Paid AU$ 85 for a long black once. 5 for the coffee and 80 for the parking ticket I got for unknowingly parking in front of the post office on a Sunday.
Every time I go to my favorite roaster I worry that I'm going to end up paying $120 for a pound of beans But then again in a major city you only have to worry about a double parking ticket at the end of the month so... so far so good
getting the slightest hint of cocaine (*slurp*), a rather bland note on the finish...polyurethane perhaps. (*slurp*) Yeah, almost certainly suspect some bitterness and desperation transferred from the harvester's hands into the bean just prior to roasting...(*slurp*)...and though the roast is slightly stronger than I prefer, I definitely detect some nuttiness, and the hollowed out soul of an e-bike thief.
He got to make a video that is going to earn him way more than £265, so it was definitely worth the price. Like he said, it can be worth it to some people because of the story they can tell.
I mean, you could argue a large portion of the cost is also stemming from getting luxury *service* from a luxury coffee bar. There were waiters in there for god's sake, and they were wearing suits 😂
@@Alex-ck4in We saw the prices of the other coffees on the menu and while not cheap by any measure they were an order of magnitude lower. Also waiters in suits just aren't that expensive, they're in loads of places.
I had a coffee in Barcelona once, whilst enjoying it, a beautiful woman offered me a compliment and after a short conversation offered to put her number in my phone - to cut a long story short... she stole my phone. 🤣 That was the most expensive coffee I've ever had.
Another youtuber named Mudan is currently in Okinawa and decided to check out Nakayama Farm after seeing your vid. 2000 yen ($12.50) gets you a coffee, some coffee leaf "tea," a little snack and lots of Japanese hospitality. 500g of coffee beans are 1650 yen or about $11 dollars.
@@MrVorpalsword Hoffman explained the price differential in the video. Quite a bit more complicated than greed. Definitely a question whether that particular coffee should be offered, though, if it has to be that much more expensive after import, etc.
@@Shigyo14-ym4do He mooted some reasons for the price, there are plenty of other reasons for high prices, I suggested some more. From your information in Japan, clearly the London price is extortionate .... I don't know if you know London and the character of the sort of people who often set up these sorts of enterprises but I do ..... some people are prepared to rip off other people to make themselves rich, it is common, ours is a nastier society than what I have seen in Japan, experience tells me the price is quite likely, largely down to greed, I'll stick with that - but neither you nor James nor I know the truth do we? Have you seen my comment below?
@@MrVorpalsword when that coffee shop closes because they can't pay their rent for that location please update your comment and opinion. jealousy and envy are just as ugly as greed.
I went on a date with the cute brunette back in 1996. We had two amaretto cappuccinos and a plate of nachos. It led to student loans, a mortgage, and now medical bills in our middle age. Best damn cup of coffee anyone has ever had! ❤
Good point. I took a cute Irish girl out for coffee in 2000 and my expenses are very similar. Three kids in there too which then forced me to buy more coffee. That one cappuccino has turned out to be very, very expensive. But to James' point - worth it.
You know full well that he isn’t disappointed. He just had a lovely experience and lovely espresso. He already asked, quite reasonably, whether any coffee can be worth this price on taste alone, and any thinking person knows it’s not possible, as James already acknowledged. When the coffee, the shop, the barista, the presentation, your own personal thought space, and the history of that particular bean makes it worth it to you, then the aggregate of the experience is where your decision and level of enjoyment is determined. This is what he tried to communicate to the viewer and he’s not trying to negate everything he just genuinely communicated by some cryptic facial expression in the last millisecond. In the end frame, James might simply be witnessing some rude tourist littering in the distance or he might still be bummed he didn’t get to film inside. He might just as easily be mid-contemplation about whether he can justify buying one more and whether he can write a second espresso off as a business expense. 😅
The most expensive cup I’ve ever had was my first light roasted Ethiopian coffee experience, about 14 years ago. I had no idea what coffee could be until I had that cup. The coffee itself wasn’t all that pricey… but it made me spend one hell of a lot of money on coffee ever since 😅.
So true :-D I had similar experience: I once had a cup of coffee so good that it made me stop the conversation I was having, and showed me all the richness of flavour I never tasted in coffee before. It changed my life and brought speciality coffee into it. I spend so much money on coffee, coffee equipment etc. ever since 😀 What one good cup of coffee can do 😀
I don't remember the details on my most expensive cup. It was my first experience of a pure Arabica though, ground in one of those little whirligig grinders and made with a Mr. Coffee drip machine. The coffee, the grinder, and the machine were not expensive. But the resulting obsession . . .
@@BASvist Hey, thanks for the recommendation, that channel's pretty good! I do still miss Hames Joffman videos, and hope he returns with fresh ones soon.
My wife never was and is a coffe person but she has spent hours on youtube about different types of coffees roasts and grind levels and diffrent methods of coffee makings and have read books about it too. Just to make me a cup of coffee, this is not only about taste or smell, this is about the experience and feeling that she gives to me with that cup of coffee that to me makes the most expensive and most valuable coffee in the world
My friend got a $2000+ Rocket espresso machine and a grinder close to a $1000. He pulled two double shots for me and him when he got the machine and has never since used it again. So between the two shots, it costed about $1500 per cup. That's the most expensive coffee I've ever had.
A lot of the really specialty coffies I've had don't actually taste like "normal" coffee. It's like coffee from a different universe where it's similar, but not quite, the same. Also, I don't tend to like them as much... I think coffee is such an acquired taste you'll always prefer what you're familiar with. So go ahead and try some of the odder specialty stuff if you like coffee. Like James said, it's at least good for a story :)
The happy medium is Kona Grown Coffee. Not 'Certified Kona Coffee' which is 2x more expensive. Buy direct from a farm. Preferably at or above 1500 foot elevation. Or want to save money any coffee from the Big Island is great . You won't want anything else.
Blue mountain taught me a lesson - expense doesn't reflect taste experience. Now that I've tried many different varieties of coffee, I've found what I like - Ethiopian, lightly roasted. It's definitely not the most expensive coffee.
I'm exactly that same... This guys has changed me and my family now and unless I'm going to a proper coffee shop, normally no coffee tastes anywhere close to what I can make with just a V60 and a hand grinder lol!
I also feel the same, that’s why I only go to specialty shops and only order coffee if I want to taste a new origin they have or talk with the barista.
I personally think it makes sense to buy coffee in a specialty coffee shop from time to time. I personally got fresh ideas from tasting different styles of shots and coffee drinks. Otherwise I always tend to do the same at home.
About 5 times a year, my wife makes me an espresso (otherwise she never uses the machine), and it always has much more flavor than mine. That's love and scarcity and wonder in one cup - priceless.
Glad to see the absolute acceptance that they wouldn't want you filming inside. Unsurprisingly the best coffee youtuber would be a gentleman, but it's great to see regardless.
Isn't he just saying that something's worth depends on the value you attribute to it? It could very well be worth it to that one individual out there that sees value in the way the bean was grown and harvest, or something about the farm's history. One man's roadside espresso is another man's holy grail.
It's just stupid. A cup of coffee for $335 exists just so that rich bastards can show how much money they can waste. I buy 1 kg of coffee for about $33.50. It definitely tastes better than 1 kg of coffee for $3.35, but the limit goes there somewhere.
Well arguably it never is, from a taste perspective. Even if the average cup of coffee would cost 10$ it would still be more than 30 times the prices and it is never worth that difference. 4 times what you usually pay might still have an effect on taste depending on how cheap your usual choice is. Past that you might buy it for ethical reasonings or to support the business etc. but taste has a limited range.
@@francisdec1615I do believe you missed James's point about the value of the experience. You can write that experience off as rich people having too much money, sure. But it has a reason for existing, it's not stupid.
Its also a selling tactic to trick you into buying worthless garbage by attaching a value to it that it doesn't deserve. Most amazing experiences are pretty cheap
That's just a polite way to say it, the down to earth way would be "buy bragging rights", just like when you buy a super expensive car/watch/clothes etc
Highlights what I love about James. First and foremost being respectful of the establishment and patrons. Most content creators don’t care who they step on or annoy. Secondly, James gets that what you are buying is a rarified experience. The shot is excellent but of itself as a coffee there are plenty of others that will match/exceed. You are buying the experience And as I age, if I could give younger folks some wisdom: end of the day STUFF doesn’t matter. Stop chasing new shiny superficial crap. Spend your money on life experience. T R A V E L. Even if locally. Even if camping in a Walmart tent for a night. Experiences create lasting memories not stuff.
I've just realised that for 300 euros I can fly to Naples, where I can have a cup or two of espresso in Gambrinus (not with bright acidity and fruity, juicy notes, however), spend the night in a hotel and still have some change left over for a Margherita pizza at Da Michele. So that coffe of yours should be a really good one.
All expensive items should have this exact logic. A $100 steak dinner where you get food made by a world renown chef, using the absolute best ingredients, and served with a high quality wine? Hell yea thats worth it. But a cup of coffee? Nah. James can be generous all he wants, its just stupid pointless rich people crap
I prefer Farnese in Roma for coffee and Attilio for pizza in Napoli. And I like apples and pears, a truly lovely pear being very hard to get doesn’t change a tasty apple in any way.
