Better to do than to not, thats for sure. But a massive channel like James Hoff should have the mind to reach out to the reasearchers during the intial video planning and discovery stage.
@@ThunderGoatz In an ideal world with infinite time and resource, I'm sure the video would be higher quality and more accurate. But in reality, it may have taken much longer for James and in turn ourselves to learn the truth if the intial video wasn't made. Who knows how long it would have taken for James to be in contact with Dr Samo if the initial video wasn't published. Science is trial and error, and while we can do our best to plan and discover there will always be errors and more trials.
This is why I love scientific communities like this because an essay that essentially boils down to "You're wrong" is accepted, appreciated, and celebrated instead of leading to petty online fights. The more information we know, the better, thanks for putting this video out to continue the knowledge that's out there about decaf!
That's just how normal, educated adults are. Even in normal life. The internet has just perpetuated the "angry kid" vibe that if you tell they're wrong its a fight.
@@conorfurlonga scientist having knowledge and having studied a topic, which is not really publivally available is still a great source of information and should be value more than a random reddit post. But yes, nothing should be blindly trusted.
As a decaf drinker I’m so glad you are focussing on decaf and it’s amazing to see you talking about this and making these amendments and addenda is a huge part of why we are all here 😊
Seriously! I love coffee, but the caffeine hits me harder than most folks. I need to go decaf a couple weeks out of every few months, to reset. And taper off of standard coffee by mixing in more and more decaf. Getting quality info on making delicious decaf is priceless.
Sorry, still love my coffee, thank you James. I am still looking for that perfect espresso but I’m getting there and quite by chance I tried a finer bring and guess what? I am getting closer ❤
@@SamBrownBaudot I drank about 2 litres of coffee a day back in the mid 2000's whilst at work...about 2010 I started getting heart palpitations every time I had a coffee, gave up the caffeine and it all stopped. Not had caffeine since and all ok....hoping these videos will help me find better coffee. Currently using the 'Decadent Decaf Coffee Company' that use the Swiss Water Method, which is really good, but would like to try others
Admitting errors and addressing them is absolutely the right thing to do. As a scientist in industry, I and my peers (should) hold ourselves to high standards but mistakes do get made. It happens and there's a temptation to continually berate ourselves over it. Providing there are no serious outcomes from that error then it's a learning experience, we correct and we move on, hopefully improved. There were no serious outcomes here. Thank you (and the team) for these videos.
Something I was taught in college when doing research papers was "There's nothing wrong about being wrong" (within reason, obviously). Being wrong like this lets someone else who is more educated step in and teach you information you were missing, which should ALWAYS be the goal. We're all here to be super nit-picky about hot brown bean juice, and this furthers that knowledge quest and I for one am here for it
@@jace75It's part of the process of learning. There's no such thing as the home run in learning. You can't get it right first time unless you already have the knowledge to do so. So you have to get things wrong to identify the gaps in your knowledge. If you can accept that, it will give you back the joy in experimenting. Allow yourself the room to learn more by embracing the second best teacher after a good storyteller, and that's failure. If you don't fail, if you don't ask questions of your failures, you're not going anywhere. You're actually not growing. You become stuck. Don't let fear or ego cheat you of the joy of being surprised in a nice way. Stay curious. Stay open to constructive critique It will keep you young.
You have my respect as a man who not only admits when he got it wrong, but does so publicly, calling attention to your "mistakes", and thanking the person who corrected you. Imagine how much better our world would be if everyone took this approach!
As someone who can no longer have caffeine, I’m so happy to see decaf content on your channel. I still love coffee and look forward to seeing your segments on the decaf process.
Based in your last video I bought my first pack of decaf. A pretty good one at that. All I can say: It grinds exactly the same as regular (in a Uniform) and brews exactly like regular (in a V60) - it’s among the best coffees I’ve ever had and I thank you for expanding my coffee horizon.
As a decaf drinker, medically required, these few videos have been nice. I've had a similar experience in having to grind a bit finer to get best results, but only a tiny bit finer. Can not wait for the process plant video(s)!
same here i use filters that have a restricted flow . because alot of precision filters are for lighter roasts and allow faster flow . but some restrict flow for darker roasts . those are great for decaf since you can then grind coarser to get in the right time and ratio . meaning you will get less bitter shots (finer grind can often over extract). made my decaf shots sweet without needing to make 20g shots haha
It is nice that you went back and added the correction information to the decaf video, with it below the fold, not as many people are going to notice it on both desktop and mobile. Perhaps a pinned comment might be helpful in showing greater transparency. Otherwise love the work and the channel, all of you put a lot of love and effort into it and it shows! :D
As a coffee nerd and former academic I love how you dealt with this! Yeah I think more people should admit where they made mistakes. Absolutely love this video and all of your content!
Yet another demonstration of how deserving you, James, are of the respect you have garnered from your audience-myself included. Looking forward to the decaf tours!
Hey James, after your positive decaf video I went and bought some good quality decaf green beans, gave them a nice and light roast in my home setup, and the result was a very sweet, chocolatey and smooth cup. A lot better than I had imagined. Now I can enjoy coffee in the evenings as well!
The level at which you care about transparency and information is just outstanding and amazing. I truly admire you for it, and hopefully it affects just a little part of the world. Stay strong!
Thank you! Since I recently had to switch to decaf because of some medication I need to take, I am very very grateful for every video you make about it. Even more so in times where it's becoming harder to trust online sources and search engines by the day.
Awesome about the decaf factory tours! So excited! I found a local roaster that roasts light, medium, and dark roasts. They invite people to watch their roasting process every Thursday and they sell beans by the pound. They had a light medium decaf and because I no longer have a grinder had him grind it for me. He asked how I was going to brew it so he could choose the right grind size. He obviously took many factors into consideration: the fact that it was decaf, light medium roast, and would brew pour over because when I got home I was shocked to see that it was much finer than I thought it should be, but it brewed perfectly. So what you said about grinding decaf finer is my experience as well.
