I think you could make an entire TV series around James traveling to various Coffee Origin locations, talk about what goes on into the flavor profile, and then bringing those beans through the entire process to a cup for tasting at the end of the video. Would be so fascinating.
This is what I came to ask for. I’ve really been enjoying my current bag of 72 hr anaerobic natural process Honduran and while I’m familiar with each of these words individually, when put together they’re a bit mysterious
yes! i just had some wilton benitez pink bourbon beans and oh my word! i thought i knew what coffee can taste like, boy was I wrong. The process is Double anaerobic thermoshock.
James I would love to see a 'Coffee Confidential' documentary. I'd love to see you go around the world doing a full length documentary from growing all the way to enjoy the cup.
At the age of 6, I remember watching my grandmother toasting coffee over an open fire in an iron pot. Said pots bottom, was blackened with soot with years of use, and she would constantly stir the beans with a wooden paddle that had the signs of being used for that purpose. This coffee had been picked, dried, roasted , and ground in my great-grandmother back yard.❤
James, I’m a mechanical engineer in the manufacturing industry (at a sponge manufacturing facility) here in the States. I am always so impressed with your ability to explain processes scientifically and tactfully. I’m early on in my career, but man what I would do to get back into the coffee industry as an engineer working with these awesome machines. Content like this keeps my eyes on the prize.
I just want to say the camera-work going inside the roaster, and then the animation of the bean getting more and more roasted was absolute incredible!! High-budget documentary type stuff.
I am from Brazil, and I grew up on a cattle farm where we had a small coffee orchard. I remember tasting the coffee cherries when they were ripe and ready to be harvested and sun-dried. After that, we would roast the beans in an iron-cast manual roaster that was the size of a popcorn pan. The coffee was pretty great.
James, as a long-time viewer of your channel, a customer of Square Mile, and someone who is looking to break into the coffee roasting industry, I want to thank you for this video. I have never been more encouraged to follow my passion and do what I love. Coffee is a magnificent blend of art and science, and to see a glimpse of your workflow is awesome. Keep inspiring!
It'd be interesting to see how a roaster chooses a batch or farm and then after deciding what they want to try, deciding on the profile for the roaster they have in their facility
I cannot express how grateful I am about the knowledge that you share with us. Your channel has single handedly helped me to become better at making coffee and not by just following a recipe, but actually understanding what is going through the whole process. You are the best ♥
Coming from an island that grows their own coffee, I recall my grandmother roasting her beans; obtained from my uncles farm, with an aluminum rice cooking pot, fire wood and a stick. Keep in mind, she was raised as a farmer in her youth and this was the cheapest way to roast coffee by hand and she was able to roast it black and it always came out perfect. Years of making that from hand must had made the best coffee I have ever remember. This video made me remember those years and if I where to find a recreation of it I would do so to brink back that tradition. Hey James, if your interested in that, maybe in a future video an exploration of islanders roasting coffee might be a good idea but that would be difficult to find someone still roasting coffee that way.
I used to work for a large commercial coffee roaster in the US. We used both Robusta and Arabica beans, combining them in various ratios to control costs while keeping taste consistent. he Robusta would be roasted darker and ground more coarsely, while the Arabica would be roasted medium and ground very finely so as to extract the most (best) flavor. Beans sourced from different countries around the world each had their own profile in order to keep the final taste consistent. Great video, please keep them coming.
I think it might be neat to see a comparison of a few different roast profiles but with the same roast degree, and maybe a discussion of how that can affect the taste. Or maybe more generally, the same coffee roasted many different ways and a discussion of how that affects flavor, would be fun as well. Love this, thank you!
Yes!!! I understand that roasters have differing profiles, but when they aim for a the same goal (ie. Light or City Roast), how different machines affect overall taste from a single origin differently.
As an avid home roaster and a long-time engineer in the industrial manufacturing world this is super cool to see. It’s wild how many components on these roasters i recognize, makes me want to up my game, take some drawings to a local machine shop, & Frankenstein my own roaster
It would be really cool to see a series of you starting from the beginning process of the coffee plant, working at the farm, educating us on the importance of moisture, sun, shade, altitude and soil content in order to produce the best coffee bean possible. Then to transition into the drying phase and the importance of which method is best when drying the beans after plucking them from the plant. To eventually continuing with the roast process and tasting in a variety of methods to enjoy the wonderful cup of your dreams!
James, since retirement 3 years ago I have lived mostly in my wife’s country of origin, Vietnam. I’m continually discovering all sorts of different flavours and coffees especially in some of the more remote parts as I travel around. I suggest you should make a documentary about coffee growing, roasting and consumption in this country. It’s a thoroughly interesting coffee producing country. Btw I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a huge amount about coffee and roasting, 🙏
I use to work next to a large scale coffee roaster. People who didn't work there would tell me that were so jealous about how much fresh coffee smells I would be around. When we'd turn on the heat or air conditioning the whole warehouse would fill with the smell of burned popcorn. Yum that fresh roast smell...
Ah yes, the 'fluid bed' roaster. The inventor of the modern design of this roaster was issued the design patent in 1998. He sold it to the company I work for and became a partner in the business. We still have the bronzed patent on display in our entryway today.
This. This is why you're still Daddy Hoff. No one else is doing things like this; equipment is cool and all, and those videos are helpful for sure, but this is the kind of coffee content I crave! A studio needs to give this man a large budget and a television show. As someone else commented a travel show would be super cool, would provide opportunities to talk about all kinds of subjects relating to coffee production and culture, and would be a perfect follow-up to the "World Atlas of Coffee". Short of that, a deep dive into varietals and/or processing would be super neat and I think would be very helpful to a lot of people!
I am impressed with your knowledge of coffee, coffee production, and coffee preparation as well as your ability to impart your knowledge in an easily understood, informative, and yet entertaining manner. Well done. Thank you.
Wow and just this morning I thought about how we didn't get a James Hoffmann video for a long time. Thank you so much for these amazing quality videos!
In part two I'd like to see roasting different processed coffee (natural, washed, anaerobic/experimental). I often see naturals/anaerobic/etc coffees to be roasted darker than the washed coffee. When I talked with some roasters they told me that it could be challenging roasting these "wild" processed coffees - at first glance, it may look like they are roasted darker but if I understand that correctly, they are roasted on the same level but they only look darker.
Long-time home roaster here (started on iRoast, then Behmor, now Aillio Bullet R1). Generally the dry-process ("wild") coffees benefit from lighter roasts because the origin flavors have a lot of fruit and berry that darker roasts often kill. As for color though, it's tricky. As the coffee roasts the things you can measure and observe are time, temperature, rate of rise (how fast the temperature is changing), color, smell, sound (first and second crack), and surface texture. And all too often, these give conflicting signals. I find that calling the end of a roast is usually a "preponderance of the evidence" decision with plenty of reasonable doubt. And I've been doing it for 20 years.
Not sure if this is something you could go into, but it would be interesting to dig into the chemistry more for me. What types of chemicals make up what you call the origin characteristics. I'm a big tea person and I once went to a convention where someone broke down the chemicals found in different types of teas -- black, oolong, white, green -- and what scents/flavors those impact based on smelling them on their own, and how they can vary over cultivars/terroirs. Would be interesting to hear some of that for coffee.
I would love to see a video explaining the differences between washed, natural, and honey processed coffee and what that does to the flavor profile. P.S. thank you for the time and energy you put into these videos. It is always a pleasure to watch!
