The £299 Aldi Espresso Machine - How Bad Could It Be? 

Grimble Snacks I am glad I am not the only one who had that feeling 😂😂😂😂

Not sure, I feel like he is more like both at the same time

Damn that's really accurate!

HA!

I thought he was quite old person until watched the 2007 world championship competition, he was very young then like 20 something. i would say between 35- 50 ;-). i like his sense humour and whinging ....

mashine

@@goobiedoobi get his ass

He's a true something that begins with b, but I wasn't thinking barista! 🤣

"we at hoffmanns roast the whole machine. thats 65% more coffee per coffee"

He also admits he never used it. 1:48 "START THE VIDEO I DONT CARE IF I NEVER USED IT!!"

I agree. At first I thought he was being hyperbolic, then he broke down _why_ , and then I got it. Then I got mad too.

Capitalism baby!

@None of your business That's why he said buy a Mocca pot instead

@None of your business and you would be right IF that was the case and there were 0 options out there. However he reviews much cheaper machines that do a FAR better job of it for close to half the price no less. As for your what I'm going to perceive as not climate change denial but something close to, I will say this. It should not be up to the citizens to make those leaps first. Electric cars so early is dumb, cold-turkeying our selves off petrolium is dumb. You know what makes sense? doing the easy stuff first and stop trying to magic bullet the issue with tech. Have all poluting industry do carbon cap on site to a high percentage, make transit highly viable with 20's tech called a bus FFS. We the people should be pressuring the CEO's and stakeholders of industry to clamp down first. So you can scoff all you want at my point but the fact is they're right, the problem as always is the greedy few.

Thats what I'm thinking lately, lot's of cheap crap produced which just doesn't work correctly. I mean come on, just make some quality items that's more expensive, but will last you for decades. But i guessing that's just not how money making works and that is sad.

He's horrible. Agree. Super negative.

@@luvpamelanewton I agree with him though, I hate this machine lol

@@luvpamelanewton lmao

@@Ban00dle Haha. Didn't care for his presentation. Aweful.

@@luvpamelanewton bye then👋🏻

Matt H literally that was my very first, and EXACT thought 😂

Haha! (Though, there's always lots of B-roll to shoot...)

Always have a weight of beans on the burrs to get a consistent grind.. lol

Noticed that. PLEASE James don't give it to anyone who you like!

Nah, he just thought it would take that much coffee to arrive at drinkable. It turns out it didn't take that much coffee to determine drinkable is impossible...

Krispy kream Türkiye'de bu dozajı Double shot için kullanıyor. 18/70 olması lazım fgghhhygkjj

@@TheDemethar 1/4 yapiyorlarsa yine iyiymis. :D

Lol my feelings every single video.

So true

I don't know anything about coffee, but he's so delightful to listen to, so I had exactly this reaction (unironically)

That pivot caught me off guard and was pure gold

It's a bit more of a things like this, not just this machine in particular, are wastes of resources. They use more than they need and don't do their tasks well. That's common with some of those single use products. An avocado slice/scoop appliance can't compete with a spoon and knife, so why do they exist?

and all they forgot to put in OPV lol

That was brutal.

I did the same with a Nescafe 'Gold' packet cappuccino 😉

dead

Made me laugh, thanks coffee fam!

I'll bet your cup of instant tastes better than this espresso judging by his facial expression when he tasted it XD

I think even James would agree that even instant coffee is better than coffee from this machine

Hahahah well said😁

especially if he was standing behind you ha

Heck, I'd feel nervous boiling water for him😂

😂😂😂😂

Yes, get yourselves coffee from McDonalds ppl!

Coffee is serious business.

@@lookieeight1006 there is a nuclear reactor or something of the sort somewhere in africa that was set up by the french and then left to be maintained and ran by the africans, I didn't watch the video about the bulgarian nuclear reactor but I'd guess the african one was ran even worse.

