Coffee Balls: Bizarre Or Brilliant?
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- A genuinely interesting new technology, but does it have what it takes to become the new standard for pod espresso at home?
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I love how much this technology looks like something someone in a 1970s sci fi movie would use, loading coffee spheres into an automated coffee robot to make a perfect cup
or put a pill on a plate, add a drop of water, and boom, a turkey dinner
@@leckmich8169 I do not care
@@Handles_arent_a_needed_feature
no one asked u
@@perc7226 do I care
Capt. Janeway should have stocked up Voyager before she set off!
Glad to see James take such a sensible approach to this product. I don't think his brother Hames will do the same.
Hames Joffmann
Hames is gonna have a field day with this one...
Man I am convinced James is just making content for Hames now.
When he said you have to "cock the mechanism", all I could think of was Hames.
@@ahmadissa8033 There's zero chance he isn't at least thinking about it when script writing. For instance, the word "cock" was definitely one of a few alternatives, and must have been chosen for Hames content reasons (for which we are eternally grateful)
James' face of sheer joy when the ball rolled out of the hopper into the machine has absolutely made my day.
also when throwing in at 9:46 - maybe he could be basketball player
4:09
As soon as he showed the wheel, I hoped that the ball would roll out. Absolutely genius
Your day is pretty weak if this makes it .
Why is it so joyous and funny 😅
I wonder how many people will skip the brewing stage and just swallow the coffee balls whole with a milk chaser
Awesome life hack
Might just use a codeine tablet
Reminds me of that Mr. Bean episode where he mixed tea leaves, boiling water and milk in his mouth.
😂😂 haha
Coffee Pod Challenge!!
I love James' expression at 00:44 "I dont think you necessarily should...eat this" and then looks at it thoughtfully as if to say "After all, why not? Why shouldn't I eat it?"
I can tell you, he had me on the edge of my seat, the way he eye-balled that ball, but then didn't eat it. Yet. Quite an edgy experience, but so well worth it when he finally did. I never get such satisfaction from any other channel.
@@John-nr6gg WAIT, HE ACTUALLY EATS IT??? Looooool I never watched the end of the video! Be right back
He does it eat!! What an experience. Thank you, my friend.
"It's MY coffee ball"
Forbidden Lindor
I love his expression after he says you can have “ristretto stamped on your balls.” And the celebration after throwing a ball in was also delightful
Not to mention that the «cocking mechanism» was mentioned right after. 😛
I died laughing with his delivery of this line.
would be a good tattoo concept
Hames Joffman?
Doesn't hold a candle to him attempting to eat one though.
If they want to target plastic waste, they need to figure out how to make a tiny hotel room size machine and market it to the big hotel chains. Working in the hospitality industry, the amount of waste produced by the in-room Keurig-type machines is staggering. Imagine 300 rooms a day, each producing 1-4 little pods of plastic that goes right into a landfill since it isn't/can't be recycled.
it can actually be recycled if you open it up and empty the coffee. Then the pod can go into regular plastic bin. But yea, for a hotel that would take a lot of extra work.
@@RonaiHenrik so logically, it can’t
plus a lot of countries don’t have the infrastructure to recycle plastic pods, even though the material itself is recyclable
I heard there are multi-year contracts in place for the hotels to get the Keurig coffee maker and k-cup coffee pods for next to nothing... I am always surprised the world went after Starbucks straw instead of k-cup for being extremely bad for the environment...
@@_w_w_ straws going through a turtle’s nose is better click bait
Now I really want to see someone build a Rube Goldberg machine where one of the coffee balls rolls down a little track, through a bunch of obstacles, and eventually into the machine.
Vintergatan marble machine, but it also makes coffee.
You just made an incredible way to market these little capsules!
Reminds me of that thing on top of the machine. What about a gumball style loader that can have more than the 9 slots for 9 balls? Probably designed so that they balls rollercoaster inside before dropping the coffee then brewing. The reserve should be airtight, though, otherwise, the amount of coffee going stale would be even higher that the current design.
For those who like varied outcomes, the balls can be mixed for a surprise.
EDIT: so apparently I hyperfocused on typing this comment, and user "LateNiteAM EarlyMornPM" mentioned this idea, just below this comment. So yeah, same concept.
That would make such a good commercial
Pitch that to a marketong company and cash the commision 🤌😂
Can we just take a moment to appreciate that he ate a coffee ball so that we don't have to wonder LOL
Brings a whole new meaning to "Tasting Every Nespresso Pod".
