Someone in my Discord said "but what if making coffee IS meditative for me?" and that helped me realize that my ritual argument is equivalent to someone telling me to stop gardening, hit the grocery store, and go do yoga with all the free time saved. My point was that you don't need fancy things to perform meaningful rituals, but don't let my anti-coffee biases discourage the ways in which you personally seek peace. Namaste.
This is a fantastic video, and a superb introduction to coffee at home. (And I appreciate the shoutout) But now I'm going to have to send you a fancy grinder to make you weird(er) about coffee...
Internet Shaquille turned my life around. Now all I eat are chickpeas and brussell sprouts, I can bench 400 lbs, and my wife's boyfriend no longer decides my bedtime.
My haters throw rocks at me and it hurts. I hope they don't throw The Rock at me because I like him as an actor. GAGAGAGAGA!!! I am funny!!! For more amazing jokes you have to visit my YT site, dear mc
I wasn’t very big into coffee but then my brother became a barista a while back. Because of him I ended up becoming a barista. Been one for almost a year. Now have an espresso machine at home, and I too frequently watch James Hoffmann. That tends to happen!
He is also a huge coffee snob. Not saying the man himself is a snob in any other situation, but when it comes to his hobby, he is 100% one of the pretentious snobs. He flat out refuses to do blind taste tests between cheap and expensive espresso makers, blade and bur grinders, etc, because he knows he will make a fool of himself once he actually has to tell the difference between two cups without knowing which one was made with $2000 worth of equipment.
@@ZazzilasArden @Game Spirit I'm pretty sure if you reached out to him with that criticism as an idea for one of his videos, he'd probably have a go at it. But then again, in a blind taste test, I'm assuming he would have a colleague or employee set up the grinder and dial in the espresso before it being served. So it would boil down to which of the coffees tasted best considering the equipment they were made on and I think he wouldn't have any trouble discerning which tasted best.
@@Dinckelburg People have reached out to him various times on Twitter and in the comments, and he always refuses when he responds. Which is why I said he refuses to do them.
@@fortune6858 Not even close... He even likes to dance around the subject mid-video and has that snobby-smug air that just makes me want to punch his face. Even then I really like his videos as they are usually very informative and professional, and give you a different perspective on a topic you already know.
@@catlady4858 Is it though? Equating moral purity to genetics, and physical features to attitude rather than environment, privilege and genetics. Either way, it's a dumb meme I see everywhere and it needs to stop
The “diminishing returns” argument is always what I love about your videos. You let *us* define what’s important, instead of making us feel guilty for not spending all day on one meal/drink/ingredient.
I have that Cuisinart grinder and I couldn't emphasise the "Extremely loud" part enough. That thing is like having an aeroplane taking off in your kitchen
Ok, I've been a coffee addict since I was 14 raised, by cofee snobs, and it's never occurred to me to upgrade my water and keep an eye on the roast by date. A+ video
Oh my god this video is literally what I was searching for! Most videos use a lot of jargon or terms that are either too obtuse for me to understand or require expensive equipment which I can't afford. Thanks a lot, Shaquille!
As a massive coffee nerd good coffee is mostly about the grinder, so if you're going to go whole bean please don't get that terrible grinder. The least expensive good grinder is a refurbished Baratza Encore for $99 from the Baratza website when they're available. They also have the best customer service in the business.
@@mexicanhalloween I mean, there are plenty of "decent" grinders better than the video if you go hand ground (especially with the whole meditative angle). Porlex, 1Zpresso, Timemore, and even getting down to a $35 Rhino Gear are perfectly fine for someone not looking to get into "coffee culture."
Whelp, I run a weekly coffee shop for my local church and brew coffee for myself at least once a week so I guess I'm not exactly a novice but your advice definitely put a lot of the things I've taken for granted over the last couple of years into sharp focus. Thanks for opening that avenue of thought, it's been extremely insightful.
As a once-café-manager, home roaster, and coffee geek, I stand behind most of this advice! I will say that the "freshly ground" window is longer than most people think, and most local roasters will grind it for you. Don't buy a fancy grinder if you're not excited to geek out about it, just get it ground at the shop!
@@JohnNaru2112 I tell people not to buy more than they would use in a week or two. One of my clients just said they're considering buying a grinder because they liked the coffee better the day of grinding, so some people will be more perceptive than others. TLDR: a week is a good window!
@@JohnNaru2112 remeber that no matter what, stale preground coffee that was once extremely good beans from a good roaster will always be better than the stale bad super market coffee, so even without a grinder buying from the local roaster will be much better
Hey Shaq just stopping by to thank you for the shoutout you did for James Hoffman in this one. He quickly became a favourite of mine on this platform and I find myself much more knowledgeable and caring about something I enjoy now. Super appreciate the role you had in this! :)
As much as I normally dislike absolutes, please do not go out there and buy a nespresso or other capsule machine. They have absurdly high running costs compared to anything you can make yourself, and the initial investment is much better spent on a quality grinder, aeropress, or steamer if you're a latte type of person
@@Elonfuckingmusk considerably cheaper than that, and much better for the environment, is just using a humble french press. Cheaper, almost as easy, and much better tasting. You can also make as much or as little coffee as you want.
I grew up in a fundamentalist religion that didn't allow coffee, so I have literally 0 experience making it, so I really appreciate this guide! Like you said, it's extremely difficult to find a more laid-back approach to making a solid cup of coffee.
Fresh beans, hand grinder (cheaper for better quality grinder compared to electric), scale (consistency), Melita pour over with paper fileter, filtered water. You're now 90% of the way there lol
I'm an ex barista and my advice to new coffee nerds is: don't worry about spending lots of money for an espresso maker. Start small and if you want to get into fancy equipment, you need to first start with the knowledge of how to ratio your coffee beans to your water and temperature. Expensive gear does not a good coffee make, a barista does, because at the end of the day you can get great coffee without paying 600$ for it. My other piece of advice is if you are interested in these things, start with the Golden Ratio: 1:18. Start with 55 grams of coffee for 1000 ml (grams) of water. Understanding coffee as a beginner starts with knowing how much coffee you need to make an average cup. If you find it's too weak or too strong, play with the amount of coffee you add to that amount of water. Much like salting your food, it's all about what you like and you have to play around to get there.
What a brilliant content. Well spoken good looking guy giving me very good arguments and understanding of coffee making since i do not have a clue what my coworkers do in the kitchen with the coffee.
Came here from James Hoffman's channel. I am decidedly NOT a coffee nerd, but that man is fascinating and a pleasure to watch regardless. I AM however a food nerd, and you sir have a new sub.
This channel is highly underrated. It's very rare that you find someone this original on RUclips these days, yet he's been doing this for years. I had a fun time last night going down the rabbit hole of these videos.
As a massive coffee nerd, I heartily endorse this introduction to coffee and especially diminishing returns. Everything you said is so perfect for making good coffee and finding the coffee you like. Nailed it! The only thing I’d add that lots of people forget, and which strongly impacts their coffee: keep your brewing equipment clean. If it touches brewed/brewing coffee or beans, clean daily. If it touches water, clean monthly. All according to your manufacturer’s instructions. 🙂 Everything beyond what you shared is for people (like me) who may or may not eventually accept their coffee nerditry at some point evolved into a hobby (or even a business) rather than a way to make coffee. That outlandish morning ritual is as much (or more) the joy of a hobby as it is the joy of good coffee.🙂
Incredible guide for beginners, touches on all the points someone starting to make coffee at home might ponder on but reinforces that you really don't _need_ to do something crazy like spending thousands of dollars on an espresso machine.