I've recently returned to home espresso after a long spell with just a moka pot (which I've learned from James I was using very wrongly, hey ho) and I found the decaf video really interesting because as a side effect of cancer treatment I seem to have become extremely sensitive to caffeine. I'm therefore going through the triple challenge of relearning espresso brewing, learning about all the things that have been invented since I was last paying attention (WDT tools, levellers, puck screens, weighing to 0.1g etc etc etc) AND getting to grips with decaf. It's been great fun, much to the bemusement of my non-coffee-drinking wife, but I'm still not very happy with the shots I'm pulling, so I'm really keen to hear more about decaf and especially decaf brewing techniques. Props for the corrections. It's a sign of a true seeker and propagator of knowledge to admit and correct your mistakes.
How lovely it is that this channel brings together passionate people with friendly intentions from around the world for us all to learn more and understand better. ❤
Absolutely mad respect for how you respond to being alerted about mistakes/criticisms. As a decaf drinker, I really appreciated the original video and I can't wait to see the tours of the various decaffeination processes!
My regular cafe here in Melbourne Australia just closed down so I went to a new one today. Ordered my decaf latte and watched as the barista fossicked around in the shelf above the grinder and eventually found the Tupperware container full of pre-ground decaf coffee. A little part of me just dies whenever I witness that...anyone else with me? And yes the coffee was banal to put it nicely. Keep up the good work @James Hoffman ... we need a quiet revolution...
I have never witnessed that but I would have walked out! Grind FRESH! Every time!! 🤦🏼♀️ Our local roasteries and coffee shops take decaf just as seriously, and make some seriously good drinks. But there’s an influx of new baristas (some with serious attitude) lately and the drinks aren’t very good. Totally understand needing time to learn, but it’s driving me to finally start trying my hand at making good decaf drinks at home. I’m so thankful for having found this channel and thrilled that James is doing a series on decaf! 🎉😍
I can't wait to see your next decaf videos! I just recovered from covid and it attacked my heart, so I have had to switch to decaf. I still love my coffee and I really want to learn as much as I can from someone who I can trust to do the right thing!
The decaf video will forever have a special place in my heart because it was the one that started me on my coffee journey. ❤ (Thanks to YT realising that I would be totally into coffee even though I never watch anything related to food or drink 😂).
Kudos to James for having this level of accountability and for his thrive for excellence, on a level that even the companies that manufacture these products don't have
The beauty of making a mistake is that you get to show everyone (inc yourself) how good you are at accepting and correcting your errors. In this you have excelled.
Very well done. It’s not easy to apologise but all credit to you for having the courage and humility to do so. Your honesty and integrity is part of what makes your channel so successful. Keep up the great work!😊
Thanks for taking seriously expert's feedbacks! The previous video was extremely precious to me for a single point: storing decaf in the freezer! Game changer.
The humility involved in the way you address those mistakes is what coffe lovers and/or professionals love about your work. Thank you for your videos and for all effort, James. Regards from Chile!
Im a very casual coffee fan who found your channel trying to find a solid Aeropress technique. I love your “daily driver,” and videos like this have drawn me in to learning more about the whole world of coffee. I really appreciate the care and craft that you bring not just to coffee, but your videos and the whole ethos of the channel
common James Hoffman W. As a half-caf drinker, I'm looking forward to more decaf videos! I just got into coffee a few years ago and love it, but I want to enjoy it without making my brain buzzy every time and developing a reliance on caffeine.
My dad is in a similar boat, half caf, he had always wondered why there aren't Roasters making blends for custom caffeine levels. Although now that I think about it I suspect you would get mechanical layering/separation in the bag as well as the challenge of two different extraction profiles. Maybe a relatively darker roast on the caffeinated beans and relatively lighter roast on the decaf?
Barriers of entry for decaf drinkers are high, 1) stigma 2) limited brewing info specifically for decaf (it brews differently, in my limited experience, but limited experience is where we start). 3) availability of specialty decaf (most local roasters make decaf to appeal to dark roast coffee drinkers, finding anything else is difficult, requires postage costs etc) 4) freshness issues exacerbating the problems ... a lot of this leads to offputting experience... but decaf is all we have.
Really interesting in learning more about decaf and I hope it gains more popularity so roasters put more effort in creating interesting decafs! I love making a good coffee in the evening without worrying about having trouble getting to sleep.
i WAS not a coffee drinker, we went to Switzerland and Italy, when we came back, I finally learned how to use the french presses we already owned, then bought a breville bambino; my wife can only drink decaf, i never drink or eat caffeine products so WE do only decaf. I have joined a club that sends me a pound of decaf from different sources every 1.5 weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed your decaf info and your ' i don't like coffee' episodel that was me before europe. I try most of these beans in the french press as well as the expresso maker. I usually prefer a cappuccino over an expresso, but try to try new coffees all 3 ways; french drip, expresso and cappuccino. Thank you for your videos, they have helped me and been very entertaining. Some day i probably will have 15-20 coffees, set out in a double blind taste test......
Super excited for the decaf tours! I'm transitioning away from caffeinated drinks to reduce general anxiety, so I'd love to learn more about how decaf works to get the best out of those cups.
Thank you for the follow up! Loved the other decaf video as well. I've pretty much given up on most caffeine for health reasons so decaf is all I got. Can't wait to see the in-depth videos on the different decaf processes. That sounds awesome!
1:02 Is it really the case that the decaffeination process damages the coffee? It changes the coffee, but so does roasting, so does washing the beans. What distinguishes decaffeination as a damaging process compared to all the other processes that change the flavour and structure of coffee beans?