James PLEASE do a video on lactic fermentation coffees. These are popping up EVERYWHERE in the USA. Would love to dive into process of how it made, what the characteristics are/can be, comparison to other modern/traditional methods, and what other niche or specialty roast methods are used
around my area they simply all fall under Anaerobic processed. Ive tried many of these for the sake of interest; personally not a huge fan taste wise. I felt like every other espresso option was one of these for awhile and I had to start asking what the process was to avoid not having what IMO all have the same flavor aspect I don't like.... but what a problem to have =) The only one I actually enjoyed was a special limited decaf offering where it seems the decaf process was the only thing that could tone down the "anaerobic flavor" enough to be enjoyable for me. It kind of makes sense in my mind; Ive never been a huge wine fan. And on the flip side I love vinegar heavy foods/sauces and also my favorite coffee experiences tend to be with natural processed coffees. TLDR avoid engaging in conversation with me in a coffee shop unless you have lots of time =)
@@jarduhat8267 I can relate with some anaerobic coffees being a little over ferment-y i even balance my coffee purchases with a washed and anaerobic when buying an anaerobic. From the sounds of it, fermentation also doesn’t get a clear label similar to roasting profiles? (Maybe?) I know onyx uses a delineated scale of roast level. I can imagine it being difficult to label a fermentation other than labeling what was done to the process. Love the reply 🤜🏻🤛🏻
My most expensive coffee I've had started with watching James' videos. The cup cost me: $80 grinder, $20 for the coffee, $10 for the scale, $50 for the V60. And it was the most delicious coffee I've ever had. Now each subsequent delicious coffee I have at home is less and less in price :)
@@cs5250 And then having bought the roaster you realize that between the loudness of the fan and your nonexistent high frequency hearing, you can't hear the cracks, so need a quieter roaster . . .
Your ability to make such a complex topic understandable to everyone while at the same time using less words than anyone else is absolutely astonishing. I think this alone made this cup of espresso worth its money 🤗 Thank you so much!
I stumbled into what I can only describe as a secret coffee temple in Tokyo. Was ushered into a dark room where an older lady in black robes carefully crafted an Irish coffee over a vintage alcohol stove using beans roasted by them with Dingle Single malt whiskey. From the context and absolutely outstanding quality I was pretty sure I’d just ordered a £50 coffee and wasn’t too bothered by that. I was given my carefully rolled bill within a gold ring, went to pay. It was £6.
This sounds exactly like the kind of cool place I'd love to visit on my trip next year, and also exactly the kind of place down some weird alley that you'll never find again and may only exist in a dream! But if you do happen to know where it was, would you mind sharing?
I think it might depend on how much tip the person buying the coffee left. Not meaning James, but anyone who is going in there for non-work reasons and wasting that sort of money on that a coffee and isn't leaving a commensurate tip deserves a shitty experience.
@@greysuit17 I'd imagine if you're at that level in the coffee industry you're at least vaguely aware of major coffee content creators even if you don't actually watch them.
Hey, I visited this estate while in Okinawa! They were so nice, gave me a tour of the farm but wouldn't sell me any coffee, said their yield from the season was too low. However, they did make me a nice pour over for $17 and set me up with a couple stickers. It definitely had a strong wood/leather quality to it that i haven't had since.
As a whisky lover, I knew straight away it would have something to do with Japan. And as with Japanese whisky, prices are ridiculous due to scarcity, not because it’s the best tasting whisky although it is usually very good.
The scarcity of Japanese whisky is more to do with not quite planning for the future sales a decade ago, more than any difficulty in making it. A decade from now, we might have better prices and choices in Japanese whisky again. If they've learnt from this.
@@somegeezer hopefully they don't go too far with upping production. Would hate to see a Japanese whisky market collapse instead of a return to sanity.
@@krakenpots5693 Not just food and drink. Look at watches and pens. If you want a really good watch and a really good pen, you'd go to argos and buy a £10 casio and a packet of 5 biros. People aren't buying this overpriced stuff because it is good at its primary function, they're buying it for other reasons. Not least of which is 'because it's expensive'.
@@aWarmWalrus It's an extremely directional mic with a very narrow field. So basically it only records within a 10-45 degree radius, anything outside of that isn't picked up or at the very least is VERY subtle.
To answer you, I've spent $50 on coffee omakase at Mameya in Tokyo. I've also spent USD $20 on coffee omakase at Omakafe in Jakarta, brewed by the 2024 Barista Champion. I'd say, the thoughtful experimental nature, the storytelling and showmanship makes it worth it. Not necessarily because of the taste. I've also had superb tasting coffee at Code Black Coffee, Melbourne for $5 that beats all of 'em tastewise. Haha.
Well hell I get $3.00 espressos made by 2023's "Fourth Best Barista" and it is absolutely fabulous... actually everybody in the place makes an exceptional shot!
have you ever been to subsatnce in paris? they also have an omakase option, they also do a macchiato with freeze distilled milk that is super good but they have a limited quantity
The most expensive coffee I ever had was sort of free. I was taking an SCA Pro Coffee Roasting course and after all the classes were done for the day I was getting my things together to leave when someone came into the roastery and asked if the room was ready for the coffee grading session. I looked at the instructor inquisitively and he said, "Well I suppose you should join too. We'll see how good your grading is." What I came to find out was that they were going to cup and grade 54 different lots of coffees from Yemen over the following days. I hung out after classes each day and got to try all the different lots. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that the beans were selling for close to $200/pound.
Don't get me wrong. I am absolutely floored by the latest videos with absurd production quality. They are a real treasure. But this kind of "learn a little without it being shoved down your throat" - content is still my favourite. It's like comparing an expensive coffee bar with the comfort of your own home. Sure, it's a really nice experience to go get something luxurious and exciting, but it's always nice to be home.
Speaking of Japan, there’s a man named Yohei who lived in an abandoned school in the mountains of Shikoku. He started up his own business roasting and making coffee and now mostly lives nearby in Kagawa, selling his coffee 😊
In 1981, I worked at one of the first coffee houses in LA called The Coffee Emporium in Marina del Rey. The owner roasted all of the beans onsite. We had the most beautiful roaster in our front window and the smell was gloriously indescribable. It was there that I was introduced to Jamaican Blue and I’ve never recovered. When Jamaican Blue beans are roasted correctly, there is little more delicious. Thank you for taking me on such a lovely journey.
Absolutely agree on that. Jamaican Blue mountain coffee is exquisite and, regardless of how it is roasted and brewed, (as long as it's done with competency) is astoundingly balanced. It happens to be my favorite. In fact I love it so much that I only allow myself the luxury occasionally. I don't want my palate to become excessively acquainted with its flavor.
Well stated James. You told me everything I needed and wanted to known about your experience up until this shot and the experience of the shot. Thank you for your superior subjectivity and communication skills. Also personality.
Dear James, 25 years ago I met a young woman and even I’ve I’m not drinking coffee at all, I asked her if she wants a coffee to talk - she had an latte and I ordered a hot chocolate. At the end, she payed for us both. So. Why was the coffee expensive? And how was it worth it‽ we’ve now been married happily for two decades and that coffee costed me my thought about future - but it gave my life a different direction and after all: it was for the best. Every morning I’m making a coffee for and serve to her at the bed. I’m using your french-press-recipe. I’ve never tasted it, but when I started brewing it “your way” she liked it better than the way she brewed the coffee for her own… Sure, we are far away from ever having enough money spare to buy one of those coffees, but every cup I brew, I brew with love and she enjoys it also …
I paid $5 for a shot of espresso in 1970 at a specialty coffee emporium in Harvard Square (first of it's kind in New England). That $5 is the equivalent of about $40 today. It was totally rare and unheard of at the time - Kenya Arabica. How times have changed. Was it worth it? Well, if you total up all that I've spent going down the rabbit hole of specialty coffee since 1970, I figure I could have retired 10 years earlier if that shot had not grabbed me the way it did.
When I lived in Fort Worth, Texas there was a nice little hole in the wall Ethiopian restaurant (sadly it went out of business during the Covid lockdown). I'd driven by it many times and never even knew it was there until someone recommended it to me. They had a very limited menu of maybe 5 or 6 authentic Ethiopian dishes. The person who recommended it said I had to get a coffee and desert after my meal. I don't remember exactly how much the coffee was but I do remember thinking it was a bit pricey, but not insanely so. But you weren't just getting a cup of coffee. It was a whole experience. The waitress brought out a whole coffee service on a silver platter and actually sat down at our table and had a conversation with us while she made it, explaining how it was a tradition in Ethiopia to serve guests this way, and then lovingly poured out each of our cups. And I have to say, it was the best damn coffee I've ever tasted in my life. Nothing like any coffee I've ever had before or since. I don't know what exactly made it so different, but it was amazing. Definitely worth the price as far as I'm concerned.
I'm a whisky drinker, and I find your content has a lot of relatable things. I've bought $80-$100 glasses (30ml) of whisky at specialised bars, and they're certainly fantastic but it's difficult to say they are worth the price on taste alone. The experience of sitting in the whisky bar, surrounded by an awesome collection, talking amongst like-minded people about your shared experiences tends to make up for the cost!
quality whisky and specialty coffee are very, very similar in that regard. for coffee there's the 10€ for a 250g bag limit, after which you get diminishing returns in value. for scotch, that seems to be somewhere in the 90€ per bottle area.