@@tktspeed1433 depends. Did the Africans use a fire hose and duct-tape for some cooling water lines? Because that's the level the bulgarian one was on. Certainly both were accidents waiting to happen that luckily never did

@@lookieeight1006 not sure, but if the warning lights turned on they just disconnected them

@@lookieeight1006 I mean did fuel rods went missing in the Bulgarian one ?

ah yes, james hoffmann at 9 bars of pressure

@@ginger88895 more like 15

L

Hoffmann for president!

He's not wrong. So many shitty, cheaply-made products contribute massively to climate change. What happens to these products after people buy them and then dispose of them after a year or so?

@@Mentocthemindtaker This is actually a very non political issue. Trash products damage the environment and waste resources. If 10% of these espresso machines are still working in 2022 I would be amazed. If manufacturers were required to stand by their warranty and offer local repairs or pay for shipping trash like this would be gone overnight. Who is going to pay $200 to ship their machine to china and back?

@@MDK-oq5vb like yeah, why do people still bother to grab espresso appliances that break after a year and produce drinks that are worse than a moka with frothed milk. Manufacturers should just make good machines with limited dispensable parts (gasket, burrs,...) rather than rush for a shitty product to flash-farm money.

James suffers for us. He's basically Coffee Jesus

I was giggling very happily at his missery. Brightened my day too. Thanks for suffering for us!

I hope not, or I have a rough weekend coming up...

@@jameshoffmann This reply made me laugh more than I should of.

@@jameshoffmann oh he went there

The dislikes are hidden now, was there a higher dislike to like ratio or something?

@@miinziiiiiii No, Cade just inexplicably commented that the video had many dislikes because he felt like it.

@@miinziiiiiii In his video about the 17 GBP coffee brewer from Aldi he hinted at this video again and the like to dislike count was about 33k to 10k back then. So pretty controversial in comparison to most of his other videos. 😅

Last time I checked before RU-vid goes ape mode, it was around 120k. This video really blowed up the algorithme, and many, many people mistaken James Hoffman as a snob aristocrate. Which obviously he is not but I agree to some extent that "he look like it" if this is the only video one have seen about James

Because of this comment, RU-vid removed the ability to see dislikes. I hope you're happy.

I know right, yuck and a way to get sick 🤢

It's free RDT.

The horrible coffee drink series he did is worth a watch.

That face was kinda priceless.

I want to send him all the espresso machines that they have at Canadian Tire I just want to know what he thinks

seeing James rant on this was the best part of my day lol

I need to see more videos of James drinking coffee out of horrible coffee machines... this has to be a new thing. This changed my life

It isn't?

I though he was joking he's serious. That's a real human being. This is basically a rich person going how can the poor's act like they do.

We all operate our machines from behind. Breathing for him was a chore, not to mention those flaccid wrists.

@@rmatt53 bruh which poor person buys a £300 expresso machine?

I think I am watching the Onion.

@@MsWagons I bought a DeWalt 18v chainsaw a couple of years ago and it's replaced my old Stihl in my recovery truck. Obviously I'm not a professional lumberjack the amount of times I need to use a chainsaw in a year I can count on one hand since I only need it when someone has crashed a car in such a way I need to cut branches or whole trees to get it out.

Husqvarna is one of the tops, stil is good too.

@@MsWagons For now. One more generational leap in battery tech and all these small-engine internal combustion appliances are dead. Even now, I couldn't go back to a 4-stroke lawnmower, it's just so much more convenient to press-and-go on the electric. And two-stroke? Fuggedabowdid!

I'm so sorry.

@@octpod3923 I am ashamed I like cheap Nescafe growing up on it. I'm so sorry :'( I do like certain beans though, but they're just a hassle to make and clean for the amount of cups I drink a day, even not espresso just a regular cup of coffee.

You mindless peasants! Have Douwe Egberts or get out! (Yes I had to look at the jar to be able to spell it)

I have a percolator....

@@ckm-mkc me too and paper filters, good tasting coffee if you buy decent beans and grind or a decent pre ground, none of the faff or expense and I think I am not enough of a coffee snob to notice the difference of a £1000 machine and all the faff.