I agree, it's ridiculous to ask James to call this "damage". Roasting "damages" the raw beans, yet it has some use, just as the decaf process has. "Damage" is just an unscientific way to add emotion and make it sound bad without reason.
So impressed with your attitude to the truth, as well as correcting yourselves! I wish every channel were as honest as you guys! Well done! keep up the amazing work, really looking forward to the factory tour decaf videos!! Subscribed and liked! 👍
Thank you for the update, I look forward to more exploration of decaf. Even if you were not perfect the first time around, your video opened up another aspect of coffee to me. Since your first video I purchased some decaf from my favorite brand and I have been enjoying it. I haven't played with my grind settings yet, just used what works for both of the other coffees I drink daily, and it was delicious.
Thank you for some explaination. I need to stay with decaf as my anxiety is exaggerated by caffeine, noted by different periods of caff and decaff exposure (yes one does not make a difference but more than one does). I am looking forward to your forthcoming videos on decaff with interest
I wish you were able to name this video. I've learned a lot more about the decaf process and I'm excited about the things that's coming up. It's too bad that you had to call it an apology video. Your stuff's awesome.
I really did enjoy the other decaf video. I'd been interested to try decaf after realising how late in the day I was consuming coffee and the video inspired me to go out to one of my local roasters and pick up one of their decaf offerings. Thankfully the brewing process was very forgiving and the result still tasted really good. Highly recommend people shop local as you can get some fresh and interesting options 😊
"We will do a better job" But like posting a video with corrected information is already doing a really incredible job. And also gives me something to watch this morning
If you where wrong, didn't find complete information about decaffeinated coffee, with all your background, then how not informed are we. Your first video was big step forward. This situation now only brings even more knowledge towards all of us. GREAT JOB James!
My experience with grinding decaf was also mostly positive. It grinds differently, but not outside of what I'd consider the normal variation between different coffees, roasts and levels of freshness. But I mostly buy one kind of decaf from my local roaster so I don't exactly have a lot of data points.
Love that instead of cyber yelling and defensive posts and blogs a content creator/expert allowed for other scientist/experts to make added information available to your audience. Thank you 🙏🏽
I am so glad you are ever more enthusiastic to dive into decaf coffee and the decaffeination process. Thank you for addressing errors and forging forward! You are doing this with integrity, and to me, this feels like the best parts of community working well.
Interesting. I grind my decaff beans at exactly the same fineness as full fat beans. Both give good shots. Looking forward to learning more about the different processes.
Yet another TH-cam that confirms my appreciation of your constant quest to produce quality and informative videos. I am glad to be a patron and look forward additional videos on decaf. Thank you and your staff.
The problem is that pretty much all specialty coffee roasters around the world only offer 1-2 decaf options in their menu (and maybe another 1 half-calf at best), and most of these beans are much less interesting in terms of flavors/qualities. Roasters also often feature the same kinds of decaf beans every year from the same farm/origin since there aren't many specialty producers who make decaf beans. Unless there is a huge wave of decaf that can revolutionize the process, I don't see decaf beans becoming a major thing in the coffee world, just like how dealcoholized/non-alcohol wines won't be a main player in the industry. For wine, the dealcoholization process doesn't really affect the quality of wines, but alcohol itself plays a big role in terms of body, texture, perception of acidity/sweetness, etc. That's why wine people don't look for dealcoholized wines even though we all know that alcohol is bad for health. For coffee, if the decaffeination process affects the quality of beans/roasting in any way, no producers will take the risk of decaffeinating their high-quality beans. We will perhaps never see decaffeinated Panama Gesha beans, for example.
Thank you for taking the time to film and edit an addendum. This has been such and interesting topic and I love having an enthusiast and scientist such as yourself delving into it on our behalf. So looking forward to the factory tours!
I have moved to decaf due to my caffeine intollerance. Your previous video helped me so much in a few repects. 1. make sure the beans you buy are as fresh a posible (due to the deteriation incured in the process) 2. When ordering decaf in a cafe make sure they are freshly ground and not preground 3. Good decaf well made can be really enjoyable. Your errors and lack of detail did not have an effect on the above three positive points. I really noticed a great dirrence in the two decaf beans I tried. The first batch from a local roaster were too old and actually had a very strong caffeine effect on me (this is subjective but both my wife and I didnt feel good after drinking coffee from the first batch. The second batch was from Square mile Red Brick and is honestly as good as most good beans I buy. So thanks James for all your advise
Respect for making things right to the dot! It takes a true genuine human to go back and correct oneself when a mistake is noticed. Stay true Hoffster … we love you!
I am at most a casual coffee enjoyer with a caffeine addiction to feed, and I would never have caught any of these issues. It's refreshing to watch somebody pick over their own work with a fine-toothed comb like this. I appreciate you. You go, you funky lil coffee nerds ❤❤❤
On a positive note, I want to let you know that decaf made it possible for me to enjoy coffee while I struggle with an autoimmune disease, after watching your first video about decaf I went to my local roaster, got freshly roasted decaf beans and tried them and it was great. I would recommend to anyone struggling with digestive problems to have a go at decaf beans. Thanks for all your great, information rich videos. Best regards
OH MY GOSH I'm so excited for this project. I'm trying to move away from caffeine, but coffee is life, and anything that adds to the decaf conversation is a great step forward. I also love that you're a part of the conversation, not just telling us things, but actually engaging with the things and taking us along
To commit a mistake in the channel like this is a sign of its strenght! Well done, do the great job, make mistakes and let us know where they happened! Good luck!
