When I clicked this, my alert said it was uploaded 54 seconds ago...there were already 10 comments and 36 likes. We may not be the biggest fanbase, but we're perhaps the most eager (or caffeinated)
Clearly Scott, there are some individuals whose knowledge extraction time, is particularly swift...personally, I need all the pre-infusion I can get...
I dont even drink coffee but the professionialism and perfection behind the creation of a good coffee is just so good and it's a pleasure to watch your videos.
@@Skedge I just spent $800 on a machine, grinder, and accessories. Its exciting but a little confusing and stressful to learn this, but james and reddit both certainly help!
we bought our first (and so far only) nice espresso machine and grinder 14 years ago and we've used them every morning (and most afternoons) ever since. and... we'd been totally happy with our results until youtube happened to throw one of your videos our way. that led to several more of your videos, which quickly led to our realization that we've never had any idea how to make espresso. not sure we'll ever get around to weighing things out and some of the other steps, but we've changed our grind, and kept a closer eye on our doses, and that's reduced our flow rate and final volume pretty dramatically. am happy to say we're now getting a completely different beverage out of the very same machines and beans. it's a thick, dark, almost sweet and chocolate-ish thing, and with just our usual frothed milk or half & half added, it almost tastes like something you'd buy at a dairy queen. the difference is AMAZING. we are both astonished that such a thing is possible and a little aggravated knowing it always was. mostly we just want to send along our MOST SINCERE THANK YOU for doing what you do. coffee will never be the same in this house.
I mean, this is heart warming, but... Did you just say dairy queen? Like, the cheap fast food drive through from the southern US? As your reference for the pinnacle of coffee? (Or maybe I misunderstood and you're comparing it to their ice cream treats?)
I will blame you for all the missing coffee in my cafe. Whenever you post a video, I just rush to the machine and do like ten shots just to try out what you are talking about... On the other hand, you are one of the reasons why people talk about us having one of best coffees in the town, so I ain´t that mad :)
I bought an Espresso Machine almost 7 years ago, i consume them 3 -5 times a days (depending on the day) & realized after wathching a few of your videos that I've been brewing shit espresso all this time. This past weekend has been a whole new learning curve for me. I am really enjoying the videos and your content.
I had a similar experience. I was basically making strong coffee. And it tasted fine, no complaints. But after watching this and looking at the community for my espresso machine recently I realized I was never actually making espresso. 30 second shot time for a 2:1 extraction? I was getting closer to 10 seconds. After tweaking grind size the past few days I can finally feel comfortable calling it espresso, albeit probably not fantastic espresso.
@scottklandl488 well to be fair most countries in the west serve bad coffe. But there always have been roasters, which provide good quality. If you think you get a good coffee from a standard bakery well duuh😂 what germans really dont have is a nice coffe culture of enjoyment. Its more of a tool for many... explains who buys that trash in the supermarkets 😂
As an absolute beginner with only two weeks with a machine, the advise to stick to 25-30 sec is actually incredibly helpful and offers a solid and easy framework to understand.
I just want to say this understanding espresso series has been a godsend. I know you’ve said James that you’d be inclined to ask people interested in a home espresso machine if they really want a new hobby and in my case, I love coffee and coffee culture and absolutely am ready for a new hobby and this series has seriously helped make the idea of getting started in it less intimidating.
As a competition judge I've experienced a lot great coffees from the 15 to 20 seconds window and also from 30 to 40. I agree with James and I think people should test more with their recipes and find out what is the best extraction time. Don't be closed minded about how many seconds your espresso should have.
Is James Hofmann the most watchable and easy listening host of any channel on UA-cam? Yes, yes he is. Another informative and educational video, thanks!
Thank you James. The discussion about when to start the "shot clock" has been a question I have had for awhile. My Barista Touch starts the clock as soon as I push the brew button - it takes about 9 seconds (Breville says it should take 8 to 12 seconds) before I see espresso flowing. Typically I use 18 grams of coffee and get about 36/37 grams out in about 28 to 30 seconds. That recipe gets me very close to the coffee roaster's profile and it is yummy, so much so I can't go back to Italian cafe style espresso. I was going to go for a much higher-end machine, dual boiler, etc but I am the only coffee drinker in the house and that amounts to about two or three espressos a day - so the Breville does the job. Great series that has been helpful to us home espresso brewers.
man, you are the best person to explain complex and simple stuff about coffee, I really admire all your knowledge and how you share it. I have the luck to work with many kind of beans, diferent densities and I've found that time is very relative in extraction but you are right, starting with the 25-30 seconds rule is the best to begin with the espresso journey. I've pulled 60+ seconds espressos with high density beans getting magnificient flavors. Greetings from México.
U sir just saved me from a vicious circle which I had fallen into after experiments involving pre infusion and pressure profiling . Ur A saviour . Please accept my humble regards 👍
Just taking a moment to say thank you. I brew at home on a Gaggia Pro for my family. I have learned so much from watching your videos. I have watched all them. Clarifying time starts when I flick the switch is a big confidence boost. My pallette told me that was correct, but that helps when dialing in a new coffee immensely. The one ingredient you never really mention, but we can tell you use. The one I put in my girls latte every morning is love 💘.
Just came back home from a long shift at a local cafe, work as a barista there for almost two years now. We just reopened in full capacity for the first time since lockdown started here in Russia. What a mad world we live in. So if I survive this pandemic, I sure hope that this two month of free classes will help me out, thanks James :D Kind of started to lose my passion to what I do more and more recently, but as always you are someone to look up to, you helped a lot when I started out working as a barista in a much smaller place few years ago and to this day you still helping me thrue this journey again and again. Love you, James
As a new-ish hire at a coffee shop, I always wondered why we rely so heavily on time when at home enthusiasts seemed to focus on taste indicators instead. Helpful to know that we’re aiming for two different things: consistency vs interesting flavours
Both can be helpful for sure. I would assume the cafe you are at uses the same espresso blend or SO and has a good idea of the recipe that it taste best with and believes numbers are easier to communicate than taste.
Coffee Pilgrim Yeah for sure. For reference it’s a local chain (couple locations and a local roastery in my city) and we dial in every morning ( I’m still learning) but use all the same equipment and blend.
Chloe Merritt well congrats on the new gig! Definitely a fun time starting out working on bar. I enjoy answering coffee questions if you have any in the future :)
PSA: the Acaia Lunar scale shown in the video has a mode that starts the timer as soon as it auto-tares, rather than when it detects coffee hitting the glass. That means you can put your glass on the scale, wait a second for it to tare, and then push the button or pull the level on your espresso machine. This times your brew start to finish.
The "time" thing is exactly why I listen to zero podcasts hahaha. I use UA-cam as a break, often, and I don't take hour-long breaks. I understand that's not most people though.
Brilliant! Yes, brew time is important, to an extent. I've been using the 20-30 second "rule of thumb" for some time and getting good results. As I learn more I will fiddle with brew time. BTW - Kudos on these "university-level" course videos! Will soon have my Masters in Espresso! 😀
After 5 years of owning an espresso machine and trying to dial in my espresso basically only using the grind setting on my Sage Barista Express, these videos have been a revelation. Picked up some TimeMore Black Mirror Basic scales, and have started playing with brew-time & temperature as well as consistent dosing and coffee I previously found a little astringent and lacking in body & flavour is now a totally different brew entirely! Please keep making these videos.