@@ffll8427 I think it's true of almost all products, 90% of the good can be had for 10% of the price of 100% of the good. Your prices are probably very sensible for both those things. As an entirely random example, simracing. For most even semi serious people, £500 of direct drive wheel kit will basically get them there and is 100% worth it over a £200 Logitech thing. The £2000 DD wheel? Only the actual e-sports pros would notice.
Yeah, I've gotten a shot of Jonny Walker Blue, foot in the door for silly expensive spirits. Was it underwhelming? Kinda. Do I regret the experience? No. Maybe someone else has the palate but I don't think I could tell the difference between it and JW Gold. I'm more of an Islay drinker but my travels haven't put me in a bar that had a Islay above the $80 a bottle level.
I highly doubt they grinded the beans on an entry level espresso grinder, but yeah, I get what you mean. There's got to be no margin of error though when you're a barrista working there. You need to deliver the absolute perfect shot every time when you are asking this much for a shot. It would seriously stress me out.
I was being entertained by a company out at Pebble Beach F&W, where spending money on clients was their goal. At breakfast my host knew my love of interesting coffees and suggested we order a $60 French Press of Kopi Luwak to share. It was tasty and indulgent, but nothing that I need to repeat. Great video, James.
Is 265 dollars for a shot of espresso worth it, for me No. I can't speak for others but the best cups of coffee are when I am having coffee with others. One of the best cups of coffee I have ever had was a truck stop diner, and was drinking coffee at 2 AM with some truckers as I was trying to drive home for Thanksgiving when I was going to college and the road ahead was closed due to winter storms.. The Coffee was bad, even the waitress admitted it was really bad, but the conversations, the laughing and meeting new people who were all stopped at this little place made it wonderful.
that's the thing though - sure, good coffee is good, but it's the experiences around a cup of coffee that make that one coffee truly memorable, and evocative of those memories. For me the most expensive coffee I've ever had would be about $12, but the best coffee I've ever had was the first time I made a breakthrough and actually got good extraction on my home setup as a newbie to manual espresso. I remember so many singular cups of coffee because of the situations I was in. Those were really good coffees.
I live in Ukrauine and coffee here is very cheap, because the labor of the roaster and barista is also cheap. I think you will find many places here with a perfectly made double shot on natural guji, or huehuetenango or some guatemala for the equivalent of .... like $1.5 or less.
I know some people have drank more shockingly expensive coffee, but my most expensive cup was a $17 latte in-of all places-Dayton Ohio. While expensive, it is some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted in the US. Pettibone coffee is really doing something different, wish I was closer to visit more often.
We just sold out 2 crops of fancy fancy decaf. Albeit the same crop that brewers cup won in the US, we priced it at $52/300g and in hindsight could’ve fetched way more if we valued the demand, sold out in minutes on our website. People want the experience of good stuff, something we underestimated
I'm really grateful people have the opportunity to experience great decaf. I lived with a barista And the only reason I was able to enjoy what I did because there was a demand for decaf and the product is produced by people who care about coffee being available. Im still drinking some blonde decaf Starbucks from 2019 but one day I'd like to get a good decaf for my french press, the caffeine available in espresso and press coffee makes my heart beat out of time lol.
James' ability to describe scarcity economics without either endorsing it or ridiculing it is impressive. He's entirely right, of course, that the taste experience isn't going to be worth that much (you can get a 3-course Michelin * meal for 2 with wine at that price in London). But for _some_ people, the story that goes with it will be worth it. And that's what they're actually selling. It's interesting just how much conspicuous consumption has moved from materialism to experientialism in the last few decades.
I'm not convinced the story of going to a cafe in London to get a coffee is that exciting. Going to a cafe and getting a coffee that's actually drinkable in London is pretty impressive though I guess.
Imean James has to be middle of the road otherwise he would shift the coffee world-the online coffee world at least-in a different direction cause people take his word as gospel.
Decades ago, we had an international student from Japan who was living with us at the time bring me a small can of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans. That was the most expensive coffee I've ever had. EACH CUP WAS MEMORABLY DELICIOUS !!😊
Enjoyable video James, thanks! I've tried a few pricey options in SE Asia, most notably in Vietnam, but my favourites have always been at Koffee Mameya in Tokyo. I love how they don't try to sell you any particular level or price, they just ask about the flavours you like and recommend accordingly. Even though they often have some eye-wateringly expensive options, they generally steer me towards the more affordable end and I've always been delighted by their brews. So even though I've gone into a few places, prepared to spend over $20-40 for an espresso just to see, I've almost always ended up having something closer to a tenner and really enjoying it. Maybe they recognise me for the cheapskate that I am and handle me accordingly.
Funny thing with Mameya, they opened a shop down the street from me in California. It is quite a nice shop to go into and the fact that you get fresh roasted beans is great. The most expensive coffee I have bought was from them as well, they had a Geisha that I was interested in trying. The Geisha was a pleasant cup but wasn't what I was looking for in a cup and can't see myself wanting to buy any more. Then again there goes the rabbit hole as a different roast level could bring out different flavors but I'm just unwilling to spend another $32 for 8oz. of beans.
@@mrthesquid yep, Geishas can certainly be an expensive route! I'm not that into the super-light nature of most I've tried, but some really hit the spot!
To be fair, those locations are all within a mile or two, and it would be a fairly pleasant stroll if they weren't also shooting video. I guess the trick is to track which lines to say to camera when, since they didn't film in sequence (unless they took a fairly non-optimal route).
Really appreciate the quality of your content, how you explain things and how clear it is that you place value in helping people understand. Thanks James.
There is a Cafe in Southeast Osaka called "The Munch" that sells a 1000$USD cup of coffee that is barrel aged, they offer a tea spoon of such coffee for 28$USD. It was a great part of my coffee Journey and the owner and shop were both wonderful as a memory. I'd love to see a Coffee Culture world tour on this channel one day.
James, you're amazing. In my experience, the farther away geographically you are from where a coffee is produced, the more diminished it becomes. I think a fun experiment would be to try a coffee like this at the farm where it was produced, and then try it again at this cafe and assess the differences.
A wise man once said "If yak dung was sold for the same price as caviar, some rich people would happily spread it on blinis" and i think that says it all...
They would need a good story for the yak dung. Most people don't buy expensive things because they're expensive, instead they buy the experience of it. There definitely are people out that will buy things because they're expensive, but they usually aren't clever enough to be the reason it becomes expensive. Things become expensive because there are people that are genuinely interested in the product. If there weren't people like James Hoffman in the world that were excited by the opportunity to try a single origin coffee from Okinawa then the product wouldn't come to market. The yak dung would need something special about it, it would need to have medicinal purposes, it would need to be a select hand-reared breed from the Steppes of Mongolia with a birthmark on it's back that has a barely believable story dating to Genghis Khan getting upset with a yak for pooping in his yard and for eating his prized bougainvillea's.
@@Chzydawg A good story for the yak dung is the easiest part of the whole thing. A couple of really good advertising professionals and you'll have a flawless story and an incredible ad campaign that will make everyone - rich or poor - crave your specific brand of yak dung.
I was born in the '40s in UK, drinking tea till the 70''s, started driving an articulating lorry in the USA. Coffee was FIVE CENTS. One day I pulled in and the price had doubled to $0.10. so I asked my boss for a raise 😅 and when he stopped laughing he said hit the road. Sometime later Starbucks moved into town and coffee was $10. Later a barista opened a specialty coffee store and sold me a cup of Loki for even more $$$ and it was horrible... now I'm using Illy Intenso beans, ground fresh for each shot. What a life.😊 Thanks for all you're doing, James! I miss my $0.05 coffee.
In some kind of humorous image in my mind, I imagine a coffee this expensive where they lock you in a large room, devoid of anything but a table and chair and a single light above. There is a team of baristas at the ready who will hand-make the cup for you while they brew the coffee. Then there's the tester who tests and spits it out to confirm it's good. It then gets passed to another tester who tastes and swallows to verify the first tester's experience. Another one down the line will run scientific tests to ensure it is the absolute best cup of coffee they have every produced at that very moment. At the end, they have one last person who knows nothing about coffee to do a taste test, all the while asking "why am I here?". By the time it gets to you, there is nothing left in the cup that they serve to you and they hand you a bill for the coffee, stating that "it's not about the coffee, it's about the experience".
I don't remember a particular expensive coffee that I ordered, probably it would be some Irish coffee, but I did recently visited a local shop that roast and prepares some specialty coffee, lovely family business, and they sold me one espresso for less then 2.5 euros. I did ended up buying 3, 250g, bags of coffee from them, and they offer me another one for free, total was 25 euros. PS: we don't have very high salaries in my country, in case you're wondering how it can be so cheap. Actually, I'll like to add to the cost that James talked earlier regarding where the coffee is harvested, I think the biggest cost of a bag of specialty coffee, is where the business roasting, packaging and selling them is located.
This seemed like a very polite way of saying "not worth 300$, it's just a nice cup of specialty coffee". Their list of different coffees looked very promising, though! If I ever visit London I'd definitely try one or two of the "more reasonably" priced ones they have
Funnily enough, the best sounding bean, to me, on the list was also the cheapest. A bunch of those on there are more about marketing than quality, e.g. the kopi luwak and the "big name" beans like Blue Mountain, Kona, St. Helena... But that Costa Rican Black Honey at £8 sounds like something I wanna get... To be fair, the Colombian Granja La Esperanza at £17 also sounds really good.
