Getting a lot of comments, emails and requests regarding the Weird Coffee Person mug that is now sold out. That exact mug won't be for sale again, but we're looking at maybe using the same art on a different mug shape for another small run. We'll keep you posted. (I didn't mean to "flaunt" the thing you can't buy...)
Sean Cross I work at Starbucks and am here as a longtime watcher of James. But also I’m fully aware that the drinks my company produces are nothing compared to what ‘proper’ coffee can be
I love that you did this, honestly. I love that you don't hate on the pumpkin spice latte just because it's popular or not ~pure~ or whatever. You consistently embrace everybody who loves coffee whether or not they like it in the "right" way and it's just so refreshing to know I can come here for the excitement and curiosity without the gatekeeping. Also, "supercritical extract of cloves" is making me giggle.
Hi James, ex Starbucks employee here, worked in Wimbledon for 3 years and if I remember correctly since fall of either 2017 or 2018 the new vegan recipe for the PSL came to fruition, with actual pumpkin in the ingredients but no condensed milk. The drink was at first, like you said, just about the spices(and actually the best seller ever for Starbucks) and then Starbucks claimed customers seemed to ask for it to have actual pumpkin or pumpkin flavouring in it. My memory might not be perfect(I left a year ago) but I hope this helps clear out some fog about the drink. Also the spices were correct, mainly cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg on the top.
The change over came when people found out that there wasn't pumpkin in the PSL and the media had one of their Starbucks story freak-outs so Starbucks retooled it.
@@nemomenth why would there be pumpkin in it? It's a pumpkin spice latte as in the spices that are complement pumpkin. Arguably, it would have been better to just hyphenate it.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade because people thought "pumpkin spice latte" means "pumpkin and spices flavored latte" Also somewhat unrelated but in the USA at least, the pumpkin sauce contained both milk and pumpkin puree as early as 2014 (when I started working at Starbucks myself) and had been told it was the first year real pumpkin was included when the sauce started shipping. That said, the pumpkin syrup he has in this video looks completely different from the sauce that we used in the US so I am wondering if there is some regional difference. The psl sauce in the US was very thick, creamy looking, a softer lighter orange color, and also there was about an ounce of it in the grande size (much more than he shows in the video) - what he has looks much more like a thin sugar syrup that most of the other drinks are flavored with (eg caramel macchiato, caramel apple spice, etc)
Love it or hate it, Starbucks cranks up the pumpkin spiced latte period every year so James was just tasting what they have to compare his against. Obviously no contest BUT probably to be expected when you will be making a drink that is known to millions.
Fun tip! I make pumpkin spice “cubes” every year when falls comes, I have my own recipe I use for the actual pumpkin spice portion, but I like it with the purée (sort of like the initial recipe). Then I pour into an ice cube tray and freeze them. When you want a latte, I put the cube into a bit of warmed milk, stir until its defrosted, then make my latte as normal, just going a bit hotter on the rest of the milk. Takes all of 5-6 minutes!
Clove oil is a pretty powerful numbing agent and can be lethal in high concentrations. Accidentally putting highly concentrated clove oil on skin or in your mouth would be very unpleasant.
clove oil is typically used to gently kill pet fish. We had to do this and now the smell of cloves reminds me of that. I wonder if James had to do this at some point as well which is why he doesn’t like the spice.
Recommendation - you can use annatto seed powder to get the orange hue in the coffee whilst adding subtle, a peppery-nutmeg flavour. We often use annatto seed to colour filipino desserts or curries orange, and I always use it in my spice mix when I make pumpkin spice lattes from home. Cheers!
I think you're the first and only person I've seen make a video recreating a Starbucks drink without trash talking Starbucks and belittling the people who drink it. I'm new to your channel, but I just wanted to say thank you.💕
I drink a lot of stuff from places like Starbucks as a college student, but have never really liked coffee, because no one has ever presented it to me as something pleasant, rather just a necessary caffeine hit. After finding James' channel, now when I buy coffee, I've been ordering things with less and less sugar and flavorings, and I find myself actually enjoying it. I'm even considering getting my own "proper" home setup with a hand grinder, french press, moka pot, etc, whatever else interests me from his videos. James has managed to somewhat alleviate the images of my father's scalding black morning Folgers made with yesterday's spent grounds, and for that I thank you.
I really liked the introducing section of this video where you showed your journeys and wanderings before switching to the studio. It feels lively and naturally fits well into the channel's style, adding a bit of depth and soul to the video in my opinion.
Just did this recipe with a kabocha pumpkin from a local pumpkin patch. Aside from my small mistake of reducing the syrup a tad too far, the end result was FANTASTIC! The entire drink from beginning to end was delicious and didn’t have me feeling like it was lacking; thanks James!!!
I know Im super late to this video, but can I just say I was not (and should have been) expecting to actually research pumpkin varieties for this drink and now Im obsessed with the lengths James will go to for a bit of fun 😂
A few friends and I attempted a similar challenge last year!! We tried a few techniques like juicing a variety of different pumpkins, making pumpkin concentrate, etc. What worked best, somewhat obviously in hindsight, was using freeze dried pumpkin powder with milk/cream of choice for the latte foam (and then ofc various mixes of ground whole spices)
using pumpkin juice ended up adding a lot of water and a lot of undesirable flavors. perhaps could've used milk powder with the pumpkin juice as we did not think of that
Im waiting for that video, too! Just bought a comandante grinder to be ready when it comes out :D In the meantime i share my favourite Aeropress recipe from Michael Butterworth: - 15 g of coffee medium grind (not to coarse and not to fine) - 2 rinsed paper filters in normal postition - Add coffee and 225 g of boiling water and the plunger to prevent dripping - At 1:00 min remove plunger and break the crust - At 4:00 min slowly push down It reminds me a bit of James` Ultimate French Press Technique and i get a nice fruity cup out of it :)
@@lucask4865 Mine is very different. I took it from one of the world cup recipes, though I'm sure it's evolved. -25g of the finest coffee I can grind. -4.6:1 water to coffee mass ratio ~ 115g -pour and mix thoroughly up until 30s -rest for a further 25 to 30s -press out until before the air starts to come through ~30s. I think mine is either severly underextracted or yours is severly over extracted :D I'll give yours a try though.