So many still don't focus on beverage weight out when learning how to brew espresso... so very important. Weight in, weight out... and time is just a point of reference. Great video James
James - you mentioned the great "when to start timing" debate in a response to another video I commented on. Thank you for covering this topic. At that time, the notion of starting the timer when the drop hit the cup was something I'd read and blindly followed, but now as you've stated I have a better grasp of time/water/dose/output and paying attention to pressure at the puck as well as how it tastes to know what I like and how to make changes. Pretty much all of this has come through experimentation, taking detailed notes and watching your videos. Thank you!
This understanding espresso series is great. I have watched multiple times, each time come away with new knowledge and details I didn’t picked up before.
Once I got myself a manual lever machine, the concept of brew time went out the window. Since that day, an espresso process for me became about playing around with brew pressure, while targeting for a specific flow rate and output weight. Even the pressure profile isn't something I try to be consistent with because the coffee itself doesn't interact with water consistently on a day to day basis.
I recently started messing with my grind size, timing, preinfusion length, and more, because of the knowledge gained from your videos. Thank you. Today, I found my longer preinfusion definitely made my flow faster when I ramped up to full pressure. Next shot will compensate. I appreciate all of your wisdom, Mr. Hoffman :). I'm using a Breville Barista Express with a Baratza Sette 30 (with 270 attachment).
This is so helpful! I've watched so many videos that give target times but don't clarify when they're starting their timers. Since preinfusion can be 10-20% of the total time, that distinction is significant. Keep up this great series!
Hi James, this series is helpful but I wish the whole series worked backwards from the taste, and talked in more detail about how you yourself work backwards from taste. In your dialing in videos, you talk about how something will bring more sweetness out etc, or how something will “round the shot”. I hope you make videos about how others can develop the skills to dial in (more so than the knowledge of the factors at play). Thanks!!!
@@GrantMcWilliams he does talk about all of this though. Underextracting makes it sour, overextraction makes it bitter. This is affected by brew time and coarseness. He even says that a bad grind can make it bitter and sour
@@mattezuka1274 And this is why it's an art, not a science. Taste is subjective too. Even if we all had the same gear, beans and water, we'd brew different coffee
@@happydeux2254 I mean it's still a science, It's an extraction, using different factors to cause some stuff to extract more of less, using your mouth as a detector. Only difference is the end goals
Absolutely outstanding videos. Thank you so much for your work. Credible. Factual and clear. Just bought my first E61 group machine switching from a single boiler that was my first machine. Working on dialing my grind. Thanks Mr. Hoffman. Your work is truly helpful to me. You are a great teacher and a remarkable communicator.
at the end, this is about whether you enjoy your drink whatever it is. Same as with tea ceremony. Final product doesn't have to be most tastefull tea you ever drank, but the way to get there is nice experience. I switched from instant cofee where the only nice experience was pleasant feel of warm mug, to (yet) cofee with milk from Sage Barista Pro. THE process of making morning coffee with milk changed my morning. Knowing infos from James changed my perception of what is going on in my espresso machine. So, I am more "present" where my machine clicks and hiss and doing all the nice stuff. I am more present when making coffee. And, there are so many ways to continue (funny to follow me when I try to play with milk), that for sure journey will go on.
I think the point you made about how the extraction time literally doesn't change the extraction amount is very useful. Helps you focus on other variables if you are over/under extracting.
Very helpful! As I'm just getting started on making espresso, I was very focused on getting a certain volume within a certain time. This video series has been great, teaching me about the variables that matter most and how they affect what's most important, the taste of the espresso.
I've just got my Niche zero and following the recipe 18g in 40g out over 30 seconds as a target was perfect for me. Meant that the dialling in was simple and straight forward. And that the coffee results were great. Now I'm ready to start comparing beans, roasts and sources so keeping the brew time and recipe constant is very important. Maybe one day I'll upgrade the coffee machine and my technique but for now there are more exciting variations to try. So thank you for your enthusiasm, reviews and tips. They are greatly appreciated.
My coffee life now officially changed from the amazing info on this channel - I have quite basic but still decent Breville machines at the studio and home and the results were annoyingly hit and miss - Went to a very good local roasters ( Milk Shed in Brighton ) and the immensely enthusiastic guy running it donated a pro-grade Italian made 58mm Basket which left me visibly speechless - took it back to the studio in a very excited state and from that moment everything changed ... I really do mean everything - Suddenly I could grind way, way finer and even the fairly poor grinder on the Breville was making much better coffee .. Then introduced a £16 set fo coffee scales / timer with one of these random Chinese import brand names and within 48 hours I have the best espressos I've ever made coming out time after time ... I love dark roasted Naples espresso coffee with milk and could not understand why the bag of Kimbo Naples expresso beans tasted so bad compared to their other bags "intenso" being the best ... this morning I've made a massive mess at home but have turned out 2 Espressos so glorious with the Naples blend that i did a victory lap of the kitchen and had to sit down and rethink my life. To anyone wondering whether all the fuss and detail about coffee that James discusses is non-sense - I please ask you to make the small changes he often discusses here and just see what happens - you'll get wrong first ( just like anything in life ) but keep going, improve and get more accurate and eventually and hopefully you'll have the same experience I just have had. I will never accept the dreadful coffee that is so prevalent ( even in cafes ) ever again as now i fully understand just how gorgeous even non subtle blend like Kimbo can be when everything is setup right - Thank you James - you have just imparted a skill set in me I will never lose again and enjoy forever - this is why I love modern UA-cam so much
I guess it gets tricky when the coffee roaster puts a recipe on the bag, therefore people not hitting those parameters can feel like they failed. But my take goes always back to flavour: that never fails. Thanks for another great video 🙏
I've been watching your videos to help me at work and you're so well spoken and easy to listen to, thank you!, I find I switch off really easily when watching videos but these are great.
"Do you understand the rule well enough to begin to break it and have some interesting and different results" This explains SO much of Italian cuisine. SOOO many culinary rules, but every great Italian chef breaks one rule in a glorious way.
For myself personally, I find that beginning to time the brewing time as soon as the first drop appears yields the best results. Then again, I do have a basic espresso machine that is older than myself (I'm in my mid-30s) that does not have a pressure gauge. The machine doesn't have a warm up feature either so it begins to heat up the water and pressurize the water tank after you turn it on (lid screws on very tight and woe be unto you if you don't do that). Also, there is no way to change the basket (without scalding yourself and suddenly depressurizing the machine) for a second shot so you must have a lot of patience with it and be willingly to experiment. I got the machine from a thrift store at $3 for a reason. Someday I hope to upgrade to better machine but for now I'll watch videos on how to brew and dream. :)
Thank you for the video, I was pondering the brew time, was more than enough overwhelmed by the many many videos on it. Yours by far makes the most sense. Have a recipe and play around with flow rate and temperature to get the desired results
love your vids James. Would love to see one specifically about espresso temperature. I'm looking to upgrade my machine and would really like to have a better understanding of how temperature affects things and whether it's important to be able to really dial it in.