@James Hoffmann - Most expensive Cup was an Cherry Barrel ans Whiskey infused Coffee from our local roaster "Röstwelt". It was lovely and only costed 8€ a cup if i remember it right.
Excuse me if this sounds bonkers, but I'm so grateful for this video. I'm in a bad place atm, life's hard, and it was just what I needed to give me a little lift. Thank you 🙏
8:29, a story to tell people … says the TH-camr who now has been telling that very story to the people. Of course he "gets it", because he's done exactly that, just now.
Coffee is expensive, that's one of the reasons why I started brewing on my own. Now when I do buy coffee, it's coming from either an experimental or social approach. My most expensive coffee purchase was some kind of espresso tonic mix in Brooklyn for more than $10. Love this video!
You can get commodity coffee for that price. I highly doubt that those beans would be any good, at least not to those in the specialty coffee community.
@@glockparaastra you can get good single origin coffee for $10 per kilo? Some shady stuff is definitely going on with each step of producing and/or trading before it reaches you.
the most expensive coffee i've ever had was a surprise AUD 9.50 flat white from a local café that sells all sorts of needlessly expensive things (another time i spent $6 on a 200ml cup of lemonade). neither the coffee or lemonade were worth it
The most expensive cup of coffee that I've had so far was around $1,800. I was a very nice single-origin, home roast cappuccino that I managed to dispense on my Macbook Pro M1.
😱 That exactly what I did several weeks ago on my MacBook Pro M1! Blue Bottle Hayes Valley Expresso blend via AeroPress. With half-and-half! I had the protection plan, however, so just $100.
James did not mention the type of machine. Video would not be interesting, I guess. My assumption is that the shop has a real professional barista who knows the equipment and can dial in without wasting bean or I wonder if they are not allowed to dial in on that bean. 🤔
As soon as you said it was from Japan I understood the price. The fact that they strive for perfection and how much they sell “perfect” fruit for. Totally makes sense
I think he's nailed it. The scarcity and the experience here are what drives a particular audience to this. It certainly seems like a very fine coffee, but the full set-up of what the coffee is and the situation behind it is what pushes it to a different level. Seeing the menu, how there were no other products of this price point on it shows that it is meant to be something of a "prestige" experience, with a story behind it adding value to the situation.
I dunno about 'experience' - I can't imagine how any coffee priced at $335 wouldn't do anything other than automatically induce the experience of feeling overcharged by about $330.
@@DaveF. Pretty sure what he means about experience is beyond the coffee, it's the story of the farm in Okinawa, etc. Also if you're throwing down $355 for a cup of espresso at Shot in Mayfair you're likely not thinking that deeply about the money, given the typical clientele...
Also, to add, another reason coffee grown at high altitude is usually better is because the amount of air is less due to pressure differences so the plant struggles a bit more which means it needs to look for energy elsewhere. This creates a better, more concentrated cherry
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 87 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ก้องชัย vs โชคปรีชา"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YN6e7HVnekw/mqdefault.jpg)
Paid AU$ 85 for a long black once. 5 for the coffee and 80 for the parking ticket I got for unknowingly parking in front of the post office on a Sunday.
So you payed this amount to be able to tell a story. I see money well spent.
Every time I go to my favorite roaster I worry that I'm going to end up paying $120 for a pound of beans
But then again in a major city you only have to worry about a double parking ticket at the end of the month so... so far so good
Had me in the first half!
Ditto that mate, 95 bucks for the parking fine and 5 for the coffee.
Ah, the fleeced process.
Imagine being a barista and James Hoffman walks in, then proceeds to order the most expensive coffee. No pressure.
9 bars, hopefully...
Or worse, James shows the barista the exact pressure curve he's gonna put him under to produce ideal extraction
@@AdamRushworth hahahaha beautiful comment!
No, it's not just that. It's that James Hoffman walks in, _with an entire filming crew,_ and orders your most expensive coffee. No pressure. 👍🏾
No filming allowed @@blakksheep736
I wonder what flavour notes the London street added
getting the slightest hint of cocaine (*slurp*), a rather bland note on the finish...polyurethane perhaps. (*slurp*) Yeah, almost certainly suspect some bitterness and desperation transferred from the harvester's hands into the bean just prior to roasting...(*slurp*)...and though the roast is slightly stronger than I prefer, I definitely detect some nuttiness, and the hollowed out soul of an e-bike thief.
Probably acidic with a splash of Islam
sadness.
@@MB808AllDay That joke bombed.
Cocaine, London Underground soot, loneliness and delusion.
This was the most polite way of saying “there is no world where this was worth the price” I’ve ever seen
He got to make a video that is going to earn him way more than £265, so it was definitely worth the price. Like he said, it can be worth it to some people because of the story they can tell.
I mean, you could argue a large portion of the cost is also stemming from getting luxury *service* from a luxury coffee bar. There were waiters in there for god's sake, and they were wearing suits 😂
@@Alex-ck4in We saw the prices of the other coffees on the menu and while not cheap by any measure they were an order of magnitude lower. Also waiters in suits just aren't that expensive, they're in loads of places.
@@kyber1fun164 unless the video is sponsored I’m not sure you know how TH-cam video revenue works
That’s definitely not at all what he said, though
I had a coffee in Barcelona once, whilst enjoying it, a beautiful woman offered me a compliment and after a short conversation offered to put her number in my phone - to cut a long story short... she stole my phone. 🤣 That was the most expensive coffee I've ever had.
You should call her and ask her for the phone back ..
Could have been worse if you’d ended up married
The most common Barcelona story: getting robbed
Still love that place
This is why you make sure you have an ugly phone case
Your ego caused it
Another youtuber named Mudan is currently in Okinawa and decided to check out Nakayama Farm after seeing your vid. 2000 yen ($12.50) gets you a coffee, some coffee leaf "tea," a little snack and lots of Japanese hospitality. 500g of coffee beans are 1650 yen or about $11 dollars.
Amazing to see Mudan making it all the way to this side of youtube
yes, so blame the London end of things, greedy business owners perhaps?
@@MrVorpalsword Hoffman explained the price differential in the video. Quite a bit more complicated than greed. Definitely a question whether that particular coffee should be offered, though, if it has to be that much more expensive after import, etc.
@@Shigyo14-ym4do He mooted some reasons for the price, there are plenty of other reasons for high prices, I suggested some more. From your information in Japan, clearly the London price is extortionate .... I don't know if you know London and the character of the sort of people who often set up these sorts of enterprises but I do ..... some people are prepared to rip off other people to make themselves rich, it is common, ours is a nastier society than what I have seen in Japan, experience tells me the price is quite likely, largely down to greed, I'll stick with that - but neither you nor James nor I know the truth do we?
Have you seen my comment below?
@@MrVorpalsword when that coffee shop closes because they can't pay their rent for that location please update your comment and opinion. jealousy and envy are just as ugly as greed.
I went on a date with the cute brunette back in 1996. We had two amaretto cappuccinos and a plate of nachos. It led to student loans, a mortgage, and now medical bills in our middle age. Best damn cup of coffee anyone has ever had! ❤
Very funny!
Good point. I took a cute Irish girl out for coffee in 2000 and my expenses are very similar. Three kids in there too which then forced me to buy more coffee. That one cappuccino has turned out to be very, very expensive. But to James' point - worth it.
Lol both of these comments are so wholesome
And worth every penny I bet❤❤
😂
I once spill a cup of coffee on my AUD $3000 MacBook, that’s my most expensive cup of coffee…
I didn’t get to know how that cup tasted though…
Damn, that is brutal!
My wife did the same but on a $1000 MacBook Air that she didn't even own. Not quite as painful but similar!
probably Apple flavored
Yep and Gatorade spilled on a Macbook will brick it too!
If you spent any money on a macbook, you spent too much.
9:27 That look of disappointment in the last frame of the video says it all really
Japs do produce everything in rare ways and sell at hefty price. In a good way though. :D
He knows he has to return the cup and answer the inevitable "so what did you think of it?"
@@untrustworthyshelfing9953 I would have assumed that for that price he should get to keep the cup at the very least
You know full well that he isn’t disappointed. He just had a lovely experience and lovely espresso. He already asked, quite reasonably, whether any coffee can be worth this price on taste alone, and any thinking person knows it’s not possible, as James already acknowledged. When the coffee, the shop, the barista, the presentation, your own personal thought space, and the history of that particular bean makes it worth it to you, then the aggregate of the experience is where your decision and level of enjoyment is determined. This is what he tried to communicate to the viewer and he’s not trying to negate everything he just genuinely communicated by some cryptic facial expression in the last millisecond.
In the end frame, James might simply be witnessing some rude tourist littering in the distance or he might still be bummed he didn’t get to film inside. He might just as easily be mid-contemplation about whether he can justify buying one more and whether he can write a second espresso off as a business expense. 😅
@@dennisrogers4665He also made that money back more than ten-fold with the million+ views on this video.. not exactly suffering for success lol
The most expensive cup I’ve ever had was my first light roasted Ethiopian coffee experience, about 14 years ago. I had no idea what coffee could be until I had that cup. The coffee itself wasn’t all that pricey… but it made me spend one hell of a lot of money on coffee ever since 😅.
