Does James think we are coffee snobs? James thinks we're coffee snobs who laugh at dark roasts doesn't he !? I mean I am. But I'm also an addict so I'll drink anything.
@@ondank I think anyone who looks into improving their coffee skills has looked down on a dark roast, at least once in their life. Also, the coffee James used would seem light to the average person, buying coffee from the supermarket
@@ondank if taste is subjective and so many "peasants" prefer the taste of dark roast, why would it be fine to look down on dark roast? Just because nerds discovered the complexity of various coffee beans doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the straightforwardness of dark roasts.
Hi James - I'm a chemist and I do a lot of work on extraction and solubility. If I were to hypothesise, the reason this works is because you will first extract more of the low molecular weight compounds: the carboxylic acids, esters which give the bright, fruity and sweet flavours, which are "easier" to extract, because they are smaller. With more heat you will extract more of these initially. With increasing time, you will be extracting more of the bitter, high molecular weight compounds formed, and reducing the temperature here means you will slow the extraction of the more undesirable compounds.
this lines up with a lot of the research going over tea, mainly originating from china where the culture of tea is bigger. teas are more finicky with temperature because certain compounds are extracted faster at higher temps so the game is to get the temperature and steep time right to avoid too much bitterness
I will say this, getting a good dark roast from a local roaster is completely different than getting a cheap dark roast from the supermarket. I thought I didn't like dark roast, but I got a dark roast Sumatra from a local roaster, and holy moly is it good. As I brewed it, I was met with scents of chocolate and caramel, and it had a depth that I didn't think coffee had. Zero acidity, but not really that bitter either. Because of your 'ultimate aeropress method', I went from someone who didn't like coffee to someone who can't wait to taste it in the morning in about a month.
Dark roasts are criminally underrated. I've followed the exact trajectory that James described, I began my coffee journey with darker roasts since I wasn't used to the acidity. Today my daily is always a medium/light, but I always have a dark roast packet in my kitchen. I'll make a cup once in a while and the palette change ALWAYS blows my mind. Just get a good dark roast obviously lol
James, your video inspired me to experiment with two dark roast today. First, I do not care at all for acidity or bitterness. At 70, I've had too much bad coffee in my life to want more. So I am one of those you describe as using sweetener (in my case, honey,) to mask bitterness. So trying out your formula, 35 grams of coarser ground coffee for 500 ml of water, doing a 100 degree C bloom, followed by 80 degrees C for the remainder, I used a blend this morning. Peet's Major Dickason was indeed much less bitter and completely drinkable without anything added. But adding a little less than a teaspoon of honey made it superb for me. This afternoon, I repeated the experiment with a single-source Columbian coffee which had been problematic for me before with its higher rates of acidity. The coarser grind, 100 degree/80 degree C brewing did tame some of the acidity as well as the bitterness. For me, it was drinkable without anything but I didn't love it. Again, a bit less than a teaspoon of honey made it much more palatable for my tastes. The only two downsides for me are juggling the temperatures of the water and the fact that you end up with a much cooler cup of coffee. Even served in a pre-warmed Yeti cup, it seems (my perception is?) that the cup cools down from 80 degrees C much faster. Will I continue? I do like the the Major Dickason and will probably do it this way occasionally. I think the acidity of the Columbian doomed it from the beginning. That said, it is much better done in this fashion for me.
I've found that the Ember mug is an essential for me when drinking brewed coffee that was brewed at a lower temperature. Since it keeps the drink warm with a heating element (rather than just insulation), I can enjoy the drink at the optimal temperature over a leisurely amount of time. Yes, the Ember mug seems like possibly the silliest thing ever. An expensive mug with bluetooth and an app. But honestly it's possibly one of the best things I've ever bought. Bought one (after James' video), lent it to my (rather skeptical) wife the next day, next morning, we had two.
I love that you’re super into specially coffee but you want to help people enjoy what they like. You don’t try to convince people that your preferences are the correct way to brew coffee.