I think the more i watch you, Chris Baca and Sprometheus, no matter what coffee is being made - brew time is always an element that lets me know if "in the ballpark".
When I first started getting into home espresso I understood the 25-30 second rule as a 'window' of good espresso that you aimed for when dialing in the grinder. Some beans I would get tasting better in the ~40 second area but i felt like I was doing something wrong because I was out of my 25-30 window. Id burn through entire bags of beans trying to get good coffee within that window. I still have no idea what I'm doing but at least I understand if its still sour and takes 30 seconds to brew its ok to grind finer.
Go with taste over time. Some coffee just likes to hang with the water longer and that’s ok. Seems like you have learned a lot already through trial and error.
TBH, I thought that was more because they were handing out advice to people who may not have a pressure gauge built into their machine. The time for the water to move through the coffee grounds is an indication of roughly what water pressure was needed to get the water through. More resistance is more time, which is why you can increase the time by grinding finer or tamping harder. Both of those will increase the pressure required for the water to move through the coffee puck.
Chris L I can see what you are getting at. Most my experience comes from commercial equipment on the espresso side of things where this is a lot of consistency in those machines. And in that case if you are prepping the coffee well, hitting your marks and have confidence the machine is consistently brewing the same way each time, all that’s left is a simple grind adjustment to achieve a time that correlates with a great tasting espresso.
I have been making espresso for more than 4 years now, got good results conventionally and moved to strada. Know I honestly feel lost, instead of understanding espresso better. Thanks James for your efforts and please guide us on pressure profiling and how to utilize it if you read this.
first time i saw this video when i just got my flair esspresso machine it wasnt helpful because the discussion was too advanced, now i couple of months in i thank you for the eye opening content
Thank you for these super helpful videos. I had just assumed my espresso was bitter and people had much different taste than me. But I’ve been improving my shots and my morning’s have drastically improved!
Thoroughly enjoyable video as usual. I appreciate that covering such a wide & complex topic in less than 10 is a very very challenging task. At the base of this espresso pyramid are entry level semi automatic users, e.g., Delonghi Dedica with a 12gm basket in a pressurised PF. The basic time rule for 1:2 type of shots is critical for them to understand too. They might feel a bit lost & ignored with this one.
Well this is my case, I've got a semi automatic machine with 14grs PF, I suppose that the time variable there should be lower having in mind that it takes around 25 to 30 sec for a 18grs PF. Lets try !
I never hit "Show more" before. Today I did it! And surprise! There is a link for everything ! Wow ! Pure merchandise! Glass, Hair, books and so on. This is not a man! It is a living commercial ad!
I have vertical stripes in my crema, pretty sure that Matthew McConaughey is trying to contact me from the fifth dimension about my brew time... watching James on UA-cam is probably more convenient :)
I am new to the espresso game. I understand the brew time and the effects of grind size. I just need to go to a coffee house and have a professional great tasting shot. I do not know what to compare it to. Your videos are fun and helpful. I have learned a lot by tryng your recommendations. Thanks again for your time.
I can't say I hae a particular view on any of this yet as I have only just fallen down the coffee rabbit hole, but I think the idea of the giveway going to people who couldn't afford it rather than to anyone is really really good. I also appreciate the advice to think about ethcal sourcing when buying coffee from your other videos. More UA-cam creators should use their reach like this, keep up the good work and great coffee content!
James it is a relief to hear your learned verdict that time is more of a meta/out variable. Being a manual lever machine user from day 1 at home, I've lately found the best results to be at around 1m30s including 30s pre-infusion and a ramp up/down to/from pressure peak. But early on, I struggled for months in reconciling why deviating more and more from that 25-30s rule seemed to precipitate better and better results.
I have found that pre-infusion really makes a great difference with brewed coffee. I have for several years learned to explore different tastes of the same bean/roast just by changing the amount of time of the pre-infusion, and the brew temperature. I accomplish this with the Behmor Brazen Brewer. - Having said this, I think pre-infusion should be set aside till you are ready to add it to the mix in pulling espresso shots. I look at time of the shot much the same as you - it is the result of many factors from dose, to fine or coarse grind, and the tamp. I have also found that pre-infusion can make a mess of your puck, and in some cases increase the chance that you will get channeling. All of that I am sure is a result of my own inexperience.
Hi I have watched it all of videos you have made, they have increased my knowledge of making good espresso. Thank you for taking the time to provide the videos.
i gotta say this really helped me a lot! i keep on watching them to remind me what should i consider when it doesnt goes as i planned. thank you very much!
Great video. I have been brewing for quite a while now and got some information in various locations. This really summarizes the important stuff before taking the journey to another level. Well done!
I just made my first shot of espresso on a secondhand Gaggia I recently found, it turned out super sour so now I'm binging all of the James Hoffman espresso videos
This little school of espresso was amazing! Thank you man! It's amazing how much you can learn in 30 min course when someone is explaining the topic clearly and nicely.
Completely agree with you, personal flavor preference is the most important. Sometimes I get a beautiful balance tasting shot at 19 seconds, because I thought I ruined my shot, made me not appreciating the cup as much as I should until the second half of the cup. Don't let brew time rules get to you phytologically, use your tongue then decide.
First few weeks with the flair were difficult for me but the right kind of beans, really hot water, and small tweaks got me there. I do remember being pretty discouraged with sour espresso for a while.
Great video, James. I am just beginning my journey with espresso. I've been roasting my own beans for about a year and am enjoying that process. Learning on a Delongi EC155 is a challenge given the temperature variations inherent in this low end machine. I did invest in a good grinder with the Baratza Sette 270. Loud, but it grinds consistently. I am starting to understand the brew time/grind size correlation so this video was very helpful. Thank you for all you do to help us stay caffeinated. WOOHOOO!!!™
I have just watched all of your videos in preparation for receiving my new machine. I purposely decided against buying a machine with a PID, (Lelit Victoria) mainly because it seemed to offer an overwhelming amount of flexibility. IN essence, I wanted a basic good quality machine to learn and perfect the basics of espresso making. (you mention this in the video). I ended up with a ECM CasaV. I think the idea of the brew pressure gauge is more fundamental to me as a beginner, than being able to adjust my Infusion time and temp settings since those variables I would consider to be on the next level after I have aquired the basics. I felt that it would just add to my confusion since it seems the basic variables of grind size and dose and constant temp seem to be more consequential and provide a solid platform of understanding and repeatability. Thanks for these videos. I can't wait to try out your recommendations. I also opted for a Eureka Specialita grinder since the general consensus seems to be that it is maybe more important than the actual machine itself. (basically all the espresso maker does it heat the water and apply the pressure) which they all are capable of doing... Thanks again,
Finally reached that stage where i felt comfortable experimenting and side-by-side taste testing. The results on my Breville? 18 in, 40 out, fine grind resulting in 55 second brew upon first drops-- gave me one of the most pleasant shots ever! But it's still really hard to overcome the ingrained recipe-points instead of focusing on the flavor... like the espresso police will break my door because 55 seconds must be illegal somehow😂
And to clarify, i may be wrong, but i feel like the pressure on my Breville isn't what you'd find on the higher end machines... so a 55 second extraction may seem long but i'd bet money my grind size and weight would probably be 30 seconds on a stronger machine. 🤷🏽♂️
I *really* support this! I’ve got a Saeco Poemia and I’m restricted in plenty of similar ways; it’d nice to get insight on how to do the best we can given the restrictions! Also, pretty hard to get something better for home use being from Argentina 🙄
Jamie Dumont Exactly the same here. Recently did the PID upgrade to have more consistency, but I’m still trying to get there. Maybe my Gaggia MDF grinder is not enough? Sometimes I would need to go finer but I’m already at 3, sometimes 2 as grinder setting...