Coffee sushi. Apparently it tastes as bad as it sounds
Not really cause now I'm really wondering! lol
I mean we like coffee beans covered in chocolate... how bad could it be? >.>
0:48 he looked like he wanted to eat it anyway lol
Dear James, I hope this Text finds you well. You can press, for example, the espresso button for 3 seconds and then you can pull a manual shot. Just press againe to stop when you have the gramm you want. I set mine to 25g. Nearly got rid of the machine because it was too watery for me. :) Enjoy.
Greetings from Switzerland.
THIS
+
Yeah maybe throughly reading the manual would be wise here.
@@incognitofelon Rarely a male practice. 😊
That’s what he did for the ristretto. You can’t set the temperature though which is the main thing.
I'm imagining an alternate universe where Brad stars in a commercial for this machine instead, and coffee shops are known for selling their own roasts in these proprietary balls. We'd never forget the prominent writing on the bag: Brad's Balls
I do want content with Brad s balls. Also a shot with Brad lying in the grass with balls on his eyes for shade. Would be so meta.
I think you mean, Brad's fresh coffee balls 😂
This deserves a new commercial
@@indubitablyzara Brad's Salty Coffee Balls
Well as they have a beautiful golden stamp on them, I think we're more into Beckham Golden Balls territory. Or should I say "Beckham's golden sweet & salty coffee balls".
James' take on recycling has me feeling very glad that finally an established person shares my view that the consumer isn't who should be taking the bulk of the burden.
of course the consumer should take the bulk of the burden! its a demand and supply kind of situation. if people didn't want convenience, companies wouldn't make it into a business. The companies supply what the people want..so the people should be the ones with the burden of their decisions.
@@rodrigojds That's such a bad take bro, consumers don't actually have that level of power over companies now days because we have no option bar what teh companies provide us.
We are monetarily locked in most cases.
@@rodrigojds even with everyone using the convenience products, the public aren't the ones contributing to most of the world's waste. it's still companies and their production processes
@@Blind_Smithy we actually have all the power over companies! imagine if everybody just stopped purchasing things from amazon tomorrow...it would probably go broke. and why do people choose amazon to purchase things? because its easy and convenient for the consumer.
but who are the companies producing for? Us the customer! if we didn't purchase anything, the companies wouldn't exist. its a supply and demand market.
the companies are responsible for a lot of things but we the consumer are the biggest culprit of it all.
But I get it..its easier to place the blame elsewhere than it is to take responsibility for out
The absolute genuine excitement over the hopper made my day 🤣
I have a slight feeling that James Hoffmann (whose videos were always great anyways), took some editing notes from Hames Joffmann.
And I´m all up for it.
for those of us living in Switzerland ... thank you James, this was the most unbiased review of the system I've seen so far. And if you don't think it's positively bad, it's probably better than what I'm drinking now. Good stuff.
The look of victory on James' face when he got the coffee ball into the hopper is pure gold. I have to wonder how many takes that took? 😁
It felt very Crystal Maze.
You can see at least one failed attempt on the table in that shot haha
That is GIF gold! Gold, I tell you!
you can see roughly from the timer on the scale :D
Watch it at 0.25x speed. It's epic.
I have to say, I really appreciate your sense of humor, and the fact you don't take yourself seriously and can poke fun at yourself.
Thanks for being a normal person with great ethics with a sense of morality.
James “I don’t think you should necessarily eat this”
James: immediately considers eating it
The power of suggestion!
He inceptioned himself, lol
Hames: suggests eating it, mild look of disgust, eats it, definite disgust
I was looking for this comment.
He tried to talk himself out of it.
The world needs a coin operated antique gumball machine on top of this machine. imagine the delight of searching the couch cushions for quarters for your morning coffee.
It's so genius for making paid coffee ☕. Love it and I will do one.
omg that's soooo smart. Also make it that you get random types of coffee, so you never know what you get.
@@krystofk.2279 Have a bunch of bigger rollers with different coffee balls in each one, randomly rotate one to dispense when you put in your 50 cents or whatever.
Nitrogen filled gumball chamber so all those coffee balls wont go stale too quickly
If I was still doing coin op machines like I had planned before the "Great Pause," I'd be down to make it. I would have needed a machine to do it, however, but the actual coin op machine wouldn't have been hard to implement.
That mechanism of spinning the wheel to let the ball fall into the machine was definitely inspired by some casino machines, that was very satisfying
They even make you crank a knob. You can probably pull it downward like a slot machine.
or the magazine of a machine gun
@@justinjakeashton Makes me wonder if they designed it after slot machines to keep people addicted to it 🤔
Probably not the best idea for this, but I just kept on imagining a gumball machine to store a bunch of coffee pods in
no i think this is necessary now
That‘s probably the best idea i‘ve ever heard.