Funny. I roast my own with an air popper type machine. Now that you mention it, I do settle on 10%-20% finer grind setting for my decaf than my regular coffee. All beans sourced from the same packager on Amazon. Since I don't grind more than one regular and one decaf at a time, I just thought that was bean variation, not thinking it might be process variation. So your observation is interesting and helpful. And then, to put it all in perspective. My coffee tuning is on hold because my grouphead gasket doesn't seat my new bottomless portafilter tightly enough. There is so much that has to be right before we get to the grind settings of decaf.
I am currently drink the Square Mile Decaf filter (I use for espresso). I’m very impressed. I brew this in the same way that I brew caffeinated espresso. I will try the decaf espresso next order. I’d like to see more variety and diversity of decaf coffees offered…
I signed up for a Decaf filter subscription based purely on your last video, so thank you and thank you for your amazing videos, I love being notified there is a new one to watch. This correction demonstrates why I value your content so highly.
Hey James, Just wanted to say that I imagine it can be hard to make a video for the entire world to see saying that what you previously said is incorrect and misinformation. I just wanted to say that as someone in the scientific field with many degrees & currently working on their doctorate, it makes me very happy to see posts like these. I am not saying that being wrong is a good thing; rather, just that in today’s culture, sadly, almost no one takes the time to correct themselves when they are wrong. Most people, and indeed myself, understand that you and your team are human and will make mistakes. It makes us feel good that when you are informed of such mistakes, we can trust you to correct them!
This was a great follow-up to a genuinely informative video. I've always kind of avoided decaf, mostly out of not having a need to investigate it further, since I'm fortunate enough to be able to drink coffee well into the night with no adverse effects. I know the point of the last video and this video wasn't to pick a best method, but I think it would be informative and dare I say, fun to see a comparison of how each method of decaffeination brews and tastes; ultimately exploring which method yields the best decaffeinated coffee at home, with the least amount of faff. Also, of course, thanks for putting out consistently delightful and informative coffee videos!
It shows how serious people are about coffee. In this case, which is very rare, it wasn't trolls who criticised him but people with a genuine concern for the facts and did it with respect. It restores my hope! This seems like a great win because now we get to see the process in a video. To be honest I have never understood decaf coffee and have steered clear of it. Being informed is one of the reasons I watch TH-cam. This chennel is excellent and so committed to the wonderful world of coffee - the best legal addictive drug in the world!
I loved the original video. I've been brewing decaf in both French press and a Moka pot for several years and my experience has been that with small adjustments to the grind it works the same as caffeinated. Thank you for all you do James.
Well, gosh, I wondered, based on my (in-the-past) experience of home roasting (off and on for about a decade). It makes the beans....strange. My fave local roaster (Brio) *anguishes* about their decaf. Which is why they are so good.
Very honourable that you as a Creator have decided to make correction video. Many don’t since they just want to regurgitate as much content as possible.
Some of us don't have the option of regular coffee (muscle spasms, nerve damage, etc), so we appreciate this. I have mostly made decaf espresso and noticed tha the shots would run much more quickly that what I had seen with regular coffee on various videos.
I bought my first bag of decaf after your video. I always needed something to drink at 9pm at night and not feel bad about it. I took the plunge and for that I thank you!
I love the humility and informative nature of your videos. Not pretentious, no ego, just really informative and warm even. Science is best made when there are changes or further revisions/clarifications to said concept/subject, and I do see the science of coffee as just that: a science, albeit a fun (and tasty) one at that! It's great to see this addendum to your previous video, and I'm looking forward to videos on the factory tours soon!
Fussy and nitpicky about coffee is exactly why I'm here. Please don't stop being both.
100%
Agreed.
This. Seconded.
Could not have said this better myself
THIS
Corrections and andendums are exactly what a make a great enthusiast channel.
Corrections and addenda what science does when we learn something new. Kudos to James for his honesty and dedication to the truth!
Better to do than to not, thats for sure. But a massive channel like James Hoff should have the mind to reach out to the reasearchers during the intial video planning and discovery stage.
Info over ego. Big ups.
Also big ups to Dr Samo Smrke
@@HariSeldon. Corrections and addenda *ARE* what science does....
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day.
@@ThunderGoatz In an ideal world with infinite time and resource, I'm sure the video would be higher quality and more accurate. But in reality, it may have taken much longer for James and in turn ourselves to learn the truth if the intial video wasn't made. Who knows how long it would have taken for James to be in contact with Dr Samo if the initial video wasn't published. Science is trial and error, and while we can do our best to plan and discover there will always be errors and more trials.
This is why I love scientific communities like this because an essay that essentially boils down to "You're wrong" is accepted, appreciated, and celebrated instead of leading to petty online fights. The more information we know, the better, thanks for putting this video out to continue the knowledge that's out there about decaf!
Hear, hear.
That's just how normal, educated adults are. Even in normal life. The internet has just perpetuated the "angry kid" vibe that if you tell they're wrong its a fight.
For full effect, the online fight would lead with "your wrong". But otherwise in agreement.
That’s assuming this other scientist is right. Which… who knows. Using information on the basis of one scientist’s research is pretty flawed.
@@conorfurlonga scientist having knowledge and having studied a topic, which is not really publivally available is still a great source of information and should be value more than a random reddit post. But yes, nothing should be blindly trusted.
It’s a real shame that 99% of the other TH-cam posters don’t hold themselves to this level of honesty, accuracy and self-scrutiny.
That’s for sure!
I don't watch 99% of TH-cam channels, most of the ones I follow will be this meticulous.
Accuracy?
I'd say the vast majority of people don't.
Tom Scott was another one who used to often do this.
As a decaf drinker I’m so glad you are focussing on decaf and it’s amazing to see you talking about this and making these amendments and addenda is a huge part of why we are all here 😊
Seriously! I love coffee, but the caffeine hits me harder than most folks. I need to go decaf a couple weeks out of every few months, to reset. And taper off of standard coffee by mixing in more and more decaf. Getting quality info on making delicious decaf is priceless.