I remember seeing Joshua Weissman do a coffee video and he came off as someone who knew nothing about making coffee. He should stick to cooking, however You did a great job! You run such a great channel, Thank you
Shaq, I just want to thank you for the way you make these videos. There's something about your tone of voice and calm demeanor that means I can enjoy your videos without feeling like a total loser for not always using the advice you give. You're an A+ presenter.
This is a great video, especially with the shoutout to James Hoffman. You and James are two of the most reasonable, realistic, and relatable folks talking about food and drinks on the internet. Your evolution from the Vine days is admirable.
Great vid! I started getting into making my own coffee about a year ago and wish I had a resource like this. One slight mistake I want to point out is that cold brewed coffee can be made with any manual coffee setup (french press, pourover thing, etc. anything that doesnt force you to use hot water.) All that is necessary for cold brew is instead of using hot water and having coffee ready in 5 minutes, you use cold-room temp and store it in the fridge overnight. It is apparently healthier to cold brew coffee vs hot brew it for chemistry-related reasons you can look up, and i personally prefer the smoother, sweeter cold brew. If you still want it hot, you can just warm up a cup of cold brew in the microwave.
I love your personality. Thank you for giving me a good laugh while teaching me how to make my own Kombucha during these hard times. Stay safe brother. Cheers!
We got a combo grinder/coffeemaker a few years ago as a wedding present and I love it. It’s nothing fancy, but much easier than fiddling with a separate grinder and that delicious smell of the grinding is one of my favorite parts of the morning.
Love the Cold Brew in the summer. Started this year with cold brew with Black Tea and Mate. Added some drips of lemon and a little bit of sweetness in form of stevia. Highly recommending this.
I've been doing the same since quarantine to reduce my coffee intake! Cold brewed Mate with different kinds of tea (I kinda love it with rooibos lately, very fruity and light) is the best.
i love that you effortlessly use words I had to study for the GRE/SAT. it's delightful to listen to. i love your choice of diction so much! never confusing, always effective.
As the Hoff already said, this is a good entry towards coffee. Most of the nerds likes to fuss over the tastes and rituals, but a simple pragmatic approach will suffice anyone when needed. This has the coffee nerd's seal of approval.
Being somewhat of a coffee snob, I started making my own coffee several years back. All of your points ring true except the one point I think is the MOST important to improving your coffee. Trying to get the most out of your beans is going to extract the less desirable astringent and bitter qualities of the coffee bean, similar to leaving a tea bag too long in the hot water. Although it may seem wasteful (and it is), using more bean and moving the water through it faster will extract the best quality of the coffee and leave the astringent and bitter components mostly behind. There isn't a single coffee drinker in my life that doesn't beg me to make them a cup of coffee when they visit, even my ex-wife. My process follows: 1) I use 1 quarter cup of whole beans per normal coffee mug (this makes strong but lusciously nice coffee without squeezing the bitter out using presses) 2) I grind them using a cheap $20 from walmart bought hamilton brand coffee grinder. It's a blade grinder, but mine has done the job well now for several years making several cups of coffee per day. With just a little practice of listening to the grinder you will know your preferred level of grind listening to how gravelly the beans sound and the final pitch of the motor. It only takes a few cups of making and tasting to figure that out on your own. 3) I then use a cone filter for hand pour-over using a from walmart $12 ceramic cone filter cup topper for #2 cone filters. Carefully getting all the grounds wet, and then pouring in slowly enough so that you never quite fill the filter, but never stop pouring until done. This accomplishes a number of things. All of the grounds are evenly wet compared to drip coffee makers that create a crater of grounds with all the nice grounds on the edge while the clean water gets splashed onto and through a clean piece of paper, and the constant pouring assures the bean doesn't settle on the bottom and is continuously mixed through the water. Settling will stop the water from passing through the bean and make it more likely the water is running down the sides of the filter rather than through the bean. 3a) the final coffee will have drops of coffee oils floating on top. This means you did good!!! 4) If you use milk/half and half/or creamer, try using real cream, just not as much you won't need it. This will give you a rich much silkier cup of coffee than milk will, and will water the coffee down less. 5) if you use sugar, try brown sugar or honey to add depth to the flavor of your coffee. You don't need a lot, just a tiny bit of sugar is enough to take any remaining rough edges off the coffee.
You say there isn't an audience for people getting into coffee, but most people that make it every single day don't know these basic things. Thank you for once again making everything no more complicated than it needs to be.
I recently acquired and began using Kishu Binchotan Charcoal Sticks to filter my potable water supply. I cannot begin to express what an improvement this made to my coffee, which I had previously considered pretty darned good (I use a pour-over method). I went from sipping my coffee to devouring it; the filtered water yielded a purer coffee flavor yet with an even smoother finish. Quality water is vital. Start there.
I've spent a good portion of my life spiraling down rabbit hole after rabbit hole searching for tips on how to make the best brew. And after all that time piracy, I still get a mediocre cup of flow from time to time...and its ok. I'm glad you said it, "A game of diminishing returns". With so many varieties of bad coffee to consume and ways to turn a cup of flow into a glass of sugary milk, this video states all that needs to be said. I'm partial to the moka pot variety and was happy to see it appear. Find a process that works for you, make a cup and then relax with these videos while enjoying a fresh cup of flow. Cheers.
James Hoffman brought me here. As this is for people who are just wondering how to improve their morning coffee routine, this video is absolutely amazing! With friends differing wildly in how much effort their morning cup a joe should cost, this is a perfect introduction in how to improve your cup in the morning, with enough detail provided for the (soon to be) coffee nerd to further explore. Great job!
The cold brew device you showed is the one I use. It's good for camping but It displaces the water so much you can fill a mason jar with it and water and end up with about 2/3 of a mason jar of coffee.
Great video as always! I was wondering if you could do a video/drop some recommendations for the non food related things you talk about, like meditation and finding life satisfaction, you seem to have a good grasp on that kind of stuff and where to start.
Excellent Video. Beginners: if you don't have a local roaster near you, some grocery stores DO have beans with roast dates disclosed. Might take a few stores to find one, but I have quite a few targets near me that do.
Oh, oh yes, this was absolutely for me! Well, a few weeks ago at least. I went to a roaster and was given great advice. Edit: Don't take this wrong, this is a great video and exactly what someone who wants to step up their coffee game needs to hear!
I LOVE THIS. While I do harbor some coffee snobbery of my own, I love the not-subtle call outs about the diminishing returns. I really appreciate your channel.
Great video. I’m a French Press guy and have obsessed about the gear, water, grinder etc. trying to make a consistently satisfying cup seems to always elude me. The only thing I really learned is that with French press it comes down to finding the optimal grind size, which seems to differ for each type of coffee you try.
I am so glad you mentioned water! It is one of the most under-looked things. It makes an insanely big difference. Good coffee + good water, even if it is pre ground and you have everything you need to make great coffee!! I would highly recommend a french press or an Aeropress if you want to get started making good coffee. Grinders are not necessary to start with imo. Choosing a grinder can be confusing and expensive. Also,using boiling water will not burn your coffee. James Hoffmann's channel is fantastic but it is also a very dangerous rabbit hole so be warned.
"Using boiling water will not burn your coffee" - ...there are people who actually believe this? Boiling water physically cannot exceed 100C at normal atmospheric pressure, what in the world could possibly burn at 100C?? Ps, Hoffman is a most *delightful* rabbit hole. Don't beware, dive right in.
It may not burn your coffee, but it's still a good idea to use lower-than-boiling water. That's probably made the biggest difference to my coffee. Was surprised netshaq didn't mention that but it's probably because he uses a machine. It's key with many other methods.