Hah, yes, fair point! The coffee that sparked the interest could definitely be seen that way, well said.
Same experience here.
@@TomJones-tx7pb interesting. Light roasted Ethiopian, huh?
So true :-D I had similar experience: I once had a cup of coffee so good that it made me stop the conversation I was having, and showed me all the richness of flavour I never tasted in coffee before. It changed my life and brought speciality coffee into it. I spend so much money on coffee, coffee equipment etc. ever since 😀 What one good cup of coffee can do 😀
I don't remember the details on my most expensive cup. It was my first experience of a pure Arabica though, ground in one of those little whirligig grinders and made with a Mr. Coffee drip machine. The coffee, the grinder, and the machine were not expensive. But the resulting obsession . . .
Waiting for ‘Hoffman bripes a $335 coffee’-Hames joffmann
I wish hames joffman uploaded
@@ampersand64he got deleted by TH-cam, against James's protests 🤬
@@AdamHill42 The channel was restored. There just haven't been any recent uploads.
@@ampersand64 there is a channel for that - Hoffmann Cometh
@@BASvist Hey, thanks for the recommendation, that channel's pretty good! I do still miss Hames Joffman videos, and hope he returns with fresh ones soon.
My wife never was and is a coffe person but she has spent hours on youtube about different types of coffees roasts and grind levels and diffrent methods of coffee makings and have read books about it too.
Just to make me a cup of coffee, this is not only about taste or smell, this is about the experience and feeling that she gives to me with that cup of coffee that to me makes the most expensive and most valuable coffee in the world
That’s beyond sweet
Oh my god that is sooo cute
My friend got a $2000+ Rocket espresso machine and a grinder close to a $1000. He pulled two double shots for me and him when he got the machine and has never since used it again. So between the two shots, it costed about $1500 per cup. That's the most expensive coffee I've ever had.
...why?
@@ImGonnaFudgeThatFish I assume that the coffee was so good that he is still riding that high and hasn't needed another.
Sad story
Hahaha sad Story but still funny. I also have R machine and grinder I LOVE IT ❤
@@Nuggetheadificationsad indeed 😂
My issue with trying ultra expensive coffee is twofold: either I won't get my money's worth, or I'll never like other coffee again.
A lot of the really specialty coffies I've had don't actually taste like "normal" coffee. It's like coffee from a different universe where it's similar, but not quite, the same. Also, I don't tend to like them as much... I think coffee is such an acquired taste you'll always prefer what you're familiar with. So go ahead and try some of the odder specialty stuff if you like coffee. Like James said, it's at least good for a story :)
Ah yes, the classic $6,000 mustache ride problem.
@@cypherfunc I was struggling with whether to leave that comment or be a good boy and shut up.
enjoy living in a cave?
The happy medium is Kona Grown Coffee. Not 'Certified Kona Coffee' which is 2x more expensive. Buy direct from a farm. Preferably at or above 1500 foot elevation. Or want to save money any coffee from the Big Island is great . You won't want anything else.
Blue mountain taught me a lesson - expense doesn't reflect taste experience. Now that I've tried many different varieties of coffee, I've found what I like - Ethiopian, lightly roasted. It's definitely not the most expensive coffee.
Washed Yrgacheffe. Period. Especially if you're a pour-over drinker.
Blue Mountain is nice, if you enjoy spring water with a dreamlike hint of coffee.
I don't like paying £3 for a coffee knowing I can do better at home for less.
I'm exactly that same... This guys has changed me and my family now and unless I'm going to a proper coffee shop, normally no coffee tastes anywhere close to what I can make with just a V60 and a hand grinder lol!
I also feel the same, that’s why I only go to specialty shops and only order coffee if I want to taste a new origin they have or talk with the barista.
£2.95 for a batch brew next to my office. Nice selection of different rosters and coffees every week. It's good enough for me to not take my aeropress
Yeah... the amount of mud out there is amazing😅😅😅.. I never in my life can fathom why people drink that😅😊
I personally think it makes sense to buy coffee in a specialty coffee shop from time to time. I personally got fresh ideas from tasting different styles of shots and coffee drinks. Otherwise I always tend to do the same at home.
About 5 times a year, my wife makes me an espresso (otherwise she never uses the machine), and it always has much more flavor than mine. That's love and scarcity and wonder in one cup - priceless.
That's so lovely
And that's a much better investment than paying 265 pounds for something that is not that much different than a normal coffee
Actually, wife is very expensive.
@@JadeZaslavsky you have to see the glass half full. the less coffee he drinks the tastier it will feel😁
Glad to see the absolute acceptance that they wouldn't want you filming inside. Unsurprisingly the best coffee youtuber would be a gentleman, but it's great to see regardless.
The most gentle way of saying “it’s not worth the price tag”
That's just being English
Isn't he just saying that something's worth depends on the value you attribute to it? It could very well be worth it to that one individual out there that sees value in the way the bean was grown and harvest, or something about the farm's history. One man's roadside espresso is another man's holy grail.
It's just stupid. A cup of coffee for $335 exists just so that rich bastards can show how much money they can waste. I buy 1 kg of coffee for about $33.50. It definitely tastes better than 1 kg of coffee for $3.35, but the limit goes there somewhere.
Well arguably it never is, from a taste perspective.
Even if the average cup of coffee would cost 10$ it would still be more than 30 times the prices and it is never worth that difference. 4 times what you usually pay might still have an effect on taste depending on how cheap your usual choice is. Past that you might buy it for ethical reasonings or to support the business etc. but taste has a limited range.
@@francisdec1615I do believe you missed James's point about the value of the experience. You can write that experience off as rich people having too much money, sure. But it has a reason for existing, it's not stupid.
"Buy a story to tell people" is a great way to put it. I feel like that phrase can apply to many things.
Its also a selling tactic to trick you into buying worthless garbage by attaching a value to it that it doesn't deserve. Most amazing experiences are pretty cheap
Someone is going to be on the receiving end of that story and will be thinking. 'what a prat.'
That's just a polite way to say it, the down to earth way would be "buy bragging rights", just like when you buy a super expensive car/watch/clothes etc
Lifehack: Make the story up, no one knows or cares anyway
@@donaldasayers dude, you just watched him tell that very story, right here in that vey video.
Highlights what I love about James. First and foremost being respectful of the establishment and patrons. Most content creators don’t care who they step on or annoy. Secondly, James gets that what you are buying is a rarified experience. The shot is excellent but of itself as a coffee there are plenty of others that will match/exceed. You are buying the experience
And as I age, if I could give younger folks some wisdom: end of the day STUFF doesn’t matter. Stop chasing new shiny superficial crap. Spend your money on life experience. T R A V E L. Even if locally. Even if camping in a Walmart tent for a night. Experiences create lasting memories not stuff.
I've just realised that for 300 euros I can fly to Naples, where I can have a cup or two of espresso in Gambrinus (not with bright acidity and fruity, juicy notes, however), spend the night in a hotel and still have some change left over for a Margherita pizza at Da Michele.
So that coffe of yours should be a really good one.
All expensive items should have this exact logic. A $100 steak dinner where you get food made by a world renown chef, using the absolute best ingredients, and served with a high quality wine? Hell yea thats worth it. But a cup of coffee? Nah. James can be generous all he wants, its just stupid pointless rich people crap
I prefer Farnese in Roma for coffee and Attilio for pizza in Napoli. And I like apples and pears, a truly lovely pear being very hard to get doesn’t change a tasty apple in any way.
and for $300 I could fly to Naples, Florida and get a Starbucks coffee.
I'd rather have James' coffee honestly
James PLEASE do a video on lactic fermentation coffees. These are popping up EVERYWHERE in the USA. Would love to dive into process of how it made, what the characteristics are/can be, comparison to other modern/traditional methods, and what other niche or specialty roast methods are used
or just different fermentation methods in general (yeast and koji as well)
yes please!!
this would be so interesting.
around my area they simply all fall under Anaerobic processed. Ive tried many of these for the sake of interest; personally not a huge fan taste wise. I felt like every other espresso option was one of these for awhile and I had to start asking what the process was to avoid not having what IMO all have the same flavor aspect I don't like.... but what a problem to have =)
The only one I actually enjoyed was a special limited decaf offering where it seems the decaf process was the only thing that could tone down the "anaerobic flavor" enough to be enjoyable for me.
It kind of makes sense in my mind; Ive never been a huge wine fan. And on the flip side I love vinegar heavy foods/sauces and also my favorite coffee experiences tend to be with natural processed coffees.
TLDR avoid engaging in conversation with me in a coffee shop unless you have lots of time =)
@@jarduhat8267 I can relate with some anaerobic coffees being a little over ferment-y i even balance my coffee purchases with a washed and anaerobic when buying an anaerobic. From the sounds of it, fermentation also doesn’t get a clear label similar to roasting profiles? (Maybe?) I know onyx uses a delineated scale of roast level. I can imagine it being difficult to label a fermentation other than labeling what was done to the process. Love the reply 🤜🏻🤛🏻
My most expensive coffee I've had started with watching James' videos. The cup cost me: $80 grinder, $20 for the coffee, $10 for the scale, $50 for the V60. And it was the most delicious coffee I've ever had. Now each subsequent delicious coffee I have at home is less and less in price :)
I know this cost far too well😂
Until you buy a roaster
@@cs5250 oh no 🤣
@@cs5250 And then having bought the roaster you realize that between the loudness of the fan and your nonexistent high frequency hearing, you can't hear the cracks, so need a quieter roaster . . .
