Add a splash of milk, grab my banana and I am in heaven. I look so forward to getting up in the morning.
Thank you, James! How do you always read my mind? Every time I want to ask, a video of your answer always pops up at the right time. Love that you don't hesitate to share your knowledge, the best coffee teacher ever!
Mr Hoffman you are the skillshare, masterclass of coffee. Thank you so much for helping me elevate my espresso from something that most people found acceptable to a truly extraordinary experience to drink.
Tamping, channeling, and my biggest grievance in espresso - cleanliness as a variable! As a barista trainer, it is frustrating to see people in cafes weighing and measuring and then using a dirty group head/ scales or worse, a caked/wet tamper. Cleanliness is the most underrated technical skill in a baristas arsenal.
How does a dirty scale effect your coffee? It's foolish to conflate cleanliness of things that touch the coffee to things that don't. One of these is significantly more important.
@@d077Z I think if you're weighing your cups, residue from the scale can transfer onto the bottom of the cup, so it reaches the customer all crusty. It can also get on the spouts of the portafilter and maybe transfer into the cup while pulling the shot.
@@d077Z honestly, once you understand that coffee is all about controlling variables, it's hard not to include cleanliness. Why wouldn't you just rule out old coffee getting in your cup/ affecting your brew if it's a potential question? Why guess? If you start off with clean tools every single time, that's one variable ruled out. I've been on the adjudication panel for the Barista Championships as a technical judge, and believe me, cleanliness counts. I just wish it would transfer over to the general public because it can make a huge difference in your coffee routine and preparation. Attention to detail is key.
@@noelledoyle88 Obviously anything that touches your shot matters. The work environment itself is just signaling much like late art. If you place your portafilter on the scale directly it must be clean. As should anything else that is in the path of the shot itself.
Coffee comps are very much a game too.
Yes this. Untidy workspace seriously has put me off a few cafes before.
Back home (Phil) I was raised to boil a coffee in a kettle, wait 20 min to settle all the coffee grounds, then enjoy. Watching him makes me proud of myself. Simple life.
I'd like to know more about the interaction between dose, extraction and sweater thread count.
🤣🤣
And thank you James for making this video. For those of us who enjoy a two-by-four to the head of coffee in the morning!
4:34 James, you cleared a misunderstanding I had. I was unable to make a coffee without the puck extremely wet or with extreme tunneling. I got it to work with the small cup (9 g coffee) and filling it up until the temped coffee touched the shower head when putting it in. I thought that that is incorrect. No one every explained that this is actually how it is supposed to be. I thought I'm still doing something wrong and that it should work without filling the cup so much. Thank you for just mentioning this small bit of information.
Holy shit, I need to fix this too. Thanks you James and thank you Sebastian. My life has been a lie.
I agree , his voice puts me to sleep if I watch at night , how many videos I’ve “watched “ then next day I had to watch them again because I fell asleep
I'm getting itchy just watching him wear that sweater
i like it but I feel the same way
It's awful
Itchy? It makes me feel nauseous.
He really should of let his nana send it to the op shop.
I have listened to you for hours now. 🌿🌸🌿
I love your videos and signed up for the Oct 3rd coffee tasting.
I’m in the states.You are so English it’s like watching someone do a caricature of an Englishman. “You don’t want that. No one wants that.”
You are so enjoyable to watch and listen to. Thank you 🙏🏻 for the incredible wealth of information. I saw you flipping through “The World Atlas of Coffee” and ordered it used from Washington state. What a gem you are. What fun.
Hi James. I’ve been brewing espresso on my Silvia for the past 12 years. I’m shocked I’ve seemingly been doing it terribly wrong all these years despite enjoying myself along the way. At some point I equated 1 shot to 1 once and have genuinely been brewing 25 grams of coffee at 85 grams of liquid… embarrassed to write that but looking forward to dialing in the proper ratio that is ideal for my machine/grinder/beans. Would love a video about these type of pitfalls. Really really enjoying these videos… such a joy!
Sadly I have also been overdosing LOL
Hi Mr. Hoffmann, I've watched all your whole videos and, for me, this one it's the best. For two reason: 1.- I aware you are very clever because you notice things that almost all of us know but don't think about them and 2- You encourage a local consume. So you have my respect. Sorry for my English. Keep doing so well and thanks. 👍🙌👌
The small dose on a big basket may cause some other problems as well. I recently tried to replicate the "paper" (by C.Hendon, J.Cameron and others) and of course I was measuring the extraction of every single shot. When I switched to the 15g dose I accidently forgot to change my basket. After pulling out 10 shots I realised it and started over. What happened is that when I dosed 15g on the VST15 I noticed higher extractions on average than when I was dosing 15g on the VST20. It may be not be absolutely caused by that, I dont know. But the sample was around ten shots, so it is kind of reliable in order to make me think.
@07:19 I no longer needed to do this once I switched to storing small (105g) batches of coffee in an airtight container and weighing out my 15g to go in my grinder each time I wanted a drink.
Originally so I could switch from caf to decaf without hassle and waste, but it made all my coffee prep so much easier that I kept the routine even though I no longer buy decaf.