@@mattzechman4408 I find most "snobs" in any walk of life are "snobby" to hide a lack of true expertise. They know only one way to make - in this instance a great cup of coffee, and will not brook that they don't know something that someone they believe they should know more than, knows. So they use snobbishness to cover their insecurity. James on the other had is a true expert, it comes across in every video that he genuinely understands and has a great desire to improve his understanding. He doesn't need to hide anything, but I bet if you asked him, when he was learning in his earlier years, he had a snobbish reaction to certain subjects.
This actually shines a light on an interesting phenomena I've been noticing about the bloom and specifically agitation in the bloom. I feel that this 45 second part of coffee brewing in a pour over has much more impact on the flavour profile than the remaining 2 minutes or so. I feel there's definitely some interesting science lurking in this phase. Especially that instant 100c water hits the coffee, and the swirl is made. There's some complex extraction taking place in this moment that has a drastic affect on the end result. In doing my own experimentation I've noticed that even milliseconds in swirl time with 100c water can make a big difference the final brew. An even bigger difference than grind size with all other variables kept the same. There's a thing happening here that no one has actually scienced yet.
Thanks for making this, people snob over this saying dark roasts are like a well-done steak. There are some wonderful earthy chocolaty notes in something like a nice Sumatra.
@@landenew just don't get Starbucks anything. 🤢 Actually that's not quite true, astonishingly they brew quite reasonable tea these days. (well, reasonable for a teabag tea in a motorway service station.)
I love dark roasts, and I have no patience with people who claim that they have superior tastes and that everyone should like the same things. One of James' big attractions is that he's clear that his preferences are just his preferences, and that everyone should experiment and find what they like.
TL;DR: James, you have done it again. I really appreciate this video, you've helped me improve the quality of my coffee experience. Longer story for those who want to follow my experience: My coffee journey started many years ago and I preferred darker roasts. As I began enjoying exploring different coffees from different locations and different methods of brewing, I found myself appreciating lighter roasts coffee much more. This was accentuated by a particular trend in some coffee shops that seem to roast their beans frankly too dark (while still selling at a premium price) roasting the region out of the coffee. Almost as a personal statement, I've intentionally stayed away from darker roasts since. I've been roasting my own beans at home for quite a while too. This started from an thrift store air popper, moving to some Frankensteined abomination of a convection oven and a flatbed popcorn popper, to now using a much more efficient yet affordable drum roaster...my roasting habits reflected my flavor interests and definitely grew more on the light end of the spectrum. Literally 3 weeks ago I began trying to roast more dark to explore my "roots". I've tried 3 different kinds of coffee and kept my brew process consistent with the lighter roast profiles and while not bad, I thought: "why would I do this over a lighter roast"? I found myself putting creamer back in my coffee (though I did make some homemade Irish Cream and that didn't disappoint). I had just a little bit left (enough for 3 cups) as I watched this yesterday and followed the process (all of it) and that 'meh' coffee came to life (my wife agreed). I went out and roasted a Costa Rican coffee (one of my favorites) and took it a good bit darker than usual. I sit here typing this drinking it (I should have let it rest longer, but I'm weak and couldn't wait), again following the process as you've indicated - dang if it isn't a terrific cup of coffee. Again, I thank you!
Just tried it at 80C and the difference is night and day. I enjoy decaf in the afternoon but find the beans fit the same profile as these darker roasts and seem to be very porous too. The change in the way the coffee blooms at 80C is so different. Very grateful for learning about this. I had previously always held the belief that water temp for pour over was just not something to fiddle with and routinely used water that had just come off the boil.
Set some boiled water aside in a jug before you bloom. Then bloom with water from the kettle, and brew with water from the jug. The water in the jug should be cooler by the time it gets to the coffee, because it's been poured twice instead of once.
Single origin Sumatra is my favorite coffee. I love it because it has a full body with low acidity and when you get that chocolate and earthy flavors from the Sumatra beans, I don't know how it gets much better in a cup of coffee. I exclusively use the Aeropress to make those amazing cups of Sumatra.
light/medium/dark are relative terms and In the world of specialty, it is focused on the development of the bean between first and second crack. James looks like he's using a full city roast (just before second crack) thus a dark roast. many will claim medium roasts that are beyond second crack like grocery store coffee or SB but in a specialty vacuum, this has gone too far and is likely from a lower grade of coffee.