Having a heart condition I am told I should avoid caffeine 😕. I haven’t had caffeine for several years but still”
Sorry, still love my coffee, thank you James. I am still looking for that perfect espresso but I’m getting there and quite by chance I tried a finer bring and guess what? I am getting closer ❤
*grind. (Having a bad day!)
@@SamBrownBaudot I drank about 2 litres of coffee a day back in the mid 2000's whilst at work...about 2010 I started getting heart palpitations every time I had a coffee, gave up the caffeine and it all stopped. Not had caffeine since and all ok....hoping these videos will help me find better coffee. Currently using the 'Decadent Decaf Coffee Company' that use the Swiss Water Method, which is really good, but would like to try others
A TH-camr who admits their mistakes. A gem to be treasured!
The CGPGrey of coffee!!
Admitting errors and addressing them is absolutely the right thing to do. As a scientist in industry, I and my peers (should) hold ourselves to high standards but mistakes do get made.
It happens and there's a temptation to continually berate ourselves over it.
Providing there are no serious outcomes from that error then it's a learning experience, we correct and we move on, hopefully improved.
There were no serious outcomes here.
Thank you (and the team) for these videos.
Even if there are serious consequences, still a learning experience.
Something I was taught in college when doing research papers was "There's nothing wrong about being wrong" (within reason, obviously). Being wrong like this lets someone else who is more educated step in and teach you information you were missing, which should ALWAYS be the goal. We're all here to be super nit-picky about hot brown bean juice, and this furthers that knowledge quest and I for one am here for it
@@apocalypse487 true, just it's more difficult to process
Perhaps the Post Office should read this!
@@jace75It's part of the process of learning. There's no such thing as the home run in learning. You can't get it right first time unless you already have the knowledge to do so. So you have to get things wrong to identify the gaps in your knowledge. If you can accept that, it will give you back the joy in experimenting. Allow yourself the room to learn more by embracing the second best teacher after a good storyteller, and that's failure. If you don't fail, if you don't ask questions of your failures, you're not going anywhere. You're actually not growing. You become stuck. Don't let fear or ego cheat you of the joy of being surprised in a nice way. Stay curious. Stay open to constructive critique It will keep you young.
You have my respect as a man who not only admits when he got it wrong, but does so publicly, calling attention to your "mistakes", and thanking the person who corrected you. Imagine how much better our world would be if everyone took this approach!
This is why we trust you---you care about accuracy and truth.
As someone who can no longer have caffeine, I’m so happy to see decaf content on your channel. I still love coffee and look forward to seeing your segments on the decaf process.
not sure he has been publishing for that long :) (minor typo)
@@tomdupree2758 haha. That was a good typo! Thanks for noticing.
I'm excited to see the factory tours!!
No harm, no foul. We are just glad you are making more videos.
yes!
And he is glad we watch, as it's more revenue!
Based in your last video I bought my first pack of decaf. A pretty good one at that. All I can say: It grinds exactly the same as regular (in a Uniform) and brews exactly like regular (in a V60) - it’s among the best coffees I’ve ever had and I thank you for expanding my coffee horizon.
Would love to know which roaster/ decaf coffee you are praising!!
@@elliez7269 It's Hermetic Coffee in Hamburg, Germany. I got their regular filter coffe. I don't know to where they ship though.
@@chrismarquardt thanks so much !!
Thanks for this tip from the top floor. When in Frankfurt, check out Holy Brewing Society 😉
Can't wait for the decaf tours...! Thank you!
I've actually found myself drinking more decaf since watching your video. Keep up the great work!
Same here
Same
I been switching to decaf at noon for some time now so I can't say that my consumption has gone up. But I can say that my enjoyment has.
Me too. I didn’t know what the “swiss water french roast decaf” beans at my local grocery store meant until the decaf video.
Same here
As a decaf drinker, medically required, these few videos have been nice. I've had a similar experience in having to grind a bit finer to get best results, but only a tiny bit finer. Can not wait for the process plant video(s)!
same here i use filters that have a restricted flow . because alot of precision filters are for lighter roasts and allow faster flow . but some restrict flow for darker roasts . those are great for decaf since you can then grind coarser to get in the right time and ratio . meaning you will get less bitter shots (finer grind can often over extract). made my decaf shots sweet without needing to make 20g shots haha
VERY excited about the 3 decaf method tours
It is nice that you went back and added the correction information to the decaf video, with it below the fold, not as many people are going to notice it on both desktop and mobile. Perhaps a pinned comment might be helpful in showing greater transparency. Otherwise love the work and the channel, all of you put a lot of love and effort into it and it shows! :D
As a coffee nerd and former academic I love how you dealt with this! Yeah I think more people should admit where they made mistakes. Absolutely love this video and all of your content!
Yet another demonstration of how deserving you, James, are of the respect you have garnered from your audience-myself included. Looking forward to the decaf tours!
Hey James, after your positive decaf video I went and bought some good quality decaf green beans, gave them a nice and light roast in my home setup, and the result was a very sweet, chocolatey and smooth cup.
A lot better than I had imagined.
Now I can enjoy coffee in the evenings as well!
The fact that James is so open about making mistakes only makes me love his work more. Thank you for always being so honest and transparent!
The level at which you care about transparency and information is just outstanding and amazing. I truly admire you for it, and hopefully it affects just a little part of the world. Stay strong!
Thank you! Since I recently had to switch to decaf because of some medication I need to take, I am very very grateful for every video you make about it. Even more so in times where it's becoming harder to trust online sources and search engines by the day.
Thank you for being serious about journalistic integrity. So many channels would add a "corrections" at the bottom of the description in a video.
Doing corrections in the description comments, is still a lot better than ignoring mistakes entirely.