I honestly enjoy freeze dried coffee from the local grocery store more than some coffee place's coffee. Not a single touch of bitterness

@@vinceiopez3657 If the coffee is bitter it is because they let the expresso shot oxidise before adding it to the hot water/milk. Your supposed to prepare the water/milk while the shot is brewing and immediately add it to the liquid, basically they made it poorly.

Even *instant* nescafe is probably a bit better than this

@Dym Sohin 🦾🤡 they all achieve the end goal, drunk

Great comment!

Yes. And also to be fair, 'good' coffee is a subjective term. What's rubbish to James Hoffmann may taste delicious to me. His is not the definitive opinion!

Not once did he say that he's against Aldi or has a problem wih them, just this particular product, why are you defending something that was never attacked? You preferred and liked your pressure cooker, he doesn't like this machine so this comparison is just bizarre XD

@@barjee8965 easy there bud. Just saying ymmv.

Aldi is great but they are very hit and miss imo. I've tried several of their coffee products and haven't found a good one yet. Just stick to the regular groceries.

And Aldi fans roast him for turning his nose up at such a rip off, go figure.

Lidl have their own brand coffee machine. The Hoffman (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻

@@themissinfowar6629 What? No way

Yeah I don’t have espresso machine money sitting around or really more the issue is apartment with enough space for an espresso machine money, but I love my moka pot. Totally scratches the itch for delicious coffee stronger than drip.

*moka pot

He roasted it quite dark, most of it is burnt toast smell.

It’s a guy?

@@TexelGuy Lol 😂

@@Jorcap Yeah, I'm sorry to disappoint you 😕😂

Jor Cap 😒 are you? 🤔

Respect his pronouns

😂😂

Douglas Rogers Exactly what I was thinking. I love this channel, but I do think this was slightly unfair in some areas

_,,Even now, my deadly Robo-Scorpions swarm across Big MT with their _*_pincers_*_ and pointy laser tails. Soon, all Science will be MIIIIIIiiIIiiiIIiiIINEEE!"_ (Dr. Mobius, Fallout: New Vegas)

In addition, he was tapping the espresso hard. As a former barista I barely tapped the espresso grind. Ugh🤦🏽‍♀️

@@Nubianbeautyandlove I really think you should evaluate James' credentials before you go all keyboard warrior on his tamping technique. This isn't his first rodeo "former barista".

I think that is looking at one good thing in a big bad of bad things. The machine is bad - he demonstrated that quite well.

Drone Dad an Aldi *

tbh there aren't that many Aldi's in london.

Tho... found one to buy the machine? (or, idk... could have been stock footage from elsewhere I suppose & just something sent to him free by Aldi?) Either way.. :) Stay safe & be well.

@@thecaffineman yeah, ALDI's business model doesn't really work in zones 1/2 since it's impossible to find large buildings with low rent there. Lidl are doing some smaller shops nearer to central london so maybe Aldi will copy them on that.

Actually, posh people do shop at Aldi/Lidl. They get the basics there and the special stuff at Waitrose. Only the basic middle class buy everything in Waitrose *trying* to be what they think is posh. Posh people are better with money basically.

Part of the problem with poor equipment is hat they simply give up and carry on going (in this case) to their mermaid based coffee shop down the road. Good example/analogy of this would be something like a bike from a supermarket. Dave the factory worker (other factory workers are available) sees a bike shaped object next to the potatoes and decides to have a go at commuting to work on it. Problem is that it’s poor build quality, a bit heavy and breaks quite often so he just goes back to his car. If he’s been to an actual bike shop and spent a bit more, had it set up properly he’d have more likely continued to use it even if it cost an extra few quid.

Steve 😂😂😂

Well played ;-()

😂😂😂😂

Haha

Lol 😂 you so nailed it!