Every day a little surprise coffee if you mix different balls into the same machine. 🥰
if the gumball machine thing is depressurised, you would also solve the balls getting stale if you want several varieties/several balls open for long periods of times.
Compressed seaweed is often used here in Japan to add to soups as a solid. After exposure to hot water they revert to their natural soft pliant state very quickly. Those pods look thick enough that it very well might be airtight as it is. Seaweed is quite dense, so it wouldnt surprise me. Easy way to test is use 1 a day as normal in the turnstyle and see if the last few become more stale than the first few after a week.
In Portugal, we have Knorr cubes To add in soups aswell, to give extra taste.
I kinda want you to cut one open and make a press cup with proper temps just to see if its the coffee or the machine
This sounds like a great YT Short video for James if he'd be willing to try it!
Yes! I was waiting for this the whole video tbh
This!!!
Totally agree. That'd be really interesting. Maybe even do this with different kinds of pod-style coffees as a Coffee Science episode or something lol
@@JosephDalrymple thats even better than just this I'd actually be curious how much the pod machines really do effect the coffee or if in fact its just shit coffee
For a non-comedy channel, James Hoffman is low key one of the funniest people on YT. Much love from the States.
James Cordan didnt do England any favours.
James Hoffman on the other hand!!
Now take a look at Hames Joffman's versions 👀
They go in tandem very well.
Edit: I have now heard "I drop the ball in, sort of cock the mrchanism on.."
So true
@@YTHandlesWereAMistake Hames is probably having a field day with these last videos, this one specially
The sheer delight on his face when he showed off the hopper made me laugh harder than any comedy video in recent memory.
With all of the innuendo and reaction shots, It feels like he wrote and shot a video specifically with Hames Joffman in mind. And I'm here for it.
came here just to say exactly that. that giant smile at the coffee carousel of death was just begging to be used in a Hames Joffman video
James' joy at sending a coffee ball to it's death made my morning
It was just great pure joy
Ha ha
Sacrifice! Sacrifice!
The fact he has more fun making the coffee than drinking it makes this video so much better.
he looks disgusted when tasting it and the cuts seem timed so he can spit it out.
I love how responsible James is with information he disseminates that isn't directly about coffee. Like what he said about sustainability - he's used to being analytical and thorough in his approach, so he doesn't just parrot general attitudes in an area that's not his expertise, and say "I think it's like that." Even when he's making recipes for cake or ice cream, he thoroughly researched the food science. It's just how he does things and I live for it.
I loved the part where he mentions at a certain point, individual responsibility isn’t the issue. I’ve always found it ridiculous to expect the lower class to “take responsibility” because the wealthiest of the wealthy need to make another billion this quarter.
Certainly doesn’t help that ESG scores exist, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic.
"There's something wrong with me," James said under his breath.
You and me both, James, you and me both. Even after seeing that, if someone offered me one to eat, I can't say I'd refuse.
Same here
James compliments the roulette style of depositing the coffee balls and lights up when he throws the ball is funny and enjoyable to watch.
A man's simple happiness at its finest.
It's actually my first time seeing his grin, caught me off guard
If there is a chaos option, you can guarantee that James will take it. He is a joy to watch, even for me, a non coffee drinker and someone who’s entire coffee knowledge comes from James. Thank you James.
Underrated comment
Emily, if your coffee knowledge comes from James you're doing pretty ok 😉
That was soo great, his dry wit and brief pauses everytime he said "balls" was spot on. His delivery through out, mwah chef's kiss!
I really think as an ad campaign they should make a rube Goldberg machine that uses marble tracks the coffee balls roll down and it eventually loads the machine and brews coffee
They should do a brand deal with Jelle's Marble Runs.
I'd love to see one of these machines with a transparent housing, like the old Game Boys.
Seeing those little balls getting squeezed and the whole mechanism visible.
Great idea!!
I think maybe the solution to oxidization is a few small glass jars. It will admittedly be better than even plastic, and fits with the sustainability aspect because you can just reuse those glass containers indefinitely.
Imagine the costs of the logistics associated with that. That's even worse than aluminium pods.
@@Loasionhen the true goal is to have them sold in person like at a store, you have to bring your jar and there.
Sell a container for them that keeps them sealed
Yeah I think if you store the currently open package of pods in a glass jar with secure lid it could prevent them from going stale as fast
@@beelzemobabbity might work in a ueopean country where you cn wlk to a dozen stores, but inthe us no one is going to line up at agrocery store they s drove 20 minutes ot get to to wait for soe minimum wage employee to fil thier coffee jar, lol
@@uncledeadhead3674 people do it for nespresso?