But yeah a follow up vid is even better.
Awesome about the decaf factory tours! So excited!
I found a local roaster that roasts light, medium, and dark roasts. They invite people to watch their roasting process every Thursday and they sell beans by the pound. They had a light medium decaf and because I no longer have a grinder had him grind it for me. He asked how I was going to brew it so he could choose the right grind size. He obviously took many factors into consideration: the fact that it was decaf, light medium roast, and would brew pour over because when I got home I was shocked to see that it was much finer than I thought it should be, but it brewed perfectly. So what you said about grinding decaf finer is my experience as well.
I've recently returned to home espresso after a long spell with just a moka pot (which I've learned from James I was using very wrongly, hey ho) and I found the decaf video really interesting because as a side effect of cancer treatment I seem to have become extremely sensitive to caffeine.
I'm therefore going through the triple challenge of relearning espresso brewing, learning about all the things that have been invented since I was last paying attention (WDT tools, levellers, puck screens, weighing to 0.1g etc etc etc) AND getting to grips with decaf.
It's been great fun, much to the bemusement of my non-coffee-drinking wife, but I'm still not very happy with the shots I'm pulling, so I'm really keen to hear more about decaf and especially decaf brewing techniques.
Props for the corrections. It's a sign of a true seeker and propagator of knowledge to admit and correct your mistakes.
How lovely it is that this channel brings together passionate people with friendly intentions from around the world for us all to learn more and understand better. ❤
Absolutely mad respect for how you respond to being alerted about mistakes/criticisms. As a decaf drinker, I really appreciated the original video and I can't wait to see the tours of the various decaffeination processes!
Same!
More videos from James Hoffmann are always welcome and a blessing.
And this is why we love your channel! Thank you so much for making the coffee nerd community so much brighter and more informed!
My regular cafe here in Melbourne Australia just closed down so I went to a new one today. Ordered my decaf latte and watched as the barista fossicked around in the shelf above the grinder and eventually found the Tupperware container full of pre-ground decaf coffee. A little part of me just dies whenever I witness that...anyone else with me?
And yes the coffee was banal to put it nicely. Keep up the good work @James Hoffman ... we need a quiet revolution...
I have never witnessed that but I would have walked out! Grind FRESH! Every time!! 🤦🏼♀️
Our local roasteries and coffee shops take decaf just as seriously, and make some seriously good drinks. But there’s an influx of new baristas (some with serious attitude) lately and the drinks aren’t very good. Totally understand needing time to learn, but it’s driving me to finally start trying my hand at making good decaf drinks at home. I’m so thankful for having found this channel and thrilled that James is doing a series on decaf! 🎉😍
I can't wait to see your next decaf videos! I just recovered from covid and it attacked my heart, so I have had to switch to decaf. I still love my coffee and I really want to learn as much as I can from someone who I can trust to do the right thing!
The decaf video will forever have a special place in my heart because it was the one that started me on my coffee journey. ❤
(Thanks to YT realising that I would be totally into coffee even though I never watch anything related to food or drink 😂).
Kudos to James for having this level of accountability and for his thrive for excellence, on a level that even the companies that manufacture these products don't have
The beauty of making a mistake is that you get to show everyone (inc yourself) how good you are at accepting and correcting your errors. In this you have excelled.
Very well done. It’s not easy to apologise but all credit to you for having the courage and humility to do so. Your honesty and integrity is part of what makes your channel so successful. Keep up the great work!😊
Thanks for taking seriously expert's feedbacks! The previous video was extremely precious to me for a single point: storing decaf in the freezer! Game changer.
The humility involved in the way you address those mistakes is what coffe lovers and/or professionals love about your work. Thank you for your videos and for all effort, James. Regards from Chile!
Im a very casual coffee fan who found your channel trying to find a solid Aeropress technique. I love your “daily driver,” and videos like this have drawn me in to learning more about the whole world of coffee. I really appreciate the care and craft that you bring not just to coffee, but your videos and the whole ethos of the channel
Appreciate the transparency and definitely appreciate bringing the positives of decaf to light.
Awwww, that's nice!
An apology and admitting you got something wrong, then setting the record straight.
I like that!
How refreshing!
Thank You.
common James Hoffman W. As a half-caf drinker, I'm looking forward to more decaf videos! I just got into coffee a few years ago and love it, but I want to enjoy it without making my brain buzzy every time and developing a reliance on caffeine.
My dad is in a similar boat, half caf, he had always wondered why there aren't Roasters making blends for custom caffeine levels.
Although now that I think about it I suspect you would get mechanical layering/separation in the bag as well as the challenge of two different extraction profiles. Maybe a relatively darker roast on the caffeinated beans and relatively lighter roast on the decaf?
Barriers of entry for decaf drinkers are high,
1) stigma
2) limited brewing info specifically for decaf (it brews differently, in my limited experience, but limited experience is where we start).
3) availability of specialty decaf (most local roasters make decaf to appeal to dark roast coffee drinkers, finding anything else is difficult, requires postage costs etc)
4) freshness issues exacerbating the problems
... a lot of this leads to offputting experience... but decaf is all we have.
Really interesting in learning more about decaf and I hope it gains more popularity so roasters put more effort in creating interesting decafs!
I love making a good coffee in the evening without worrying about having trouble getting to sleep.
Very mich looking forward to those factory tours!!! That's going to be amazing!!!
As a decaf drinking I'm super excited for the decaf production tours! I'll be keeping and eye out for those videos!