Me too! I've had my Gaggia Classic since the early 2000's and now have a decent grinder (Niche Zero). The coffee's still not great, but maybe the machine's had it now? If I get a new one, can I make great coffee? Do I buy another, or step up to something like an Appartamento?
@@uncle-k3m I also started going really fine with my gaggia classic, and I realized it was to compensate for the strong pressure. One thing that really helped me was to turn the pressure down to 9 bar(6-7bar once I got a smaller 14g basket). The machine when new, comes with high pressure 14-15bar, meant for pressurized baskets but too much for manual espresso. You can find a video on how to do this yourself (:
When you talked about skill share and then talked about how you used to make music! THATS SO COOL! I make music for digital marketing agencies or for anyone’s creative needs. I like you even more now.
I love this series so much, it's helped me think about espresso in a bigger way than I ever did by myself on an espresso machine. I wish I could apply more of this technical knowledge to my home shot pulling, but my machine (Ascaso Dream PID) has an external gauge to set water pressure, and it can take me over 10 shots just to dial in a single grind/dose setting to achieve 9 bars.
He's the kind of barista / instructor I won't mind listening to for hours straight, though would be better if I'm sipping a latte or cappuccino made by him of course.😊♥️ Hoping to be a better home barista.🙏
Thank you for these videos, until recently, thinking of a shot in grams didn't compute, I had always thought of it in volume! learning so much from your channel.
Oreo fusion is important, but very interesting to play with mill and different coffees. I like experimenting with coffee from different regions) I think that such factors as humidity and fixed clean equipment is also very important for espresso!
I’d love to know more about pre-infusions in detail! Also, my friend counts from the point the espresso comes out until the color of the espresso changes (we don’t have the best machine though). I was curious about hearing more on your thoughts on that.
I’ve been using the 25-30 second rule for almost six years now, I’m very comfortable with it. However, I’ve always noticed that when a shot pulls slower by accident, maybe 35-40 seconds, it always tastes richer and less sour. I think they have a higher extraction, although I don’t have a refractometer to verify that. So I’ve tossed the 25-30 second rule out the window now and always shoot for 35-40 seconds. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience.
I used to shoot for 25-27 seconds, with 30 being my higher end, based on what I'd read. I started messing around with my shots one morning based on a "dialing in" video I watched(Lance Hedrick) and found myself pulling ~33 to get a better profile with no sour notes and a richer flavor. Is it the slightly smaller portafilter on my machine, the roast I use, the water? I don't know. But I'm pulling 30+ second shots now.
I made the mistake of getting a La Pavoni as my first espresso machine. I essentially gave up on pressure profiling because of how difficult it is to reproduce and the lack of any real taste improvement for me. However, I did manage to pull a sweet shot or two with long long long preinfusion times with filter roasts. I made lattes that tasted like fruity cereal milk.
Hahaha! I know this feeling!!! Sometimes it feels like walking in the dark and knowing there is only a narrow path over the abyss...!! In my Pavoni I do a preinfussion of 8 seconds and then forget about extraction time and aim for extraction weight... I do my fellinis also and therefore time is no significant... sometimes the coffe goes down the sink, but generally it’s the best; for me, better than la marzocco from my coffee roaster’s cafeteria...
I feel it! I got a La Pavoni Europiccola thanks to James’s video but I struggle sometimes because I can’t replicate the process. I even tried to have an empiric measurement of how much 13 kg of force is - but it depends on so many factors! If I am not mistaken, there should be some way to tackle it, perhaps installing a gauge meter on the lever?
Sorry to write this again, but maybe it relates more to this type of video. I'd be very interested if you could talk about diminishing returns in coffee quality from different perspectives. One question could be: Does more expensive coffee necessarily mean a better tasting coffee?
The fact that lowering pressure while keeping the same amount of water and coffee is so interesting! It definitely made me think about espresso differently. Following this is a question though - how soon can you start lowering the pressure and what is the minimal pressure required to still brew a good espresso?
These videos are somewhat biter/sweet (don't excuse the pun). The more I learn from James the more conflicted I am as to how good my espresso shots are. That said, I never knew quite how fine an art pulling a shot was and it's a heap of fun trying to figure out how to nail it. Thanks James! ...I think :p
James, after COVID19, you should do a tour around Europe visiting home barista's and helping them to understand and improve the brewing process on their own machines. Great video's. Thanks
When I clicked this, my alert said it was uploaded 54 seconds ago...there were already 10 comments and 36 likes. We may not be the biggest fanbase, but we're perhaps the most eager (or caffeinated)
Caffeinated
And, not or.
sufficiently agitated
Stirred, not swirled.
Clearly Scott, there are some individuals whose knowledge extraction time, is particularly swift...personally, I need all the pre-infusion I can get...
I've watched all of these understanding espresso videos, now I just need to get an espresso machine.
Same.
There's a video for that too
Hey go with a Breville machine to start. You can vary enough of the process to make it fun and really tasty
Or a DeLonghi its a great long term brand
Gaggia classic pro is a good place to start...
I dont even drink coffee but the professionialism and perfection behind the creation of a good coffee is just so good and it's a pleasure to watch your videos.
Thank you!
@@Skedge I just spent $800 on a machine, grinder, and accessories. Its exciting but a little confusing and stressful to learn this, but james and reddit both certainly help!
@@Skedge looks like your budget is a bit bigger than mine was 🤣 Happy espresso-making!
we bought our first (and so far only) nice espresso machine and grinder 14 years ago and we've used them every morning (and most afternoons) ever since. and... we'd been totally happy with our results until youtube happened to throw one of your videos our way. that led to several more of your videos, which quickly led to our realization that we've never had any idea how to make espresso. not sure we'll ever get around to weighing things out and some of the other steps, but we've changed our grind, and kept a closer eye on our doses, and that's reduced our flow rate and final volume pretty dramatically. am happy to say we're now getting a completely different beverage out of the very same machines and beans. it's a thick, dark, almost sweet and chocolate-ish thing, and with just our usual frothed milk or half & half added, it almost tastes like something you'd buy at a dairy queen. the difference is AMAZING. we are both astonished that such a thing is possible and a little aggravated knowing it always was. mostly we just want to send along our MOST SINCERE THANK YOU for doing what you do. coffee will never be the same in this house.
I mean, this is heart warming, but... Did you just say dairy queen? Like, the cheap fast food drive through from the southern US? As your reference for the pinnacle of coffee?
(Or maybe I misunderstood and you're comparing it to their ice cream treats?)
@@KyleBaker definitely referring to the sweet treats at dq, not the coffee.
@@ricodeco2139 oh, that makes so much more sense, haha. I'm sure that must be such a revelation!