Incredible format, please do more of these. Request: Please do a “Hoffman tastes famous coffee” series, where you go and taste coffee from not only different popular coffee places (like this one), but also from some of the different coffee cultures around the world.
james’ vocabulary,,, his way of describing tastes and smells r so!!! articulate! like i can imagine and understand how the drink would smell and taste like!!
The moment James mentioned Vietnam omg!! But then I realized it was cinnamon.. not even coffee... James please please do The Ultimate Vietnamese Phin coffee!!
I thought this was one of your best videos. I loved that you took us around London a bit, went into detail about other ingredients in a similar way that you do for coffee. In the end, you broke a Pumpkin Spice Latte down into its core components and built it up so much more. Awesome video!
I had a similar moment regarding spices some time after developing my appreciation of coffee. We are often taught to think of things as fungible commodities and think almost exclusively of price. I think for many the next step is to consider freshness. Finally a realization that coffee/cinnamon/etc are not some element or molecule with consistent and agreed upon structure. That where and how it is grown and processed impact flavour. Its just interesting that that realization came years before spices for me. Perhaps because I seldom taste them in isolation like coffee. Usually multiple spices mixed with multiple other ingredients.
This man is insane. I love him. I’m so glad I ran into his channel. The amount of detail he puts into everything. Omg. I hope to run into you on the streets of London. :)
This video has highlighted the one thing that’s really made me feel at home in my foray into the world of coffee. Sourcing the right stuff. I’m a noob in the world of coffee and it can seem intimidating at first, but the actual product.... as a lifelong foodie, yeah I get the sourcing of the good stuff. It’s the little things that help when you’re a beginner, that make you feel you’re not a complete outsider 😀
Really appreciate the "coffee as lesson for life" connection at the end. Autumn is a great poetic/introspective time so it's completely apropos to make philosophical connections with this particular drink!
An interesting thing about ginger is unlike most spices and coffee you can grow it almost anywhere, even where I live in Canada. You can grow it in a pot on your porch. In fact, most of the ginger root we have where I live in BC is locally grown. You can also get local ginger powder in a more local-focused grocery store. I don’t know what that would mean for the flavour profile, but it’s important if you’re worried about traceability and buying fair trade.
I'll definitely be trying your recipe. With one minor, but impactful, change. I'll lightly toast the spices prior to grinding. I prefer toasted spices because it brings out the natural oils. Which helps the aromas to be stronger and the flavors tend to be deeper.
Important thing to think about: do you toast your spices? It helps to bring out the flavors, although nutmeg and cinnamon are often left out of toasting just because they're so much larger than most other spices that it's hard to toast them all together.
I’m so excited you did this! I love pumpkin spice but starbucks and most other coffee shops make it waaaaay too sweet for me. This is next level specialty coffee pumpkin spice and I love it. Thanks for doing this!
I made this at the weekend, and it's amazing! I couldn't find a pumpkin, so I substituted it with butternut squash. I also don't have a juicer, so I blended butternut squash chunks with some water, and drained it using a sieve and then a French press. Worked a treat! I followed everything else on the recipe and I can tell you, it beats the Starbucks syrup hands down. Thanks for the recipe James
My internal monologue during the beginning of the spice discussion: James: "There will be links to these particular spices down below." Me: "Eh, since the pandemic started I've been trying to buy local, and we have a really nice spice store here in Milwaukee." James: Me: "Hmm, that looks kinda like the flat packs the Spice House here in Milwaukee started using recently." James: Me: Me: "Well played, James. Well played. I think you should visit Milwaukee once travel is more acceptable. In addition to, apparently the place to get specialty spices, we have one of the largest distributers of specialty tea. And a surprising number of coffee roasters of varying sizes and goals. I guess we took the name Brew Town and ran with it."
Benjamin! Another MKE sub?! Too crazy. So many shops for him to visit, James could do a whole trip of the the unexpected world of specialty coffee in MKE and WI at large.
I, too, have had a negative experience with cloves. Clove oil is used for toothaches and clove oil-soaked gauze is used for some post oral surgery complications. It's ... overwhelming.
James: I feel like I was complicating other people's work. Also James: JUICE THE PUMPKIN. Jokes aside, James, if you're going to sell Squaremile Coffee/Mr Fancy Pumpkin Spice Syrup in small volume I might buy one.
I've never been a starbucks PSL person but I love making my own at home. I roast my pumpkin and make a puree (I use the puree for cookies) the excess pumpkin juice that comes out is the base for my syrup. I tend to chuck in whole spice and and let it infuse (like an Indian chai) and use maple syrup for sweetness. You don't wind up with a lot of syrup but it's enough to comfortably get me through the season. I love the idea of adding esspresso cream on top, will definitely try that this PSL season
I used that spice mix in a plain cookie dough. Used half sugar in the recipe. It became a good coffee cookie, not too sweet not too spicy. Thanks for the inspiration
I have tried the recipe, it turned out great but there are some notes here: 1, Don't expect it to be a "coffee" drink but more of a autumn-y, seasonal drink. U can put the syrup straight into warm milk, but coffee will give the drink more body and balance out the flavour. 2, If u can, put all the grinded spices into a tea bag because it will save you tons of time filtering the tiny bits out. It's still ok to have tiny bits of spices but some may find it unpleasant. Love the recipe of yours
Watching tom scott and James have a conversation would be so interesting cause they're both really into stuff in same way of understanding , also the crossover of tech and coffee is interesting in general
I've watched this multiple times and appreciate how this video seems to try and make the PSL something more, something deeper and more enjoyable for those who like more than sugar. Cheers James
Great video as always. One (perhaps dumb) question: did you try juicing a baked/cooked pumpkin? I would imagine that to change the flavor of the juice significantly, and likely bring out a lot more of the sugars from it.