Wow! $50,- for a V60?!? I bought a nice V60 made of ceramic for €8,- from the KAFFEEMACHER shop. I think someone really ripped you off!
Your ability to make such a complex topic understandable to everyone while at the same time using less words than anyone else is absolutely astonishing. I think this alone made this cup of espresso worth its money 🤗 Thank you so much!
You reviewed this really well. I enjoyed your non bias, but also your honesty x
I stumbled into what I can only describe as a secret coffee temple in Tokyo. Was ushered into a dark room where an older lady in black robes carefully crafted an Irish coffee over a vintage alcohol stove using beans roasted by them with Dingle Single malt whiskey.
From the context and absolutely outstanding quality I was pretty sure I’d just ordered a £50 coffee and wasn’t too bothered by that.
I was given my carefully rolled bill within a gold ring, went to pay.
It was £6.
This sounds exactly like the kind of cool place I'd love to visit on my trip next year, and also exactly the kind of place down some weird alley that you'll never find again and may only exist in a dream! But if you do happen to know where it was, would you mind sharing?
Kabuki? It felt like the coffee version of tea ceremony
@@badeggcat no f’ing way you got that from that deliberately vague description!!
@@tdolan500the gold ring was the giveaway lol
@@badeggcat amazing! lol did you get a long arbitrary stare down before being told you were allowed to go upstairs too?
Shouts out to that barista! Selling a $335 espresso to James has to be so stressful!
They probably didn’t know who James is.
I think it might depend on how much tip the person buying the coffee left. Not meaning James, but anyone who is going in there for non-work reasons and wasting that sort of money on that a coffee and isn't leaving a commensurate tip deserves a shitty experience.
@@DaveF. it's not the US, man, American tipping culture is insane
@@DaveF. ah yes, commensurate tip on my 300 dollar espresso
@@greysuit17 I'd imagine if you're at that level in the coffee industry you're at least vaguely aware of major coffee content creators even if you don't actually watch them.
You're very diplomatic in your answer about whether it was worth it.
James looked back to all the painfully old and odd espressos he’s had over the years and said “nah I’ll treat myself this time round”
Hey, I visited this estate while in Okinawa! They were so nice, gave me a tour of the farm but wouldn't sell me any coffee, said their yield from the season was too low. However, they did make me a nice pour over for $17 and set me up with a couple stickers. It definitely had a strong wood/leather quality to it that i haven't had since.
Never heard of this guy until now. What a brilliant presenter of information. He should be on our screens more
As a whisky lover, I knew straight away it would have something to do with Japan. And as with Japanese whisky, prices are ridiculous due to scarcity, not because it’s the best tasting whisky although it is usually very good.
Agree, Japanese whiskies are quite good!
Unfortunately, a lot of wannabe "connaisseurs" think that "good" rhymes with "expensive"...
The scarcity of Japanese whisky is more to do with not quite planning for the future sales a decade ago, more than any difficulty in making it. A decade from now, we might have better prices and choices in Japanese whisky again. If they've learnt from this.
@@somegeezer hopefully they don't go too far with upping production. Would hate to see a Japanese whisky market collapse instead of a return to sanity.
@@krakenpots5693 Not just food and drink. Look at watches and pens. If you want a really good watch and a really good pen, you'd go to argos and buy a £10 casio and a packet of 5 biros. People aren't buying this overpriced stuff because it is good at its primary function, they're buying it for other reasons. Not least of which is 'because it's expensive'.
Your sound guy knows what they're doing
I was just thinking this. Kudos to the tech peeps.
Absolute wizards
It's just a shotgun mic lol
@@neyaneya5554 what is that
@@aWarmWalrus It's an extremely directional mic with a very narrow field. So basically it only records within a 10-45 degree radius, anything outside of that isn't picked up or at the very least is VERY subtle.
Giving them a shoutout for being "hospitable and accommodating to our VERY difficult requests" is the most delightful polite sarcasm.
To answer you, I've spent $50 on coffee omakase at Mameya in Tokyo. I've also spent USD $20 on coffee omakase at Omakafe in Jakarta, brewed by the 2024 Barista Champion. I'd say, the thoughtful experimental nature, the storytelling and showmanship makes it worth it. Not necessarily because of the taste. I've also had superb tasting coffee at Code Black Coffee, Melbourne for $5 that beats all of 'em tastewise. Haha.
Well hell I get $3.00 espressos made by 2023's "Fourth Best Barista" and it is absolutely fabulous... actually everybody in the place makes an exceptional shot!
Yup. I don't think "good tasting coffee" and "super rare, expensive coffee" has much of an overlap.
I really need to have a go at Omakafe! I'll have to find time when I'm in Jakarta again..
have you ever been to subsatnce in paris? they also have an omakase option, they also do a macchiato with freeze distilled milk that is super good but they have a limited quantity
We're definitely spoilt here in Melbourne.
The most expensive coffee I ever had was sort of free. I was taking an SCA Pro Coffee Roasting course and after all the classes were done for the day I was getting my things together to leave when someone came into the roastery and asked if the room was ready for the coffee grading session. I looked at the instructor inquisitively and he said, "Well I suppose you should join too. We'll see how good your grading is." What I came to find out was that they were going to cup and grade 54 different lots of coffees from Yemen over the following days. I hung out after classes each day and got to try all the different lots. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that the beans were selling for close to $200/pound.
The best experiences are always the most random ones we never expected, eh?
Well, how did those coffees taste?
"Like coffee"
That was a very smart and well thought out response. It was the scenic route to saying….meh.
Don't get me wrong. I am absolutely floored by the latest videos with absurd production quality. They are a real treasure.
But this kind of "learn a little without it being shoved down your throat" - content is still my favourite.
It's like comparing an expensive coffee bar with the comfort of your own home. Sure, it's a really nice experience to go get something luxurious and exciting, but it's always nice to be home.
It still means a bit too much money was poured into a video.
That’s about the average cost of each cup I brew, due to my CGAS (coffe-gear acquisition syndrome)
lmaooo
I had the same thing happen when I was into home winemaking. I could make a bottle of $2 wine that cost $45 to produce.
It's okay, I have the same syndrome
This is a deep and revelatory thought hidden in a deceptively simple and light-hearted comment. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while.
As an economist, this is very interesting to hear you discuss this.
Speaking of Japan, there’s a man named Yohei who lived in an abandoned school in the mountains of Shikoku. He started up his own business roasting and making coffee and now mostly lives nearby in Kagawa, selling his coffee 😊
Too! Let’s take James there!
It'd be cool if James could link up with Norm from Tokyo Lens!
In 1981, I worked at one of the first coffee houses in LA called The Coffee Emporium in Marina del Rey. The owner roasted all of the beans onsite. We had the most beautiful roaster in our front window and the smell was gloriously indescribable. It was there that I was introduced to Jamaican Blue and I’ve never recovered. When Jamaican Blue beans are roasted correctly, there is little more delicious. Thank you for taking me on such a lovely journey.
Absolutely agree on that. Jamaican Blue mountain coffee is exquisite and, regardless of how it is roasted and brewed, (as long as it's done with competency) is astoundingly balanced. It happens to be my favorite. In fact I love it so much that I only allow myself the luxury occasionally. I don't want my palate to become excessively acquainted with its flavor.
Well stated James. You told me everything I needed and wanted to known about your experience up until this shot and the experience of the shot. Thank you for your superior subjectivity and communication skills. Also personality.
Dear James,
25 years ago I met a young woman and even I’ve I’m not drinking coffee at all, I asked her if she wants a coffee to talk - she had an latte and I ordered a hot chocolate. At the end, she payed for us both. So. Why was the coffee expensive? And how was it worth it‽
we’ve now been married happily for two decades and that coffee costed me my thought about future - but it gave my life a different direction and after all: it was for the best.
Every morning I’m making a coffee for and serve to her at the bed. I’m using your french-press-recipe. I’ve never tasted it, but when I started brewing it “your way” she liked it better than the way she brewed the coffee for her own…
Sure, we are far away from ever having enough money spare to buy one of those coffees, but every cup I brew, I brew with love and she enjoys it also …
I paid $5 for a shot of espresso in 1970 at a specialty coffee emporium in Harvard Square (first of it's kind in New England). That $5 is the equivalent of about $40 today. It was totally rare and unheard of at the time - Kenya Arabica. How times have changed. Was it worth it? Well, if you total up all that I've spent going down the rabbit hole of specialty coffee since 1970, I figure I could have retired 10 years earlier if that shot had not grabbed me the way it did.
@whimseyOFC I retired when I was 45, so I don't think I missed much anyway.
When I lived in Fort Worth, Texas there was a nice little hole in the wall Ethiopian restaurant (sadly it went out of business during the Covid lockdown). I'd driven by it many times and never even knew it was there until someone recommended it to me. They had a very limited menu of maybe 5 or 6 authentic Ethiopian dishes. The person who recommended it said I had to get a coffee and desert after my meal. I don't remember exactly how much the coffee was but I do remember thinking it was a bit pricey, but not insanely so.