@@iooooooo1 using any modern, well roasted / Speciality coffee, Hotter water is better in almost every situation. Some darker roasts may benefit from cooler water in some situations. As for super market / commodity / non Speciality coffee: this is more likely to be darkly roasted and have roast defects so cooler water may be better for this.
The burning coffee myth originates from shite coffee beans, hotter water extracts more of the shite taste. If you have fresh good beans that are not shite, you will do better to go with hotter water (imo). Hoffman has already shown that when adding boiling water to coffee, the temperature drastically decreases by around 10% as soon as you pour it.
Oh shit, I am a self-described coffee nerd/snob and my setup is that same exact grinder and a pour-over. Looks like I need to step up my game if this is what the casuals are using now ;) Joking aside, this is really great content and your "diminishing returns" concept is one that I always struggle to explain to my friends who have a Starbucks drink or even *shudders* a Keurig coffee every day, because I tend to get on my soap box a little. With even a small investment of money and time, you can make something that will not even be on the same playing field flavor-wise by just caring even a little bit about where your beans come from and how they are prepared. Thank you for putting my thoughts in a quick, easy to digest video like you always manage to do!
I've been a barista for over a decade which has included some really fancy places and this is all pretty good advice. Using water you *want* to drink to brew your coffee is probably the most overlooked aspect of brewing for beginners. Burr grinders are lauded because of consistency, so your note that yours wasn't even consistent is a good point... during quarantine I upgraded to a very pricey hand burr grinder and am seeing wildly more consistent results but this is mostly important for me to be able to really tweak my extraction and get the most out of the super high quality beans I started using since my job shut down and I no longer got the good stuff for free. I personally would prefer my local roastery's shop grinder which should be very consistent to my blade grinder, and I felt this along with the convenience of not having to noisily grind every morning is worth it in some contexts. I think the most important thing is there's no way to make coffee that is inherently "the best", there's things that make your extraction better but with some knowledge of what different elements have to offer you're perfectly allowed to pick what things work best for you. Coffee is to enjoy, not make others feel inferior over.
Good point about the burr vs blade grinder. A lot of people get bombarded with "you MUST get a high quality burr grinder or your coffee will taste terrible". And it's sort of true. A real high quality burr grinder will probably give you better results but if you don't want to spend hundreds, a blade grinder isn't going to be any different than a cheap burr grinder.
Id consider myself somewhat of an expert in coffee but I could not skip this one like you suggested. There is always something more to learn and to see the perspective of someone coming into the coffee world is also helpful in giving us a fuller understanding. Loved this one.
I started down this rabbit hole about ten years ago, and I completely agree with everything you've said here, great video. I have found that the sweet spot for the price on the burr grinders is in the ~$80-$100. I like the french press, it really becomes effortless once you get used to it. Coffee nerdery goes deep; I can't imagine the flood gates you've opened here.
as a complete novice who doesnt have a grinder but wants to get a hario hand grinder eventually...the way your grinder looks made me remember when Hoffman talks about static problems in grinders and how that makes the bean dust fly all over the place, the solution he shared was pretty neat tho, just a drop of water in the beans and voila
Then pour over is probably the best, paired with a good burr grinder. Even spending 100+ on a good hand grinder is less expensive than buying a keurig or a nespresso, especially in the long run, and you can experiment with brew method, bean style, grind size, water temp, ratios, and all that. A V60 in plastic is ridiculously cheap, grab a gooseneck kettle and some good beans and water and you can dive into a wonderfully nerdy world of coffee.
Yes!! As someone who worked high end and low end coffee, one thing is certain: barely a difference in taste. Solid video for intro to coffee. I have extra tips: - DARK ROAST =/= STRONGER The lighter the roast the higher the caffeine content. This is why decaf is always dark - the caffeine has been roasted out of it. - Strong taste =/= More Caffeine A strong taste happens when you haven't added enough water to properly extract the caffeine. Less water doesn't make it stronger, just less filtered. - Experiment with proportion between the ratios of 1:15 and 1:18. 1 gram coffee to X grams water. 15 grams of water = strong, pungent, bitter taste. THICC mouthfeel 18 grams of water = watery, bland, sour taste. dry mouthfeel. Somewhere in the middle you'll find that sweet spot! Have fun with it. - No grinder? No problem. Invest in an airtight canister ($14-25 on amazon). Go to a locally owned coffee shop and ask if they'll grind a bag for you. If you buy their beans, they'll do it automatically upon request. Ask them to grind it on 'auto-drip' or just say "a normal coffee pot" and they'll get chu. AVOID bulk/marketplace grinders. Not only are those blades dull n dirty, they contain oily residue of aromatic ('flavored') coffee. Put the grinds in the canister. After 1 week, the taste is good but less fresh . Pre-ground coffee unusable after 4+ months. I am the coffee trainer at my cafe and created a simple guide that anyone can follow. I'll link the doc if anyone cares lol
I bought an amazing super automatic espresso machine and it has changed my life. Whole beans are absolutely key and freshly roasted matters more with some coffees (ie. Italian style bean blends tend to taste fine even a year after roasting)
Even though I’m a level 3 coffee snob I think this video is really well done! I don’t understand why there’s so much gatekeeping in the coffee world. One thing I wanted to point out is that I used to own that exact grinder you have, and it turns out that it is NOT in fact a burr grinder, it’s false advertising. James Hoffmann has a good video on improving the grinds you get with a blade grinder if that’s all you have access to.
The morning coffee ritual DOES improve my wellbeing. It is very relaxing, and i enjoy seeing how it slowly improves over time as my understanding improves and new gear is acquired. It is not about snobbery - It is just a comfortable way to teach my restless mind how to focus on something insignificant for just a moment. Painting miniature models is another. I disagree with diminshing returns, it is relative. I have seen the biggest improvement to taste and relaxation since i started learning how to “dial in” an espresso
I gotta say my guy. The production quality of your vids has skyrocketed. Love the new style content. I can only imagine the hours you spend editing your videos. Keep doing what you do.
I've just recently discovered your channel and it's such a nice place to come to, especially since I've started living on my own not so long ago and you've got plenty of valuable advice for that. All in all thanks a lot for your content, it's great!