My 4cup Bialetti stovetop also takes the same doze, so I step the grinder down for that, beans in the hopper, grind out my 15g and then for the last few seconds of empty hopper time I step the grinder back up to my espresso setting. Works every time with no waste. Placing only what you need for your next drink in the hopper before you grind makes it a very efficient setup.
I don't really need to change my espresso grind much if at all. Because I store it in such small batches. By the time I get to the last couple of coffees I know it'll start needing a bit more tamping to keep the extraction times consistent. And then it's done and a new fresh 105g bag of coffee goes in the airtight container for the next week.
The key to great espresso is to start with great coffee from the 1970s.... James
LOL I totally forgot about that 😂😂😂
If only he made espresso with that stuff!
@@billanderson4615 and he did...
Go DECAF BABY!! Make as many shots your little heart desires. ❤
I’m interested to see your approach to dialling in decaf espresso. It’s in the same context as having to enjoy espresso without limitation.
+1 to this question
A couple of days ago I made a decaf espresso without measuring anything : filled beans to « more or less » the line on the grinder, ground to whatever setting the grinder was at (Rok Grinder v.1) heated water, filled Rok Espresso GC to about half an inch from the top, pressed, preinfused, extracted. BRILLIANT! Perfect body, loads of flavours, a little crema (difficult on a decaf because of the process so I wasn’t expecting any), and especially no acidity and great aftertaste. Single origin Guatemala Coffee roasted in April and kept in the fridge. Wasn’t able to replicate that since ...
Decaf tends to be on the dark side, so in general you’d want to use a lower ratio (less than 1:2) to avoid pulling out the more bitter flavors and off-notes as a result of the decaf process
It’s rare to find someone this good at public speaking. It’s like having David Attenborough teach me about coffee instead of cuttlefish or something and I love it!
With a jumper and glasses like them you know he knows what he's talking about!
thank you so much. right now, i drink better coffee than in 90% of all coffee shops here in switzerland. i can't really believe it. so simple after i watched couple of your videos.
I've been pulling 13 gram double shots for awhile now and had no idea the average was 18! Been doing half a liter in a french press with only 19 grams too. Thought I was a caffeine maniac, but I guess I was wrong. Learning more and more about coffee everyday, and slowly getting better at making it. Thanks James!
I just needed to say that this series has been really helpful. I now have scales and a burr grinder and am able to make my machine work for me and understand what is happening with my coffee. However above all my espresso has become much better and much more enjoyable.
James, greetins from Chile. The algorythm recommended me you channel a year ago with a video on Why espresso taste different now than older days. Just loved it. Big fan. Hope you and you family are fine with all of this. Bye
I just enjoy my coffee the way the electric-magic-coffee-box decides to give it to me... but I enjoy this mans obsession with getting a precise dose! enjoyable content thanks man!
I got nothing useful to say. Just wanted to give you interaction for the algorithm gods ❤️
me, I didn't think there'd be any math involved....
These concepts, especially involving basket size and dose amount, are what I tried to explain to my boss and colleagues years ago in the shop I worked in. Unfortunately, they were so hypnotized by meaningless SCAA standards and protocols that they were unable to see the forest for the trees. When people become so enamored by the numbers only, and lose sight of the greater context, the results are often poor coffee served with self-congratulatory smugness. Thanks for setting the record straight.
YES! This series is exactly what I was hoping for! I recently decided to take my espresso to the next level. I bought a more precise scale (I stayed clear of the smart scales after laughing my way through your reviews and settled for a Brewista II) and a couple of IMS baskets for different doses, then plowed through your dialling in series. This one couldn’t have come at a better time for me! Really looking forward to the next parts.
同意！这个系列非常适合想要提升咖啡口感的人。虽然我还没有买到这种精密秤和不同剂量的过滤杯，但是我会尝试去实践这些技巧，期待下一集的更新。
Thank you for putting it out there. I'm extracting from 8g of ground coffee x 3 times per day. And loving it ❤
Has anyone ever seen the narrator from Watchfinder & Co and James Hoffman in the same room at the same time?
The most easy listening voice of youtube. Why am I watching these videos at 2am?
He could do a voice over for a cat food advert and I would buy it, even though I don’t have a cat.
I love how you keep the fun and enjoyment of coffee in the foreground of your videos.
"I would just increase my dose 1/2 a gram" . . .me shooting my $20 scale major side eye.
i heard that if your really good, you could measure it on the back of your hand.
I weigh the beans before I grind - and the only way I can adjust the dose by 1/2 gram is to keep swapping individual beans till I arrive at the precise dose. 1 bean weighs more than a half gram usually.
@@nomadsolos or you swipe the basket to remove the half gram.
@@Ghorda9 for me. I weigh before I grind it.
@@nomadsolos you must use massive beans! The couple of types I've checked have been around 0.13g per bean
No doubt that you're a money saver. Thanks for all your guidance through out the process to get a "nice" dose.