Those that grind are justified For brewing the beans They're the chosen fines

@@breadyegg "F**K YOU I WON'T BREW WHAT YOU TELL ME!!!" sorry couldn't help it

Bro that made me lol 🤣🤣

Yes, this is why I’m just as mad as James. I have been in the position to have a cheap espresso machine and I wasted hours of my life thinking I was too dumb to make a good drink. I feel for the people scammed by this grocery store chain and blaming themselves while the CEO laughs all the way to the bank.

Not sure I understand. How else would you regulate the brewing pressure if not by choosing the correct grind level? Coarser grind, faster flow, lower pressure. And vice versa. Can you please elaborate?

@@thomasvocke1707 All modern real espresso machines have an over pressure valve that regulates pressure to 9-10bar.

whaaat R U just a tamp, serious

So it was him. His fault.

​@@luvpamelanewton the tamps fault and maybe his ignorance to the fault of the machine. A tamp should ideally be even, but it's a cheap machine so you get cheap accessories.

​@@luvpamelanewtonHe is one of the world's foremost experts on coffee and espresso. I doubt his tamp was uneven. The man has released videos about just tamping espresso grounds.

@@samuelbarham8483 Haha. His video was cruel.

Tùng Trịnh regulars roast coffee. James roasts Coffee machines.

Good thing he had first *and* second crack at the thing.

This coffee machine roast went past dark to burnt.

Aldi's coffee machine got roasted harder than Aldi's coffee

Roast Master!

yep. See some manual espresso lever reviews. Or French Press technique video :)

At this point he's probably just working on perfecting his disgusted face and cashing in on it.. I think you're on to something

he only likes 'good' coffee

🤣🤣👌

@@bookoffholicbookwart5945 First of all, what techno156 said: 100% "no one hates something more than a fan." - in my special interest topics i nitpick about everything to the point where you can seriously ask if i'm even likeing it and, in addition to this, in regards of espressos i absolutly hate every espresso i made to the point were i dont even enjoy makeing it any more. Worked as an barista (for a bigger commercial coffee franchise) and it drove me nuts when the espresso wasnt like i want it. James like a lot of stuff he drink in the videos probably aroung 30% :D thats high for a nitpicking critic (and i dont mean this as an insult, as a product critic you should nitpick about everything for the sake of you consumer if something dont bother you you can ignore it, but if this little detail make this product unbearable for you it good that he mentioned it.)

That or people who have been assigned 'aldi wine drinkers' by the algorithm got this shoved in their face heard James doesn't shop there, and disliked

It’s bloody 299 pound machine. Better spend well than wasting it imo. 🤷‍♂️

If the dictionary had a definition for a coffee snob it should just be this guy’s picture lol

I thought it was a lesbian

😂

Doesn't change the fact that that machine makes shit espresso. 😅

Lol...

so much better for leaders to just take power and execute those who complain....

You mean Corona-time Viktor Orban?

I think you mean "Let the bad espresso flow through you."

@@fraichemilk Execute coarse setting 66 (!).

@@lincselo Oh yes. Good thing he's an insular nationalist or we'd have another Hitler on our hands.

Maybe people got confused: They dislike the product rather than the review.

@@MalteForstat exactly

You're surprised? Really? This pompous ass that's too stupid to figure out how to use the machine properly, whilst basking the superiority of a culture that cant be bothered to engineer their way out of a pickle jar.

Maybe it's his character

@@JH-tc3yu omg you have never had espresso have you

Wonderful that would be, master jedi.. 👽

I just looked it up, it only uses 3 bar of pressure. Can that even be called an espresso? (It's more like a Moka pot from what I undestand of it)

OMG it's a "4 cup" espresso machine that would be hilarious.

$50 MIGHT trigger import duties/fees.

I was thinking the same thing. This seems like a more expensive version of the $50 Mr Coffee. I actually owned one... it wasn't bad but for some reason I cant get it clean anymore... when i run water i keep getting sand in the pot.

Hahahahaahah

@@t0niu 1 bb] b

Hes a full on roasting machine

Very posh roaster.