The difference is primarily about how/when they clean the fruit (called a coffee cherry, but not related to cherries at all) off the beans (seeds) before the roasting. *Washed/Wet* = The bean is immediately, and entirely, cleaned of its fruit. Then fermented, then literally washed in water to remove the mucilage (a sticky layer of sugary fruit remains on the bean/seed) . Cleaner taste. Commonly floral or tart. Light, tea-esque texture. *Wet-Hulled* = The bean is immediately washed clean of fruit but the mucilage left on during transport to a mill elsewhere for the rest of processing/drying. Typical in wetter, humid growing regions where the drying can't be consistently carried out because of the climate. Sort of a mid-point between Washed and Honey process. *Natural* = the fruit dries out whole before the bean is removed. Tend to be fruitier than a washed bean, still acidic but not so tart. *Honey* = The flesh/pulp of the cherry are removed but called the mucilage is left on the bean/seed to dry out. Tends to be jammy and heavy-bodied, far from acidic. Honey further divides into white, yellow, red or black honey depending on how much of the mucilage is left on during drying (black = 100%, red = >50%, yellow = 50%-25%, white = 20%). The mucilage is loaded with fruity sugars so honey process is often quite sweet and fruity...Hence the jammy quality, which increases in order from white to yellow to red to black. *Anaerobic* = This is technically a qualifier to any of the above processes rather than a process itself. It just means the fermentation+drying occurs in a vacuum without oxygen. Tends to be low-acidity, with intense floral or winey flavors. *Experimental* = A mostly-market term denoting various combinations of the above known processes or testing of different variables (like processing at precise controlled temperatures and such).
this has been the best video i have watched to date. i used to always get dark roast thinking it was the 'most coffee flavour' so to speak. i am now thinking about changing my drinking habits and switching to a medium roast as this appears to get the best of all the different aspects of taste
"Psh, you call yourself speciality? I've seen coffee more special than you at the dollar store!" remember folks, please be kind to your coffee beans! they've been through a lot!
Amazing! Thank you James. Firstly, you have an amazing way of explaining things in a way anyone can understand. Always calm and composed and natural body language. Learnt so much from watching your previous episodes. This episode was extremely insightful. I’ve been getting my speciality beans roasted for me for years and I’ve always seen so many different the machines, but never once had an idea about the process. Apple TV needs to give you a series where you show the roasting machines and process by different roasters/cafes from around the world. This will also help small businesses and many others to have more customers. Thank James!
Finally! For someone who roast their own coffee using home made equipment, this episode is long due! I definitely want to see more videos on home roasting and especially home made solutions. I find the commercial home roasters are priced out of reach for most people and hand and stove top roasters are just too much of a hassle to use. I personally use a home made design based on Larry Cotton's flour sifter and heat gun roaster and it works great for me!
I don’t know if this is similar at all, but The Wired Gourmet has a video on home roasting that involves a pan on a burner along with a heat gun that sounds potentially similar.
@@aaronboggs5799 Yes, using the heat gun to roast coffee is quite common actually. There's the dog bowl method which is quite messy. If you search for flour sifter coffee roaster on youtube, you will find many examples.
Excited to finally see a more detailed roasting video from Papa Hoffman! Been home roasting for 4 years now and love the process, although I am getting a bit tired of agitating the beans with a manual crank. Currently in the process of building a small air roaster, can't wait to have the bean temperature data to help me accurately follow a profile as opposed to randomly increasing my heat gun by an imperial notch (I think that converts to 1.5 metric notches). Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have yourself a great day!
This is fascinating, and thank you. As to questions, my first question is about the chemistry of roasting, i.e. what is happening with the compounds that create the flavours? I've been reading about the various volatiles that make up the flavour profiles and find it intriguing. The other question is one that I suspect you will answer in the future; namely how to roast effectively at home. You (and a couple of local roasters) have helped me improve my understanding and appreciation of coffee hugely. I owe you a massive vote of thanks. Your Moka pot series in particular has been massively helpful.
Fantastic, James! I went to a boutique coffee shop here in San Diego, California in the US and saw a big drum machine standing there that they use. I had no idea how it works, now I do... thank you for educating me!
The guy is so good, the way he talks and goes around his subject. That is above the regular channels. Thanks for the effort. Very good job. The frenchie is impressed.
I loved that TV series called Dangerous Grounds where he would venture to countries trying to find new single origin beans. He also showed the massive warehouses where all the coffees from area would just be mixed (ggod and bad) together giving you that generic "Colombian" coffee
I roast in a wok using a fine whisk to constantly stir them. It takes about 20 minutes and you get arm ache! It's tempting to stop stirring to give your arm a rest but you definitely get better results if you continue to stir. A swap arms every couple of minutes! 😅
As someone getting into roasting my own coffee, I’m very curious to have more detailed traits to watch out for. Like I enjoy light coffees but my first batch had a tea flavor almost. I had to extend my roast time a bit to get a closer flavor to what im looking for.
It can depend on the type of coffee bean. I do find some denser beans tend to taste a bit grassy even at the point when first crack ends. You can either roast a bit longer in total time, but risk losing some of the flavor, or you can go a slight bit darker, which is what I usually do. There's another possibility which is unevenness between the inside and the outside of the bean, for example it can look darker than it actually is. You can test it by placing a roasted bean on the table, and press with your finger, it should always crack pretty easily regardless of the colour. If it doesn't then it's definitely not ready. You can then check the colour of the cross section. If the inside is lighter than outside, again, not a good sign. But if it passes those test, and yet the beans still taste grassy, or nutty, go a bit longer, some coffee is just more suited for the darker end of a light roast.
I very much second this comment. I've been dabbling into roasting and think I have got the basics down, but since there's so much depending on your setup (like James said) I'd very much like a "this generally produces that" kind of explanation of the phases and times for roasting.
Yes mate I have purchased a Gene Cafe machine and it's great but more tips will help me...the novice. Having said that I already gave 4 distinctly different batches done.
I’ve been waiting for this video for years. But I’ve been waiting patiently, knowing that when James did give it a go he would be proper thorough and not let us down. Thank you as always for a fantastic explainer!
I've been roasting at home weekly for 15+ years. By now I thought some of the novelty would have worn off but I'm just as in awe and fascinated by the process as I was at the beginning. I'm still in near disbelief at just how much variability there is with even slight changes in the process. I don't think I'll ever get over it! I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the various roast levels/techniques and the resulting flavor/character profiles.
Hi James, Obviously in the sea of viewers this is but a drop, but I wanted to mention I've been a curious purveyor of your videos for a number of years, and I have been a home-roasting coffee enthusiast for something like 15 years. Honestly don't remember how in the heck I got into roasting coffee at home, but somewhere along the way it became a thing for me. Now it's just part of my weekly routine (for myself and for some close friends) Anyway, all that to say that I really liked your explanation of the roasting process and what it means for coffee drinkers. Easy to understand, yet ("on brand" for your videos) you don't underestimate your viewing audience by glossing over the details. As one for whom learning new things is a passion and a pleasure, I really appreciate that. As you alluded at the end, I would absolutely love a home-roasting video. Mainly to expose others to this world (as I'm already a convert). I think a great benefit would be for people to learn that 1) coffee shouldn't be gross; people who "hate coffee" just haven't found the right coffee for them, and 2) great coffee is achievable and affordable for anyone. Thank you for your videos on all things coffee!
I love how you explained the whole roasting process. It really can get quite complex. But I think that's part of the love affair with coffee. Thank you, James. Keep up the good work.
As usual, great video. In general, I would appreciate more emphasis on the producers. I’d love to know more about how and how much the roast profile changes based on origin, varietal, drying process, etc.
You wanted more emphasis on beginning of the coffee prodcution chain when this video set out explicitly to cover roasting? Sounds more like an idiotic expectation.