I would have liked to see you brew a shot of their grounds through one of your normal espresso machines to evaluate the coffee quality separate from the machine’s. Also steep just the seaweed in water to see how much flavor it might be imparting.
I also really would love to see this!!
At least we can be gratified that he tasted the seaweed wrapper directly lol (Might have been the best part of this video for me--had to stifle my laughing to not wake my toddler. Always better if it's someone else eating forbidden foods, so you don't have to. haha)
@@purpleghost106 Lmao yes I laughed so loudly when he chewed down, my mom came in to check
I dont think the seaweed imparts much flavor. Ive made jello with agar agar (another seaweed thickener) and there wasnt any off flavor or maybe the juice masked any off flavor, which coffee would do great at too.
@@purpleghost106 you could tell from his face the exact moment he bit down.
I was enjoying the playfulness of this episode a lot and then you went from an normal sentence straight into talking about eating one and damn did I smile
It was such an amazing mood and topic transition that I definitely laughed along.
I would've liked to see the content of these balls being brewed in James' preferred way, as a judgement to the quality of the beans used.
I wanted to see that too. I think that could have also determined the quality of the brewer and maybe whether or not the seaweed was contributing to the flavor.
Probably hard to judge whe beans itself as they're likely overroasted which is likely to use cheaper beans or to just copy the nespreso profile because that's their initial target audience.
6:33 was waiting for that.
@@0Clewi0 its hard to judge the beans themselfs because its preground coffee and you have no control over how ground is it.
@@chrisrobinson414 I'd imagine the "seaweed" coat is some form of agar, which is flavorless.
I know absolutely nothing about coffee, but I seriously enjoyed this video. The way you deliver information is fantastic.
I wonder how would this coffee taste if it was removed from the pods and brewed traditionally.
probably like coffee, i cannot see anything special about it
I was hoping he'd do that
@@eccomi21 But we cannot know for sure
@@DumbArse lets be real here for a second. why would it taste any different? unless they use some additives like artificial flavoring, it is just coffee wrapped in seaweed. to me that is like asking if rice tastes any different if you eat it outside of sushi. if it is the same rice, why would it
Here in France, you can buy coffee bean from this brand...
I tried once 4 or 5 different kind, nothing special about it, (Dark roast) not good enough for me to buy again...
James rolling the coffee ball in his mouth with those reactions is probably one of my top 2022 UA-cam moments.
The whole time I'm thinking eat it .. and when he does I just lost it
🤣
Coffee Ball in his mouth GOTTEM
James really went all out with that jojo reference
I think James' genuine praise of a UI/UX feature is the greatest achievement of this company.
I don't think UI/UX means what you think it means
@@isviewer i mean technically UX as in user experience is the right term, it just feels weird using it outside of a software environment:D
@@jonasziller9066 Yea, that's exactly what I meant. These terms are mainly used for on-screen layouts and the experience of interacting with them but I don't think these terms are exclusive for that.
I mean buttons on a machine are part of a UI and the experience of interacting with them are part of the UX.
No satisfying "beeeep" though ;) We all know how much James loves a beep.
I'm subscribing because of the fair review, how excited I'm about this kind of design... and that you enjoyed the "roulette of death" for the coffee pods *and tried eating one* !!! The commitment 👏🏼👏🏼
Genuinely my most enjoyed video in a long time! The look of pure unadulterated joy on James' face at several points whilst using the machine, and then the final act of actually sampling the ball, whilst still doing a genuine review of the product, just made this whole thing a joy to watch!
This is why I love to watch James review. He review it like kids got a new toys 😂
I can't help but feel that James joyously tasting coffee balls was the natural evolution of a UA-cam coffee channel in 2022.. What a time to be alive!
At this point James is creating sound bites for Hames Joffmann on purpose
As a swiss person I can say we really trust migros, it's one of the big supermarket chains but it has a history of being pretty chill and committing to their promises
As a non-swiss but someone who generally prefers migros over coop, I was surprised to know these coffee balls are doing good actually. In our local store they first discounted them massively and now I do not see them anymore at all.
As a Swiss, I prefer COOP for produce but the migros ice tea and syrup is god tier
@@highspeedrailenjoyer1045 Aldi and Lidl above all ❤
@@PeterListov yeah just based on what I saw in the shops, I guessed it was a failure
This is the happiest James I've ever seen in a video. This can go head to head with the 70 year old coffee video as being on the other side of the spectrum.