But you weren't just getting a cup of coffee. It was a whole experience. The waitress brought out a whole coffee service on a silver platter and actually sat down at our table and had a conversation with us while she made it, explaining how it was a tradition in Ethiopia to serve guests this way, and then lovingly poured out each of our cups. And I have to say, it was the best damn coffee I've ever tasted in my life. Nothing like any coffee I've ever had before or since. I don't know what exactly made it so different, but it was amazing. Definitely worth the price as far as I'm concerned.
The blooper video will be: I spilled A $335 (£265) Espresso. And they made me pay it. And eventually gave me a Nespresso instead to keep filming.
I was genuinely worried about spilling in on my journey from the counter to the street.
That would have been my experience too. Love the analysis. Spot on as usual.
@@jameshoffmann Btw didn't the street/cars affect the taste? It sounded SO loud
@@Omnilatent Tasting notes: Primarily 91 octane, hints of 87. Finishes with a fruity whiff of carbon monoxide.
Was it the best tasting coffee James has had? No.
I'd love for James to go to Japan and do a video on their coffee culture
Or Taiwan as well. They have fancy pour over bean choosing refuse coffee if pour ain't good up to three times cafes.
I live in Japan. Great coffee culture but espresso is abominable. Best to roast your own and pull a great shot.
Glitch, Mameya... They have been fantastic.
Came for the espresso shot. Stayed for the history and production lesson. Great vid!
I'm a whisky drinker, and I find your content has a lot of relatable things. I've bought $80-$100 glasses (30ml) of whisky at specialised bars, and they're certainly fantastic but it's difficult to say they are worth the price on taste alone. The experience of sitting in the whisky bar, surrounded by an awesome collection, talking amongst like-minded people about your shared experiences tends to make up for the cost!
quality whisky and specialty coffee are very, very similar in that regard. for coffee there's the 10€ for a 250g bag limit, after which you get diminishing returns in value. for scotch, that seems to be somewhere in the 90€ per bottle area.
@@ffll8427 I think it's true of almost all products, 90% of the good can be had for 10% of the price of 100% of the good. Your prices are probably very sensible for both those things. As an entirely random example, simracing. For most even semi serious people, £500 of direct drive wheel kit will basically get them there and is 100% worth it over a £200 Logitech thing. The £2000 DD wheel? Only the actual e-sports pros would notice.
Yeah, lord knows I've spent $200 on things I've enjoyed less than an evening drinking good whiskey with friends.
@@ffll8427 Im not sure I would agree with the price comparison. For 90 Euro you can get a very good bottle of Whisky I`d argue.
Yeah, I've gotten a shot of Jonny Walker Blue, foot in the door for silly expensive spirits. Was it underwhelming? Kinda. Do I regret the experience? No. Maybe someone else has the palate but I don't think I could tell the difference between it and JW Gold. I'm more of an Islay drinker but my travels haven't put me in a bar that had a Islay above the $80 a bottle level.
A shot of espresso for the price of a brand new entry level espresso grinder
Entry level is about half that price if you go for hand grinders
@@YunisRajab very true, hand grinders can be super nice too
I highly doubt they grinded the beans on an entry level espresso grinder, but yeah, I get what you mean. There's got to be no margin of error though when you're a barrista working there. You need to deliver the absolute perfect shot every time when you are asking this much for a shot. It would seriously stress me out.
Flair Neo & a mid grinder & a bag of coffee
@@jaspermooren5883 99% of the customers wouldn't notice a difference if you f'd up or not tho
I was being entertained by a company out at Pebble Beach F&W, where spending money on clients was their goal.
At breakfast my host knew my love of interesting coffees and suggested we order a $60 French Press of Kopi Luwak to share. It was tasty and indulgent, but nothing that I need to repeat.
Great video, James.
Is 265 dollars for a shot of espresso worth it, for me No. I can't speak for others but the best cups of coffee are when I am having coffee with others. One of the best cups of coffee I have ever had was a truck stop diner, and was drinking coffee at 2 AM with some truckers as I was trying to drive home for Thanksgiving when I was going to college and the road ahead was closed due to winter storms.. The Coffee was bad, even the waitress admitted it was really bad, but the conversations, the laughing and meeting new people who were all stopped at this little place made it wonderful.
that's the thing though - sure, good coffee is good, but it's the experiences around a cup of coffee that make that one coffee truly memorable, and evocative of those memories.
For me the most expensive coffee I've ever had would be about $12, but the best coffee I've ever had was the first time I made a breakthrough and actually got good extraction on my home setup as a newbie to manual espresso.
I remember so many singular cups of coffee because of the situations I was in. Those were really good coffees.
Agreed. The coffee can be high quality but a shitty pot coffee from mom's can't be beat
That "hot chocolate effect" when tapping the cup after stirring at 6:41 🥰
I've never tried coffee in any form but I enjoyed the video and can appreciate the effort that goes into something like this, thanks.
I live in Ukrauine and coffee here is very cheap, because the labor of the roaster and barista is also cheap. I think you will find many places here with a perfectly made double shot on natural guji, or huehuetenango or some guatemala for the equivalent of .... like $1.5 or less.
I know some people have drank more shockingly expensive coffee, but my most expensive cup was a $17 latte in-of all places-Dayton Ohio. While expensive, it is some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted in the US. Pettibone coffee is really doing something different, wish I was closer to visit more often.
Excellent, another totally unbiased, fair and honest review, as I was confident it would be! 😎
Loved the little round London tour 😍
Who
You mean Londonistan ?
We just sold out 2 crops of fancy fancy decaf. Albeit the same crop that brewers cup won in the US, we priced it at $52/300g and in hindsight could’ve fetched way more if we valued the demand, sold out in minutes on our website. People want the experience of good stuff, something we underestimated
I'm really grateful people have the opportunity to experience great decaf. I lived with a barista And the only reason I was able to enjoy what I did because there was a demand for decaf and the product is produced by people who care about coffee being available. Im still drinking some blonde decaf Starbucks from 2019 but one day I'd like to get a good decaf for my french press, the caffeine available in espresso and press coffee makes my heart beat out of time lol.
Please restock so people like me can give you money!
@@lunasophia9002 we may or may not be launching an El Diviso Pink Bourbon decaf in the next few weeks :O
@@decaf_co Oooh, that sounds super tasty!
This person is a professor of coffee & conversational diplomacy
James' ability to describe scarcity economics without either endorsing it or ridiculing it is impressive. He's entirely right, of course, that the taste experience isn't going to be worth that much (you can get a 3-course Michelin * meal for 2 with wine at that price in London). But for _some_ people, the story that goes with it will be worth it. And that's what they're actually selling. It's interesting just how much conspicuous consumption has moved from materialism to experientialism in the last few decades.
I'm not convinced the story of going to a cafe in London to get a coffee is that exciting. Going to a cafe and getting a coffee that's actually drinkable in London is pretty impressive though I guess.
Imean James has to be middle of the road otherwise he would shift the coffee world-the online coffee world at least-in a different direction cause people take his word as gospel.
Spending that kind of money on an Espresso, in my opinion, is Obscene!
I like to break down and explain the characteristics of my Folgers instant coffee the same way.
Decades ago, we had an international student from Japan who was living with us at the time bring me a small can of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans. That was the most expensive coffee I've ever had. EACH CUP WAS MEMORABLY DELICIOUS !!😊
Enjoyable video James, thanks! I've tried a few pricey options in SE Asia, most notably in Vietnam, but my favourites have always been at Koffee Mameya in Tokyo. I love how they don't try to sell you any particular level or price, they just ask about the flavours you like and recommend accordingly. Even though they often have some eye-wateringly expensive options, they generally steer me towards the more affordable end and I've always been delighted by their brews. So even though I've gone into a few places, prepared to spend over $20-40 for an espresso just to see, I've almost always ended up having something closer to a tenner and really enjoying it. Maybe they recognise me for the cheapskate that I am and handle me accordingly.
Funny thing with Mameya, they opened a shop down the street from me in California. It is quite a nice shop to go into and the fact that you get fresh roasted beans is great. The most expensive coffee I have bought was from them as well, they had a Geisha that I was interested in trying. The Geisha was a pleasant cup but wasn't what I was looking for in a cup and can't see myself wanting to buy any more. Then again there goes the rabbit hole as a different roast level could bring out different flavors but I'm just unwilling to spend another $32 for 8oz. of beans.
@@mrthesquid yep, Geishas can certainly be an expensive route! I'm not that into the super-light nature of most I've tried, but some really hit the spot!
Thank you for posting. An interesting narration on an experience that I wouldn’t have thought to desire.
I loved the random location changes in London for each shot!
To be fair, those locations are all within a mile or two, and it would be a fairly pleasant stroll if they weren't also shooting video. I guess the trick is to track which lines to say to camera when, since they didn't film in sequence (unless they took a fairly non-optimal route).
Really appreciate the quality of your content, how you explain things and how clear it is that you place value in helping people understand. Thanks James.
This is a classic ‘I saw you coming’ establishment. Good for them for taking advantage of people that need to flash their cash to feel important.
There is a Cafe in Southeast Osaka called "The Munch" that sells a 1000$USD cup of coffee that is barrel aged, they offer a tea spoon of such coffee for 28$USD. It was a great part of my coffee Journey and the owner and shop were both wonderful as a memory. I'd love to see a Coffee Culture world tour on this channel one day.