Love these videos in the factory in the thick of it. I'd love to see an almost "How it's made" style video of grinder burrs being designed and manufactured. Burrs feel very voodoo and black magic it would be interesting to demystify
The best are the old intricately carved hand mills- grind the coffee super fine so no grit can be felt so the best Turkish coffee can be brewed by an old woman wearing a head scarf who will 🔜read the dregs in your upturned coffee cup afterwards 🧿🧿😊
I love coming back to these videos to freshen up my knowledge. I haven't roasted my own beans at home in a year, and it's nice to have this as a little guide before I start up again.
We can see in the sheer animation of the eyes of our host, the intensity of his thinking, which animates him to give away his most heartfelt rendering of what he knows about his dearest passion 🙂
it would’ve been great to mention the difference between natural and washed coffee. I’ve been to coffee plantations in Peru and Colombia and tasted really unique naturals that I’ve never experienced again since then. The way the workers brewed was also insanely impressive. A lot of respect for them. That’d be an interesting video.
I went to my local roaster and they mentioned “washed” and unwashed beans. I didn’t understand the significance. They also mentioned raw coffee, which I would like to know more about. Lastly, decaf, which I thought was just dark roast, but it seems there’s more to it.
1. When coffee people say "washed" coffee, it usually refers to a method of coffee processing, called "washed process" coffee. For more info here, I'd look up "coffee processing methods" 2. Raw coffee, or green coffee, is unroasted coffee! 3. Decaf coffee beans are specially processed to literally decaffeinate the coffee, using one of several available methods. Hope that's helpful as a starting point!
@@LudoHanton Not quite. Washed is perfectly natural but certainly a more modern development and essentially a refinement of coffee bean prep. It's generally considered to produce 'better' (cleaner, fruitier, more defined, less muddy) tasting coffee.
@@edwardchester1 In reference to "washed" and "unwashed" coffee, it seems there was a misunderstanding. "Unwashed" do seem to represent the "Natural" process. Both "washed" and "natural" are natural processing methods for coffee.
Yes James, would be great if you could get a bit deeper into it by explaining the effects of having coffee roasted intentionally with a higher or lower delta (difference between Agtron outside and inside color). I remember my tutor in roasting explaining higher deltas are effectively better for brewing methods (such as V60) as opposed to lower deltas which seem more suitable for espresso making. In my opinion and experience in roasting this actually held true so far. E.g when I used high delta roast for espresso, and by even twisting dosage, temperature, ratios, etc. the espresso usually tends to be on the high acidity, sour side. Whilst a low delta coffee is most of the time a delicious sweet balanced espresso drink but a bit 'dull' when brewed for e.g. V60. Would love to hear your opinion about it, or maybe even better, you have time to make a short video about it.
One of the most helpful lessons I’ve had in my coffee journey so far. I was finding common characteristics across similar roast levels of different beans but didn’t have the “why”. This tied it all together. Thanks James!
This channel is out of control when it comes to full spectrum chemistry & testing of optimum espresso coffee...the never ending science experiment...Absolutely love it. James is the man.
I would love to go deeper on roasting profiles (for specialty coffee) and how you enhance the acidity, sweetness, aromas … Also how to play with your airflow, temperature, phases, time. I know it depends on your density, variety and what you want to achieve, but still ☺️ Would be interesting to go through the whole roasting process
Great video, as always. I live in Wuhan, and I'm lucky enough to be right next to an independent cafe which I adore. I noticed they have their own roasting machine, and often wondered about how that would give them the freedom to create their own flavours. Maybe when my Chinese is better I can ask them myself, and pick up some niche coffee vocab on the way. By the way - fun fact! Cafes are one of the fastest rebounding sectors of the Chinese economy since the end of the Covid restrictions. I've seen it first hand: so many new trendy cafes are opening with brands I've never heard of. And very few are what I would consider 'conventional' coffee places. They're more into wacky milk based drinks featuring coffee. Some say that's because Chinese folks aren't super into coffee, so cafes mask it with lots of other flavours. Whatever the reason, it's interesting to observe. Coffee is definitely on the rise in China.
I think it would've been interesting if you would taste the coffee throughout the roasting process and compare the taste of the same beans with different roast levels
We have a local coffee shop that roasts their own coffee and the guy that does the roast experimented with a Mexico coffee which is normal roast to a dark and he did a light roast and it is absolutely amazing and imo the way a Mexico should be. Has a cinnamon peanut butter flavor to it. So yes that would be so cool to see.
What an amazing time to be alive. We have unlimited access to amazing educational material like James on the internet. Also, I could literally go online, purchase all needed materials, receive them within a week, and start roasting my own coffee with the knowledge needed!
As a novice to coffee roasting I found the presentation very interesting and informative in assessing the type of roaster to purchase and data to profile the desired affect.
Fantastic piece, James! I’m amazed that many baristas have no idea about cracks or roast level terminology. Also, few consumers consider roast dates when sourcing beans to brew outside a coffee shop. I’ve been having fun tasting roasts and inviting AI tools to hallucinate from my descriptions. It makes drinking the stuff even more enjoyable!
I've always naively associated "darkness" with "flavor" and assumed the lighter the roast the less I would taste. Your channel has helped me understand things better but this video in particular really opened my eyes to how and why someone would like lighter roasts.
I've never understood (and still don't) why would anyone like dark or extra dark roasts. You might as well brew a cup of charcoals for a similar results.
❤ a dark roast for the flavour and the marked drop in acidity, not particular about origin but my mother is- Brazilian light to medium for her. We both brew it Turkish style on the stove which requires a super fine mill best achieved by precision perfected hand grinders. Interesting video. Thankyou 😊.
Awesome educational video! A question: how much does decaffeinating coffee changes its environmental impact? How much more water, and how much of that water is 'clean' or 'dirty' water? Also, videos where you travel to meet producers & eplain different origins would be amazing!
Omg, I can’t wait for you to do the “At Home Coffee Roasting” video! I am sooo excited for this! This was such an interesting video, I love. So much fun to watch. You’re the best.
You were spot on with that ending. It's fascinating to see the processes behind industrial roasting, but I have to believe that there are ways of doing it at home that are more complicated than just rotating tray in an oven, but far less expensive than buying a massive machine that will never fit in the kitchen or the garage.
I would love to know more history about Probat, Diedrich, San Franciscan, Bellwether, Loring, Allpress and Java Master roasters. Not only as machines that do a very specific thing, but the origins of the companies, and why they chose to pursue the process they did. Noting the first three are very similar and likely in competition with one another. Thank you.
First of all: I want a poster with the roast color gradient! Super interesting! Would be interesting to know how the different roasting methods impact flavour in detail. In terms of sustainability the origin and logistics might have a bigger impact than roasting but seems like a pretty energy intensive process, especially if they vent the hot air straight out. Is there a push for non-gas roasters happening and if so is it a trade-off with regards to flavour?
He recently made an electric solar powered roaster. It definitely doesn’t cover every one of your questions but it was very cool. Probably from a month ago or so.
This is very informative. Thank you. I gave a few questions that were not addressed. First, about my likes: I love cold brew coffee. My question here is about the production of cold brew coffee. Is there a different production/timing for the roasting of the bean that will better affect the end product for cold brewing? As for myself, I enjoy the flavor, yet seek to reduce acidity and caffeine levels. Next questions also pertain to caffeine levels and acidity. I have several friends who love their specialty coffee but have had to cut way back or eliminate coffee from their dietary regime. * Is caffeine innately part of the bean? * What is caffeine free and why so flat in flavor? * Does roasting effect caffeine and acidity levels? * How can coffee be favorable, low caffeine, and low acidity? Thank you, CW
Knowledge from the perspective of appreciating. I feel i get smarter about coffee watching this with no hints of snobb. Genuine love of coffee. I love your voice too. So calm. I could sleep to this
I'm very interested in the roasting profile and how they relate to the end flavor. It would be nice to see an experiment to compare the different extraction profiles, whether it be drip or espresso, and find if there is an appropriate or optimum match.