I've been a fan of darker roasts for a long time, and it's great to see James talking about them here! And so much yes to lower brew temps for darker roasts!
My mom used to do pour over coffee on our boat with a melita pour over filter over a thermos, lots of people with fancy automatic coffee machines would frown upon that style of coffee as it was so old fashioned. Right now, i know why i loved her coffee so much... and she was basically pouring as a 2021 hipster 25 year ago. The roasts were quite dark, but this is something common in the Netherlands where we would drink fairly strong coffee. I personally love a bit of bitterness in the cup, and if it’s well balanced it goes a long way. Not with milk or sugar though.. Thanks for also including darker roasts in your videos :)
This is excellent, since I'm currently in Japan and they love their dark roast filter coffee. I've been struggling to achieve a good brew like the traditional cafes do over here, and James' tips may just be what I need to crack the code on this one.
Same! I’ve never liked acidic coffee which was all the cafes over seemed to serve. When I moved to Japan I fell in love with the dark roast filter coffee the serve at fancy cafes but still was unable to replicate it at home
It feels like the specialty coffee community as a whole has adopted a sort of "Dark roasts are for plebs and if you like them, you should feel bad" mentality. I hope we see a shift to something more like "Light roasts and dark roasts are just different - neither is inherently better or worse."
I'd agree but I think a lot of that has come from that the large portion of mass produced darker roasts are, terrible. So the end result of saying "ALL dark roasts are bad" wherein it's more just that mass produced coffee is kinda crap. Specialty dark roasts are excellent too!
@@mwiz100 Counter Culture's dark roast (Gradient) is pretty good. Classic flavors you would expect while maintaining slight hints of fruit-like acidity.
It's just fashion, these things are highly cyclical! I guarantee you now, in 25 years time, most people will think light roasts are for plebs and people will be drinking such bitter brews, as dark as possible as the in thing, with flat white quantities of milk to blend it all together. I still remember when all the foodies used to scoff at the idea of eating rare steak, laughing at the "plebs" who can't keep a well done steak moist, so they have to cheat. Then the French fashion took over, and it reversed. Except now in France, the real steak loving foodies are cooking their steaks for as much as 50 hours plus to get the juiciest, most well done properly rendered steak. Even when you think a particular stance is so endemic to the subject - say politics. How could a right wing believer think capitalism is a problem, or a left wing not believe in social health care.... 40 years ago, both these stances were reversed. It's all just fashion.
@@PippetWhippet That makes a lot of sense. I only been a "coffee enthusiast" for about 10 years, so I didn't really see the whole "second wave" thing that people talk about.
Really helpful for us decaficionados, as decaf tends to 'appear' more darkly roasted (which surely means it is). It certainly tends towards tasting that way so I'm excited to mod my filter brewing approach.
a roaster told me that decaf coffee looks a lot darker even before the roasting, just something to do with the decaf process itself. So when they say it just appears more darkly roasted but actually isn't, they mean it
Being at high elevation, I've shifted more to medium and dark roasts since the lower boiling point here makes light roasts very difficult to extract unless you're brewing with pressure.
I endlessly appreciate your love of coffee James and seemingly unending content you generate. Your methodical approach to all things coffee is amazing and thanks for sharing your wisdom with the interwebs!
Seen so many useful videos from JH and wondered how I missed this. Never liked dark roast till I tried this 100C bloom-85C pour over and was shocked at how much more enjoyable the cup was. Immediately the aromas was clearer, bitterness reduced significantly, unmasking the sweet notes. What a treat! Thanks James!
This channel definitely taught me how to make coffee "the right way" and as a result I found out that even the coffee I regularly drank as ready ground and made by a moccamaster, didn't necessarily ask for sugar and milk or cream when it was ground and brewed right. I still use them because that's how I like it, but as they say, when you get the base right, it's easier to build on top of that and get even greater results.