Thanks I didn't know that. I heard Mexican cinnamon is different from the one curl and two curl cinnamon barks. I've also heard that the Mexican one is the kind that has the affect on your blood sugar not the other kinds. I don't know what the truth is but I thought it was very interesting to read all that.
I'm so glad that I've met your channel, James! The content is just amazing: Cozy Educational Interesting Entertaining Also, I just like you as a person, thank you for your time and effort, keep it up.
RE: Pumpkin in the latte The recipes change, so no clue about this years specifically, but in 2014-2015 when I worked at Starbucks I believe there was pumpkin puree (or something to that effect) in the Pumpkin spice flavoring. The explanation I got regarding that was along the lines of, people heard there wasn't pumpkin in there Pumpkin spice lattes and made enough of a fuss that it got added.
Gave this a go this morning, well, a variation of it. Basically made the syrup sans pumpkin... eyeballed the spice measurements and it was indeed excellent. I’ve tried chai masala in coffee before, but this I think works a lot better. The issue with chai masala seems to be cardamom and pepper, they don’t seem to work as well as this spice mixture. Great video once again.
Well, I did it. I went out and bought the spices, the Jarrahdale pumpkin, the cheese cloth, etc. I bought it all and I did the damn thing... And it truly is delicious. There's almost a savory element to the syrup, and it counterbalances the sweetness of the sugar and richness of the spices that would otherwise be overwhelming. This weekend will be the full test - Red Brick espresso, the whipped cream, and 15g of syrup in -an 8oz- a 240ml cup. I'll report back with the final test. 10/19 update: I built the full latte today, and it was definitely worth the journey. Lightly sweet but balanced, with a slightly savory taste from the pumpkin. You can taste the individual spices (even more when you dust the top), and the coffee flavor from the whipped cream is unexpectedly the star - it helps translate the espresso flavor through everything else and makes sure it isn't lost. Overall, if you're trying to consider whether or not you attempt this recipe - go for it!
@@sleepcha I had to use a single layer instead of how I normally use cheese cloth (2 doubled layers). It took a while, but it eventually went through, and I helped it by lightly spreading it back and forth with a spatula
@@johnmarklowry I ended up mixing it with some water and waiting for the cinnamon particles to settle at the bottom of a jar (almost like brewing in a french press) to decant the clear portion of the syrup into the cloth. It was worth it.
@@Carmen_Tatis I used Demerara sugar. Had to find it on Amazon as the local grocery stores didn't have it, but you could also substitute light brown sugar as well.
I don’t have a coffee machine or a press, or even coffee. I drink tea. But I am now subscribed and watch these regularly. I guess that’s good content for you
Love this video! I've been making my own version at home using a teaspoon of store bought "pumpkin pie spice extract" which is a tincture of the usual spices suspended in alcohol. It says "keep away from open flame" on the box. I wonder if that means I could potentially make a "flaming pumpkin spice latte"!
I've used your techniques on my French Press, with the instant coffee I have. I always prefer bean or pre ground, but recently found some instant Tai coffee that I can get get a nice smooth taste with the French Press. Adding some chocolate coffee candy beans to it added a nice smooth topping, after stirring before the press. Thanks for your patience with this long comment & keep up the great work.
Would love to see what salt did to this concoction. Interesting when you start to play with the more vegetable-y flavours of the pumpkin. Also, curious about the world of Maté as it seems to be that kind of weird bridge between spicy/herby worlds that the PSL kind of lends itself to as well.
@Lauren Damaso Ruiz I'm American but have lived in Australia and have numerous British and Aussie friends. I know a lot call these something else but if someone said "pumpkin" to you, what would you think of? I believe most in the UK would think of these even if there's another term. While "pumpkin spice", if it has pumpkin, is referring to the American usage which is an entirely different type of gourd
I love that you treated the PSL not as joke. Most "coffee" people are normally mean and rude about it. I just went from enjoying your videos to liking you as a creator.
Borders Books used to push their PS coffee every year while my wife worked there. "Free samples", those tiny white cups on a platter supposed to entice you to buy bags of it to brew up at home. It was some of the most vile stuff I've ever drank and I remember at the end of the promotion each year they'd give away bags of it to the employees that they couldn't sell. I think most of it went in the trash. The taste scarred me for life.. I'd love to try this except it scares me.
If you don’t have a juicer, you can process a small pumpkin for purée, and then press out the pumpkin liquid. Freeze the purée, and you’re left with a liquid that isn’t too green/vegetal in taste and easily is used to make an pumpkin spice syrup
Aw! looks delicious 😍..for me the best pumpkin for a proper pumpkin spice latte is the sugar pumpkin, roasted in the oven for 30 minutes...if not you can buy Libby’s pumpkin puré! Is really good , natural, and a quick way to make it 😉..instead sugar I use maple syrup...
thank u james for legitimizing the pumpkin coffee lovers out here. too long i have lived with the stigma of being basic but if James Hoffmann Coffee Aficionado can enjoy a psl then everyone else can be quiet, pumpkin coffee is nice!!!!!!
... Great idea James… I have a butternut squash which I usually use in place of pumpkin as it is easier to handle… I think canned pumpkin purée would work… Your entire presentation was top notch… Cheers… God is good…😎...