Watch his comparison video of coffee machines around that price range, he doesn't recommend rocket

or may be a Flair58 or Cafelat Robot can be more tolerating to bad puck

I happen to have this machine at home for abt 2 months and is great for the price!! Do NOT trust hoffman on this!

I have the false belief that at sometime in the conversation I will be enlightened with some knowledge that I haven't had previously.

Same experience here my friend. I don't understand how someone can judge a book by its cover in such a short time. It's just sad.

@@dropdowntoawesome6047 i mean... he did make multiple coffees and it either flowed way too quickly or the whole thing clogged because the pressure skyrocketed, hardly would call it judging a book by it's cover, he was even optimistic about it before testing it, that's about as far away from "judging a book by it's cover" as you can get... If you can explain what he did wrong then just say that.

Why not mention a single point of how to make the machine operate well?

@@bbrockert no points. you have to be very very on point and precise with the grinds and the amount of coffee. If you find the right point, it work really fine. I drink espressos day to day from this machine, and not even once it made a bad espresso, sometimes it is delicious. Not a work of art, this machine is, it does not work perfectly, but if you find a sweetspot, it is really good for its price. so i cannot tell any point, other than you should pay more time finding the sweetspot. Mine does not clogged, and wasnt too fast, just had to make fine adjusments with it for a couple days, 3-4 coffees a day.

@@vinyei93 i just want to stop and say this "someone can judge a book by its cover in such a short time" spend thousands of hours to understand how machines and coffee works and I'm almost certain that he will produce better results than any of commenting people. Not to mention darker roasts which usually means italian roast where you cannot find difference between arabica and robusta not to mention any more subtle coffee profile

So this nice English chap got a terrible disappointment with an Aldi machine. And he is right to warn the people with an English taste in his review. If you have to go on a cheap but good espresso: Put some money extra with you and go for a refurbished tiny Quickmill 820, a metal 58mm tamper and an apart grinder. Or make your coffee the French way like he suggested. Let's make this review go viral.

He was once the official world champion Barista. So like, officially, he was the best person in the world at making coffee. 2007 I think. So yeah he’s pretty into it

This absolutely sums up why I can't stop watching his videos 🤣

OMG fr same lmao Like, I'll get the occasional brew at starbz or wawa, but idk shit about hiphop or beans and this channel is just fun

you have toilet paper with a thread count? thats a little odd

Some arseholes are sensitive if you know what i mean

Well, you have to take into consideration the ratio of thread count to residue. I usually count 2.3 to 2.4 grams of paper fibre per ml of excrement, depending of course on the consistency of the waste product.

@@Apanblod Jesus Christ 2.4 g of toilet paper that is why we have climate change you’re wasting way too much toilet paper just use your finger or take a shower lol

@@jerryhernandez2852 I realise it may sound excessive at first, but I compensate my carbon footprint by using bio-degradable, non-bleached paper from fair trade grown bamboo in north-eastern Nepal. I also freeze dry and process my disgusting waste into fertiliser using natural, locally produced, non-chemical ingredients and donate the fertiliser to eco-friendly compost depositories for fossil fuel free farms which in turn use it to plant organic, non-GMO vegetables free from pesticide. That and I drink my own piss.

it reminded me of a stupid car build too

And it will straight up implode in 4th gear😂😂😂😂😂

Some beans need finer grind than others.

@@KhoaNguyen-jt8tk Yeah this machine can't do those beans, it shouldn't offer the ability to handle those beans

@@Szanth The engineers who designed this machine have probably never drank espresso.

He did say, “Buy a Sage”. Sage is the alternative branding of Breville and apparently it’s light years ahead of this machine

Yeah, Sage = Breville

Whole body wipe down and hair removal too I'd say

@@tossmonkey1 his hair turned grey due to the amount of bleach he used to sanitize his hair.

he sent his elderly neighbour to get it

@@experiment54 hahahahahahahah

One does not "Go to Aldi" That's what the day staff are for.