The process is very interesting. I actually grow a few coffee plants - not enough to do much with, but enough to save some seeds to process now and then. I just haven't tried roasting them at home yet. This vid really reminded me of the importance of stirring the beans while roasting to get a more even roast by avoiding those hot spots from conduction.
Never did get to research how coffee is roasted. This definitely enlightened and made me appreciate the work that goes into the roasting process. I always kept wondering why most specialty coffees were light roasted. Makes sense now.
I do not know if it is a question of my lack of exposure but decaffeinated beans seem to be darker than the roasters standard bean. How does the decaffeination process affect the bean?
I would love to go even further back in the coffee lifecycle and see the impact that coffee processing has on coffee flavor - what are the primary methods, how do they work and differ from each other, why would you pick one over another, how does the coffee farm location play into that decision, and how do farmers/processors get the same coffee profiles (or not!) from different crops month after month or year after year. My interest in all this primarily comes from Lucia Solis's podcast Making Coffee, which has so much incredible information. But I would love to see James' take/explanation, and to get some video of these processes that I've heard so much about.
Thank you James! You earlier on asked if we had any questions you could do videos about. I asked about the 'espresso' label. Your explanation at 13:00 where you simply explain that "espresso simply means its more soluble", is exactly what i needed, and so easy to understand now that you've explained it like that. Thank you!
I’m not knowledgeable enough to say what do I want to know more cause I simply want to know more about everything. These videos are so informative and thank you so much for making these videos.
Thank you, thank you. Primarily a black coffee drinker, I tried many variations of the coffee press before acquiring a real grinder and espresso machine. BonCafe brand is big here in Thailand and I have settled on 'Arabica Extra Dark Roasted Coffee' for my daily drink. You helped me understand the process and find a solution that rivals the 'Pros' for flavor and consistency. Thanks again.🙏
Wow! I work at Allpress Espresso in New Zealand, where the company started, and I couldn’t help but feel a flash of excitement seeing James visited our roastery in London ❤
This was super interesting! I didn't realise there was so much art to the roasting process, as opposed to just a binary 'stick it in and wait for it to change color', I'm definitely going to pay more attention to which roasteries I'm buying from!
I'm definitely interested in the home roasting videos. I've been roasting at home for just about 10 years now and feel like I'll never really fathom the entire depth of it. I've spent the last couple of years just sampling different coffees at a rate of one per week or two and have about a year's worth more on hand to try. Love the different flavors. I've been doing cinnamon roast and grown rather fond of it, but now about to try something just a bit darker. My brother in law told me the difference is more noticeable since I started roasting his darker. The combinations are endless!
I think the essential missing video, James, is one about how everybody in Ethiopia, the origin of coffee, hand roasts coffee. How does this method compare to the machines when done by local experts? What effect does the jebena brewing add on top of this? I don't care whether it does not scale, but with grade-1 Yirgacheffe beans the results are amazing and worth digging deeper as to why?!!
Thank you James for an excellent description of commercial coffee roasting. I argue that home coffee roasting can be much simpler. Variations are always good for learning and occasionally surprising. I roast with a stovetop popcorn popper. I started with an air popper, but I've been using the stovetop popper for >15 years now. I roast 454g(1 lb) in each batch. My roasts run about 15 to 17 minutes. Pre-heat the popper to 135C and add the coffee. Stir the coffee constantly as the temperature drops to about 85C. The magnetic induction set to medium, continue to stir, and the temp raises to 94C and I open the lid to release most of the water vapor. Continue to 107C and raise the lid to release the remaining water vapor. Continue to 122C raise the lid and check the color at yellow. Continue to 135C and 1st crack begins and lift the lid to check color at light brown. Leave the lid open to reduce to 123C. Close and continue to about 140C and open and check for a nice medium brown and reasonably complete 1st crack. Pour the roasted coffee into a strainer basket and then go outside to pour the roasted coffee back and forth between 2 strainer baskets to cool it. I truly like the dry processed coffee much more than wet processed coffees, so the green coffee generally has wonderful aromas. I end up with 380 to 400g of magnificent roasted coffee. It is a wonderful way to experience something everyday that is absolutely excellent. Have fun.
Way 2 go my friend. I home roast as well. I use a cube shaped roaster over a gas camping stove. 200g at a time. The channel Virtual Coffee Lab is a great channel. Mike is amazing. Not 10 minutes ago I roasted a batch from Miramar. I'm having trouble with them. Maybe charge temp?? Idk.
Way 2 go! I home roast as well. I just got done roasting not 10 min ago. Virtual Coffee Lab is a great channel. Mike is amazing. I am so happy for you. It is great to hear that you have been roasting for so long. Keep it up. 😊😊😊😊😊
I think you could make an entire TV series around James traveling to various Coffee Origin locations, talk about what goes on into the flavor profile, and then bringing those beans through the entire process to a cup for tasting at the end of the video. Would be so fascinating.
Agree, a TV series would be amazing, but I think he pretty much covers all of this in his book The World Atlas of Coffee.
Would be an easy pitch to the execs as a UA-cam original series
@vice
I would 100% watch that.
Road trip style with a comedic side-kick to act as the viewer and ask our stupid questions.
I would love to see more videos about processing (anaerobic, aerobic, lactic, natural, honey, washed, etc). Excellent video James and crew!
This is what I came to ask for. I’ve really been enjoying my current bag of 72 hr anaerobic natural process Honduran and while I’m familiar with each of these words individually, when put together they’re a bit mysterious
yes! i just had some wilton benitez pink bourbon beans and oh my word! i thought i knew what coffee can taste like, boy was I wrong. The process is Double anaerobic thermoshock.
Wha WHAT?
At this point, I don’t know what that is but will research immediately! 😂
Yes!
Yes, I was just going to mention this. Some of these I didn't even know of, but would love to know more about these processes and how they differ. 🙂
James I would love to see a 'Coffee Confidential' documentary. I'd love to see you go around the world doing a full length documentary from growing all the way to enjoy the cup.
I just want a neck tie with the beans in the scale of light to dark from this video
Agree with Matt. Taking tours where great coffee beers are cultivated, and why they taste the way they do.
Around the coffee world in 80 days ! Roll over Michael Palin / Jules Verne !
Do you mean a Coffeedential?
...I'll see myself out.
In Guatemala 🇬🇹 😊
Respect to who ever organised the beans on the table
At the age of 6, I remember watching my grandmother toasting coffee over an open fire in an iron pot. Said pots bottom, was blackened with soot with years of use, and she would constantly stir the beans with a wooden paddle that had the signs of being used for that purpose. This coffee had been picked, dried, roasted , and ground in my great-grandmother back yard.❤
James in his natural habitat
A wild James appears
@@JokeswithMitochondria I was curious about your username so clicked on ur profile. Wasn’t disappointed haha
I'd love to see David (oops) Attenborough (sp) do a short video on James in the wild, chasing coffee.
*David Attenborough voice*
The man was gestated in a womb full of espresso.
James, I’m a mechanical engineer in the manufacturing industry (at a sponge manufacturing facility) here in the States. I am always so impressed with your ability to explain processes scientifically and tactfully. I’m early on in my career, but man what I would do to get back into the coffee industry as an engineer working with these awesome machines. Content like this keeps my eyes on the prize.