I will blame you for all the missing coffee in my cafe. Whenever you post a video, I just rush to the machine and do like ten shots just to try out what you are talking about... On the other hand, you are one of the reasons why people talk about us having one of best coffees in the town, so I ain´t that mad :)
I bought an Espresso Machine almost 7 years ago, i consume them 3 -5 times a days (depending on the day) & realized after wathching a few of your videos that I've been brewing shit espresso all this time.
This past weekend has been a whole new learning curve for me. I am really enjoying the videos and your content.
Especially German cafes. Germans don’t know coffee…
That said. One of the best shots I’ve ever had was at Berlins airport
I had a similar experience. I was basically making strong coffee. And it tasted fine, no complaints. But after watching this and looking at the community for my espresso machine recently I realized I was never actually making espresso. 30 second shot time for a 2:1 extraction? I was getting closer to 10 seconds. After tweaking grind size the past few days I can finally feel comfortable calling it espresso, albeit probably not fantastic espresso.
Yo depends what dose you are using but 3-5 espressos a day is quite a lot of caffeine. Look out for yourself bro
@scottklandl488 well to be fair most countries in the west serve bad coffe. But there always have been roasters, which provide good quality. If you think you get a good coffee from a standard bakery well duuh😂 what germans really dont have is a nice coffe culture of enjoyment. Its more of a tool for many... explains who buys that trash in the supermarkets 😂
As an absolute beginner with only two weeks with a machine, the advise to stick to 25-30 sec is actually incredibly helpful and offers a solid and easy framework to understand.
25-30 sec from the first drop ?
I just want to say this understanding espresso series has been a godsend. I know you’ve said James that you’d be inclined to ask people interested in a home espresso machine if they really want a new hobby and in my case, I love coffee and coffee culture and absolutely am ready for a new hobby and this series has seriously helped make the idea of getting started in it less intimidating.
Nate Kiellach Same here! I could spent all day with my flow controlled dual boiler!
As a competition judge I've experienced a lot great coffees from the 15 to 20 seconds window and also from 30 to 40. I agree with James and I think people should test more with their recipes and find out what is the best extraction time. Don't be closed minded about how many seconds your espresso should have.
Is James Hofmann the most watchable and easy listening host of any channel on UA-cam? Yes, yes he is. Another informative and educational video, thanks!
Thank you James. The discussion about when to start the "shot clock" has been a question I have had for awhile. My Barista Touch starts the clock as soon as I push the brew button - it takes about 9 seconds (Breville says it should take 8 to 12 seconds) before I see espresso flowing. Typically I use 18 grams of coffee and get about 36/37 grams out in about 28 to 30 seconds. That recipe gets me very close to the coffee roaster's profile and it is yummy, so much so I can't go back to Italian cafe style espresso.
I was going to go for a much higher-end machine, dual boiler, etc but I am the only coffee drinker in the house and that amounts to about two or three espressos a day - so the Breville does the job. Great series that has been helpful to us home espresso brewers.
man, you are the best person to explain complex and simple stuff about coffee, I really admire all your knowledge and how you share it. I have the luck to work with many kind of beans, diferent densities and I've found that time is very relative in extraction but you are right, starting with the 25-30 seconds rule is the best to begin with the espresso journey. I've pulled 60+ seconds espressos with high density beans getting magnificient flavors. Greetings from México.
U sir just saved me from a vicious circle which I had fallen into after experiments involving pre infusion and pressure profiling . Ur A saviour . Please accept my humble regards 👍
Just taking a moment to say thank you. I brew at home on a Gaggia Pro for my family. I have learned so much from watching your videos. I have watched all them. Clarifying time starts when I flick the switch is a big confidence boost. My pallette told me that was correct, but that helps when dialing in a new coffee immensely. The one ingredient you never really mention, but we can tell you use. The one I put in my girls latte every morning is love 💘.
Just came back home from a long shift at a local cafe, work as a barista there for almost two years now. We just reopened in full capacity for the first time since lockdown started here in Russia. What a mad world we live in.
So if I survive this pandemic, I sure hope that this two month of free classes will help me out, thanks James :D
Kind of started to lose my passion to what I do more and more recently, but as always you are someone to look up to, you helped a lot when I started out working as a barista in a much smaller place few years ago and to this day you still helping me thrue this journey again and again. Love you, James
As a new-ish hire at a coffee shop, I always wondered why we rely so heavily on time when at home enthusiasts seemed to focus on taste indicators instead. Helpful to know that we’re aiming for two different things: consistency vs interesting flavours
Both can be helpful for sure. I would assume the cafe you are at uses the same espresso blend or SO and has a good idea of the recipe that it taste best with and believes numbers are easier to communicate than taste.
Coffee Pilgrim Yeah for sure. For reference it’s a local chain (couple locations and a local roastery in my city) and we dial in every morning ( I’m still learning) but use all the same equipment and blend.
Chloe Merritt well congrats on the new gig! Definitely a fun time starting out working on bar. I enjoy answering coffee questions if you have any in the future :)
Coffee Pilgrim thank you!
PSA: the Acaia Lunar scale shown in the video has a mode that starts the timer as soon as it auto-tares, rather than when it detects coffee hitting the glass. That means you can put your glass on the scale, wait a second for it to tare, and then push the button or pull the level on your espresso machine. This times your brew start to finish.
thanks for the info！will try tomorrow！
Thank you! That’s helpful
I need a $250 scale to make an espresso! wow.
We need a JH podcast. No matter the topics 🧐
Maybe. I finally have an idea for one, now I just need the time - and the time of my guests!
This would be a great idea
@@jameshoffmann I adore how polite you are, Mr. Hoffman.
@@jameshoffmann Don't let it affect your video amount though.
The "time" thing is exactly why I listen to zero podcasts hahaha. I use UA-cam as a break, often, and I don't take hour-long breaks. I understand that's not most people though.
Brilliant! Yes, brew time is important, to an extent. I've been using the 20-30 second "rule of thumb" for some time and getting good results. As I learn more I will fiddle with brew time. BTW - Kudos on these "university-level" course videos! Will soon have my Masters in Espresso! 😀
After 5 years of owning an espresso machine and trying to dial in my espresso basically only using the grind setting on my Sage Barista Express, these videos have been a revelation. Picked up some TimeMore Black Mirror Basic scales, and have started playing with brew-time & temperature as well as consistent dosing and coffee I previously found a little astringent and lacking in body & flavour is now a totally different brew entirely! Please keep making these videos.
So many still don't focus on beverage weight out when learning how to brew espresso... so very important. Weight in, weight out... and time is just a point of reference. Great video James
How
Much weight?
@@FirstLast-bi1ve Usually it is recommended that the weight of espresso in the glass should be 2-3 times the weight of grounds in the portafilter.
@@FirstLast-bi1ve check out his video on ratios!
James - you mentioned the great "when to start timing" debate in a response to another video I commented on. Thank you for covering this topic. At that time, the notion of starting the timer when the drop hit the cup was something I'd read and blindly followed, but now as you've stated I have a better grasp of time/water/dose/output and paying attention to pressure at the puck as well as how it tastes to know what I like and how to make changes. Pretty much all of this has come through experimentation, taking detailed notes and watching your videos. Thank you!