You clearly didn’t see the bripe video then
I am based in Switzerland and I have tried those coffee balls and I agree with your review. If I would have to choose between a Nespresso capsule machine and the coffee balls machine from Migros, I would definitely go for the coffee balls machine because of environmental reasons as in my opinion the coffee of those two options tastes very similar. The capsules are always such a hassle to recycle. I can also imagine, that this machine could work very good for a hotel or Airbnb room (going back to my point with the recycling - You could reduce maintenance costs).
I thought the capsules weren't recyclable at all? As in, you can trash them, but no country has infrastructure to successfully recycle them.
@@bubblegumplastic as far as I know the aluminium ones are. At least in Switzerland, you can bring them to a Nespresso Shop, some retailers or your local Recycling facility. You can even leave them in your Mailbox and they will be picked up.
@@EwaSara In Australia the Nespresso ones can be recycled via an arrangement they have with certain florists, or mailed back to them. L'OR and their various brands also have a recycle program. The Gov't has also just provided some seed funding to a (PODcycle) program to recycle all brands (partnership between Nespresso, Woolworths and Planet Ark) which is due to launch in 2023.
@@bubblegumplastic The compostable 'plastic' ones are typically only industrially compostable, which means yes, it'll compost if it's shredded up really small and composted in ideal conditions. Don't expect them to breakdown if put whole into your backyard compost drum.
the development of this product and production machines and the brewer itself, offsets any gains and environmental positives you believe this product of plastic saves. also recycling is a lie as of today and years prior it all ends up in the landfill(and before that it was shipped off to china, to end up in their landfills). youre only getting hassled because its an industry now and someone turned recycling into a business. you dont gotta go all those lengths of cleaning the pods and getting rid of the contents because itll be at the landfill anyway.(and they would get paid more/pay china less for selling cleaned plastic that you put in effort to clean for them, when we paid china to take care of it) and the amount of plastic in the pods is negligible in comparison to the waste the world produces in other ways. focusing on this makes no sense unless everyone agreed to stop producing their own products and thats not gonna happen. its just marketing why waste effort to save plastic this way when theres other more effective ways they could of spent their time n money if the goal is to save the world. if they wanted to save the world they could of not made this plastic product in the first place... its like recycling car batteries, what makes people think that car batteries r gonna get recycled when that is super expensive, realistically itll just be shipped off to a country with no dumping laws and land there. because its much cheaper to produce a new battery pack from raw material. no idea why people think all the sudden something is gonna change just bcos they want to believe, its a business, that wants to make money for the executives. doesnt get much simpler than that
As a Swiss, ever since they released this machine I've been praying to the coffee Gods that James would get his hands on one. Let me tell you, we've been blessed with this joyful video!
Thank you so much for making this video. I've been studying abroad in Switzerland and seeing this everywhere so I immidetly clicked on this video, and now I have fallen deep down the coffee rabbit hole and this has become one of my favorite channels. I'm so glad I'm now along for the ride :)
(also pls review the new light roast from The Awesome Coffee Club)
the moments before james does something that he knows is dumb, but then does it anyway, i feel those moments in my soul.
I love this concept. I don't like the environmental implications of plastic pods but mostly I hate dealing with them, we have 3 people in the house who get up and go to work at different times so a single serve coffee machine makes a lot of sense but at the end of a week we have an inconvenient amount of dead pods
The Lavazza pod also come in a compostable version, but they cost more, so you can imagine what option most people choose.
I also find the plastic ones annoying, but again, the compostable cost more...
You can get machines that will use normal ground coffee in a resuable "pod"
@@orangegouice the pod gets punctured at the top and bottom, so I dunno how you could make one be reusable. And, if you're going through the trouble of discarding grounds, cleaning the pod, measuring and filling the pod with new grounds, and then use them, why not just go with a proper coffee machine as used in bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants?
Obviously you'd want it to be small enough to heat up water and pressure for just one to two servings and sufficiently quickly too rather than be the size restaurants use, but you get the point
@@DanielSultana I have reusable Nespresso pods. they're metal with holes at the bottom (you tamp down the grounds and they don't come out), and you put an aluminum sticker on the top that gets punctured. it's not 100% zero waste due to the sticker but it's lower waste (and cheaper!) than the single-use pods.
My family has the same problem so we use reusable pods with normal ground coffee. Since normal coffee is much cheaper, it is also good for our wallets!
Tried in our local library in Switzerland. They made a machine available for visitors. Not a huge difference to the nespresso capsules to be honest. But even for Swiss standards, the balls are expensive. We ended up buying a coffee machine that grinds freshly the grains and we're quite happy with it.