Damn bro that sounds boring as shit
Let me know if oxidation is a critical element in the roasting process, good luck in your coffee journey !
This was an impressive talk. There was not one wasted word: exquisitely organized with very specific visual accents. Well done!
I just want to say the camera-work going inside the roaster, and then the animation of the bean getting more and more roasted was absolute incredible!!
High-budget documentary type stuff.
I am from Brazil, and I grew up on a cattle farm where we had a small coffee orchard. I remember tasting the coffee cherries when they were ripe and ready to be harvested and sun-dried. After that, we would roast the beans in an iron-cast manual roaster that was the size of a popcorn pan. The coffee was pretty great.
That sounds amazing
Same same
same with me from Indonesia
James, as a long-time viewer of your channel, a customer of Square Mile, and someone who is looking to break into the coffee roasting industry, I want to thank you for this video. I have never been more encouraged to follow my passion and do what I love. Coffee is a magnificent blend of art and science, and to see a glimpse of your workflow is awesome. Keep inspiring!
It'd be interesting to see how a roaster chooses a batch or farm and then after deciding what they want to try, deciding on the profile for the roaster they have in their facility
I cannot express how grateful I am about the knowledge that you share with us. Your channel has single handedly helped me to become better at making coffee and not by just following a recipe, but actually understanding what is going through the whole process. You are the best ♥
Coming from an island that grows their own coffee, I recall my grandmother roasting her beans; obtained from my uncles farm, with an aluminum rice cooking pot, fire wood and a stick. Keep in mind, she was raised as a farmer in her youth and this was the cheapest way to roast coffee by hand and she was able to roast it black and it always came out perfect. Years of making that from hand must had made the best coffee I have ever remember. This video made me remember those years and if I where to find a recreation of it I would do so to brink back that tradition. Hey James, if your interested in that, maybe in a future video an exploration of islanders roasting coffee might be a good idea but that would be difficult to find someone still roasting coffee that way.
Which island if one may ask?
I believe that's how they do it in Ethiopia as well
Sounds awesome
I used to work for a large commercial coffee roaster in the US. We used both Robusta and Arabica beans, combining them in various ratios to control costs while keeping taste consistent. he Robusta would be roasted darker and ground more coarsely, while the Arabica would be roasted medium and ground very finely so as to extract the most (best) flavor. Beans sourced from different countries around the world each had their own profile in order to keep the final taste consistent. Great video, please keep them coming.
Concise, focused and accessible - there are few better explainer videos that exist on UA-cam than this one. High kudos James - and deepest respect!
I think it might be neat to see a comparison of a few different roast profiles but with the same roast degree, and maybe a discussion of how that can affect the taste. Or maybe more generally, the same coffee roasted many different ways and a discussion of how that affects flavor, would be fun as well. Love this, thank you!
This!
Came to comments to request this as well
Yes!!! I understand that roasters have differing profiles, but when they aim for a the same goal (ie. Light or City Roast), how different machines affect overall taste from a single origin differently.
As an avid home roaster and a long-time engineer in the industrial manufacturing world this is super cool to see. It’s wild how many components on these roasters i recognize, makes me want to up my game, take some drawings to a local machine shop, & Frankenstein my own roaster
It would be really cool to see a series of you starting from the beginning process of the coffee plant, working at the farm, educating us on the importance of moisture, sun, shade, altitude and soil content in order to produce the best coffee bean possible. Then to transition into the drying phase and the importance of which method is best when drying the beans after plucking them from the plant. To eventually continuing with the roast process and tasting in a variety of methods to enjoy the wonderful cup of your dreams!
James, since retirement 3 years ago I have lived mostly in my wife’s country of origin, Vietnam. I’m continually discovering all sorts of different flavours and coffees especially in some of the more remote parts as I travel around. I suggest you should make a documentary about coffee growing, roasting and consumption in this country. It’s a thoroughly interesting coffee producing country. Btw I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a huge amount about coffee and roasting, 🙏
These intros are becoming disgustingly good. You and your production team are doing excellent work.
I use to work next to a large scale coffee roaster. People who didn't work there would tell me that were so jealous about how much fresh coffee smells I would be around.
When we'd turn on the heat or air conditioning the whole warehouse would fill with the smell of burned popcorn. Yum that fresh roast smell...
Ah yes, the 'fluid bed' roaster. The inventor of the modern design of this roaster was issued the design patent in 1998. He sold it to the company I work for and became a partner in the business. We still have the bronzed patent on display in our entryway today.
This. This is why you're still Daddy Hoff. No one else is doing things like this; equipment is cool and all, and those videos are helpful for sure, but this is the kind of coffee content I crave!
A studio needs to give this man a large budget and a television show. As someone else commented a travel show would be super cool, would provide opportunities to talk about all kinds of subjects relating to coffee production and culture, and would be a perfect follow-up to the "World Atlas of Coffee".
Short of that, a deep dive into varietals and/or processing would be super neat and I think would be very helpful to a lot of people!
I am impressed with your knowledge of coffee, coffee production, and coffee preparation as well as your ability to impart your knowledge in an easily understood, informative, and yet entertaining manner. Well done. Thank you.
Wow and just this morning I thought about how we didn't get a James Hoffmann video for a long time.
Thank you so much for these amazing quality videos!
In part two I'd like to see roasting different processed coffee (natural, washed, anaerobic/experimental). I often see naturals/anaerobic/etc coffees to be roasted darker than the washed coffee. When I talked with some roasters they told me that it could be challenging roasting these "wild" processed coffees - at first glance, it may look like they are roasted darker but if I understand that correctly, they are roasted on the same level but they only look darker.
Long-time home roaster here (started on iRoast, then Behmor, now Aillio Bullet R1). Generally the dry-process ("wild") coffees benefit from lighter roasts because the origin flavors have a lot of fruit and berry that darker roasts often kill. As for color though, it's tricky. As the coffee roasts the things you can measure and observe are time, temperature, rate of rise (how fast the temperature is changing), color, smell, sound (first and second crack), and surface texture. And all too often, these give conflicting signals. I find that calling the end of a roast is usually a "preponderance of the evidence" decision with plenty of reasonable doubt. And I've been doing it for 20 years.
Not sure if this is something you could go into, but it would be interesting to dig into the chemistry more for me. What types of chemicals make up what you call the origin characteristics. I'm a big tea person and I once went to a convention where someone broke down the chemicals found in different types of teas -- black, oolong, white, green -- and what scents/flavors those impact based on smelling them on their own, and how they can vary over cultivars/terroirs. Would be interesting to hear some of that for coffee.
I like to watch and listen to people who are passionate about stuff and also geniuses. It is calming. This is nice
I don't even like coffee that much but I can't stop watching this guy's videos
I would love to see a video explaining the differences between washed, natural, and honey processed coffee and what that does to the flavor profile.
P.S. thank you for the time and energy you put into these videos. It is always a pleasure to watch!
The difference is primarily about how/when they clean the fruit (called a coffee cherry, but not related to cherries at all) off the beans (seeds) before the roasting.
*Washed/Wet* = The bean is immediately, and entirely, cleaned of its fruit. Then fermented, then literally washed in water to remove the mucilage (a sticky layer of sugary fruit remains on the bean/seed) . Cleaner taste. Commonly floral or tart. Light, tea-esque texture.
*Wet-Hulled* = The bean is immediately washed clean of fruit but the mucilage left on during transport to a mill elsewhere for the rest of processing/drying. Typical in wetter, humid growing regions where the drying can't be consistently carried out because of the climate. Sort of a mid-point between Washed and Honey process.