I liked the way you simplified it to giving enough of a general view about your options without stressing out about nuances. Everyone knows how to make coffee without being a nerd about it, the interesting part is taking it to a nerd level that you don't know about. It's like with everything: nice tools give pleasure if you are able to appreciate it. Not everyone can and should, their life revolves well around quick and easy. But maybe you're an engineer and you have to know everything about it and try out all kinds of stuff and have that meditative ritual, just for the fun of it. For example getting just a decent hand grinder (some above pain point of casual purchase) can make you feel great about the use experience compared to a cheaper one that does the job (although apparently not as well and still being noticeable difference). I possibly couldn't beat my nation's biggest coffee brand's industrial grinder quality and consistency. And to be fair here the pre-ground coffee cycling is so fast that you find much much much older beans in the store shelf than pre-ground. Unless you take the effort to go to a coffee shop to pay double or triple the price for half the amount (it's worth it btw). Making pour over also seems like a silly magic ritual, but it's also relaxing and as you dig in and have more experience, you learn that it bafflingly enough actually makes some difference in the cup. So having an inferior grinding method and inferior brewing method in terms of consistency still allows you to control the taste of the cup which can be really fun if for some reason you want or need to do that (for me my moccamaster and good pre-ground coffee always made rough cups and with acid reflux I really wanted to tweak it further, hand grinding and brewing filtered with pour over seemed to have been the solution to be able to enjoy coffee). Being lucky enough to have good water on tap totally saved me from that madness. I've found that having a coffee scale was the single most impactful item in my coffee process. That brings the level of consistency to the game that would otherwise shade just about any other change you made (assuming your grind size changes were at least somewhat fine to warrant grinding to begin with). With aeropress having a thermometer or temperature controlled kettle was important, with pour over not so much. And pour over is rather inexpensive way to make coffee, just coffee scale (that you should have for any method), some sort of container (getting a simple glass hario pan is not costly either) and some filter cup (hario v60 doesn't cost much either). When it comes to grinding, that's where the issues start. But yet again hario provides a fairly priced entry level grinder that doesn't have the issues of very cheap grinders or blade grinders. On the other hand getting something like +100e grinder is a really enjoyable difference in using the grinder, the smoothness and speed of turning the handle for your grind. But you can get away even with a blade grinder if you follow Hoffmann's tips, it's just too much of a hassle to my taste and didn't work out great. To summarize, some people are perfectly happy about grabbing any bag of coffee, throwing it in any coffee machine and drinking it black and bitter and that's all fine, more power to them for not getting stuck with details. But knowing what you can control and having beautiful well made tools can also enhance the experience. And having never liked coffee black, it's a mind-bending moment to have your first bag of good fresh beans and grinding and brewing them just right for your taste and finding out you'd happily drink it black.
I don't think I'll ever understand coffee hipsters and that level of obsession they put into a hot drink. If it makes them happy though... I'm content with a couple of scoops of pre-ground coffee in a cafetière filled with water boiled straight from the tap.
And hey! That's completely okay, that is the beauty of coffee, we can prepare it anyway we like it, it's completely customizable to our taste, exactly how we enjoy it.
Thank you! This autumn I was in a clinic for 10 weeks and one of my favourite rituals was drinking coffee with the other patients in the afternoon. Before that I wasn't a big fan of coffee but now I wanna learn how to make it for myself :-)
great advice. if something seems off about your coffee it's almost definitely either the water(filtered is best if you can like a brita), the bean grind being too small or too large( espresso want smaller, french press wants bigger) or the beans not being fresh (beans are oily and oil does go rancid so if you know you only use a small amount of coffee the freezer is better then the cupboard if its going to be months). temperature is the other big one but i assume most people either just use boiling water or a machine that does it automatically so it's a bit harder to control. tl;dr water fresh, beans fresh, grind good coffee good
Good grinder/grind size, balanced PH water, and ppm are big as well. Aeropress is basically fool proof coffee with high returns when you delve into the coffee science side of brewing.
I really love your video, thank you for being objective. I finishing my master degree on coffee this year and I've started as a barista. This kind of channels are very helpful for the coffee supply chain. Thank you, greetings from Mexico.
I have been a barista for over 10 years, my choice for home V60 pourover. Do it guys. Low entry price for equipment and forgiving results for beginers and takes about 3mins to make. Once you get going you'll improve quickly and be making crisp, flavourful, specialty coffee that tastes amazing.
There is a case for buying a more expensive grinder, especially a manual one and that is consistency. Once you nail down a recipe you like you'll be able to replicate it each time and it will be easier for you to find new ones for different beans etc. I personally use a manual grinder at home since it's much cheaper to get a high quality one and it's not loud at all.
I love my moka pot 😍😍 I didn't use to make my own coffee but then I invented in a moka pot, fresh beans and a coffee grinder plus a milk frother and I love coffee so much now 😍
THANK YOU! Finding coffee information online that isn't overwhelming is so hard. This is a great resource. You're always doing the best, Internet Shaquille~
That talk he gave about expectations was what pulled me in. Now I perform a catholic ritual each morning. Irony is that I was raised catholic and no longer practice but I get the cup I expect and that’s what matters. Great video. Thanks!
the thing about burr grinders is that they only really matter for french press coffee (maybe a few other methods as well, but i know french press). the cheap electric ones will always have a pretty inconsistent grind and will leave sediment behind in your french press and coffee, but cheaper manual ones do a much better job of getting a consistent grind. i still sometimes use my manual coffee grinder when i really care about filtering out the grinds that day.
I bought the same burr grinder and have the same sentiment about it's consistency and noise. The two main positives for me are the ability to quickly change the grind(for the most part) and the ability to press a button, then go pee, and come back to ground coffee ready to use.
Someone in my Discord said "but what if making coffee IS meditative for me?" and that helped me realize that my ritual argument is equivalent to someone telling me to stop gardening, hit the grocery store, and go do yoga with all the free time saved. My point was that you don't need fancy things to perform meaningful rituals, but don't let my anti-coffee biases discourage the ways in which you personally seek peace. Namaste.
You're too good to us :p
You can just use the free giant coffee grinder they offer customers near the Costco checkout
Just do ‘date night’ vids mate seriously
Self-check: success ✔
Shaq you're so wise and kind to us. Namaste.
This is a fantastic video, and a superb introduction to coffee at home. (And I appreciate the shoutout) But now I'm going to have to send you a fancy grinder to make you weird(er) about coffee...
Would you mind sending me one too? I promise I totally won't sell online. (I would totally do that)
Love your videos!
Wow a Hoffman stamp of approval
You are going to ruin him ^^ also awesome coffee, got the square mile filter blend this morning in the mail. Absolutley delicious
There he is...
Internet Shaquille turned my life around.
Now all I eat are chickpeas and brussell sprouts, I can bench 400 lbs, and my wife's boyfriend no longer decides my bedtime.
Amazing results! Also if you don’t mind me asking is your wife single atm?
@@funkydankspliff find original joke pls
Paul Adeen it was funny precisely because it was not original
@@anonimushbosh yeah i love recognition humor :)
😂
Yet another video to memorize word for word to impress my friends. They shall never learn of this channel.
¿what the fuck?
My haters throw rocks at me and it hurts. I hope they don't throw The Rock at me because I like him as an actor. GAGAGAGAGA!!! I am funny!!! For more amazing jokes you have to visit my YT site, dear mc
Hello..... friend.
🤣
The gang's all here.
I just started working as a barista recently and fell down the James Hoffmann rabbit hole. Someone said it best that he is the Bob Ross of coffee
I wasn’t very big into coffee but then my brother became a barista a while back. Because of him I ended up becoming a barista. Been one for almost a year. Now have an espresso machine at home, and I too frequently watch James Hoffmann. That tends to happen!
He is also a huge coffee snob. Not saying the man himself is a snob in any other situation, but when it comes to his hobby, he is 100% one of the pretentious snobs. He flat out refuses to do blind taste tests between cheap and expensive espresso makers, blade and bur grinders, etc, because he knows he will make a fool of himself once he actually has to tell the difference between two cups without knowing which one was made with $2000 worth of equipment.
Its great you work in law, but that doesn’t have anything to do with coffee
@@ZazzilasArden @Game Spirit I'm pretty sure if you reached out to him with that criticism as an idea for one of his videos, he'd probably have a go at it. But then again, in a blind taste test, I'm assuming he would have a colleague or employee set up the grinder and dial in the espresso before it being served. So it would boil down to which of the coffees tasted best considering the equipment they were made on and I think he wouldn't have any trouble discerning which tasted best.
@@Dinckelburg People have reached out to him various times on Twitter and in the comments, and he always refuses when he responds. Which is why I said he refuses to do them.