Hey James! I blind taste tested a high quality all spice (full seeds/ dried- hardened berries?) vs Schwartz powdered all spice. First time the high quality came out just on top but then every year since the simple schwartz powder has come out way on top so may be worth checkin out. Also I know, cloves are very dominant- Try this, I bought some good quality cloves, hand roasted them in a dry pan then hand ground with a pestle and mortar. A total new flavour appeared!!! (I believe it’s released as part of a chemical reaction that only happens when you roast) a rich complex dark but sweet and Morris’s chocolatey-ness! (Breath its aroma in as you grind, you’ll understand). Well worth a go. You might like this clove addition to the spice mix more. and love the video 👍 thanks for making 🙂
Getting a lot of comments, emails and requests regarding the Weird Coffee Person mug that is now sold out. That exact mug won't be for sale again, but we're looking at maybe using the same art on a different mug shape for another small run. We'll keep you posted. (I didn't mean to "flaunt" the thing you can't buy...)
Cries in disappointment. I would have bought four of the them. Way too cool. :)
James, I can only drink organic coffee otherwise I break out in a rash and feel meh! What about you old bean (see what I did there 😀)..
I was on my way to the comments ready to complain when you already addressed it, what am I meant to do with all this pent up aggression?
@@SomethingNick drink more coffee
We always want what we can't have. But we'll probably want what we can have too. **waits patiently**
Imagine being the barista that gets given James Hoffman's order.
Holy shit, the pressure.
I'm guessing, given it was apparently no big thing to get a syrup sample off them, that he has friends in places.
The Starbucks person dumped some sirup into cup, pressed two buttons, and wrote Clyde on the cup
I mean if were talking Starbucks, the chance that they care about coffee enough to watch UA-cam videos about it might be pretty small 😂
Sean Cross I work at Starbucks and am here as a longtime watcher of James. But also I’m fully aware that the drinks my company produces are nothing compared to what ‘proper’ coffee can be
I don't think they knew who I was, and were very confused by my syrup request but kind and accommodating.
I love that you did this, honestly. I love that you don't hate on the pumpkin spice latte just because it's popular or not ~pure~ or whatever. You consistently embrace everybody who loves coffee whether or not they like it in the "right" way and it's just so refreshing to know I can come here for the excitement and curiosity without the gatekeeping.
Also, "supercritical extract of cloves" is making me giggle.
Hi James, ex Starbucks employee here, worked in Wimbledon for 3 years and if I remember correctly since fall of either 2017 or 2018 the new vegan recipe for the PSL came to fruition, with actual pumpkin in the ingredients but no condensed milk. The drink was at first, like you said, just about the spices(and actually the best seller ever for Starbucks) and then Starbucks claimed customers seemed to ask for it to have actual pumpkin or pumpkin flavouring in it. My memory might not be perfect(I left a year ago) but I hope this helps clear out some fog about the drink. Also the spices were correct, mainly cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg on the top.
The change over came when people found out that there wasn't pumpkin in the PSL and the media had one of their Starbucks story freak-outs so Starbucks retooled it.
@@nemomenth why would there be pumpkin in it? It's a pumpkin spice latte as in the spices that are complement pumpkin. Arguably, it would have been better to just hyphenate it.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade because people thought "pumpkin spice latte" means "pumpkin and spices flavored latte"
Also somewhat unrelated but in the USA at least, the pumpkin sauce contained both milk and pumpkin puree as early as 2014 (when I started working at Starbucks myself) and had been told it was the first year real pumpkin was included when the sauce started shipping. That said, the pumpkin syrup he has in this video looks completely different from the sauce that we used in the US so I am wondering if there is some regional difference. The psl sauce in the US was very thick, creamy looking, a softer lighter orange color, and also there was about an ounce of it in the grande size (much more than he shows in the video) - what he has looks much more like a thin sugar syrup that most of the other drinks are flavored with (eg caramel macchiato, caramel apple spice, etc)
filling the chefsteps sized hole in my heart
RIGHT in the heart
Internet Shaquille!
f in the chat fr grant wyd man
sup king
I don't get it.. Chefsteps has been posting right?
Can you imagine James just casually strolling into a starbucks and buying a pumpkin spiced latte? I would be equally parts starstruck and horrified.
Love it or hate it, Starbucks cranks up the pumpkin spiced latte period every year so James was just tasting what they have to compare his against. Obviously no contest BUT probably to be expected when you will be making a drink that is known to millions.
'Starbucked', if you will...
Fun tip! I make pumpkin spice “cubes” every year when falls comes, I have my own recipe I use for the actual pumpkin spice portion, but I like it with the purée (sort of like the initial recipe). Then I pour into an ice cube tray and freeze them. When you want a latte, I put the cube into a bit of warmed milk, stir until its defrosted, then make my latte as normal, just going a bit hotter on the rest of the milk. Takes all of 5-6 minutes!
Would you mind sharing your recipe here?
Genius!!!!
That is so smart
Would love to know your recipe!
“A blade grinder is completely fine” well I never thought I’d hear James say that
Probably because he does two to three extra steps to make it as even as possible
I never thought this day would come. 2020 is an unusual year for sure
tolga1cool biggest shock of 2020 so far
As surprising as the fact that he doesn’t roast the spices before grinding :)
He’s made a whole video about using a blade grinder in the past, using a sieve and a sheet of kitchen roll
The fact that James refers to all of us as coffee people just warms my heart
I feel like the phrase 'I had an incident with a supercritical extract of cloves' isn't one of those things you can just kinda throw out there
You can buy clove oil. It's mostly eugenol and has numbing properties. It was used to treat tooth aches.
Clove oil is a pretty powerful numbing agent and can be lethal in high concentrations. Accidentally putting highly concentrated clove oil on skin or in your mouth would be very unpleasant.
clove oil is typically used to gently kill pet fish. We had to do this and now the smell of cloves reminds me of that. I wonder if James had to do this at some point as well which is why he doesn’t like the spice.
Recommendation - you can use annatto seed powder to get the orange hue in the coffee whilst adding subtle, a peppery-nutmeg flavour. We often use annatto seed to colour filipino desserts or curries orange, and I always use it in my spice mix when I make pumpkin spice lattes from home. Cheers!