Me too!
i WAS not a coffee drinker, we went to Switzerland and Italy, when we came back, I finally learned how to use the french presses we already owned, then bought a breville bambino; my wife can only drink decaf, i never drink or eat caffeine products so WE do only decaf. I have joined a club that sends me a pound of decaf from different sources every 1.5 weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed your decaf info and your ' i don't like coffee' episodel that was me before europe. I try most of these beans in the french press as well as the expresso maker. I usually prefer a cappuccino over an expresso, but try to try new coffees all 3 ways; french drip, expresso and cappuccino. Thank you for your videos, they have helped me and been very entertaining. Some day i probably will have 15-20 coffees, set out in a double blind taste test......
Super excited for the decaf tours! I'm transitioning away from caffeinated drinks to reduce general anxiety, so I'd love to learn more about how decaf works to get the best out of those cups.
Yes, thank you. I drink Swiss Water decaf about 20% of the time. I am really hoping to perfect my decaf brewing. Cheers!
Awesome that we're finally getting more decaf stuff
This is why I trust and love this channel - I love your dedication to helping us understand coffee but you do it in such a fun and accessible way.
Humble and gracious as always 😊
Thank you for the follow up! Loved the other decaf video as well. I've pretty much given up on most caffeine for health reasons so decaf is all I got. Can't wait to see the in-depth videos on the different decaf processes. That sounds awesome!
1:02 Is it really the case that the decaffeination process damages the coffee? It changes the coffee, but so does roasting, so does washing the beans. What distinguishes decaffeination as a damaging process compared to all the other processes that change the flavour and structure of coffee beans?
I agree, it's ridiculous to ask James to call this "damage". Roasting "damages" the raw beans, yet it has some use, just as the decaf process has. "Damage" is just an unscientific way to add emotion and make it sound bad without reason.
So impressed with your attitude to the truth, as well as correcting yourselves! I wish every channel were as honest as you guys! Well done! keep up the amazing work, really looking forward to the factory tour decaf videos!! Subscribed and liked! 👍
Super excited for those tours. On-location examination provides a lot of context to presented information.
I am beyond thrilled to see you talking about decaf! Thank you for including those of us who also drink decaf in your content.
Thank you for the update, I look forward to more exploration of decaf. Even if you were not perfect the first time around, your video opened up another aspect of coffee to me. Since your first video I purchased some decaf from my favorite brand and I have been enjoying it. I haven't played with my grind settings yet, just used what works for both of the other coffees I drink daily, and it was delicious.
Thank you for some explaination. I need to stay with decaf as my anxiety is exaggerated by caffeine, noted by different periods of caff and decaff exposure (yes one does not make a difference but more than one does). I am looking forward to your forthcoming videos on decaff with interest
I wish you were able to name this video. I've learned a lot more about the decaf process and I'm excited about the things that's coming up. It's too bad that you had to call it an apology video. Your stuff's awesome.
In James Hoffmann we trust. Irrespective of right and wrong, love your work!
I really did enjoy the other decaf video. I'd been interested to try decaf after realising how late in the day I was consuming coffee and the video inspired me to go out to one of my local roasters and pick up one of their decaf offerings. Thankfully the brewing process was very forgiving and the result still tasted really good. Highly recommend people shop local as you can get some fresh and interesting options 😊
"We will do a better job"
But like posting a video with corrected information is already doing a really incredible job. And also gives me something to watch this morning
If only our news sources could be as transparent and accountable to their audiences. Thank you for your integrity, commitment, and passion.
If only people would pay something for journalism, rather than expecting free 'news' to always be reliable 🤷🏼♂️
If you where wrong, didn't find complete information about decaffeinated coffee, with all your background, then how not informed are we. Your first video was big step forward. This situation now only brings even more knowledge towards all of us. GREAT JOB James!
My experience with grinding decaf was also mostly positive. It grinds differently, but not outside of what I'd consider the normal variation between different coffees, roasts and levels of freshness. But I mostly buy one kind of decaf from my local roaster so I don't exactly have a lot of data points.
It's always great to see when people admit errors. Can't wait for the decaf tours!
Love that instead of cyber yelling and defensive posts and blogs a content creator/expert allowed for other scientist/experts to make added information available to your audience. Thank you 🙏🏽
Thanks for the detailed correction James.
Would love to see an interview with Samo in the future!
Thank you for the update! As a caffeine sensitive person, look forward to every venture into learning about decaf!
Oh I am excited about the manufacturers agreeing to tour their facility! 🤩
I am so glad you are ever more enthusiastic to dive into decaf coffee and the decaffeination process. Thank you for addressing errors and forging forward! You are doing this with integrity, and to me, this feels like the best parts of community working well.
Interesting. I grind my decaff beans at exactly the same fineness as full fat beans. Both give good shots. Looking forward to learning more about the different processes.
Yet another TH-cam that confirms my appreciation of your constant quest to produce quality and informative videos. I am glad to be a patron and look forward additional videos on decaf. Thank you and your staff.
The problem is that pretty much all specialty coffee roasters around the world only offer 1-2 decaf options in their menu (and maybe another 1 half-calf at best), and most of these beans are much less interesting in terms of flavors/qualities. Roasters also often feature the same kinds of decaf beans every year from the same farm/origin since there aren't many specialty producers who make decaf beans.
Unless there is a huge wave of decaf that can revolutionize the process, I don't see decaf beans becoming a major thing in the coffee world, just like how dealcoholized/non-alcohol wines won't be a main player in the industry.
For wine, the dealcoholization process doesn't really affect the quality of wines, but alcohol itself plays a big role in terms of body, texture, perception of acidity/sweetness, etc. That's why wine people don't look for dealcoholized wines even though we all know that alcohol is bad for health. For coffee, if the decaffeination process affects the quality of beans/roasting in any way, no producers will take the risk of decaffeinating their high-quality beans. We will perhaps never see decaffeinated Panama Gesha beans, for example.
Thank you for taking the time to film and edit an addendum. This has been such and interesting topic and I love having an enthusiast and scientist such as yourself delving into it on our behalf. So looking forward to the factory tours!