*Natural* = the fruit dries out whole before the bean is removed. Tend to be fruitier than a washed bean, still acidic but not so tart.
*Honey* = The flesh/pulp of the cherry are removed but called the mucilage is left on the bean/seed to dry out. Tends to be jammy and heavy-bodied, far from acidic. Honey further divides into white, yellow, red or black honey depending on how much of the mucilage is left on during drying (black = 100%, red = >50%, yellow = 50%-25%, white = 20%). The mucilage is loaded with fruity sugars so honey process is often quite sweet and fruity...Hence the jammy quality, which increases in order from white to yellow to red to black.
*Anaerobic* = This is technically a qualifier to any of the above processes rather than a process itself. It just means the fermentation+drying occurs in a vacuum without oxygen. Tends to be low-acidity, with intense floral or winey flavors.
*Experimental* = A mostly-market term denoting various combinations of the above known processes or testing of different variables (like processing at precise controlled temperatures and such).
@@grabble7605 thank you!
this has been the best video i have watched to date. i used to always get dark roast thinking it was the 'most coffee flavour' so to speak. i am now thinking about changing my drinking habits and switching to a medium roast as this appears to get the best of all the different aspects of taste
Wow, a whole video of him explaining how to tear apart a cup of coffee's self esteem bean by bean.
Thank you for passing your wisdom.
"Psh, you call yourself speciality? I've seen coffee more special than you at the dollar store!"
remember folks, please be kind to your coffee beans! they've been through a lot!
I truly appreciate how he doesn't talk down to you as he explains highly technical things.
Amazing! Thank you James. Firstly, you have an amazing way of explaining things in a way anyone can understand. Always calm and composed and natural body language. Learnt so much from watching your previous episodes.
This episode was extremely insightful. I’ve been getting my speciality beans roasted for me for years and I’ve always seen so many different the machines, but never once had an idea about the process. Apple TV needs to give you a series where you show the roasting machines and process by different roasters/cafes from around the world. This will also help small businesses and many others to have more customers. Thank James!
Finally! For someone who roast their own coffee using home made equipment, this episode is long due! I definitely want to see more videos on home roasting and especially home made solutions. I find the commercial home roasters are priced out of reach for most people and hand and stove top roasters are just too much of a hassle to use. I personally use a home made design based on Larry Cotton's flour sifter and heat gun roaster and it works great for me!
I had never heard of this. The design is so simple, I might give it a go ! Thank you
I don’t know if this is similar at all, but The Wired Gourmet has a video on home roasting that involves a pan on a burner along with a heat gun that sounds potentially similar.
@@aaronboggs5799 Yes, using the heat gun to roast coffee is quite common actually. There's the dog bowl method which is quite messy. If you search for flour sifter coffee roaster on youtube, you will find many examples.
Excited to finally see a more detailed roasting video from Papa Hoffman! Been home roasting for 4 years now and love the process, although I am getting a bit tired of agitating the beans with a manual crank. Currently in the process of building a small air roaster, can't wait to have the bean temperature data to help me accurately follow a profile as opposed to randomly increasing my heat gun by an imperial notch (I think that converts to 1.5 metric notches). Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have yourself a great day!
This is fascinating, and thank you. As to questions, my first question is about the chemistry of roasting, i.e. what is happening with the compounds that create the flavours? I've been reading about the various volatiles that make up the flavour profiles and find it intriguing. The other question is one that I suspect you will answer in the future; namely how to roast effectively at home.
You (and a couple of local roasters) have helped me improve my understanding and appreciation of coffee hugely. I owe you a massive vote of thanks. Your Moka pot series in particular has been massively helpful.
Fantastic, James!
I went to a boutique coffee shop here in San Diego, California in the US and saw a big drum machine standing there that they use. I had no idea how it works, now I do... thank you for educating me!
The guy is so good, the way he talks and goes around his subject. That is above the regular channels. Thanks for the effort. Very good job. The frenchie is impressed.
I enjoy the quirkiness of home roasting on my popcorn machine. I get raw beans cheaper than roasted beans and roast a batch a week. Great fun!
I loved that TV series called Dangerous Grounds where he would venture to countries trying to find new single origin beans. He also showed the massive warehouses where all the coffees from area would just be mixed (ggod and bad) together giving you that generic "Colombian" coffee
I would love to see a home roasters series showcasing different home roster machines and the pro and cons of them.
I roast in a wok using a fine whisk to constantly stir them. It takes about 20 minutes and you get arm ache! It's tempting to stop stirring to give your arm a rest but you definitely get better results if you continue to stir. A swap arms every couple of minutes! 😅
As someone who has been home roasting for the past 15 years or so, this was an excellent summary. Thanks James.
As someone getting into roasting my own coffee, I’m very curious to have more detailed traits to watch out for. Like I enjoy light coffees but my first batch had a tea flavor almost. I had to extend my roast time a bit to get a closer flavor to what im looking for.
It can depend on the type of coffee bean. I do find some denser beans tend to taste a bit grassy even at the point when first crack ends. You can either roast a bit longer in total time, but risk losing some of the flavor, or you can go a slight bit darker, which is what I usually do. There's another possibility which is unevenness between the inside and the outside of the bean, for example it can look darker than it actually is. You can test it by placing a roasted bean on the table, and press with your finger, it should always crack pretty easily regardless of the colour. If it doesn't then it's definitely not ready. You can then check the colour of the cross section. If the inside is lighter than outside, again, not a good sign. But if it passes those test, and yet the beans still taste grassy, or nutty, go a bit longer, some coffee is just more suited for the darker end of a light roast.
I very much second this comment. I've been dabbling into roasting and think I have got the basics down, but since there's so much depending on your setup (like James said) I'd very much like a "this generally produces that" kind of explanation of the phases and times for roasting.
As a barista, learning more about origin of beans and the roasting process has peaked my interest and this was super interesting
piqued. not peaked.
I'd actually love to see a deep dive into the roasting profiles. How they're tweaked and which tweak affects which property of the final product.
Ditto!
Yes mate
I have purchased a Gene Cafe machine and it's great but more tips will help me...the novice.
Having said that I already gave 4 distinctly different batches done.
One thing that gets me about this channel besides James’s dulcet tones is the cinematography! That opening sequence was awesome
I’ve been waiting for this video for years. But I’ve been waiting patiently, knowing that when James did give it a go he would be proper thorough and not let us down. Thank you as always for a fantastic explainer!
Starbucks starts at around the point you stopped roasting. 🤣
Nah starbucks "coffee" should be considered a milkshake with that much calories.
Starbucks is like the philosophical endgame of dialing in for crema and not taste
@@Zui9SPARTACUSthe frappes yes…drip coffee no
Yes Starbucks roasts their coffee more than other brands
I've been roasting at home weekly for 15+ years. By now I thought some of the novelty would have worn off but I'm just as in awe and fascinated by the process as I was at the beginning. I'm still in near disbelief at just how much variability there is with even slight changes in the process. I don't think I'll ever get over it! I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the various roast levels/techniques and the resulting flavor/character profiles.
Hi James,
Obviously in the sea of viewers this is but a drop, but I wanted to mention I've been a curious purveyor of your videos for a number of years, and I have been a home-roasting coffee enthusiast for something like 15 years. Honestly don't remember how in the heck I got into roasting coffee at home, but somewhere along the way it became a thing for me. Now it's just part of my weekly routine (for myself and for some close friends)
Anyway, all that to say that I really liked your explanation of the roasting process and what it means for coffee drinkers. Easy to understand, yet ("on brand" for your videos) you don't underestimate your viewing audience by glossing over the details. As one for whom learning new things is a passion and a pleasure, I really appreciate that.