Patricia Morada Macabulos that’s a great tip
Sounds good but make sure you inform people who will consume it that it is in there since an allergy to it is on the rise...
I think you're the first and only person I've seen make a video recreating a Starbucks drink without trash talking Starbucks and belittling the people who drink it. I'm new to your channel, but I just wanted to say thank you.💕
I think this is an imposter. No way has James ever gone into a Starbucks AND used a blade grinder in the same week before
AL Carl late April fools?
lol
I think we need to vote at that point
@@ostapivanov1541 kinda sus
I think Carl's got a point.
I drink a lot of stuff from places like Starbucks as a college student, but have never really liked coffee, because no one has ever presented it to me as something pleasant, rather just a necessary caffeine hit. After finding James' channel, now when I buy coffee, I've been ordering things with less and less sugar and flavorings, and I find myself actually enjoying it. I'm even considering getting my own "proper" home setup with a hand grinder, french press, moka pot, etc, whatever else interests me from his videos. James has managed to somewhat alleviate the images of my father's scalding black morning Folgers made with yesterday's spent grounds, and for that I thank you.
I hope that, two years later, you could build up your coffee making set and enjoy great coffee.
13:03 Hoffman looking like a concerned mother and thinking if he raised the espresso right.
That gave me such a good laugh to start my day.
Haha so good xD
best comment
Oh god, yes 😂
That is so true!!!
I really liked the introducing section of this video where you showed your journeys and wanderings before switching to the studio. It feels lively and naturally fits well into the channel's style, adding a bit of depth and soul to the video in my opinion.
The smile when you tasted your homemade syrup to compare was priceless. ❤️☕☕❤️
James Hoffmann is the only man that could get me to watch a 15 minute video on a coffee drink I'd never drink haha. Love it! ☕
Is it just me or is this an all smiles, good mood Hoffmann for once
He is always like that ?
I think he understands which videos are for aficionados and which is for the uninitiated masses
This is the first time I've ever seen him smile I was shook
He was in a very good mood in this video indeed.
Just did this recipe with a kabocha pumpkin from a local pumpkin patch. Aside from my small mistake of reducing the syrup a tad too far, the end result was FANTASTIC! The entire drink from beginning to end was delicious and didn’t have me feeling like it was lacking; thanks James!!!
Well that was unexpected, James Hoffman went into a STARBUCKS?
Just a guy named Matt I know right!
He sacrifices so that we, his followers, need not suffer.
I thought this, and then I remembered he drank* caffeinated water🤣
And has an opinion on which is the best in London!
And the world didn't implode... suspicious.
I know Im super late to this video, but can I just say I was not (and should have been) expecting to actually research pumpkin varieties for this drink and now Im obsessed with the lengths James will go to for a bit of fun 😂
You have been the highlight of 2020 - Thanks James
Can’t wait for the day I have enough effort to do this myself. 😛🙌🏼
and money for spices
@@guillermogilthemessenger it's not like starbucks is cheap... And it's miserable excuse for coffee
@@HugoFerreira24photo when I say starbucks was cheap mayne?
Tomorrow?
Holy moly it’s Cole Walliser! Surely if you’ve got time to be programming robotic cameras you’ve got time to make a PSL!?
I need to know about the supercritical CO2 clove extraction incident
One day I will retell the story of this (flavour based) trauma...
I wonder if this has any link to the Marathon Man film?
Did James have a toothache and try putting clove oil on his gum? -shudder- that could have definitely gone horribly wrong.
@@jameshoffmann such a tease!
@@jameshoffmann You should bring it up repeatedly but never share the actual story, like the "noodle incident" from Calvin & Hobbes
A few friends and I attempted a similar challenge last year!! We tried a few techniques like juicing a variety of different pumpkins, making pumpkin concentrate, etc. What worked best, somewhat obviously in hindsight, was using freeze dried pumpkin powder with milk/cream of choice for the latte foam (and then ofc various mixes of ground whole spices)
using pumpkin juice ended up adding a lot of water and a lot of undesirable flavors. perhaps could've used milk powder with the pumpkin juice as we did not think of that
you'll do everything but the aeropress video why
Im waiting for that video, too! Just bought a comandante grinder to be ready when it comes out :D
In the meantime i share my favourite Aeropress recipe from Michael Butterworth:
- 15 g of coffee medium grind (not to coarse and not to fine)
- 2 rinsed paper filters in normal postition
- Add coffee and 225 g of boiling water and the plunger to prevent dripping
- At 1:00 min remove plunger and break the crust
- At 4:00 min slowly push down
It reminds me a bit of James` Ultimate French Press Technique and i get a nice fruity cup out of it :)
DAMN HAHAHAHA
@@lucask4865 COMANDANTE is da vey
@@lucask4865 Mine is very different. I took it from one of the world cup recipes, though I'm sure it's evolved.
-25g of the finest coffee I can grind.
-4.6:1 water to coffee mass ratio ~ 115g
-pour and mix thoroughly up until 30s
-rest for a further 25 to 30s
-press out until before the air starts to come through ~30s.
I think mine is either severly underextracted or yours is severly over extracted :D I'll give yours a try though.
@@lucask4865 I'll give this a go right away! Good luck with the comandante, I'm stuck with the cuisinart DB8 that was reviewed earlier 🙈😅
Incredible format, please do more of these.
Request: Please do a “Hoffman tastes famous coffee” series, where you go and taste coffee from not only different popular coffee places (like this one), but also from some of the different coffee cultures around the world.
finally the James Hoffmann x Starbucks crossover we’ve been waiting for
“It’s autumnal.”
This made my day. Thank you.
James, blink twice if Kevin Johnson is holding your family hostage...