I have moved to decaf due to my caffeine intollerance. Your previous video helped me so much in a few repects. 1. make sure the beans you buy are as fresh a posible (due to the deteriation incured in the process) 2. When ordering decaf in a cafe make sure they are freshly ground and not preground 3. Good decaf well made can be really enjoyable. Your errors and lack of detail did not have an effect on the above three positive points. I really noticed a great dirrence in the two decaf beans I tried. The first batch from a local roaster were too old and actually had a very strong caffeine effect on me (this is subjective but both my wife and I didnt feel good after drinking coffee from the first batch. The second batch was from Square mile Red Brick and is honestly as good as most good beans I buy. So thanks James for all your advise
Respect for making things right to the dot! It takes a true genuine human to go back and correct oneself when a mistake is noticed. Stay true Hoffster … we love you!
I am at most a casual coffee enjoyer with a caffeine addiction to feed, and I would never have caught any of these issues. It's refreshing to watch somebody pick over their own work with a fine-toothed comb like this. I appreciate you. You go, you funky lil coffee nerds ❤❤❤
James, only people who do nothing make no mistakes. Admitting and owning up to mistakes shows true greatness!
This is why I love watching your content.
Updates are good! Thanks for the update
On a positive note, I want to let you know that decaf made it possible for me to enjoy coffee while I struggle with an autoimmune disease, after watching your first video about decaf I went to my local roaster, got freshly roasted decaf beans and tried them and it was great. I would recommend to anyone struggling with digestive problems to have a go at decaf beans. Thanks for all your great, information rich videos. Best regards
OH MY GOSH I'm so excited for this project. I'm trying to move away from caffeine, but coffee is life, and anything that adds to the decaf conversation is a great step forward.
I also love that you're a part of the conversation, not just telling us things, but actually engaging with the things and taking us along
To commit a mistake in the channel like this is a sign of its strenght! Well done, do the great job, make mistakes and let us know where they happened! Good luck!
Funny. I roast my own with an air popper type machine. Now that you mention it, I do settle on 10%-20% finer grind setting for my decaf than my regular coffee. All beans sourced from the same packager on Amazon. Since I don't grind more than one regular and one decaf at a time, I just thought that was bean variation, not thinking it might be process variation. So your observation is interesting and helpful.
And then, to put it all in perspective. My coffee tuning is on hold because my grouphead gasket doesn't seat my new bottomless portafilter tightly enough. There is so much that has to be right before we get to the grind settings of decaf.
Thank you for being so thorough and calling yourself out. It raises your credibility.
I am currently drink the Square Mile Decaf filter (I use for espresso). I’m very impressed. I brew this in the same way that I brew caffeinated espresso. I will try the decaf espresso next order. I’d like to see more variety and diversity of decaf coffees offered…
I signed up for a Decaf filter subscription based purely on your last video, so thank you and thank you for your amazing videos, I love being notified there is a new one to watch. This correction demonstrates why I value your content so highly.
Been trying and drinking way more Decaf since the last video. Keep it up - great to learn about new things.
Hey James, Just wanted to say that I imagine it can be hard to make a video for the entire world to see saying that what you previously said is incorrect and misinformation. I just wanted to say that as someone in the scientific field with many degrees & currently working on their doctorate, it makes me very happy to see posts like these. I am not saying that being wrong is a good thing; rather, just that in today’s culture, sadly, almost no one takes the time to correct themselves when they are wrong. Most people, and indeed myself, understand that you and your team are human and will make mistakes. It makes us feel good that when you are informed of such mistakes, we can trust you to correct them!
This was a great follow-up to a genuinely informative video. I've always kind of avoided decaf, mostly out of not having a need to investigate it further, since I'm fortunate enough to be able to drink coffee well into the night with no adverse effects. I know the point of the last video and this video wasn't to pick a best method, but I think it would be informative and dare I say, fun to see a comparison of how each method of decaffeination brews and tastes; ultimately exploring which method yields the best decaffeinated coffee at home, with the least amount of faff. Also, of course, thanks for putting out consistently delightful and informative coffee videos!
It shows how serious people are about coffee. In this case, which is very rare, it wasn't trolls who criticised him but people with a genuine concern for the facts and did it with respect. It restores my hope! This seems like a great win because now we get to see the process in a video. To be honest I have never understood decaf coffee and have steered clear of it. Being informed is one of the reasons I watch TH-cam. This chennel is excellent and so committed to the wonderful world of coffee - the best legal addictive drug in the world!
I loved the original video. I've been brewing decaf in both French press and a Moka pot for several years and my experience has been that with small adjustments to the grind it works the same as caffeinated. Thank you for all you do James.
Well, gosh, I wondered, based on my (in-the-past) experience of home roasting (off and on for about a decade). It makes the beans....strange. My fave local roaster (Brio) *anguishes* about their decaf. Which is why they are so good.
James, me and my husband both just adore you. Your commitment to quality and detail is still so amazing, even here. ❤️
Very honourable that you as a Creator have decided to make correction video. Many don’t since they just want to regurgitate as much content as possible.
Some of us don't have the option of regular coffee (muscle spasms, nerve damage, etc), so we appreciate this. I have mostly made decaf espresso and noticed tha the shots would run much more quickly that what I had seen with regular coffee on various videos.
I bought my first bag of decaf after your video. I always needed something to drink at 9pm at night and not feel bad about it. I took the plunge and for that I thank you!
I love the humility and informative nature of your videos. Not pretentious, no ego, just really informative and warm even. Science is best made when there are changes or further revisions/clarifications to said concept/subject, and I do see the science of coffee as just that: a science, albeit a fun (and tasty) one at that! It's great to see this addendum to your previous video, and I'm looking forward to videos on the factory tours soon!