James, just sharing my thoughts here. Your videos are really great. I'm a new barista and I've been improving so much last a few months after watching your videos. To other subscribers, I wonder if you are seeing James's contents just like a big puzzles where every single videos that he makes is connected to each other. From water quality, espresso, coffee equipment, and so many more! If it's a yes, please kindly like this comment (not for the sake's of getting so many likes), just trying to say how thankful we are lol. Anyway, Happy Birthday James!
Yes, I keep stopping his videos to look up the terms he uses. Educate myself and then go a little further. On the one hand it's like a super-condensed hyper-text instruction manual that keeps expanding ever outward. On the other, each phrase is like a zen koan - one can only grasp the meaning by not grasping....
These tutorials have been immensely helpful. I was just about to "upgrade" from my tricked out Gaggia Classic and I think you've turned my head around thinking that I have to upgrade my skill set before I upgrade my machine. It would be so disappointing to spend $2000 or more only to have no better coffee than I'm getting with my $500 brewer. You should see the logs I've been keeping!
I love a good strong hit from a 2x4 first thing in the morning. It really gets me going 😂
Let's say, the Oxford is the best dictionary in language field. You are the best dictionary in coffee field. Thank you.
Great series James. Love what you’re doing. I’m learning a lot!
Thank you for this series, James. I watched all your videos back to back and it helped me paint a better picture for dialing in my espresso. For my current coffee I was able to make sweet espresso at 16g, slow ramp up to 7 bars, slight ramp down at the end, aimed for making Slightly coarser coffee in the end to prevent the channeling I was getting at the beginning. All starting with 8.5 bars, 15g coffee, no ramp ups/downs. The coffee went from bitter to pleasant :)
Loving this series. Very helpful since I was struggling dialing in light roast single-origin and +0.5g (16 - 16.5g) higher dose solved the issue and increased my shot time to bring the sweetness up. Painful but rewarding to work with super light roast coffees.
Understanding brew pressure would be interesting. It's fairly common to see shops (especially dealing with Nordic roast) lowering pressures to even as low as 6 bars. I dropped mine from 9 to 8 and have seen it reducing my channeling (again dealing with super light roasts) and been able to extract more (no evidence, tho). BUT I have no idea what I am doing here and I feel like I am trying to pull too many variables the same time.
Thank you for the breakdown! I work at a commercial coffee shop and only get to learn superficial knowledge. I’ve been watching you to determine what machine and grinder to get for home :)
When you gonna talk about time I would like to hear if you should include preinfusion in total brew time.
A lot of home machine have programable preinfusion or flow / pressure control.
In example - you take straight 9 bar / full flow shot in 28 second or you use low flow / low pressure for 10 second and then full 9 bar - should total time still be 28 seconds or forget about time in this case?
Got myself a new sage barista Pro.. First grown up machine since being a barista at a local bagel shop in my late teens, had to brush up on my knowledge and sweet coffee gods is your content useful. Someone else said it already, but thanks coffee dad 😁😁😁
I swear I can see a 3d image of some kind by staring at your jumper :s
Must be his fave wooly jumper!
You're right! Also some of us are still frustrated he didn't answer about his knitwear company in the Q&A
Riight? I see three circles almost like a pig-face
Your a spiritual espresso father to so many people James Hoffmann, blessings & cheers mate!
One question i've had with coffee is if certain blends etc pair better with certain drinks - for example what kind of coffee would suit a latte best or a cappuccino?
I'm not nearly coffee nerd yet, but I think I can answer you. The milk tends to dampen[?] the coffee taste, so blends / roasts with stronger taste is good for latte (more milk). For cappuccino, may be a slightly less stronger.
source: I can't stomach konbini/minimart/hotel/cheap instant dark coffee without milk. They hurt my face.
Check out Seattle Coffee Gear’s website. They tell you in the beans description if it goes well with milk based drinks or just plain espressos.
In my country (idk in other) we use a 70% arabica 30% robusta mix for coffee milk drinks, robusta added i think because it has a really unique strong bitter coffee flavour so when added, milk doesn't dampen the coffee taste too much
@@whoami724y that's the traditional blend in Italy. Robusta also produces thicker crema. Yes, you can also create crema with 100% arabica, but it tends to be more difficult and you need high enough quality beans for that.
You can either use any single origin or blended coffees. The roast profile is important when talking about milk beverage though. A more developed coffee roast (I dont like to use the term "darker") is more suitable for calibrating with milk.
We used to have a grinder, which didn't have micro adjusting and also was not a 'fresh grinder', but the one with a dose. We were using it as a fresh one, so we would grind one portion, circle it out from the dose, adjust the weight and use it. The problem was, there was a huge difference everytime we wanted to change how coarse it is, so the only thing possible to change something was weight. So, we have started at 18, if too fast, go slowly by 0,1 - 0,2 stepsd up to 19, if too slow, go down to 17. If it did not help, we would finally change the grinding at those 'limit numbers' (17 and 19). The problem is, we have just finally got our new grinder with microadjusting. And we can't get rid of the process we have developed over these years...:D I'll try to work more with the grinding itself, thanks for your good video. I hope, you are healthy and doing great. Thanks for the video :)