Very, very few UA-cam comments have made me laugh this much 😂
You win the internet today.
🤣🤣🤣
This one made my day!
Can you explain the joke? Who is Kevin Johnson
james’ vocabulary,,, his way of describing tastes and smells r so!!! articulate! like i can imagine and understand how the drink would smell and taste like!!
The moment James mentioned Vietnam omg!!
But then I realized it was cinnamon.. not even coffee...
James please please do The Ultimate Vietnamese Phin coffee!!
Duong Kristin Using Legend coffee?
Warren Stanford i would suggest a different brand but it comes down to preference i guess haha
I🖤VietnameseCoffee!
Coffee grows from a tree, therefore coffee is a fruit soup. Therefore counts as 1/5 a day.
Upload for humor.
Can't argue with that.
You have to read this book about Nutmeg a very interesting history. "nathaniel's nutmeg" Not coffee orientated but good all the same.
Jon Townsend is that you?
I've read that book years ago. It is an absolutely crazy story from what I remember
I thought this was one of your best videos. I loved that you took us around London a bit, went into detail about other ingredients in a similar way that you do for coffee. In the end, you broke a Pumpkin Spice Latte down into its core components and built it up so much more. Awesome video!
50 seconds into the video and I am loving this style. I can feel James strives for making coffee more approachable.
+
His level of extra and dedication is so gratifying. Also the phrase “wack of cloves” made me laugh out loud. Great sweaters too
I had a similar moment regarding spices some time after developing my appreciation of coffee.
We are often taught to think of things as fungible commodities and think almost exclusively of price. I think for many the next step is to consider freshness. Finally a realization that coffee/cinnamon/etc are not some element or molecule with consistent and agreed upon structure. That where and how it is grown and processed impact flavour.
Its just interesting that that realization came years before spices for me. Perhaps because I seldom taste them in isolation like coffee. Usually multiple spices mixed with multiple other ingredients.
In US there's a spice site that reminds me of good coffee sourcing called Burlap and Barrel.
James, your work and effort from beginning to end is IMMENSELY appreciated. Beautiful work, as always.
This man is insane. I love him. I’m so glad I ran into his channel. The amount of detail he puts into everything. Omg. I hope to run into you on the streets of London. :)
James’s smile told it all. PSLs are one of autumn’s great gifts!
I've ordered from spice house in the past and all the stuff i've gotten has been fresh and delicious. would recommend!
This video has highlighted the one thing that’s really made me feel at home in my foray into the world of coffee. Sourcing the right stuff.
I’m a noob in the world of coffee and it can seem intimidating at first, but the actual product.... as a lifelong foodie, yeah I get the sourcing of the good stuff. It’s the little things that help when you’re a beginner, that make you feel you’re not a complete outsider 😀
"an oozing and decadent treat" - I want a t-shirt with this on it!
I never want a t-shirt with “Oozing” on it!
Really appreciate the "coffee as lesson for life" connection at the end. Autumn is a great poetic/introspective time so it's completely apropos to make philosophical connections with this particular drink!
An interesting thing about ginger is unlike most spices and coffee you can grow it almost anywhere, even where I live in Canada. You can grow it in a pot on your porch. In fact, most of the ginger root we have where I live in BC is locally grown. You can also get local ginger powder in a more local-focused grocery store. I don’t know what that would mean for the flavour profile, but it’s important if you’re worried about traceability and buying fair trade.
I wondered why he didn't put ginger root thru the juicer with the pumpkin
I'll definitely be trying your recipe. With one minor, but impactful, change. I'll lightly toast the spices prior to grinding. I prefer toasted spices because it brings out the natural oils. Which helps the aromas to be stronger and the flavors tend to be deeper.
im not even a coffee person but your videos are just so enjoyable! love your personality and the passion for coffee! its positively infectious
Important thing to think about: do you toast your spices? It helps to bring out the flavors, although nutmeg and cinnamon are often left out of toasting just because they're so much larger than most other spices that it's hard to toast them all together.
I’m so excited you did this! I love pumpkin spice but starbucks and most other coffee shops make it waaaaay too sweet for me. This is next level specialty coffee pumpkin spice and I love it. Thanks for doing this!
I made this at the weekend, and it's amazing!
I couldn't find a pumpkin, so I substituted it with butternut squash. I also don't have a juicer, so I blended butternut squash chunks with some water, and drained it using a sieve and then a French press. Worked a treat!
I followed everything else on the recipe and I can tell you, it beats the Starbucks syrup hands down. Thanks for the recipe James
never thought i'd live to see James Hoffman walking into a Starbucks :)
It's kinda like seeing Peter McKinnon walking into Timmy's ... which I'm guessing he does quite often! 😁
My internal monologue during the beginning of the spice discussion:
James: "There will be links to these particular spices down below."
Me: "Eh, since the pandemic started I've been trying to buy local, and we have a really nice spice store here in Milwaukee."
James:
Me: "Hmm, that looks kinda like the flat packs the Spice House here in Milwaukee started using recently."
James:
Me:
Me: "Well played, James. Well played. I think you should visit Milwaukee once travel is more acceptable. In addition to, apparently the place to get specialty spices, we have one of the largest distributers of specialty tea. And a surprising number of coffee roasters of varying sizes and goals. I guess we took the name Brew Town and ran with it."
As somebody who used to work there, I would *love* to see James do a collab with Colectivo. Cheers from Madison.
Daniel Betekhtin not a bad idea!.. so many roasters to choose from though they are the biggest..
Benjamin! Another MKE sub?! Too crazy. So many shops for him to visit, James could do a whole trip of the the unexpected world of specialty coffee in MKE and WI at large.
YAY for Milwaukee and Spice House!!!
Is that the Spice House in Tosa? Off Watertown Plank Rd?