Now, that's interesting. Because Dad was in Osaka when he was drinking the wonderful coffee. I wonder if "barrel aged Osakan" is the answer.
How do they serve the spoon-full of coffee?
@@SamsaSpoon With chopsticks, of course. ;-)
@@69Buddha cheers for providing my first laugh of the day. :D (It's early, not a shitty day.)
“depends on who you are” must be the most British answer to the question is it worth it or not. I’m sure it was a good investment for this channel ❤
6:00 I immediately assumed you were SNIFFING the soul out of this coffee
James, you're amazing. In my experience, the farther away geographically you are from where a coffee is produced, the more diminished it becomes. I think a fun experiment would be to try a coffee like this at the farm where it was produced, and then try it again at this cafe and assess the differences.
A wise man once said "If yak dung was sold for the same price as caviar, some rich people would happily spread it on blinis" and i think that says it all...
They would need a good story for the yak dung. Most people don't buy expensive things because they're expensive, instead they buy the experience of it. There definitely are people out that will buy things because they're expensive, but they usually aren't clever enough to be the reason it becomes expensive.
Things become expensive because there are people that are genuinely interested in the product. If there weren't people like James Hoffman in the world that were excited by the opportunity to try a single origin coffee from Okinawa then the product wouldn't come to market.
The yak dung would need something special about it, it would need to have medicinal purposes, it would need to be a select hand-reared breed from the Steppes of Mongolia with a birthmark on it's back that has a barely believable story dating to Genghis Khan getting upset with a yak for pooping in his yard and for eating his prized bougainvillea's.
@@Chzydawg A good story for the yak dung is the easiest part of the whole thing. A couple of really good advertising professionals and you'll have a flawless story and an incredible ad campaign that will make everyone - rich or poor - crave your specific brand of yak dung.
Rich people were eating mummy powders. i dont doubt the power of overpricing being a legit marketing stunt.
well, ferret dung coffee sells for many hundreds per pound. actually civet cat dung
caviar is very tasty tho
I was born in the '40s in UK, drinking tea till the 70''s, started driving an articulating lorry in the USA. Coffee was FIVE CENTS. One day I pulled in and the price had doubled to $0.10. so I asked my boss for a raise 😅 and when he stopped laughing he said hit the road. Sometime later Starbucks moved into town and coffee was $10. Later a barista opened a specialty coffee store and sold me a cup of Loki for even more $$$ and it was horrible... now I'm using Illy Intenso beans, ground fresh for each shot. What a life.😊 Thanks for all you're doing, James! I miss my $0.05 coffee.
In some kind of humorous image in my mind, I imagine a coffee this expensive where they lock you in a large room, devoid of anything but a table and chair and a single light above. There is a team of baristas at the ready who will hand-make the cup for you while they brew the coffee. Then there's the tester who tests and spits it out to confirm it's good. It then gets passed to another tester who tastes and swallows to verify the first tester's experience. Another one down the line will run scientific tests to ensure it is the absolute best cup of coffee they have every produced at that very moment. At the end, they have one last person who knows nothing about coffee to do a taste test, all the while asking "why am I here?". By the time it gets to you, there is nothing left in the cup that they serve to you and they hand you a bill for the coffee, stating that "it's not about the coffee, it's about the experience".
If this isn't already a comedy skit that exists it should
You* forgot served with satin* white gloves* 🧐
5:26 Imagine naming your coffee shop "shot" and denying the coffee big shot permission to film inside...
I don't remember a particular expensive coffee that I ordered, probably it would be some Irish coffee, but I did recently visited a local shop that roast and prepares some specialty coffee, lovely family business, and they sold me one espresso for less then 2.5 euros. I did ended up buying 3, 250g, bags of coffee from them, and they offer me another one for free, total was 25 euros.
PS: we don't have very high salaries in my country, in case you're wondering how it can be so cheap. Actually, I'll like to add to the cost that James talked earlier regarding where the coffee is harvested, I think the biggest cost of a bag of specialty coffee, is where the business roasting, packaging and selling them is located.
This seemed like a very polite way of saying "not worth 300$, it's just a nice cup of specialty coffee".
Their list of different coffees looked very promising, though! If I ever visit London I'd definitely try one or two of the "more reasonably" priced ones they have
Funnily enough, the best sounding bean, to me, on the list was also the cheapest. A bunch of those on there are more about marketing than quality, e.g. the kopi luwak and the "big name" beans like Blue Mountain, Kona, St. Helena... But that Costa Rican Black Honey at £8 sounds like something I wanna get... To be fair, the Colombian Granja La Esperanza at £17 also sounds really good.
I bet anyone walking by James as he was talking on the street suddenly and violently desired a coffee from the nearest possible establishment
They tresspassed James Hoffmanns innate domain
... that sounds like JH is a Safe class SCP!
@James Hoffmann - Most expensive Cup was an Cherry Barrel ans Whiskey infused Coffee from our local roaster "Röstwelt". It was lovely and only costed 8€ a cup if i remember it right.
Excuse me if this sounds bonkers, but I'm so grateful for this video. I'm in a bad place atm, life's hard, and it was just what I needed to give me a little lift. Thank you 🙏
Lol
Not bonkers at all mate. Keep your head up.
Good luck to you. It will pass and light will be yours once more.
@@kongengorm3360 thank you, that's much appreciated.
@@criddyla696 thank you! I do hope so. All the best.
8:29, a story to tell people … says the TH-camr who now has been telling that very story to the people. Of course he "gets it", because he's done exactly that, just now.
Coffee is expensive, that's one of the reasons why I started brewing on my own. Now when I do buy coffee, it's coming from either an experimental or social approach. My most expensive coffee purchase was some kind of espresso tonic mix in Brooklyn for more than $10. Love this video!
Nice job explaining and critiquing without being insulting.
Nuts! I can buy 33kg of pretty good beans for that price.
You can get commodity coffee for that price. I highly doubt that those beans would be any good, at least not to those in the specialty coffee community.
I can get 6 kilos of Cafe Vita - Cafe Del Sol from the SoDo Seattle Costco for that price.
Scale economy!
With the £ exchange rate in my country I can get single origin Colombia beans. Not the "cheap" stuff...
@@glockparaastra you can get good single origin coffee for $10 per kilo? Some shady stuff is definitely going on with each step of producing and/or trading before it reaches you.
7:45 apparently James can taste a coffee sample and give you the GPS coordinates :D
they better let you keep the cup
They don't.
@@kevinivan91 James probably had to leave a deposit just to take it out on the street for recording.
It'll only be gold plated. Not going to really be worth much of that cost in return.
@@daveh7720 I don't think so, they have outdoor seats anyway.
Did you hear the sound when he stirred? They're plastic
the most expensive coffee i've ever had was a surprise AUD 9.50 flat white from a local café that sells all sorts of needlessly expensive things (another time i spent $6 on a 200ml cup of lemonade). neither the coffee or lemonade were worth it
The most expensive cup of coffee that I've had so far was around $1,800. I was a very nice single-origin, home roast cappuccino that I managed to dispense on my Macbook Pro M1.
😱 That exactly what I did several weeks ago on my MacBook Pro M1! Blue Bottle Hayes Valley Expresso blend via AeroPress. With half-and-half! I had the protection plan, however, so just $100.
As a barista, dialing in that coffee would be a deeply scary experience!
James did not mention the type of machine. Video would not be interesting, I guess. My assumption is that the shop has a real professional barista who knows the equipment and can dial in without wasting bean or I wonder if they are not allowed to dial in on that bean. 🤔
Naww just buy 8 oclock and Call it cuban
Go to Madcap in Grand Rapids, MI. The lead barista dials in every morning before they open for business
Thank to GOD ,that I'm living my life at the same time era with Mr James Hoffman....to watch and listening him....
Open YT to my coffee and this video is published less than a minute ago.
Great!
Stop copying me
You earned it with all the 1970s odd espressos over the years lol
As soon as you said it was from Japan I understood the price. The fact that they strive for perfection and how much they sell “perfect” fruit for. Totally makes sense
I think he's nailed it. The scarcity and the experience here are what drives a particular audience to this. It certainly seems like a very fine coffee, but the full set-up of what the coffee is and the situation behind it is what pushes it to a different level. Seeing the menu, how there were no other products of this price point on it shows that it is meant to be something of a "prestige" experience, with a story behind it adding value to the situation.
I dunno about 'experience' - I can't imagine how any coffee priced at $335 wouldn't do anything other than automatically induce the experience of feeling overcharged by about $330.
Kind of in the same league as a $50.00 cigar. ???
@@ellenrik Totally, I think James mentioned wine and caviar and cigars definitely fall into that experience zone.
@@DaveF. Pretty sure what he means about experience is beyond the coffee, it's the story of the farm in Okinawa, etc. Also if you're throwing down $355 for a cup of espresso at Shot in Mayfair you're likely not thinking that deeply about the money, given the typical clientele...
2:05 - is that the Matt and Tom bench?
Also, to add, another reason coffee grown at high altitude is usually better is because the amount of air is less due to pressure differences so the plant struggles a bit more which means it needs to look for energy elsewhere. This creates a better, more concentrated cherry