As you alluded at the end, I would absolutely love a home-roasting video. Mainly to expose others to this world (as I'm already a convert). I think a great benefit would be for people to learn that 1) coffee shouldn't be gross; people who "hate coffee" just haven't found the right coffee for them, and 2) great coffee is achievable and affordable for anyone.
Thank you for your videos on all things coffee!
Cool I'm interested in roasting my own beans. Where did you get your roaster and where do you source raw beans?
I love how you explained the whole roasting process. It really can get quite complex. But I think that's part of the love affair with coffee. Thank you, James. Keep up the good work.
Finally a high-quality video on the detailing of coffee roasting! That lineup of gradation on white surface is so mesmerizing😍
Would be really cool to see a video about the different processing methods for coffee.
As usual, great video. In general, I would appreciate more emphasis on the producers. I’d love to know more about how and how much the roast profile changes based on origin, varietal, drying process, etc.
You wanted more emphasis on beginning of the coffee prodcution chain when this video set out explicitly to cover roasting? Sounds more like an idiotic expectation.
Love these videos in the factory in the thick of it. I'd love to see an almost "How it's made" style video of grinder burrs being designed and manufactured. Burrs feel very voodoo and black magic it would be interesting to demystify
The best are the old intricately carved hand mills- grind the coffee super fine so no grit can be felt so the best Turkish coffee can be brewed by an old woman wearing a head scarf who will 🔜read the dregs in your upturned coffee cup afterwards 🧿🧿😊
I love coming back to these videos to freshen up my knowledge. I haven't roasted my own beans at home in a year, and it's nice to have this as a little guide before I start up again.
We can see in the sheer animation of the eyes of our host, the intensity of his thinking, which animates him to give away his most heartfelt rendering of what he knows about his dearest passion 🙂
it would’ve been great to mention the difference between natural and washed coffee.
I’ve been to coffee plantations in Peru and Colombia and tasted really unique naturals that I’ve never experienced again since then. The way the workers brewed was also insanely impressive. A lot of respect for them. That’d be an interesting video.
I went to my local roaster and they mentioned “washed” and unwashed beans. I didn’t understand the significance. They also mentioned raw coffee, which I would like to know more about. Lastly, decaf, which I thought was just dark roast, but it seems there’s more to it.
1. When coffee people say "washed" coffee, it usually refers to a method of coffee processing, called "washed process" coffee. For more info here, I'd look up "coffee processing methods"
2. Raw coffee, or green coffee, is unroasted coffee!
3. Decaf coffee beans are specially processed to literally decaffeinate the coffee, using one of several available methods.
Hope that's helpful as a starting point!
@@catherineim and so I guess "unwashed" goes for Natural process.
@@LudoHanton Not quite. Washed is perfectly natural but certainly a more modern development and essentially a refinement of coffee bean prep. It's generally considered to produce 'better' (cleaner, fruitier, more defined, less muddy) tasting coffee.
@@edwardchester1 In reference to "washed" and "unwashed" coffee, it seems there was a misunderstanding. "Unwashed" do seem to represent the "Natural" process. Both "washed" and "natural" are natural processing methods for coffee.
Also, I would like to see the different methods for decaffeination.
Yes James, would be great if you could get a bit deeper into it by explaining the effects of having coffee roasted intentionally with a higher or lower delta (difference between Agtron outside and inside color). I remember my tutor in roasting explaining higher deltas are effectively better for brewing methods (such as V60) as opposed to lower deltas which seem more suitable for espresso making. In my opinion and experience in roasting this actually held true so far. E.g when I used high delta roast for espresso, and by even twisting dosage, temperature, ratios, etc. the espresso usually tends to be on the high acidity, sour side. Whilst a low delta coffee is most of the time a delicious sweet balanced espresso drink but a bit 'dull' when brewed for e.g. V60. Would love to hear your opinion about it, or maybe even better, you have time to make a short video about it.
nice thought, and thats why i dont believe ini omniroast, since i believe it will not bring the best of the beans
@@danirinaldi1044 Hi Dani, what do you mean when you mention omniroast?
@@Markusableitinger1 omniroast usually mean roast profile that accomodate filter brew and espresso. Somewhat inbetween filter roast and espresso roast
@@danirinaldi1044 Got it. Thanks. Yes, omni roast are sub-optimal.
One of the most helpful lessons I’ve had in my coffee journey so far. I was finding common characteristics across similar roast levels of different beans but didn’t have the “why”. This tied it all together. Thanks James!
This channel is out of control when it comes to full spectrum chemistry & testing of optimum espresso coffee...the never ending science experiment...Absolutely love it.
James is the man.
I would love to go deeper on roasting profiles (for specialty coffee) and how you enhance the acidity, sweetness, aromas … Also how to play with your airflow, temperature, phases, time. I know it depends on your density, variety and what you want to achieve, but still ☺️ Would be interesting to go through the whole roasting process
Great video, as always.
I live in Wuhan, and I'm lucky enough to be right next to an independent cafe which I adore. I noticed they have their own roasting machine, and often wondered about how that would give them the freedom to create their own flavours.
Maybe when my Chinese is better I can ask them myself, and pick up some niche coffee vocab on the way.
By the way - fun fact! Cafes are one of the fastest rebounding sectors of the Chinese economy since the end of the Covid restrictions.
I've seen it first hand: so many new trendy cafes are opening with brands I've never heard of. And very few are what I would consider 'conventional' coffee places. They're more into wacky milk based drinks featuring coffee.
Some say that's because Chinese folks aren't super into coffee, so cafes mask it with lots of other flavours. Whatever the reason, it's interesting to observe. Coffee is definitely on the rise in China.
I think it would've been interesting if you would taste the coffee throughout the roasting process and compare the taste of the same beans with different roast levels
this would be a very interesting experiment.
agreed! I was hoping you'd taste from the cups in front of you - or is that coming in the next video? :)
I made a similar comment.
We have a local coffee shop that roasts their own coffee and the guy that does the roast experimented with a Mexico coffee which is normal roast to a dark and he did a light roast and it is absolutely amazing and imo the way a Mexico should be. Has a cinnamon peanut butter flavor to it.
So yes that would be so cool to see.
Different roast profile would be more interesting imo
What an amazing time to be alive. We have unlimited access to amazing educational material like James on the internet. Also, I could literally go online, purchase all needed materials, receive them within a week, and start roasting my own coffee with the knowledge needed!
As a novice to coffee roasting I found the presentation very interesting and informative in assessing the type of roaster to purchase and data to profile the desired affect.
Fantastic piece, James! I’m amazed that many baristas have no idea about cracks or roast level terminology. Also, few consumers consider roast dates when sourcing beans to brew outside a coffee shop. I’ve been having fun tasting roasts and inviting AI tools to hallucinate from my descriptions. It makes drinking the stuff even more enjoyable!
I've always naively associated "darkness" with "flavor" and assumed the lighter the roast the less I would taste. Your channel has helped me understand things better but this video in particular really opened my eyes to how and why someone would like lighter roasts.
I've never understood (and still don't) why would anyone like dark or extra dark roasts. You might as well brew a cup of charcoals for a similar results.
❤ a dark roast for the flavour and the marked drop in acidity, not particular about origin but my mother is- Brazilian light to medium for her. We both brew it Turkish style on the stove which requires a super fine mill best achieved by precision perfected hand grinders. Interesting video. Thankyou 😊.
Awesome educational video! A question: how much does decaffeinating coffee changes its environmental impact? How much more water, and how much of that water is 'clean' or 'dirty' water?