Appreciate your enthusiasm for "going outside" these few recent clips! Hahahaha
I, too, have had a negative experience with cloves. Clove oil is used for toothaches and clove oil-soaked gauze is used for some post oral surgery complications. It's ... overwhelming.
This is the most delightfully extra thing I have ever watched. Makes me want to go to a spice market and test all the spices and mixes 😍
James: I feel like I was complicating other people's work.
Also James: JUICE THE PUMPKIN.
Jokes aside, James, if you're going to sell Squaremile Coffee/Mr Fancy Pumpkin Spice Syrup in small volume I might buy one.
Mr. Fancy Pumpkin Spice Syrup! Great name....I’ll take a case, please?
I friggin love this guy. James, I have made this for my wife and now I'm on the hook.
I've never been a starbucks PSL person but I love making my own at home.
I roast my pumpkin and make a puree (I use the puree for cookies) the excess pumpkin juice that comes out is the base for my syrup. I tend to chuck in whole spice and and let it infuse (like an Indian chai) and use maple syrup for sweetness.
You don't wind up with a lot of syrup but it's enough to comfortably get me through the season.
I love the idea of adding esspresso cream on top, will definitely try that this PSL season
James is using the same cheap Krups grinder I just used to grind my coffee 😅
I'll get to his level one day
I used that spice mix in a plain cookie dough. Used half sugar in the recipe. It became a good coffee cookie, not too sweet not too spicy. Thanks for the inspiration
Before I clicked on this video I ALREADY KNEW he'd find a way to use Cassia in place of cinnamon. Classic James Hoffman.
He said half and half, to give a wider range in the flavor.
I have tried the recipe, it turned out great but there are some notes here:
1, Don't expect it to be a "coffee" drink but more of a autumn-y, seasonal drink. U can put the syrup straight into warm milk, but coffee will give the drink more body and balance out the flavour.
2, If u can, put all the grinded spices into a tea bag because it will save you tons of time filtering the tiny bits out. It's still ok to have tiny bits of spices but some may find it unpleasant.
Love the recipe of yours
Tom Scott except he is into coffee
Watching tom scott and James have a conversation would be so interesting cause they're both really into stuff in same way of understanding , also the crossover of tech and coffee is interesting in general
@@becksmurphy8311 I feel like they would bump into each other doing a human interest story in a coffee production country
.
Tom Scott, but he's quiet and into coffee.
Tom Scott except he is Peter Capaldi
Travis Scott burger except made out of coffee beans
I've watched this multiple times and appreciate how this video seems to try and make the PSL something more, something deeper and more enjoyable for those who like more than sugar. Cheers James
Great video as always. One (perhaps dumb) question: did you try juicing a baked/cooked pumpkin? I would imagine that to change the flavor of the juice significantly, and likely bring out a lot more of the sugars from it.
And, using a pie pumpkin, bred to have finer texture and more sugar, unlike the Jardale pumpkins.
Thanks for posting! After watching this, my wife and I tried this and got a great result! A great treat for the whole family! Thanks again!
FYI for anyone that doesn't know- the "cartoony" cassia bark cinnamon is the regular cinnamon here in the states.
Thanks I didn't know that. I heard Mexican cinnamon is different from the one curl and two curl cinnamon barks.
I've also heard that the Mexican one is the kind that has the affect on your blood sugar not the other kinds.
I don't know what the truth is but I thought it was very interesting to read all that.
I'm so glad that I've met your channel, James! The content is just amazing:
Cozy
Educational
Interesting
Entertaining
Also, I just like you as a person, thank you for your time and effort, keep it up.
RE: Pumpkin in the latte
The recipes change, so no clue about this years specifically, but in 2014-2015 when I worked at Starbucks I believe there was pumpkin puree (or something to that effect) in the Pumpkin spice flavoring.
The explanation I got regarding that was along the lines of, people heard there wasn't pumpkin in there Pumpkin spice lattes and made enough of a fuss that it got added.
Gave this a go this morning, well, a variation of it. Basically made the syrup sans pumpkin... eyeballed the spice measurements and it was indeed excellent. I’ve tried chai masala in coffee before, but this I think works a lot better. The issue with chai masala seems to be cardamom and pepper, they don’t seem to work as well as this spice mixture. Great video once again.
Well, I did it. I went out and bought the spices, the Jarrahdale pumpkin, the cheese cloth, etc. I bought it all and I did the damn thing...
And it truly is delicious. There's almost a savory element to the syrup, and it counterbalances the sweetness of the sugar and richness of the spices that would otherwise be overwhelming.
This weekend will be the full test - Red Brick espresso, the whipped cream, and 15g of syrup in -an 8oz- a 240ml cup. I'll report back with the final test.
10/19 update: I built the full latte today, and it was definitely worth the journey. Lightly sweet but balanced, with a slightly savory taste from the pumpkin. You can taste the individual spices (even more when you dust the top), and the coffee flavor from the whipped cream is unexpectedly the star - it helps translate the espresso flavor through everything else and makes sure it isn't lost.
Overall, if you're trying to consider whether or not you attempt this recipe - go for it!
how did you manage to strain the cinnamon sludge through the cheese cloth? i’m stuck at this step as it won’t go through the cloth...
@@sleepcha I had to use a single layer instead of how I normally use cheese cloth (2 doubled layers). It took a while, but it eventually went through, and I helped it by lightly spreading it back and forth with a spatula
@@johnmarklowry I ended up mixing it with some water and waiting for the cinnamon particles to settle at the bottom of a jar (almost like brewing in a french press) to decant the clear portion of the syrup into the cloth. It was worth it.
Did to use regular sugar or Demerara sugar?
@@Carmen_Tatis I used Demerara sugar. Had to find it on Amazon as the local grocery stores didn't have it, but you could also substitute light brown sugar as well.