This understanding espresso series is great. I have watched multiple times, each time come away with new knowledge and details I didn’t picked up before.
Once I got myself a manual lever machine, the concept of brew time went out the window. Since that day, an espresso process for me became about playing around with brew pressure, while targeting for a specific flow rate and output weight. Even the pressure profile isn't something I try to be consistent with because the coffee itself doesn't interact with water consistently on a day to day basis.
I recently started messing with my grind size, timing, preinfusion length, and more, because of the knowledge gained from your videos. Thank you. Today, I found my longer preinfusion definitely made my flow faster when I ramped up to full pressure. Next shot will compensate. I appreciate all of your wisdom, Mr. Hoffman :). I'm using a Breville Barista Express with a Baratza Sette 30 (with 270 attachment).
It's impossible to watch your videos and not learn something new. Clear & to the point. Thanks
This is so helpful! I've watched so many videos that give target times but don't clarify when they're starting their timers. Since preinfusion can be 10-20% of the total time, that distinction is significant. Keep up this great series!
Hi James, this series is helpful but I wish the whole series worked backwards from the taste, and talked in more detail about how you yourself work backwards from taste. In your dialing in videos, you talk about how something will bring more sweetness out etc, or how something will “round the shot”. I hope you make videos about how others can develop the skills to dial in (more so than the knowledge of the factors at play). Thanks!!!
I've asked for this too. What leads up to it being bitter or sour? Is it because of the brew times being too long/short, too fine of a grind etc..
@@GrantMcWilliams he does talk about all of this though. Underextracting makes it sour, overextraction makes it bitter. This is affected by brew time and coarseness. He even says that a bad grind can make it bitter and sour
@@mattezuka1274 And this is why it's an art, not a science. Taste is subjective too. Even if we all had the same gear, beans and water, we'd brew different coffee
@@GrantMcWilliams The Coffee Compass from Barista Hustle can be extremely helpful...
www.baristahustle.com/blog/the-coffee-compass/
@@happydeux2254 I mean it's still a science, It's an extraction, using different factors to cause some stuff to extract more of less, using your mouth as a detector. Only difference is the end goals
You are a hero. The teaching you provide in this series is beyond compare
You can’t talk about a scuba tank under your machine and say “that’s a story for another day”
WE MUST KNOW OF THE SCUBA TANK!!!1!!1!!!1!1!!1 🤣
Satoru yes se want to Hera about the sucuba!
If its a story for another day, we want that story
WTH is going on, it's another day today, and still no news on the scuba tank.
It’s a story for right now!!😂
I'm guessing he was using it as a pressure source and a valve to vary the pressure.
I drink instant coffee (don't @ me) but can't get enough of this guy! Great content
Absolutely outstanding videos. Thank you so much for your work. Credible. Factual and clear. Just bought my first E61 group machine switching from a single boiler that was my first machine. Working on dialing my grind. Thanks Mr. Hoffman. Your work is truly helpful to me. You are a great teacher and a remarkable communicator.
we definitely want to hear more about the scuba tank rig
I've been learned more with your videos than the courses. I really apreciate that. Thanks for all.
at the end, this is about whether you enjoy your drink whatever it is. Same as with tea ceremony. Final product doesn't have to be most tastefull tea you ever drank, but the way to get there is nice experience. I switched from instant cofee where the only nice experience was pleasant feel of warm mug, to (yet) cofee with milk from Sage Barista Pro. THE process of making morning coffee with milk changed my morning. Knowing infos from James changed my perception of what is going on in my espresso machine. So, I am more "present" where my machine clicks and hiss and doing all the nice stuff. I am more present when making coffee. And, there are so many ways to continue (funny to follow me when I try to play with milk), that for sure journey will go on.
I think the point you made about how the extraction time literally doesn't change the extraction amount is very useful. Helps you focus on other variables if you are over/under extracting.
Very helpful! As I'm just getting started on making espresso, I was very focused on getting a certain volume within a certain time. This video series has been great, teaching me about the variables that matter most and how they affect what's most important, the taste of the espresso.
I've just got my Niche zero and following the recipe 18g in 40g out over 30 seconds as a target was perfect for me. Meant that the dialling in was simple and straight forward. And that the coffee results were great. Now I'm ready to start comparing beans, roasts and sources so keeping the brew time and recipe constant is very important.
Maybe one day I'll upgrade the coffee machine and my technique but for now there are more exciting variations to try. So thank you for your enthusiasm, reviews and tips. They are greatly appreciated.
My coffee life now officially changed from the amazing info on this channel - I have quite basic but still decent Breville machines at the studio and home and the results were annoyingly hit and miss - Went to a very good local roasters ( Milk Shed in Brighton ) and the immensely enthusiastic guy running it donated a pro-grade Italian made 58mm Basket which left me visibly speechless - took it back to the studio in a very excited state and from that moment everything changed ... I really do mean everything - Suddenly I could grind way, way finer and even the fairly poor grinder on the Breville was making much better coffee .. Then introduced a £16 set fo coffee scales / timer with one of these random Chinese import brand names and within 48 hours I have the best espressos I've ever made coming out time after time ... I love dark roasted Naples espresso coffee with milk and could not understand why the bag of Kimbo Naples expresso beans tasted so bad compared to their other bags "intenso" being the best ... this morning I've made a massive mess at home but have turned out 2 Espressos so glorious with the Naples blend that i did a victory lap of the kitchen and had to sit down and rethink my life.
To anyone wondering whether all the fuss and detail about coffee that James discusses is non-sense - I please ask you to make the small changes he often discusses here and just see what happens - you'll get wrong first ( just like anything in life ) but keep going, improve and get more accurate and eventually and hopefully you'll have the same experience I just have had.
I will never accept the dreadful coffee that is so prevalent ( even in cafes ) ever again as now i fully understand just how gorgeous even non subtle blend like Kimbo can be when everything is setup right -
Thank you James - you have just imparted a skill set in me I will never lose again and enjoy forever - this is why I love modern UA-cam so much
Back to Back, what have we done to deserve such a Hoffblessing
I guess it gets tricky when the coffee roaster puts a recipe on the bag, therefore people not hitting those parameters can feel like they failed. But my take goes always back to flavour: that never fails. Thanks for another great video 🙏
I've been watching your videos to help me at work and you're so well spoken and easy to listen to, thank you!, I find I switch off really easily when watching videos but these are great.
"Do you understand the rule well enough to begin to break it and have some interesting and different results"
This explains SO much of Italian cuisine. SOOO many culinary rules, but every great Italian chef breaks one rule in a glorious way.
For myself personally, I find that beginning to time the brewing time as soon as the first drop appears yields the best results. Then again, I do have a basic espresso machine that is older than myself (I'm in my mid-30s) that does not have a pressure gauge. The machine doesn't have a warm up feature either so it begins to heat up the water and pressurize the water tank after you turn it on (lid screws on very tight and woe be unto you if you don't do that). Also, there is no way to change the basket (without scalding yourself and suddenly depressurizing the machine) for a second shot so you must have a lot of patience with it and be willingly to experiment. I got the machine from a thrift store at $3 for a reason. Someday I hope to upgrade to better machine but for now I'll watch videos on how to brew and dream. :)
Would love a video on preinfusion and also brew temp impact on various bean types
Thank you for the video, I was pondering the brew time, was more than enough overwhelmed by the many many videos on it. Yours by far makes the most sense. Have a recipe and play around with flow rate and temperature to get the desired results
love your vids James. Would love to see one specifically about espresso temperature. I'm looking to upgrade my machine and would really like to have a better understanding of how temperature affects things and whether it's important to be able to really dial it in.