Groan.

Stop. 😂

Took me a second. I get it now.

nice

*coughs blood*

Passive?

yeh stick that capsule in man

Plastic capsules?

@@DaveyMulholland ally caps ?

@@badlarry172 eh?

A friend of mine who also works in coffee's dream is to have a show pairing horrible coffee/wine with horrible cigars.

Sure thing, all you have to do is finance it. I doubt the manufacturers are going to pay for people to see their products being roasted.

why Netflix??

I feel that a series like that if done poorly could easily get too pretentious and snobbish. I rather see a series about baristas try make make coffee in conditions that aren't ideal with cheap equipment. They could experiment on how to make the best tasting coffee while camping or something like that.

No the max fill line is so the puck doesn’t touch the screen

regular JH viewers/coffee nerds: * nod in agreement * people who found this video randomly: "ugh what a snob, how dare he accurately review a cheap machine"

Yeah, this comment section sure is a dumpster fire

@@Zooropa_Station - It's also funny how easily they betray their ignorance. Seen people comment on him not drinking that 74 gram ""espresso"" saying; _'Look at that snob, throwing away and wasting coffee. No normal person would be able to tell the difference.'_ It's like: Say you don't have the slightest clue about espresso, without saying it. Or maybe they just like sucking on pennies?

The wine people algorithm lol

Haha Its 4 AM for me rn

Welcome to RU-vid bro. Welcome to RU-vid.

Another 4 am here hahaha

I know the feeling, for me its 2am and I have to work tomorrow, erhm, later today.

You don’t like fresh coffee? How is that even possible?

Whil Your use of interrobang made me happy 😀

Yes

@@jameshoffmann Aliexpress has a ton of suspiciously cheap espresso machines that may be worth checking out

@@jameshoffmann I'd be really interested in what the cheapest espresso setup that you'd recommend would be

@@jameshoffmann Best espresso machines under $200 US?

@Aaron Shiu And the Silvia ist super easy hackable. That was the main point for me.

This would be phenomenal

And instead of yelling he just gives a disappointing glare

I would watch that

XD

Who is Gordon Ramsay?

You clearly have much lower expectations of what is good coffee. No offense.

@@Adam-vx6to You have no idea how his coffee turns out LOL i have cheap sunbeam like this and it is trash to be fair but after having it while i figured out how to make coffee atleast close to my local where i get beans that they roast themselves so obviously they know how to extract coffee and i know what it should taste like as best i can but there is better options for cheap.

@@Lockdown335 no they don’t and this video proved it. Trust me, you can’t make good coffee, you just have low standards

What's the name of the brand u bought?

Ah, another Yorkshire gold drinker :p

don't you say one bad word about yorkshire gold. makes my tea look like ristretto in 20 seconds.

Builder’s tea *dribbles*

In a WIRED interview I watched recently, Patrick Stewart said he drinks Yorkshire Gold every morning. In my eyes that makes it perfectly acceptable :)

I have no idea what "Yorkshire Gold" is as an American, but yeah

He said "THIS is offensive to me as a coffee machine".

"It turned me into a newt!" "A newt?" "...I got better."

given said supermarket's supply chain, that's probs true.

Amen!

he was comparing it to results you can get for the same price, or far less...

Did you even watch the video?

It's the opposite of polite and poetic actually. Very direct and matter of fact.

The wine is really good there after all

Seraph He’s said in several videos that he’s just not a fan of home espresso because you need expensive machines and lot of time and resources (e.g., cleaning, dialing in) to get proper results. Thus, he would rather go and pay a few dollars to get espresso at a coffee shop and have someone else deal with all that. In any case, it would be interesting to see what’s his recommendation for a budget setup.

Antonio Riojas are manual espresso machines like the flaire any good? I’ve been interested in those for a while as I’ve not really got a nice cafe nearby and making your own espresso leads to some pretty big savings in the long run

Would be nice if he could bring himself to shoot a video like that. I doubt he will tho.