Yes, coffee machines that grind the beans fresh are the best quality and you can choose from all coffee varieties, producers, and roasters from all over the world, instead of being limited to a few pre-made blends like in this case.
4:08 I just love that joyful smile :D Made me laugh. He really enjoys his coffee, doesn't he
This is absolute gold for Hames. I'm actually not sure he has to do much editing at all!
James I think we now need a recipe for edible coffee balls to serve with our edible espresso pucks
Oh yeah! I forgot about those espresso puck desserts! But then again, we already have Lindt truffles, don't we?
I wouldn't be surprised if "lakrids bby bülow" has something suitable.
I just love how James unintentionally creates golden content for Hames in every video 🤣
Are you sure it's unintentional? I feel like I've just witnessed James doing a bunch of "tasty" noises purely for Hames's benefit (or rather for the benefit of Hames's subtitles).
There's zero chance this was "unintentional". Certainly James is making the content he wants to make for his own reasons, but he definitely has Hames in mind when he's writing scripts at this point.
“Unintentionally”
Hames is likely James or a friend of his
Which is fine, I love the Hames takes!
The pause after "ristretto on your balls" was definitely intentional
@@netrob5151 Also cocking the mechanism just after the pause
If only there was some way we could store a large amount of coffee without individually packaging them
You mean like buying sacs instead of pods?
@@Fr4nkSanchezlike some sort of sack to hold beans or dried leaves. Like a tea sack.
Or sacs instead of balls.
@@Fr4nkSanchez Or perhaps some sort of glass container with an airtight lid... i think they have a name for those things... Jar? I believe.
Mason jars?
I love your expressions when the poor ball is dispensed to its inevitable demise x)
I have a nespresso machine at home, tried this in the store, and decided that my next machine will be Coffee B. It's really that simple, it tastes just like nespresso to me which was my only concern. Basically a slightly more environmentally friendly Nespresso machine. But only if you wait for your machine to break before getting this one. There's no reason to throw away a working machine to get this.
I don't think I have ever seen James experience such joy as 9:47, 10:56, but specially 4:07
I absolutely love, how you resonate with me. It's when you start eating the thing, when I clearly realize that's a proper review
As an Industrial designer, i really like that a product like this can hit the market, is necessary to introduce this kind of materials an reduce the one use plastic as much as possible. Probably now it has it flaws but im sure the next products of this projects will listen a lot and use this kind of analysis to do better.
Whenever I think that I have seen everything from the coffee world out comes James and gives a perfect peak Hoffman experience. Thanks, this video made my day 😂
im from swiss and i can tell you this much: people here (and ofc all around the world ) wants a fast and cheap coffee that tastes just good enough for the price and how fast you get it going. so compared to any other capsule it is just as good and you get the benefit of not havint to peal aluminium foil from all capsules and stuff like that. plus Migros is everywhere so you know you will find it or you can ofc get it also shipped at home so.. its a cheap and easy coffee with some environmental benefits, thats all really =)
After some time, I was surprised to know these coffee balls are (or were) doing good actually. In our local store they first discounted them massively and now I do not see them anymore at all.
The easiest and accessible the food is, more pollutant and toxic chemicals you will be find
this seems like an incredible idea that could be taken so far, but a with many new products, it just needs time to improve. I can definitely see this taking off as a competitor for K-cups and Nespresso pods.
Wouldn't surprise me either. I was wondering if you could have, sort of, capsule brewers without the capsule. Just put ground coffee into the Rollercoaster of Brew and let it go.
I did not mean to watch this whole video. I don’t even drink coffee but the calm delivery and unexpected joke was just so … charming and relaxing!
Really wanted to see what it tasted like if you brewed the inside of a ball on a proper espresso setup- then you could see how much of the issue was temperature, and how much was coffee quality.
Yes! I was hoping for that too. It would be interesting to hear how the coffee tastes when brewed at a higher temp.
Maybe for a different video
James didn't *measure* the grind size, but given it was visibly coarser than espresso, you'd either have to regrind the coffee, use a pressurised portafilter, or some different brew method (e.g. moka pot).
Putting the grounds straight into an espresso machine would likely produce something watery and underextracted.
Brilliant as always. I love the delighted smile as he says “bye!” To the ball going into the coffee maker
Even though I am not fond of all capsule type machines, the acrylic container for balls looks quite interesting. I think if you add the mechanical sound of a gumball machine to it, it will add such a nice touch to the whole experience.
James Hoffmann, the hero we need, the hero we deserve.