James, thank you so much for all your videos. I've tried your techniques several times. In general, they work very well for all kinds of coffees. The trick is to find a way to have hot waters at 2 different temperatures. I heat up a little more water than I need so the temp of the water doesn't drop very much as I take some of the brew-temp water to heat it up to boil either in the microwave or in another small pot for blooming. I tried this on some commercially pre-grounded dark roast coffee, it almost eliminated the bitterness. On freshly grounded dark or medium roasts, the hotter bloom does help to bring out more aromas and flavours. I must confess, I used to drink "over-roasted" or French roast (I didn't even add milk). I've switched to drinking Medium to Medium-Dark roasts since. It was truly a revelation to me, there are so many more nuances and notes to enjoy.
Lidl Barista Origins here, instant goodness. A person needs to broaden his or her horizons. How else does a person know how much pain is still possible to live through?
I don’t know how you can watch his videos and not get the basic tools to brew real coffee! I can’t even bring myself to drink pre found coffee these days.
@@michaelkartman3543 I actually have a good coffee shop around the corner that is supplied by Square Mile. I have been using aeropress for ages but there are mornings when I am too lazy. Also, instant coffee makes you appreciate good stuff more... well, it makes me appreciate it anyway.
@@michaelkartman3543 You should watch James's video about what they don't tell about about learning to taste.. He talks about how limiting yourself to ONLY top quality is counter productive and just a bad thing to do
I've always enjoyed straight black coffee, and that's evolved into bitter black dark roast from a french press. I recognize I'm missing a lot of nuance (based on watching your channel), but it's always consistently good to me.
It's interesting how some coffees can give a great cup at various roast levels, while others really need to be either lighter or darker to give the best taste.
I tried this today and WOW, what a difference. I don't have the greatest grinder in the world (a Cuisinart) so even the finest setting is still pretty course. I left my grind size the same (one click from as fine as it goes) and left my water temp procedure the same (pour bloom right off the boil then let the kettle rest during bloom) but upped the dose by 5 grams. The increased dose definitely made a difference in flavor in coffee that I already loved. Great video!
Context: I got into coffee via my first job at Starbucks. I cut my teeth with French presses of their dark roasts with no milk or sugar. I may be a bizarre abhuman that loves bitter things. (I do like 90%+ dark chocolate, so there is a theme here.) Anyway, I tried the method in the video, specifically focusing on the coarser grind and only using boiling water for the bloom. I used a darker roast and my haario woodneck with a cloth filter and, in my opinion, produced one of the loveliest cups of coffee that I have ever made. Going to play around with feeding the grinds slowly next, but overall, cheers for the advice, it makes some delicious coffee! (I went on to become a black apron at Starbucks and then moved on career wise, and began enjoying the wider world of coffee. I try to enjoy the full coffee spectrum and all it has to offer. But dark roasts I think will always be my comfort roasts and my daily drivers. Light roasts feel very “special occasion” to me. And yes, from time to time I do still just take the darkest Starbucks roast I can find and brew it up in an oily French press. Somethings never change.)
The first big brand coffee I ventured into ( after the basic store brands like Folgers, etc) was Starbucks Sumatra. I like dark coffee as well as dark chocolate too. It was in a cheap drop machine. Since learning more about technique, I haven't tried that one again.
Went a solid 6 clicks coarser on my hario mini hand grinder, dont have a fancy temperature controlled kettle, so just added cold water to the boiled kettle before continuing onward, and holy carp did that make a difference. Praise be the algorithm for recommending this channel.
I'm really looking forward to trying this technique when I get home on Monday. I have always preferred darker roasts because I'm not big on acidity in my coffee. I'm interested in seeing a separate walk through on lighter roasts, and perhaps how a dark roast drinker may bridge over to the lighter side, given what they look for in a cup of coffee. I know you mentioned most of your brewing videos are light-roast centric (which I noticed, and why I was particularly excited for this video!) But if you are continuing to break down roast specific methods, I'm excited to see if there are brewing tips for lighter roasts that may convert me!
For most of my life I added cream and sugar. Also never cared if it was light or dark roast. But since this year I've wanted to understand coffee more. I've found that I like dark roast the most as long as it's freshly roasted. I use a French press and don't even use cream or sugar anymore. It's my new favorite hobby.