I've finally found it, the one channel on youtube who gets straight to the point
try old man ragusea's channel he gets to the point really quick
@@fortune6858 yeah nah
@@fortune6858 Yeah if you want your quick food tips to be accompnied by intense smugness
@@SpecShadow aight. it's a free country
@@fortune6858 Not even close... He even likes to dance around the subject mid-video and has that snobby-smug air that just makes me want to punch his face. Even then I really like his videos as they are usually very informative and professional, and give you a different perspective on a topic you already know.
This man has the opposite of a receding hairline
omg it's true
that’s what happens when you’re unproblematic
@@chay7224 Oh cool, eugenics
@@TummyRubz Well that was a leap
@@catlady4858 Is it though? Equating moral purity to genetics, and physical features to attitude rather than environment, privilege and genetics. Either way, it's a dumb meme I see everywhere and it needs to stop
The “diminishing returns” argument is always what I love about your videos. You let *us* define what’s important, instead of making us feel guilty for not spending all day on one meal/drink/ingredient.
"McCormick dust" struck me on another level
Care to explain to a non-native in english?
@@LePeppino McCormick is a large company in the United States that sells food, spices, and anything in between.
@@eGToastyRecording Oh, I see, thanks! I get that a joke isn't funny anymore when you have to explain it, but that's what it is, I guess lol
Am I the only one who thought of the dude on "Will & Grace?"
@@aaronbp Sean Hayes?
Just wanted to say thank you for always respecting the viewer's time and intelligence in every video you do.
Someone’s lighting is on point. 🙌🏾
Mine
Ours
@@statomic deal
wait what the fuck, dude I used to watch your videos way back in the day!
I have that Cuisinart grinder and I couldn't emphasise the "Extremely loud" part enough. That thing is like having an aeroplane taking off in your kitchen
Does a better job of waking me up than my coffee does lol
seriously, it's crazy. what is an equivalent or slightly better grinder for a similar price that isn't so damn loud?
reading the title: James Hoffman in shambles
watching the video: in James Hoffman we trust
Internet shaquille is one of the best food youtubers on the platform and deserves more subs
I joined this fellow's patreon within 2 days of discovering his channel. And I don't even use Patreon. A+ content.
I think he's on the path to exponential sub growth.
Ok, I've been a coffee addict since I was 14 raised, by cofee snobs, and it's never occurred to me to upgrade my water and keep an eye on the roast by date.
A+ video
Oh my god this video is literally what I was searching for! Most videos use a lot of jargon or terms that are either too obtuse for me to understand or require expensive equipment which I can't afford. Thanks a lot, Shaquille!
As a massive coffee nerd good coffee is mostly about the grinder, so if you're going to go whole bean please don't get that terrible grinder. The least expensive good grinder is a refurbished Baratza Encore for $99 from the Baratza website when they're available. They also have the best customer service in the business.
@@mexicanhalloween I mean, there are plenty of "decent" grinders better than the video if you go hand ground (especially with the whole meditative angle). Porlex, 1Zpresso, Timemore, and even getting down to a $35 Rhino Gear are perfectly fine for someone not looking to get into "coffee culture."
Bean dependant of the second kind is bars honestly
I thought it was a masturbation joke...
i thought it was about weed
i thought it was a quantum physics joke
Is it like a 2nd wave coffee joke?
Pills are sometimes refered to as beans. He means xanax I believe
Whelp, I run a weekly coffee shop for my local church and brew coffee for myself at least once a week so I guess I'm not exactly a novice but your advice definitely put a lot of the things I've taken for granted over the last couple of years into sharp focus. Thanks for opening that avenue of thought, it's been extremely insightful.
As a once-café-manager, home roaster, and coffee geek, I stand behind most of this advice! I will say that the "freshly ground" window is longer than most people think, and most local roasters will grind it for you. Don't buy a fancy grinder if you're not excited to geek out about it, just get it ground at the shop!
What would you say is a good window for the shelf life of ground coffee?
@@JohnNaru2112 I tell people not to buy more than they would use in a week or two. One of my clients just said they're considering buying a grinder because they liked the coffee better the day of grinding, so some people will be more perceptive than others. TLDR: a week is a good window!
@@JohnNaru2112 remeber that no matter what, stale preground coffee that was once extremely good beans from a good roaster will always be better than the stale bad super market coffee, so even without a grinder buying from the local roaster will be much better
Hey Shaq just stopping by to thank you for the shoutout you did for James Hoffman in this one. He quickly became a favourite of mine on this platform and I find myself much more knowledgeable and caring about something I enjoy now. Super appreciate the role you had in this! :)
As much as I normally dislike absolutes, please do not go out there and buy a nespresso or other capsule machine. They have absurdly high running costs compared to anything you can make yourself, and the initial investment is much better spent on a quality grinder, aeropress, or steamer if you're a latte type of person
They are also terrible for the enviroment, as the capsules can't be recycled by standard methods
Nespresso is convenient, makes a decent cup of coffee and is considerably cheaper than getting Starbucks everyday
I've had two consecutive housemates. Both of them bought one of these stupid pod machines. They both ended up regretting it.
Even a basic, $10-20 French (fun fact: actually Italian) press is a better investment.
@@Elonfuckingmusk considerably cheaper than that, and much better for the environment, is just using a humble french press. Cheaper, almost as easy, and much better tasting. You can also make as much or as little coffee as you want.
I grew up in a fundamentalist religion that didn't allow coffee, so I have literally 0 experience making it, so I really appreciate this guide! Like you said, it's extremely difficult to find a more laid-back approach to making a solid cup of coffee.
Muh MAIN Man Yeshua: "Drink this wine"
Fundies: No...
I am glad you got out !
Fresh beans, hand grinder (cheaper for better quality grinder compared to electric), scale (consistency), Melita pour over with paper fileter, filtered water. You're now 90% of the way there lol
Were you Mormon? I used to be
@@rachellarson8851 yep, glad we both made it out!
I'm an ex barista and my advice to new coffee nerds is: don't worry about spending lots of money for an espresso maker. Start small and if you want to get into fancy equipment, you need to first start with the knowledge of how to ratio your coffee beans to your water and temperature. Expensive gear does not a good coffee make, a barista does, because at the end of the day you can get great coffee without paying 600$ for it. My other piece of advice is if you are interested in these things, start with the Golden Ratio: 1:18. Start with 55 grams of coffee for 1000 ml (grams) of water. Understanding coffee as a beginner starts with knowing how much coffee you need to make an average cup. If you find it's too weak or too strong, play with the amount of coffee you add to that amount of water. Much like salting your food, it's all about what you like and you have to play around to get there.
What a brilliant content. Well spoken good looking guy giving me very good arguments and understanding of coffee making since i do not have a clue what my coworkers do in the kitchen with the coffee.
Came here from James Hoffman's channel. I am decidedly NOT a coffee nerd, but that man is fascinating and a pleasure to watch regardless. I AM however a food nerd, and you sir have a new sub.
This channel is highly underrated. It's very rare that you find someone this original on RUclips these days, yet he's been doing this for years.
I had a fun time last night going down the rabbit hole of these videos.
I'm just here to make sure I'm not a coffee nerd.
Edit: I am not.
As a massive coffee nerd, I heartily endorse this introduction to coffee and especially diminishing returns. Everything you said is so perfect for making good coffee and finding the coffee you like. Nailed it!
The only thing I’d add that lots of people forget, and which strongly impacts their coffee: keep your brewing equipment clean. If it touches brewed/brewing coffee or beans, clean daily. If it touches water, clean monthly. All according to your manufacturer’s instructions. 🙂
Everything beyond what you shared is for people (like me) who may or may not eventually accept their coffee nerditry at some point evolved into a hobby (or even a business) rather than a way to make coffee. That outlandish morning ritual is as much (or more) the joy of a hobby as it is the joy of good coffee.🙂
My favorite food youtube dude recomending my favorite coffee youtube dude....the circle of life
You're out and out one the best content creators when it comes to consistency, concision, and captivating insights.