I think the more i watch you, Chris Baca and Sprometheus, no matter what coffee is being made - brew time is always an element that lets me know if "in the ballpark".
When I first started getting into home espresso I understood the 25-30 second rule as a 'window' of good espresso that you aimed for when dialing in the grinder. Some beans I would get tasting better in the ~40 second area but i felt like I was doing something wrong because I was out of my 25-30 window. Id burn through entire bags of beans trying to get good coffee within that window. I still have no idea what I'm doing but at least I understand if its still sour and takes 30 seconds to brew its ok to grind finer.
Go with taste over time. Some coffee just likes to hang with the water longer and that’s ok. Seems like you have learned a lot already through trial and error.
TBH, I thought that was more because they were handing out advice to people who may not have a pressure gauge built into their machine. The time for the water to move through the coffee grounds is an indication of roughly what water pressure was needed to get the water through. More resistance is more time, which is why you can increase the time by grinding finer or tamping harder. Both of those will increase the pressure required for the water to move through the coffee puck.
Chris L I can see what you are getting at. Most my experience comes from commercial equipment on the espresso side of things where this is a lot of consistency in those machines. And in that case if you are prepping the coffee well, hitting your marks and have confidence the machine is consistently brewing the same way each time, all that’s left is a simple grind adjustment to achieve a time that correlates with a great tasting espresso.
I would love to see an experiment on how tamping pressure and espresso taste :) Just to see how important tamping pressure is in the end product.
Not very important
I have been making espresso for more than 4 years now, got good results conventionally and moved to strada. Know I honestly feel lost, instead of understanding espresso better. Thanks James for your efforts and please guide us on pressure profiling and how to utilize it if you read this.
first time i saw this video when i just got my flair esspresso machine it wasnt helpful because the discussion was too advanced, now i couple of months in i thank you for the eye opening content
Thank you for these super helpful videos. I had just assumed my espresso was bitter and people had much different taste than me. But I’ve been improving my shots and my morning’s have drastically improved!
Thoroughly enjoyable video as usual. I appreciate that covering such a wide & complex topic in less than 10 is a very very challenging task. At the base of this espresso pyramid are entry level semi automatic users, e.g., Delonghi Dedica with a 12gm basket in a pressurised PF. The basic time rule for 1:2 type of shots is critical for them to understand too. They might feel a bit lost & ignored with this one.
Well this is my case, I've got a semi automatic machine with 14grs PF, I suppose that the time variable there should be lower having in mind that it takes around 25 to 30 sec for a 18grs PF. Lets try !
I never hit "Show more" before. Today I did it! And surprise! There is a link for everything ! Wow ! Pure merchandise! Glass, Hair, books and so on. This is not a man! It is a living commercial ad!
I have vertical stripes in my crema, pretty sure that Matthew McConaughey is trying to contact me from the fifth dimension about my brew time... watching James on UA-cam is probably more convenient :)
I am new to the espresso game. I understand the brew time and the effects of grind size. I just need to go to a coffee house and have a professional great tasting shot. I do not know what to compare it to. Your videos are fun and helpful. I have learned a lot by tryng your recommendations. Thanks again for your time.
Honestly, pretty much everything I know about coffee is from this guy
James and Chris Baca, yep!
I can't say I hae a particular view on any of this yet as I have only just fallen down the coffee rabbit hole, but I think the idea of the giveway going to people who couldn't afford it rather than to anyone is really really good.
I also appreciate the advice to think about ethcal sourcing when buying coffee from your other videos. More UA-cam creators should use their reach like this, keep up the good work and great coffee content!
James it is a relief to hear your learned verdict that time is more of a meta/out variable. Being a manual lever machine user from day 1 at home, I've lately found the best results to be at around 1m30s including 30s pre-infusion and a ramp up/down to/from pressure peak. But early on, I struggled for months in reconciling why deviating more and more from that 25-30s rule seemed to precipitate better and better results.
I have found that pre-infusion really makes a great difference with brewed coffee. I have for several years learned to explore different tastes of the same bean/roast just by changing the amount of time of the pre-infusion, and the brew temperature. I accomplish this with the Behmor Brazen Brewer. - Having said this, I think pre-infusion should be set aside till you are ready to add it to the mix in pulling espresso shots.
I look at time of the shot much the same as you - it is the result of many factors from dose, to fine or coarse grind, and the tamp. I have also found that pre-infusion can make a mess of your puck, and in some cases increase the chance that you will get channeling. All of that I am sure is a result of my own inexperience.
Hi I have watched it all of videos you have made, they have increased my knowledge of making good espresso.
Thank you for taking the time to provide the videos.
i gotta say this really helped me a lot! i keep on watching them to remind me what should i consider when it doesnt goes as i planned. thank you very much!
Thanks! Not just for this video, but for all the others that have also taught me a lot.
Great video. I have been brewing for quite a while now and got some information in various locations. This really summarizes the important stuff before taking the journey to another level. Well done!
I just made my first shot of espresso on a secondhand Gaggia I recently found, it turned out super sour so now I'm binging all of the James Hoffman espresso videos
This little school of espresso was amazing! Thank you man! It's amazing how much you can learn in 30 min course when someone is explaining the topic clearly and nicely.
Completely agree with you, personal flavor preference is the most important. Sometimes I get a beautiful balance tasting shot at 19 seconds, because I thought I ruined my shot, made me not appreciating the cup as much as I should until the second half of the cup. Don't let brew time rules get to you phytologically, use your tongue then decide.
First few weeks with the flair were difficult for me but the right kind of beans, really hot water, and small tweaks got me there. I do remember being pretty discouraged with sour espresso for a while.
Great video, James. I am just beginning my journey with espresso. I've been roasting my own beans for about a year and am enjoying that process. Learning on a Delongi EC155 is a challenge given the temperature variations inherent in this low end machine. I did invest in a good grinder with the Baratza Sette 270. Loud, but it grinds consistently. I am starting to understand the brew time/grind size correlation so this video was very helpful. Thank you for all you do to help us stay caffeinated. WOOHOOO!!!™
I have just watched all of your videos in preparation for receiving my new machine. I purposely decided against buying a machine with a PID, (Lelit Victoria) mainly because it seemed to offer an overwhelming amount of flexibility. IN essence, I wanted a basic good quality machine to learn and perfect the basics of espresso making. (you mention this in the video). I ended up with a ECM CasaV. I think the idea of the brew pressure gauge is more fundamental to me as a beginner, than being able to adjust my Infusion time and temp settings since those variables I would consider to be on the next level after I have aquired the basics. I felt that it would just add to my confusion since it seems the basic variables of grind size and dose and constant temp seem to be more consequential and provide a solid platform of understanding and repeatability. Thanks for these videos. I can't wait to try out your recommendations. I also opted for a Eureka Specialita grinder since the general consensus seems to be that it is maybe more important than the actual machine itself. (basically all the espresso maker does it heat the water and apply the pressure) which they all are capable of doing... Thanks again,
Absolutely love the Masterclass quality on a free platform like UA-cam
Trying to do my best with a little $150 espresso machine, so these videos at least help me get in the ballpark! Thanks James!