Mr. Hoffmann! It's evening here and I wouldn't normally drink coffee at this time, but now, after this video, I HAVE TO! For coffee, for science! Update: it's 10:40 PM, aaaannnd I think we really have something here! ☕🤓🙌🏻
I'm convinced. What an incredible difference it makes using two different temperatures between the initial bloom and main pour. More complexity, great body and mouthfeel, less bitterness.... Great technique!
Love the videos.... I come from a beer brewing background and find it interesting how many parallels there are between coffee and beer brewing. I was interested to note your technique here of using a high temp (i.e. boiling) for your bloom (in mashing that would be the strike water) and the lower temp for the main brew phase. From a beer brewing perspective the effect of a higher strike temperature is that you would require lower temperature (or volume) additions to hit the desired mash temperature. It therefore struck me that perhaps the difference you perceive from using high temp bloom is that the overall brew temperature is slightly higher given that the addition is the same volume and temperature for both. Just a thought.
I have tried from a barista who used 3 different set of temperature. His explanation was that different temperature extracts different favours from the same beans better. In addition, in a commercial setup, deliver the drink with lower temperature help faster turnover. So it’s win-win for the shop and the customer.
My 4 year old has been a fan of James Hoffmann (along with me and my wife) for over a year. These videos (and the resulting amazing coffee at home) helped get us through the worst of 2020. He would love it if you made a video about “milk steamers,”/steamed milk. I have had many a “great day” as a result of this channel. Thank you!
I tried for long and my favorite coffee is dark robusta Vietnam coffee which for me has a chocolate note and I like it so much, I use mokapot and recently thanks to dear James ultimate French press which tastes light and really enjoyable. Right now I use the same coffee mix with the lighter roast with the ratio of 60% dark with 40% light and I'm pretty happy with both moka pot and French press. Once again thanks to dear Mr Hoffman. I really love to taste a cup that you make for the reference of my taste for my life 👌
As someone who really only drinks dark coffee for the flavors, and can't quite get used to the higher acidity of lighter roasts, I really appreciate this video. I have sort of built my methods for different brewing techniques off your videos, so I now have some new things to try. I already brew a little more coarse and at around 190F, but I need to try the 70g/1L since I have been doing 60g. Also the hotter bloom is intriguing to me as well. Thank you, James, as always.
For my morning cup i absolutely love the fuller taste of darker roasts. I definitely grind more towards coarser side for darker beans since i find the bitterness much more controlled that way and don't really play with temperature. Its just water cooled for a half a minute or so after boiling. For the more leisure cup of coffee, i go with african origins that are lighter roasted and grind them finer, the taste is wonderfully fruity and relaxes me as opposed to my morning cup which makes me feel more active.
Recently got a Fellow Ode, and it's been a game-changer. It doesn't go very fine with the stock burr, but having consistent grind distribution at coarse settings has allowed me to enjoy dark roasts, especially with immersion methods.
I used to drink creamer and sugar and add coffee haha, then i found your channel trying to figure out how to make a better cup of coffee with out using a keurig. Now i enjoy my coffee black or with abit of milk or creamer with no sugar. I enjoy dark roast but i gave some some light and medium roasted coffee from a few local roasters and i have learned to like different styles i try a different bean every week i have my favorite but i do enjoy having different styles and changing it up alot. I also grind my own beans now and use a V60 a french press and mokapot, and my collection is still growing am waiting on my aeropress and still growing my collection... keep up the great work and thank you for opening up ny eyes to world of coffee...
The first time I really focused on getting a good cup. Most of the time I was just taking too much coffee grind or was letting it sit for too long (French press). Now is the first time I try to understand the properties of making coffee. For that I want to thank you, you probably are my favourite Hoffmann ;) I'm glad I found your channel, so I can learn more about the art of coffee brewing
Its midnight right now where I am, but James, you've just convinced me to brew a cuppa - 12:46. can't tell if it was a better brew or its just the caffeine kick at this ungodly hour.