Thank you.
I don’t even drink coffee, but your videos are so good that I’m liking it anyway.
Same
Incredible guide for beginners, touches on all the points someone starting to make coffee at home might ponder on but reinforces that you really don't _need_ to do something crazy like spending thousands of dollars on an espresso machine.
I remember seeing Joshua Weissman do a coffee video and he came off as someone who knew nothing about making coffee.
He should stick to cooking, however You did a great job! You run such a great channel, Thank you
Shaq, I just want to thank you for the way you make these videos. There's something about your tone of voice and calm demeanor that means I can enjoy your videos without feeling like a total loser for not always using the advice you give. You're an A+ presenter.
This is a great video, especially with the shoutout to James Hoffman. You and James are two of the most reasonable, realistic, and relatable folks talking about food and drinks on the internet. Your evolution from the Vine days is admirable.
Great vid! I started getting into making my own coffee about a year ago and wish I had a resource like this. One slight mistake I want to point out is that cold brewed coffee can be made with any manual coffee setup (french press, pourover thing, etc. anything that doesnt force you to use hot water.) All that is necessary for cold brew is instead of using hot water and having coffee ready in 5 minutes, you use cold-room temp and store it in the fridge overnight. It is apparently healthier to cold brew coffee vs hot brew it for chemistry-related reasons you can look up, and i personally prefer the smoother, sweeter cold brew. If you still want it hot, you can just warm up a cup of cold brew in the microwave.
I love your personality. Thank you for giving me a good laugh while teaching me how to make my own Kombucha during these hard times. Stay safe brother. Cheers!
We got a combo grinder/coffeemaker a few years ago as a wedding present and I love it. It’s nothing fancy, but much easier than fiddling with a separate grinder and that delicious smell of the grinding is one of my favorite parts of the morning.
Love the Cold Brew in the summer. Started this year with cold brew with Black Tea and Mate. Added some drips of lemon and a little bit of sweetness in form of stevia. Highly recommending this.
I've been doing the same since quarantine to reduce my coffee intake! Cold brewed Mate with different kinds of tea (I kinda love it with rooibos lately, very fruity and light) is the best.
i love that you effortlessly use words I had to study for the GRE/SAT. it's delightful to listen to. i love your choice of diction so much! never confusing, always effective.
As the Hoff already said, this is a good entry towards coffee. Most of the nerds likes to fuss over the tastes and rituals, but a simple pragmatic approach will suffice anyone when needed.
This has the coffee nerd's seal of approval.
Being somewhat of a coffee snob, I started making my own coffee several years back. All of your points ring true except the one point I think is the MOST important to improving your coffee. Trying to get the most out of your beans is going to extract the less desirable astringent and bitter qualities of the coffee bean, similar to leaving a tea bag too long in the hot water. Although it may seem wasteful (and it is), using more bean and moving the water through it faster will extract the best quality of the coffee and leave the astringent and bitter components mostly behind.
There isn't a single coffee drinker in my life that doesn't beg me to make them a cup of coffee when they visit, even my ex-wife.
My process follows:
1) I use 1 quarter cup of whole beans per normal coffee mug (this makes strong but lusciously nice coffee without squeezing the bitter out using presses)
2) I grind them using a cheap $20 from walmart bought hamilton brand coffee grinder. It's a blade grinder, but mine has done the job well now for several years making several cups of coffee per day. With just a little practice of listening to the grinder you will know your preferred level of grind listening to how gravelly the beans sound and the final pitch of the motor. It only takes a few cups of making and tasting to figure that out on your own.
3) I then use a cone filter for hand pour-over using a from walmart $12 ceramic cone filter cup topper for #2 cone filters. Carefully getting all the grounds wet, and then pouring in slowly enough so that you never quite fill the filter, but never stop pouring until done. This accomplishes a number of things. All of the grounds are evenly wet compared to drip coffee makers that create a crater of grounds with all the nice grounds on the edge while the clean water gets splashed onto and through a clean piece of paper, and the constant pouring assures the bean doesn't settle on the bottom and is continuously mixed through the water. Settling will stop the water from passing through the bean and make it more likely the water is running down the sides of the filter rather than through the bean.
3a) the final coffee will have drops of coffee oils floating on top. This means you did good!!!
4) If you use milk/half and half/or creamer, try using real cream, just not as much you won't need it. This will give you a rich much silkier cup of coffee than milk will, and will water the coffee down less.
5) if you use sugar, try brown sugar or honey to add depth to the flavor of your coffee. You don't need a lot, just a tiny bit of sugar is enough to take any remaining rough edges off the coffee.
Hol up, when did his channel pic stop being Charles Barkley?
I just realized it used to be Barkley and not O'Neal.
Just noticed that as well.
I think it changed with the video he had that thick mustache.
hehehehe
i dont like that
You say there isn't an audience for people getting into coffee, but most people that make it every single day don't know these basic things. Thank you for once again making everything no more complicated than it needs to be.
**Sips instant coffee**
Yeah the shit tastes good to me.
Instant coffee proletarians rise up
You're probably not drinking it black are you? If you add sugar and cream then it doesn't really matter too much
Haha
@@Ash_Wen-li just a small amount of milk 🥛
I recently acquired and began using Kishu Binchotan Charcoal Sticks to filter my potable water supply. I cannot begin to express what an improvement this made to my coffee, which I had previously considered pretty darned good (I use a pour-over method). I went from sipping my coffee to devouring it; the filtered water yielded a purer coffee flavor yet with an even smoother finish. Quality water is vital. Start there.
apron gang. Upgrading to a grinder that didn't require shaking furiously has helped mornings be more peaceful.
I've spent a good portion of my life spiraling down rabbit hole after rabbit hole searching for tips on how to make the best brew. And after all that time piracy, I still get a mediocre cup of flow from time to time...and its ok. I'm glad you said it, "A game of diminishing returns". With so many varieties of bad coffee to consume and ways to turn a cup of flow into a glass of sugary milk, this video states all that needs to be said. I'm partial to the moka pot variety and was happy to see it appear. Find a process that works for you, make a cup and then relax with these videos while enjoying a fresh cup of flow. Cheers.
James Hoffman brought me here. As this is for people who are just wondering how to improve their morning coffee routine, this video is absolutely amazing! With friends differing wildly in how much effort their morning cup a joe should cost, this is a perfect introduction in how to improve your cup in the morning, with enough detail provided for the (soon to be) coffee nerd to further explore. Great job!
When did James mention Internet Shaquille? That’s so rad
The cold brew device you showed is the one I use. It's good for camping but It displaces the water so much you can fill a mason jar with it and water and end up with about 2/3 of a mason jar of coffee.
Great video as always! I was wondering if you could do a video/drop some recommendations for the non food related things you talk about, like meditation and finding life satisfaction, you seem to have a good grasp on that kind of stuff and where to start.
I’d be worried about becoming a charlatan but I’ll think about it 🧘🏽♂️
Excellent Video. Beginners: if you don't have a local roaster near you, some grocery stores DO have beans with roast dates disclosed. Might take a few stores to find one, but I have quite a few targets near me that do.
Oh, oh yes, this was absolutely for me! Well, a few weeks ago at least. I went to a roaster and was given great advice.
Edit: Don't take this wrong, this is a great video and exactly what someone who wants to step up their coffee game needs to hear!