I don’t have a coffee machine or a press, or even coffee. I drink tea. But I am now subscribed and watch these regularly. I guess that’s good content for you
Love this video! I've been making my own version at home using a teaspoon of store bought "pumpkin pie spice extract" which is a tincture of the usual spices suspended in alcohol. It says "keep away from open flame" on the box. I wonder if that means I could potentially make a "flaming pumpkin spice latte"!
12:20 - thank you James! Finally! I have been absolutely beside myself with what to do with my vanilla bean pod I had lying around.
Waiting for local coffee places to offer "James Hoffmann's Pumpkin Spice Latte"!
Seconding this! That sounds like a dream!
Waiting for it to be $10 a pop...
Yas! This tiny smile after tasting the homemade syrup! Happy James is cute!
Comment of appreciation of James’ knitwear
I've used your techniques on my French Press, with the instant coffee I have. I always prefer bean or pre ground, but recently found some instant Tai coffee that I can get get a nice smooth taste with the French Press. Adding some chocolate coffee candy beans to it added a nice smooth topping, after stirring before the press. Thanks for your patience with this long comment & keep up the great work.
Would love to see what salt did to this concoction. Interesting when you start to play with the more vegetable-y flavours of the pumpkin. Also, curious about the world of Maté as it seems to be that kind of weird bridge between spicy/herby worlds that the PSL kind of lends itself to as well.
I've had your kind in a class.
James: "let's start with pumpkins."
Also James: Sets down an armfull of different squashes but not one pumpkin.
Classic American vs British/Aussie english mistake there lol, glad someone else was like "wtf that's not pumpkin"
I didn’t realize Brits used the word pumpkin differently until right now
They are winter squashes, which in the UK is a pumpkin.
@@robjohnsto I think we all got that the UK calls them pumpkins but it's not the pumpkin that is used for fall "pumpkin" flavors
@Lauren Damaso Ruiz I'm American but have lived in Australia and have numerous British and Aussie friends. I know a lot call these something else but if someone said "pumpkin" to you, what would you think of? I believe most in the UK would think of these even if there's another term. While "pumpkin spice", if it has pumpkin, is referring to the American usage which is an entirely different type of gourd
I love that you treated the PSL not as joke. Most "coffee" people are normally mean and rude about it. I just went from enjoying your videos to liking you as a creator.
Borders Books used to push their PS coffee every year while my wife worked there. "Free samples", those tiny white cups on a platter supposed to entice you to buy bags of it to brew up at home. It was some of the most vile stuff I've ever drank and I remember at the end of the promotion each year they'd give away bags of it to the employees that they couldn't sell. I think most of it went in the trash. The taste scarred me for life.. I'd love to try this except it scares me.
I love you James Sweaterman!
If you don’t have a juicer, you can process a small pumpkin for purée, and then press out the pumpkin liquid. Freeze the purée, and you’re left with a liquid that isn’t too green/vegetal in taste and easily is used to make an pumpkin spice syrup
Imagine handing a cup of pumpkin spice latte to this man...
I know! I wonder if the barista recognized him? I mean even with a mask on the hair would be a dead giveaway. : )
Maiasatara Probably not. When I worked at Starbucks I was the only person who knew James Hoffman. Starbucks ain’t about the coffee.
"I'm so sorry."
@@frempy4426 that's pretty sad, you'd hope coffee workers would know about coffee and the larger coffee community
@@frempy4426 I started working for Starbucks years ago when it was about the coffee, or so they said. The reality, not..
Absolute pleasure to watch , listen and learn.
You James Hoffman are the David Attenborough of the coffee world.
Bravo.
When I saw the Spice House bags, I couldn't help but think, "Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well." I hated myself for it, but I thought it.
Aw! looks delicious 😍..for me the best pumpkin for a proper pumpkin spice latte is the sugar pumpkin, roasted in the oven for 30 minutes...if not you can buy Libby’s pumpkin puré! Is really good , natural, and a quick way to make it 😉..instead sugar I use maple syrup...
James be like sourcing his spices around the globe
My Pantry = McCormick..
😩😜🤣 I know , me too !
thank u james for legitimizing the pumpkin coffee lovers out here. too long i have lived with the stigma of being basic but if James Hoffmann Coffee Aficionado can enjoy a psl then everyone else can be quiet, pumpkin coffee is nice!!!!!!
"Almost a Cartoonish Cinnamon" - love it
Said almost cartoonish internet coffee person :D
Nice to see more Hoffmann in the wild recently!
That looks like what I always want a PSL to be, but sadly never is.
... Great idea James… I have a butternut squash which I usually use in place of pumpkin as it is easier to handle… I think canned pumpkin purée would work… Your entire presentation was top notch… Cheers… God is good…😎...
I'm living for James' milk-stache lol
Hey James! I blind taste tested a high quality all spice (full seeds/ dried- hardened berries?) vs Schwartz powdered all spice. First time the high quality came out just on top but then every year since the simple schwartz powder has come out way on top so may be worth checkin out.
Also I know, cloves are very dominant- Try this, I bought some good quality cloves, hand roasted them in a dry pan then hand ground with a pestle and mortar. A total new flavour appeared!!! (I believe it’s released as part of a chemical reaction that only happens when you roast) a rich complex dark but sweet and Morris’s chocolatey-ness! (Breath its aroma in as you grind, you’ll understand).
Well worth a go. You might like this clove addition to the spice mix more.
and love the video 👍 thanks for making 🙂
Colour coordinated coat 🧥 👌
Still Moving Looks like Japanese tech wear, maybe Coherence?
Warren Stanford I thought coherence were all about the trench coats? Feeling James coat though.
This guy has the best UA-cam channel ever. Please do everything to keep this man alive.
Would be interesting to see a side by side comparison between the pumpkin spice latte you made and one made with toasted spices.
Yes! Seems a sensible approach for coffee people especially
And I wonder if a little galangal with the ginger might be fun. I'd have a play, but it's spring time in my Hemisphere and it feels all wrong...