I love both dark and lighter roasts, but I feel they have their own moments. Nothing beats a beautiful, rich, chocolatey dark roast with a generous splash of milk and maybe even as a mocha on a cold day shopping or at a nice restaurant with a cooked breakfast. But also nothing beats a light roast brewed with a V60 as you nibble some toast with some avocado, mushrooms and a poached egg and wash it down with a punchy vibrant light roast that wakes you up whilst refreshing you in a very tea like way, but with an extra kick to get you off to work, or on a warm day chilled down whilst reading a book on a hammock whilst sat in the sun. Dark roasts to me feel like a hug, they're comforting and often nostalgic in flavour. Whereas light roasts feel like a pat on the back, a well done or a you can do it. And both have a take a moment quality that really draws me to speciality coffee in particular, sure, you can still get speciality fairly fast, but the taste itself, their individual depth really draws you into taking a breath and stopping for literally just a moment. And that's why speciality is- special from a consumer point of view.
I just tried this. The bloom with boiling water is amazing! The grounds expanded like a sourdough starter. I'm now drinking Peet's Sumatra, which is quite darkly roasted. It's BRILLIANT. Thank you!
@james - how about a video about how to get the best results when you're stuck with bad coffee?! I'm here looking at a bag of pre ground supermarket coffee that's been open for a while and wondering if there's any way to get something nice out of it!
i have learned a lot from james since the lockdown started in our country, I was not a fan of coffee. the most popular in our country is instant coffee so I decided to watch about on how to make a real coffee or in a real way and I saw james on youtube i was so impressed with him. and that's where my journey in coffee brewing began i buy some brewing tools and from now i still watch james' videos and I really appreciate his love and dedication to coffee thankyou so much for your efforts and for the knowledge you have shared with us ! ❤️
Really looking forward to trying this technique out. The coffee shop a mile from my house roasts their own beans, but they definitely tend towards the lighter side and I can detect that acidity. I've gotten used to it, but I still love the smell and mouthfeel of some of the darker roasts I get from another shop in town. Thank you for this!
video suggestion. hope it gets your attention, James. modern or fast, efficient way to make Turkish inspired style coffee. here is how i do it. tea kettle to boil or 90C coffee in cezve hot water in, stir on stove, lowest take of heat when volume increased 1/4, no boil, stir let cool and settle 3min+ at an angle on towel carefully and slowly pour in cup on side, stop when coffee goes darker done, perfect temp to enjoy. *dark roasts works better for me. small grind size seems to settle better. this is the cheapest way to enjoy next to espresso kind of vibe with next to nothing. a lot of folks may have a cezve lying around and no filters needed. this is how I got interested in specialty coffee and still do it on occasion. would like to see you try this with experiments and new insights =)
I've been roasting all our coffee for several years (80/20 Brazilian Arabica/Uganda just into 2nd crack for my wife's espresso's and African Lt - Med for filtered immersions), and I frequently run into the situation where I'm out of coffee but there's a lot of hers on hand. I've tried brewing it before without acceptable results (way too much bitterness), but was persuaded by your rationale to try your suggested parameter values, and I'll be damned if it doesn't seem to work! The result was quite drinkable and this was just the first shot at it; I'm sure I can improve results by fiddling with ratios etc. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful coffee videos: I've learned more in the past month than in the previous five years and my wife says her espresso's have improved dramatically too. :-)
Would love to see you try a sequential Sifted brew. Basically starting with the boulders and letting them brew for 45 seconds, then the main Sifted coffee for your desired 2-3 minutes and adding in the fines at the draw down. No waste and each particle size range is brewed to optimize sweetness 👍🏼
Tried this on a Gevi 4 in 1. Set up a recipe with 5 pulse pours at 1:14.3 ratio set at 85c. The bloom stage was not in the program. Instead poured the bloom water from a Stagg just off boil. The Gevi preheats to 80c so only takes about 30 secs to get to 85 which ties in well with end of bloom time. Just place the carafe under and it works seamlessly. Has reduced the bitterness and a much smoother cup. Roast level was 20 seconds into 2nd crack but no visible oils. 8 days post roast.
I always used to drink coffee with sugar or milk. Everything changed when I was gifted a pour-over kit and tasted that even my first few attempts with microwaved hot water and eyeballing the ratios were miles above anything I had ever tasted. I've learned a lot since and channels like James' helped a lot in embracing and trying different methods all the time.