I LOVE THIS. While I do harbor some coffee snobbery of my own, I love the not-subtle call outs about the diminishing returns.
I really appreciate your channel.
My issue with coffee:
It never tastes as good as it smells
You can get creamer that makes it palatable for almost anyone.
Great video. I’m a French Press guy and have obsessed about the gear, water, grinder etc. trying to make a consistently satisfying cup seems to always elude me. The only thing I really learned is that with French press it comes down to finding the optimal grind size, which seems to differ for each type of coffee you try.
I am so glad you mentioned water! It is one of the most under-looked things.
It makes an insanely big difference.
Good coffee + good water, even if it is pre ground and you have everything you need to make great coffee!!
I would highly recommend a french press or an Aeropress if you want to get started making good coffee.
Grinders are not necessary to start with imo. Choosing a grinder can be confusing and expensive.
Also,using boiling water will not burn your coffee.
James Hoffmann's channel is fantastic but it is also a very dangerous rabbit hole so be warned.
"Using boiling water will not burn your coffee" - ...there are people who actually believe this? Boiling water physically cannot exceed 100C at normal atmospheric pressure, what in the world could possibly burn at 100C??
Ps, Hoffman is a most *delightful* rabbit hole. Don't beware, dive right in.
@@snozzmcberry2366 it's something that is often mentioned.
Using old fashioned, very darkly roasted can lead to bitter flavours with hotter water
It may not burn your coffee, but it's still a good idea to use lower-than-boiling water. That's probably made the biggest difference to my coffee. Was surprised netshaq didn't mention that but it's probably because he uses a machine. It's key with many other methods.
@@iooooooo1 using any modern, well roasted / Speciality coffee,
Hotter water is better in almost every situation.
Some darker roasts may benefit from cooler water in some situations.
As for super market / commodity / non Speciality coffee: this is more likely to be darkly roasted and have roast defects so cooler water may be better for this.
The burning coffee myth originates from shite coffee beans, hotter water extracts more of the shite taste. If you have fresh good beans that are not shite, you will do better to go with hotter water (imo).
Hoffman has already shown that when adding boiling water to coffee, the temperature drastically decreases by around 10% as soon as you pour it.
Oh shit, I am a self-described coffee nerd/snob and my setup is that same exact grinder and a pour-over. Looks like I need to step up my game if this is what the casuals are using now ;)
Joking aside, this is really great content and your "diminishing returns" concept is one that I always struggle to explain to my friends who have a Starbucks drink or even *shudders* a Keurig coffee every day, because I tend to get on my soap box a little. With even a small investment of money and time, you can make something that will not even be on the same playing field flavor-wise by just caring even a little bit about where your beans come from and how they are prepared. Thank you for putting my thoughts in a quick, easy to digest video like you always manage to do!
mustache trying to return like the second coming of Jesus Christ
I've been a barista for over a decade which has included some really fancy places and this is all pretty good advice. Using water you *want* to drink to brew your coffee is probably the most overlooked aspect of brewing for beginners. Burr grinders are lauded because of consistency, so your note that yours wasn't even consistent is a good point... during quarantine I upgraded to a very pricey hand burr grinder and am seeing wildly more consistent results but this is mostly important for me to be able to really tweak my extraction and get the most out of the super high quality beans I started using since my job shut down and I no longer got the good stuff for free. I personally would prefer my local roastery's shop grinder which should be very consistent to my blade grinder, and I felt this along with the convenience of not having to noisily grind every morning is worth it in some contexts. I think the most important thing is there's no way to make coffee that is inherently "the best", there's things that make your extraction better but with some knowledge of what different elements have to offer you're perfectly allowed to pick what things work best for you. Coffee is to enjoy, not make others feel inferior over.
How strange. I just started watching James Hoffman a couple of weeks ago, never having heard of him before, and now you mention him.
Good point about the burr vs blade grinder. A lot of people get bombarded with "you MUST get a high quality burr grinder or your coffee will taste terrible". And it's sort of true. A real high quality burr grinder will probably give you better results but if you don't want to spend hundreds, a blade grinder isn't going to be any different than a cheap burr grinder.
I avoid drinking coffee, but this is an interesting video. Thank you!
Id consider myself somewhat of an expert in coffee but I could not skip this one like you suggested. There is always something more to learn and to see the perspective of someone coming into the coffee world is also helpful in giving us a fuller understanding. Loved this one.
I started down this rabbit hole about ten years ago, and I completely agree with everything you've said here, great video. I have found that the sweet spot for the price on the burr grinders is in the ~$80-$100. I like the french press, it really becomes effortless once you get used to it. Coffee nerdery goes deep; I can't imagine the flood gates you've opened here.
as a complete novice who doesnt have a grinder but wants to get a hario hand grinder eventually...the way your grinder looks made me remember when Hoffman talks about static problems in grinders and how that makes the bean dust fly all over the place, the solution he shared was pretty neat tho, just a drop of water in the beans and voila
But what if I wanna be a nerd about it, Shaq?
Then pour over is probably the best, paired with a good burr grinder. Even spending 100+ on a good hand grinder is less expensive than buying a keurig or a nespresso, especially in the long run, and you can experiment with brew method, bean style, grind size, water temp, ratios, and all that. A V60 in plastic is ridiculously cheap, grab a gooseneck kettle and some good beans and water and you can dive into a wonderfully nerdy world of coffee.
Yes!!
As someone who worked high end and low end coffee, one thing is certain: barely a difference in taste. Solid video for intro to coffee.
I have extra tips:
- DARK ROAST =/= STRONGER
The lighter the roast the higher the caffeine content. This is why decaf is always dark - the caffeine has been roasted out of it.
- Strong taste =/= More Caffeine
A strong taste happens when you haven't added enough water to properly extract the caffeine. Less water doesn't make it stronger, just less filtered.
- Experiment with proportion between the ratios of 1:15 and 1:18. 1 gram coffee to X grams water.
15 grams of water = strong, pungent, bitter taste. THICC mouthfeel
18 grams of water = watery, bland, sour taste. dry mouthfeel.
Somewhere in the middle you'll find that sweet spot! Have fun with it.
- No grinder? No problem.
Invest in an airtight canister ($14-25 on amazon).
Go to a locally owned coffee shop and ask if they'll grind a bag for you. If you buy their beans, they'll do it automatically upon request. Ask them to grind it on 'auto-drip' or just say "a normal coffee pot" and they'll get chu. AVOID bulk/marketplace grinders. Not only are those blades dull n dirty, they contain oily residue of aromatic ('flavored') coffee.
Put the grinds in the canister. After 1 week, the taste is good but less fresh . Pre-ground coffee unusable after 4+ months.
I am the coffee trainer at my cafe and created a simple guide that anyone can follow. I'll link the doc if anyone cares lol
shit I was a nerd about it
This comment section is going to be interesting.
Sincerely, a coffee enthusiast
Stop getting my order wrong.
My name is not Haquin or Haqeem btw
@@hakim6158 I am one of the baristas that actually asks how to spell names don't worry
Jake I tell baristas my name is Free Refill
😅
I bought an amazing super automatic espresso machine and it has changed my life. Whole beans are absolutely key and freshly roasted matters more with some coffees (ie. Italian style bean blends tend to taste fine even a year after roasting)
3:17 yeah, I totally *only* spent $100 on my grinder
Even though I’m a level 3 coffee snob I think this video is really well done! I don’t understand why there’s so much gatekeeping in the coffee world. One thing I wanted to point out is that I used to own that exact grinder you have, and it turns out that it is NOT in fact a burr grinder, it’s false advertising. James Hoffmann has a good video on improving the grinds you get with a blade grinder if that’s all you have access to.