Also, videos where you travel to meet producers & eplain different origins would be amazing!
As someone who only drinks water decaffeinated coffee every day, I also want to know.
Omg, I can’t wait for you to do the “At Home Coffee Roasting” video! I am sooo excited for this! This was such an interesting video, I love. So much fun to watch. You’re the best.
You were spot on with that ending. It's fascinating to see the processes behind industrial roasting, but I have to believe that there are ways of doing it at home that are more complicated than just rotating tray in an oven, but far less expensive than buying a massive machine that will never fit in the kitchen or the garage.
I would love to know more history about Probat, Diedrich, San Franciscan, Bellwether, Loring, Allpress and Java Master roasters. Not only as machines that do a very specific thing, but the origins of the companies, and why they chose to pursue the process they did. Noting the first three are very similar and likely in competition with one another. Thank you.
I like to imagine that James just shows up places and starts filming until someone realizes that no one gave him permission to be there.
First of all: I want a poster with the roast color gradient! Super interesting! Would be interesting to know how the different roasting methods impact flavour in detail. In terms of sustainability the origin and logistics might have a bigger impact than roasting but seems like a pretty energy intensive process, especially if they vent the hot air straight out. Is there a push for non-gas roasters happening and if so is it a trade-off with regards to flavour?
He recently made an electric solar powered roaster. It definitely doesn’t cover every one of your questions but it was very cool. Probably from a month ago or so.
This is very informative. Thank you. I gave a few questions that were not addressed.
First, about my likes: I love cold brew coffee. My question here is about the production of cold brew coffee. Is there a different production/timing for the roasting of the bean that will better affect the end product for cold brewing?
As for myself, I enjoy the flavor, yet seek to reduce acidity and caffeine levels.
Next questions also pertain to caffeine levels and acidity.
I have several friends who love their specialty coffee but have had to cut way back or eliminate coffee from their dietary regime.
* Is caffeine innately part of the bean?
* What is caffeine free and why so flat in flavor?
* Does roasting effect caffeine and acidity levels?
* How can coffee be favorable, low caffeine, and low acidity?
Thank you,
CW
Knowledge from the perspective of appreciating. I feel i get smarter about coffee watching this with no hints of snobb. Genuine love of coffee. I love your voice too. So calm. I could sleep to this
I'm very interested in the roasting profile and how they relate to the end flavor. It would be nice to see an experiment to compare the different extraction profiles, whether it be drip or espresso, and find if there is an appropriate or optimum match.
Your intros keep improving video by video 🎉
Yessss FINALLY!!!!!!
The process is very interesting. I actually grow a few coffee plants - not enough to do much with, but enough to save some seeds to process now and then. I just haven't tried roasting them at home yet. This vid really reminded me of the importance of stirring the beans while roasting to get a more even roast by avoiding those hot spots from conduction.
Never did get to research how coffee is roasted. This definitely enlightened and made me appreciate the work that goes into the roasting process. I always kept wondering why most specialty coffees were light roasted. Makes sense now.
I do not know if it is a question of my lack of exposure but decaffeinated beans seem to be darker than the roasters standard bean. How does the decaffeination process affect the bean?
can we take a second to appreciate the editing and honesty high quality of these videos... just great. it adds to the experience of watching
I just bought a pack of same-day roasted coffee. what a smell, what a taste!
I would love to go even further back in the coffee lifecycle and see the impact that coffee processing has on coffee flavor - what are the primary methods, how do they work and differ from each other, why would you pick one over another, how does the coffee farm location play into that decision, and how do farmers/processors get the same coffee profiles (or not!) from different crops month after month or year after year.
My interest in all this primarily comes from Lucia Solis's podcast Making Coffee, which has so much incredible information. But I would love to see James' take/explanation, and to get some video of these processes that I've heard so much about.
Thank you James!
You earlier on asked if we had any questions you could do videos about. I asked about the 'espresso' label. Your explanation at 13:00 where you simply explain that "espresso simply means its more soluble", is exactly what i needed, and so easy to understand now that you've explained it like that. Thank you!
I really don't like coffee, but I'm also absolutely fascinated by the chemistry around roasting/brewing coffee.
I’m not knowledgeable enough to say what do I want to know more cause I simply want to know more about everything. These videos are so informative and thank you so much for making these videos.
Thank you, thank you. Primarily a black coffee drinker, I tried many variations of the coffee press before acquiring a real grinder and espresso machine. BonCafe brand is big here in Thailand and I have settled on 'Arabica Extra Dark Roasted Coffee' for my daily drink. You helped me understand the process and find a solution that rivals the 'Pros' for flavor and consistency. Thanks again.🙏
I’ve been watching your videos for a while now. I think this is one of the most important you’ve made !
Wow! I work at Allpress Espresso in New Zealand, where the company started, and I couldn’t help but feel a flash of excitement seeing James visited our roastery in London ❤
Thank you. I had a Gene Cafe, and upgraded to a Hottop a while ago. Really love how you articulately geek out!!
This was super interesting! I didn't realise there was so much art to the roasting process, as opposed to just a binary 'stick it in and wait for it to change color', I'm definitely going to pay more attention to which roasteries I'm buying from!
I'm definitely interested in the home roasting videos. I've been roasting at home for just about 10 years now and feel like I'll never really fathom the entire depth of it. I've spent the last couple of years just sampling different coffees at a rate of one per week or two and have about a year's worth more on hand to try. Love the different flavors. I've been doing cinnamon roast and grown rather fond of it, but now about to try something just a bit darker. My brother in law told me the difference is more noticeable since I started roasting his darker. The combinations are endless!
I think the essential missing video, James, is one about how everybody in Ethiopia, the origin of coffee, hand roasts coffee. How does this method compare to the machines when done by local experts? What effect does the jebena brewing add on top of this? I don't care whether it does not scale, but with grade-1 Yirgacheffe beans the results are amazing and worth digging deeper as to why?!!
Thank you James for an excellent description of commercial coffee roasting. I argue that home coffee roasting can be much simpler. Variations are always good for learning and occasionally surprising. I roast with a stovetop popcorn popper. I started with an air popper, but I've been using the stovetop popper for >15 years now. I roast 454g(1 lb) in each batch. My roasts run about 15 to 17 minutes. Pre-heat the popper to 135C and add the coffee. Stir the coffee constantly as the temperature drops to about 85C. The magnetic induction set to medium, continue to stir, and the temp raises to 94C and I open the lid to release most of the water vapor. Continue to 107C and raise the lid to release the remaining water vapor. Continue to 122C raise the lid and check the color at yellow. Continue to 135C and 1st crack begins and lift the lid to check color at light brown. Leave the lid open to reduce to 123C. Close and continue to about 140C and open and check for a nice medium brown and reasonably complete 1st crack. Pour the roasted coffee into a strainer basket and then go outside to pour the roasted coffee back and forth between 2 strainer baskets to cool it. I truly like the dry processed coffee much more than wet processed coffees, so the green coffee generally has wonderful aromas. I end up with 380 to 400g of magnificent roasted coffee. It is a wonderful way to experience something everyday that is absolutely excellent. Have fun.
Way 2 go my friend. I home roast as well. I use a cube shaped roaster over a gas camping stove. 200g at a time. The channel Virtual Coffee Lab is a great channel. Mike is amazing.
Not 10 minutes ago I roasted a batch from Miramar. I'm having trouble with them. Maybe charge temp?? Idk.
Way 2 go! I home roast as well. I just got done roasting not 10 min ago.
Virtual Coffee Lab is a great channel. Mike is amazing.
I am so happy for you. It is great to hear that you have been roasting for so long. Keep it up. 😊😊😊😊😊