11:07 I have a normal stovetop kettle with temperature gauge. I often heat my water to boil(easier because I can walk away from the stove top) and cool it down to desired temperature at the sink. I apply cold water to a side of the kettle for a short time, lift it off of the cold water, swirl the water for the temperature to even out, check temperature, and repeat until I'm at the desired temperature. Takes only few seconds and could work for the method shared.
Thank you for this video, this saved me from putting a bag of coffee into the trash. I'm doing a subscription coffee thing and somehow got the wrong roast level (really dark). Following the guide in the video I was able to make an enjoyable cup. Cheers
Funnily enough, I've been brewing some of their beans and surprisingly found good results! Not your typical light/medium roast specialty grade 'good result', but good nonetheless. As James did in the video, using coarser grind size and lower temp, I managed to have low bitterness, full bodied, and hints of floral and fruit notes in the cup. In shorter words, it's doable.
I'm in the 2nd category. I don't know why the roaster I deal with sent me the last order all darker than I usually like. I don't usually put milk or sugar in my coffee. So I was stuck with it. I tried coarser grind and lower temperature based on what I learned from other @jameshoffman's videos. This made made the coffee drinkable, or otherwise I would through it. I got super excited when I saw this video, I felt this is what I needed. Because I've been in this situation more than once before. I'll try this technique. Thank you James
Looking at my cup of black, dark roast, French press that I brewed Hoffman-style and wondering why anyone would put cream or sugar in it. Both the bitterness of the black coffee taste and having some sediment in the cup appeal to my palate.
If you enjoy this style of coffee, but you have high triglycerides and high cholesterol; you can reduce them by 50 percent just by double filtering into your cup. Look up cafestol
Really like the information and explanations are meticulous, understanding other coffee drinkers preference and make them realize things they don't know about their drink so that the experience of drinking coffee jumps to another level
I only know dark roasts from when i was a kid and my dad had a cheap coffee maker and used french roast, disgustingly bitter and silty, yet nostalgic XD
@@joecerone the coffee (as in the grounds/beans before brewing) wasn't really shitty it was just the brewing and the staleness (i think they bought like 7 bags and kept them for over a year)
Thank you for this. I had to share this with my wife who has the option to brew with a french press or Clever dripper. She still uses cream/milk in her coffee no matter how I roast it. The information you provide in this video I think will inspire her to achieve a better cup of coffee. She may have a sensitivity to the acidity in coffee. Thank you Mr. Hoffman.
Good topic. My dark roast coffee does not knock my socks off where some lighter coffees can almost make me swoon. I have even considered blending some light and dark coffee to get what is good from both in the same cup.
I love this method for quality dark roasts! I grew up with the smell of dark roasted coffee in the house, so to me this is the _real_ coffee. This method really works. It brings out the strengths of darker roasts, without the bitterness you want to avoid. And it's not as difficult as it sounds at first, no need to stress with getting the temperature down to 80°, the slurry can wait a bit.
I have started over 3 years ago drinking coffee. I always added milk, and started with 3 teaspoons of sugar. I learned to drink it because of my interest in coffee, and started subtracting milk and sugars. Tomorrow is my first day as a coffee and tea salesmen and deliverer, and I enjoy a dark roasted espresso in its pureness. Enjoying a much more rich flavor is something to be learned in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos, as I get to learn tons of interesting techniques and details which should help me along the journey of becoming a true passionate expert. And my boss told me one thing; “once you get into coffee, you never leave”
Thank you for looking into brewing for those of us who don't care for fruity and sweet! Edit: NEVER cream or sugar!!! I have brewed with dark roast for decades because I prefer the flavor. I'll try your brewing suggestions.
2 года назад
I just tried it. As I do not have an electric kettle, I used a jar to cool down the water for the phase after the bloom.
Following your advice I've been doing the basic technique with a drip coffee maker. Wash the filter paper, with warm water to heat up the machine a bit. Then start a bloom in the basket, it won't drain until you put your carafe underneath most cheap machines. Then run a full cycle. So far I've found it to definitely taste more clean, but kind of hollow. I've only done it for a week with different beans. I will be trying a more coarse grind next.
Thanks to a James i understand, why my coffee was so bitter. I understand that i bought a dark roast coffee and after i changed a coffee grind to more coarser i get super delicious cup of coffee.