James, I’d love to see the coffee from this system (and capsule systems) taken and brewed consistently in an espresso machine. To determine if it’s the coffee or the process.
Swiss here. The coffee balls contain the same coffee you can buy from the Migros brand "Café Royal". I usually buy the roasted beans and grind them for my espresso, made with my beloved Bialetti brewer. The coffee brewed with the coffee ball tastes nearly as good as the fresh grinded and brewed one, which I still prefer.
I love the idea that he's cocking the mechanism for each ball he handles.
That's just funny.
The sheer joy on his face in messing around with the ball concept (lobbing one in, using the container system) is delightful
I never expected him to make a ball joke before he said cock the mechanism. James you have immature humor and I love it 😂
Cock the Mechanism; Release the Balls; Extract the Crema... can I stop now?
This is a pretty cool product! But I appreciate that you brought up the question of whether they'll be opening up the system or whether they're just looking to build a walled garden. That's an important question for a number of reasons, and will probably be the difference between the company focusing on making good machines to convert new customers (maybe a machine that can take either the existing pods or these things?) or whether they just want to get more money from whatever customers they can get to start with.
How do you walled garden balls......
@@saladgreens912 Trademarks and patents, mainly.
Your coffee roulette reaction when the ball dropped in ~4 minutes was priceless! 😂
4:08 for anyone who wants to relive James giving a smile with his whole face.
Some serious unbridled joy.
The only thing that could have made it better would be a tactile click.
Love this video, love your personality. Just a chill British guy, so authentic and so genuine
a little additional info on Migros:
It's a strange sort of company. It's democratic. everyone can become a voter (i am too), and the voters have quite a bit to say about how the company does it's business. the founder actually never allowed alcohol to be sold, but recently the coporation wanted to start selling alcohol, so there was a vote and and the proposal was rejected very clearly, in all parts of switzerland. That gives me reasonable hope, that they will not make it a walled garden.
Also just realised: Migros turns over nearly 30 billion, not 3 billion. After all they are the largest retailer in basically a duopoly (people literally identify as Migros or Coop kids, i‘m a migros kid) covering food and everyday needs for half the population in switzerland.
that was my first thought as well, something launched by a store is inherently less likely to become a walled garden since they're probably not going to go after people in other countries who copy it.
I wonder whether Migros in Turkey will bring or replicate this. They are no longer owned by Migros in Switzerland though
How does one become a voter? :O I've never heard of a thing like this!
@@LapeVideos It is a cooperative. You kind of buy yourself in just like in a joint stock company, but at very low rates (actually Migros grants you a membership for free, if I understand it correctly). In Germany we also have this kind of participation at one of our two bigger banks (Volksbank) and it is very common in our agricultural organization.
I can't get over James's talking to pods, he doesn't have to wish them good luck, or wave them goodbye, he's just that kind of man
this genuinely put me in a good mood! it's hard to miss that you had a fun time with this and it is alarmingly contagious :D
I have only recently started watching your clips, and i really enjoy it!! Love your comments, expressions and joyful character. Keep on!!
When I saw this while shopping at Migros the other week, I was curious if you might cover it, but thought it unlikely since it only launched in CH and F for now.
I'm glad you did cover it, after all - thank you :) I'm certainly interested in trying this as a "quick coffee" option. I'd much rather support ideas like this than Nestle, personally.
On their website, they advertise that these machines are highly modular, so I wonder if/ how easily you can mod these, to maybe adjust the brewing temperature. I am also curious to see if a lower brewing temperature was a deliberate choice because of the seaweed-based shell. It might be that a higher temperature would extract too much flavour from the shell, but that's conjecture on my part. Greetings from Switzerland o/
I've steamed Ripple, a pea protein plant based milk drink for lattes and you can really taste that DHA when it gets hot. I think they use algal oil to make it.
You said that a company doesn’t have the true intention of sustainability if they don’t have a product intended to be used by other companies to spread a more sustainable style of doing things. That has to have been the most insightful thing I’ve heard in a long time.
It's amazing how you still keep us informed and entertained after all these years.
James, I love how you give everything the benefit of the doubt, and allow your opinion to be yours, and the people watching to have theirs. And, also, thank you for doing the one thing everyone watching was incredibly tempted to do. Cheers!
Some kids are definitely going to put these coffee balls in their mouth thinking they’re chocolate.
And learn an important lesson in the process
Remind me the first time i mistook vodka for water 💀
Survival of the fittest.