The morning coffee ritual DOES improve my wellbeing. It is very relaxing, and i enjoy seeing how it slowly improves over time as my understanding improves and new gear is acquired. It is not about snobbery - It is just a comfortable way to teach my restless mind how to focus on something insignificant for just a moment. Painting miniature models is another. I disagree with diminshing returns, it is relative. I have seen the biggest improvement to taste and relaxation since i started learning how to “dial in” an espresso
I gotta say my guy. The production quality of your vids has skyrocketed. Love the new style content. I can only imagine the hours you spend editing your videos. Keep doing what you do.
i don't even care about or drink coffee like that so why did i watch this intently lol ... instant coffee proles rise up 😤
I've just recently discovered your channel and it's such a nice place to come to, especially since I've started living on my own not so long ago and you've got plenty of valuable advice for that. All in all thanks a lot for your content, it's great!
But, I like being a nerd about things.
We know.
By nerd he means dick
I liked the way you simplified it to giving enough of a general view about your options without stressing out about nuances.
Everyone knows how to make coffee without being a nerd about it, the interesting part is taking it to a nerd level that you don't know about. It's like with everything: nice tools give pleasure if you are able to appreciate it. Not everyone can and should, their life revolves well around quick and easy. But maybe you're an engineer and you have to know everything about it and try out all kinds of stuff and have that meditative ritual, just for the fun of it. For example getting just a decent hand grinder (some above pain point of casual purchase) can make you feel great about the use experience compared to a cheaper one that does the job (although apparently not as well and still being noticeable difference). I possibly couldn't beat my nation's biggest coffee brand's industrial grinder quality and consistency. And to be fair here the pre-ground coffee cycling is so fast that you find much much much older beans in the store shelf than pre-ground. Unless you take the effort to go to a coffee shop to pay double or triple the price for half the amount (it's worth it btw).
Making pour over also seems like a silly magic ritual, but it's also relaxing and as you dig in and have more experience, you learn that it bafflingly enough actually makes some difference in the cup. So having an inferior grinding method and inferior brewing method in terms of consistency still allows you to control the taste of the cup which can be really fun if for some reason you want or need to do that (for me my moccamaster and good pre-ground coffee always made rough cups and with acid reflux I really wanted to tweak it further, hand grinding and brewing filtered with pour over seemed to have been the solution to be able to enjoy coffee). Being lucky enough to have good water on tap totally saved me from that madness.
I've found that having a coffee scale was the single most impactful item in my coffee process. That brings the level of consistency to the game that would otherwise shade just about any other change you made (assuming your grind size changes were at least somewhat fine to warrant grinding to begin with). With aeropress having a thermometer or temperature controlled kettle was important, with pour over not so much. And pour over is rather inexpensive way to make coffee, just coffee scale (that you should have for any method), some sort of container (getting a simple glass hario pan is not costly either) and some filter cup (hario v60 doesn't cost much either). When it comes to grinding, that's where the issues start. But yet again hario provides a fairly priced entry level grinder that doesn't have the issues of very cheap grinders or blade grinders. On the other hand getting something like +100e grinder is a really enjoyable difference in using the grinder, the smoothness and speed of turning the handle for your grind. But you can get away even with a blade grinder if you follow Hoffmann's tips, it's just too much of a hassle to my taste and didn't work out great.
To summarize, some people are perfectly happy about grabbing any bag of coffee, throwing it in any coffee machine and drinking it black and bitter and that's all fine, more power to them for not getting stuck with details. But knowing what you can control and having beautiful well made tools can also enhance the experience. And having never liked coffee black, it's a mind-bending moment to have your first bag of good fresh beans and grinding and brewing them just right for your taste and finding out you'd happily drink it black.
I don't think I'll ever understand coffee hipsters and that level of obsession they put into a hot drink. If it makes them happy though... I'm content with a couple of scoops of pre-ground coffee in a cafetière filled with water boiled straight from the tap.
And hey! That's completely okay, that is the beauty of coffee, we can prepare it anyway we like it, it's completely customizable to our taste, exactly how we enjoy it.
Thank you! This autumn I was in a clinic for 10 weeks and one of my favourite rituals was drinking coffee with the other patients in the afternoon. Before that I wasn't a big fan of coffee but now I wanna learn how to make it for myself :-)
damn you look tired. You should have some coffee or make a video about coffe..... oh wait nevermind
great advice. if something seems off about your coffee it's almost definitely either the water(filtered is best if you can like a brita), the bean grind being too small or too large( espresso want smaller, french press wants bigger) or the beans not being fresh (beans are oily and oil does go rancid so if you know you only use a small amount of coffee the freezer is better then the cupboard if its going to be months). temperature is the other big one but i assume most people either just use boiling water or a machine that does it automatically so it's a bit harder to control.
tl;dr water fresh, beans fresh, grind good coffee good
True homies take 3 caffeine pills and vibe
Nice job with finding the good camera angle for your kitchen. Took care of all the issues you listed from the first new kitchen vid.
Alternative title: Why environmentally unfriendly Keurig cups with musty water are objectively better, says science
Good grinder/grind size, balanced PH water, and ppm are big as well. Aeropress is basically fool proof coffee with high returns when you delve into the coffee science side of brewing.
I really love your video, thank you for being objective. I finishing my master degree on coffee this year and I've started as a barista. This kind of channels are very helpful for the coffee supply chain. Thank you, greetings from Mexico.
Its funny, he's being objective about the subjectivity of taste
I have been a barista for over 10 years, my choice for home V60 pourover. Do it guys. Low entry price for equipment and forgiving results for beginers and takes about 3mins to make. Once you get going you'll improve quickly and be making crisp, flavourful, specialty coffee that tastes amazing.
There is a case for buying a more expensive grinder, especially a manual one and that is consistency. Once you nail down a recipe you like you'll be able to replicate it each time and it will be easier for you to find new ones for different beans etc. I personally use a manual grinder at home since it's much cheaper to get a high quality one and it's not loud at all.
i loved how dynamic this video was. perfectly compressed and the ending was on point👌
Big callout on aspirational content. You’re my hero.
Very well written and delivered video! And just what was missing, the 101 on making your own coffee. A big big thank you!
I just stopped mid video and take a moment to admire how well spoken this guy is. You my friend are exceptional hope I'll be like one day 😆
I love my moka pot 😍😍 I didn't use to make my own coffee but then I invented in a moka pot, fresh beans and a coffee grinder plus a milk frother and I love coffee so much now 😍
dunno why i wanna say this, but you're a beacon in our generation. well spoken, no b.s and well researched without being pompous
THANK YOU! Finding coffee information online that isn't overwhelming is so hard. This is a great resource. You're always doing the best, Internet Shaquille~
That talk he gave about expectations was what pulled me in. Now I perform a catholic ritual each morning. Irony is that I was raised catholic and no longer practice but I get the cup I expect and that’s what matters. Great video. Thanks!
the thing about burr grinders is that they only really matter for french press coffee (maybe a few other methods as well, but i know french press). the cheap electric ones will always have a pretty inconsistent grind and will leave sediment behind in your french press and coffee, but cheaper manual ones do a much better job of getting a consistent grind. i still sometimes use my manual coffee grinder when i really care about filtering out the grinds that day.
I bought the same burr grinder and have the same sentiment about it's consistency and noise. The two main positives for me are the ability to quickly change the grind(for the most part) and the ability to press a button, then go pee, and come back to ground coffee ready to use.
Christmas has come early with this new video schedule. Keep it up homie