You're a hero! Good luck!
Finally reached that stage where i felt comfortable experimenting and side-by-side taste testing. The results on my Breville? 18 in, 40 out, fine grind resulting in 55 second brew upon first drops-- gave me one of the most pleasant shots ever! But it's still really hard to overcome the ingrained recipe-points instead of focusing on the flavor... like the espresso police will break my door because 55 seconds must be illegal somehow😂
And to clarify, i may be wrong, but i feel like the pressure on my Breville isn't what you'd find on the higher end machines... so a 55 second extraction may seem long but i'd bet money my grind size and weight would probably be 30 seconds on a stronger machine. 🤷🏽♂️
Looking up to his video just strengthening my foundation of espresso knowledge and put it practice from time to time💪🏾😆
Day one of asking James to do a video about the Gaggia Classic....(cmon james i know this was your first machine let the nostalgia take over)
Another vote here for a Gaggia Classic video, James. (And thanks for everything else.)
I *really* support this! I’ve got a Saeco Poemia and I’m restricted in plenty of similar ways; it’d nice to get insight on how to do the best we can given the restrictions! Also, pretty hard to get something better for home use being from Argentina 🙄
Jamie Dumont Exactly the same here. Recently did the PID upgrade to have more consistency, but I’m still trying to get there. Maybe my Gaggia MDF grinder is not enough? Sometimes I would need to go finer but I’m already at 3, sometimes 2 as grinder setting...
Me too! I've had my Gaggia Classic since the early 2000's and now have a decent grinder (Niche Zero). The coffee's still not great, but maybe the machine's had it now? If I get a new one, can I make great coffee? Do I buy another, or step up to something like an Appartamento?
@@uncle-k3m I also started going really fine with my gaggia classic, and I realized it was to compensate for the strong pressure. One thing that really helped me was to turn the pressure down to 9 bar(6-7bar once I got a smaller 14g basket). The machine when new, comes with high pressure 14-15bar, meant for pressurized baskets but too much for manual espresso. You can find a video on how to do this yourself (:
What a fantastic video. I've had questions about exactly this. Thank you for making this. I'd love to see more dialing in videos of different coffees.
A true proffesional or should I say proffesor of the coffee industry thank you
When you’re new to all this, well it’s just overwhelming. Thanks 😊
When you talked about skill share and then talked about how you used to make music! THATS SO COOL! I make music for digital marketing agencies or for anyone’s creative needs. I like you even more now.
I love this series so much, it's helped me think about espresso in a bigger way than I ever did by myself on an espresso machine. I wish I could apply more of this technical knowledge to my home shot pulling, but my machine (Ascaso Dream PID) has an external gauge to set water pressure, and it can take me over 10 shots just to dial in a single grind/dose setting to achieve 9 bars.
TWO videos in TWO days. Oh James, you're spoiling us...
Been doing 20 sec pre infusion and love how consistent it is.
Nice, thanks! Just got my scale with timer delivered when you posted this video.
We hope YOU have a great day as well James.
He's the kind of barista / instructor I won't mind listening to for hours straight, though would be better if I'm sipping a latte or cappuccino made by him of course.😊♥️ Hoping to be a better home barista.🙏
Thank you for these videos, until recently, thinking of a shot in grams didn't compute, I had always thought of it in volume! learning so much from your channel.
Oreo fusion is important, but very interesting to play with mill and different coffees. I like experimenting with coffee from different regions) I think that such factors as humidity and fixed clean equipment is also very important for espresso!
I’d love to know more about pre-infusions in detail!
Also, my friend counts from the point the espresso comes out until the color of the espresso changes (we don’t have the best machine though). I was curious about hearing more on your thoughts on that.
Just got a home espresso machine and dialing in shots! The timing of this video couldn’t be better!
This is exactly what i needd for home barista,, Thank you James Hoffmann!
I too am a coffee pro & computer musician. I grinned way too hard when you said you were getting back into Ableton!
I’ve been using the 25-30 second rule for almost six years now, I’m very comfortable with it. However, I’ve always noticed that when a shot pulls slower by accident, maybe 35-40 seconds, it always tastes richer and less sour. I think they have a higher extraction, although I don’t have a refractometer to verify that. So I’ve tossed the 25-30 second rule out the window now and always shoot for 35-40 seconds. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience.
I used to shoot for 25-27 seconds, with 30 being my higher end, based on what I'd read. I started messing around with my shots one morning based on a "dialing in" video I watched(Lance Hedrick) and found myself pulling ~33 to get a better profile with no sour notes and a richer flavor. Is it the slightly smaller portafilter on my machine, the roast I use, the water? I don't know. But I'm pulling 30+ second shots now.
Thank you for these videos! Making my morning coffee so much nicer
I made the mistake of getting a La Pavoni as my first espresso machine. I essentially gave up on pressure profiling because of how difficult it is to reproduce and the lack of any real taste improvement for me. However, I did manage to pull a sweet shot or two with long long long preinfusion times with filter roasts. I made lattes that tasted like fruity cereal milk.
Hahaha! I know this feeling!!! Sometimes it feels like walking in the dark and knowing there is only a narrow path over the abyss...!! In my Pavoni I do a preinfussion of 8 seconds and then forget about extraction time and aim for extraction weight... I do my fellinis also and therefore time is no significant... sometimes the coffe goes down the sink, but generally it’s the best; for me, better than la marzocco from my coffee roaster’s cafeteria...
I feel it! I got a La Pavoni Europiccola thanks to James’s video but I struggle sometimes because I can’t replicate the process. I even tried to have an empiric measurement of how much 13 kg of force is - but it depends on so many factors! If I am not mistaken, there should be some way to tackle it, perhaps installing a gauge meter on the lever?
Sorry to write this again, but maybe it relates more to this type of video. I'd be very interested if you could talk about diminishing returns in coffee quality from different perspectives. One question could be: Does more expensive coffee necessarily mean a better tasting coffee?
YES WE NEED THIS!
The fact that lowering pressure while keeping the same amount of water and coffee is so interesting! It definitely made me think about espresso differently. Following this is a question though - how soon can you start lowering the pressure and what is the minimal pressure required to still brew a good espresso?
This is a great question. The Aeropress for instance does an ok job but how much pressure does that make?
@@b4804514 You could try loading weight lifting plates on it for consistency.
Well done, sir! It is like you read my mind, been thinking about brew times lately.
These videos are somewhat biter/sweet (don't excuse the pun). The more I learn from James the more conflicted I am as to how good my espresso shots are. That said, I never knew quite how fine an art pulling a shot was and it's a heap of fun trying to figure out how to nail it. Thanks James! ...I think :p
James, after COVID19, you should do a tour around Europe visiting home barista's and helping them to understand and improve the brewing process on their own machines. Great video's. Thanks