That's a very neat trick to have your chocolates for your self
@@TyinAlaska Better than a Tide Pod. :)
This video was so much fun, but James has inadvertently hit on the issue with this system: people will be attempting all sorts of ridiculous shots to get the ball in the hole to make their morning coffee.
You could have fun with some ridiculous Rube Goldberg machines to release the coffee balls though.
This is the advertisement Migros needs to do.
@@christophmuller3511 yeah, right! 😅😅
One might even hazard a lot of people will try to be the new _Coffee_ Bryant, hmmm???
I'll get me coat.
Wallace and Grommit already have!
I now want one of these and to get a cartoon-like alarm-clock with huge bells that shake everywhere to trigger the rube-goldberg every morning. What a way to start the day.
I hope this system takes off and we get to see it become a common option in homes. The main concern is, as you’ve highlighted, freshness. The balls are out there for all to see (couldn’t help myself) and potentially exposed to oxygen. I am curious to learn if the exterior seaweed shell provides any sort of natural barrier to going stale. Great video.
this is really a ridiculous product and a really wrong one. If you like the coffee jsut buy a an actual grinding expresso machine and go buy freshly roasted coffee every week to you local shop.
@@lo2740 everyone is entitled to their own opinion and preference, but that’s not entire a realistic option for many people or even myself all the time. There’s something particularly attractive about being able to make a quick cup of coffee into a travel mug as you rush out the door for work. Waking up and grinding coffee isn’t something I can do every morning. If I could replace my Kuerig machine with something like this and get similar or better results with considerably less waste, I would like to own one. My wife loves coffee, but she doesn’t grind it or take care in the process of creating a beverage like I do.
The logical development is to see them license the seaweed container tech to makers of Keurig and Nespresso, make capsules and K-cups out of compostable seaweed, and thus make it back-compatible with everything. And then everyone can concentrate on just seeing that the best quality coffee goes into them all.
@@gaminawulfsdottir3253 i think Nestlé is the type of company that rather developes their own biodegradable seaweed packaging instead of buying a license from migros.
@@kevindiossi there are machines that you can just pour ungrounded beans and it will grind and brew it for you in no time. Even ones that mix in syrup and milk.
Now try putting a Lindt Chocolate through 😅
For a fast and easy hot chocolate 😀
I'm excited to see this in offices, hotels, etc. where the overhead of pods vs balls really adds up and the staling problem will be more negligible because of volume
I wonder how many customers would then complain about the bad-tasting complementary chocolate balls and the lack of coffee in the rooms. 😜
If I was a business, I’d find it hard to justify putting this machine in my office/lobby/etc over a bean-to-cup machine. Even less wastage, much better coffee, cheaper to run and much more flexibility over the coffee used.
@@hebbejebbe In the office, I could see this being useful as people might want different types of coffee or flavors. This provides more options. The problem would be how long they can be stored and how much would it affect the brew.
0:46 james realizing he's going to have to eat one just to see
Was yelling "DO IT!" at my screen, haha
This video is a goldmine of content for Hames Joffmann
I can see this working well in a corporate environment like an office block where there will be plenty of people making coffees throughout the day to get through the rotary dispenser
I was half expecting a skit of South Park's "Chocolate Salty Balls" with James changing up the lyrics a little. But this was just as fun. I enjoy the glee he has with the hopper & scoring a Field goal/Basket [are those the correct basketball terms?] when he threw the ball into the hole.
Interesting system, would be god if more manufacturers got in on the composting/recycling/reusable angle with their systems. Though just making coffee from ground beans is a lot more environmentally acceptable.
Can't believe I didn't think of chef's song! Yes!
I did think of Chef's song. I thought there was something wrong with me. It's good to know I'm not alone.
@@litterpicker1431 You're never alone with a twisted mind! [Well I never am]. 😆
I also thought there was something wrong with me... Chefs song still playing on loop in my head...
Would've liked to see you crack open a coffee ball and brew a coffee with the insides in a traditional machine, to compare how much the method adds/takes away from the quality.
James, thank you so much for tasting a coffee ball so we don't have to. As usual, you convey the experience in both an informative and hugely entertaining way.
James, your drive to put every weird thing into your mouth on all those videos is just sooo amusing! In most cases I'd have the same, thank for doing it in our place :D
I died when he said “nice to have ristretto on your balls” while barely staying cool
I laughed out loud when you said "It's like a roulette wheel of death for these little guys" Hahaha. Love your commentary!
Hames Joffmann is going to have a blast with this episode. Also I'm glad you finally got to review these, I was counting on it.
such a good job going over the fine details of these balls and cocking the mechanism for them 😇
2:29 :) I laughed harder than I should.