I tend to brew with light roast coffee, but I often keep some dark coffee around because sometimes I'm just in the mood for that bold, rich coffee. I'm going to note that bitter isn't a bad thing as long as it's balanced. Dark Chocolate is more bitter, and I prefer it that way.
The first dark roast coffee I bought isn't actually a dark roast. It is burnt. The beans are black and oily. I keep wondering if I can find a way to make a bearable cup from them. What a terrible way to try a dark roast for the first time!
You might try to find a roaster that air roasts as that method is, usually, better able to separate the chaff. Chaff contributes to the burnt flavor. That said, it is my understanding that fewer than 5% of roasters air roast.
My grocery sells dark and medium roast coffee in heavy plastic/foil roll top bags. I like to blend those two types of beans together half and half at grind time. The the secret kicker is about a teaspoon of the very dark espresso grind Cafe Bustello that I have left over from some experiments. All of this goes into my flat-bottomed single-cup swis-gold pour over device. I am looking forward to my next cup tomorrow morning!
Another cracking video James - has anyone else found these have ruined high street coffee for them? I’ve taken to brewing my own in a thermos - I’m willing to bet fewer disposable cups are used thanks to this channel 👌🏻
This is a freakin' miracle technique. I occasionally get stuck with using supermarket pre-ground stuff, and this technique changes it from "barely drinkable" to "almost passable." I hate the taste of creamers/milk in my coffee, so making the black actually borderline enjoyable is a lifesaver. A side note is that, since I don't have a temperature controlled, I use a 1/15 ratio of room temp water to add instead. This drops the temperature just enough to do the same thing, but I measure it out before starting the bloom (20g for my 300g standard brew). Works pretty well!
Mokka pot brewer here, and I accidentally bought a bag of beans that was too dark for my preference. After this video I tried grinding coarser and not preheating the water in the bottom pot before assembling. Result: rich fruit and dark chocolate notes rather than unpleasant bitterness. Didn’t need to add the pinch of sugar I had been using to make it palatable. Thanks!
Thanks for these videos, which are giving me easy tweaks to all aspects of my coffee prep and have definitely resulted in better coffee, not only for me as an aeropress user, but for my mother, who stubbornly uses a Mr. Coffee ("Oh, it tastes fine to me." Ohhhh... kay, Mom.). Re the bloom and the steps here you describe here (boil water, pour into the grounds for the bloom, then cool the water in the kettle and reheat to 80 degrees)... Easier method that saves steps: Heat water in the kettle per normal procedure. Pour a little of that 80 degree water (enough for the bloom) into a small pyrex cup and microwave it for 30 seconds or so (which should bring it to a boil) Pour that boiling water over the grounds for the bloom. Use the 80 degree water to proceed as you suggest. Many thanks for your videos! :) m
I am one of those where, my friends or family know that I love coffee. So many of them gift me "specialty coffee". And many times its a dark roast - Surprisingly, from proper roasters. But I fall into the category, like most of us here on this channel, we enjoy light roasts. I'm stuck many times trying to drink and get rid off the dark roasts fast as possible. And I just brew a traditional 60:1 pour over, drink it plain, and muscle it down. Thanks for making this video!
I know there are some calculators out there for the outcome of mixing two different temperature fluids, so you could conceivably use a fixed measure of water initially and a fixed amount to add to end up near your desired secondary temperature.
I was struggling with darker roasts. I couldn't quite get them to work, no matter what I did. I made a V60 after watching this video and to my surprise it's balanced and actually interesting cup of coffee. So thank you mr. Hoffmann! Once again you were able to broaden my coffee horizons.
this two-temperature technique could also be achieved without a temperature-controlled kettle using the AeroPress inverted method: add 3/4 of the water at 100 degrees (hard boiling), wait half a minute for complete degassing of the coffee, then slowly add the remaining 1/4 of the water at ambient temperature (20 degrees). this will immediately drop the overall temperature to roughly 80 degrees. then continue your extraction for the amount of time that you need.
Finally a video that will hopefully make it easier for me to try out 95% of the coffee in most swedish grocery stores :’) its all dark, extra dark, medium or medium-dark roasts.
