Notes, reflections, corrections & additional links: Hey everyone! This was by far one of the most fun and challenging videos I've made to date. I'm sure there are going to be a ton of questions and comments on this video because the world of coffee is constantly evolving and a lot of what coffee you enjoy does come down to personal preference. Also, let me just get ahead of this question: Q: Why did you use a blade grinder?! A: I only used the blade grinder for the green coffee taste test. Green coffee is extremely hard and dense unlike porous roasted coffee so I didn't want to ruin my burr grinder that was used for all of the other coffees in this video. Now while this is fairly comprehensive video, it is also really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning about coffee. My ultimate goal with this video is to help YOU explore coffee beans you'll love. I think the best way to do that is by explaining the fundamentals from a price and flavor perspective so you can make an informed decision when you are tasting and shopping for coffee. Remember, all of us have our unique human biases when it comes to coffee: 1. Some of us only drink espresso and espresso drinks 2. Some of us use milk and sugar 3. Some of us like coffee black 4. Some of us only drink iced coffee Because of this I decided to focus this video specifically on the beans, because without the beans we don't have coffee, so logically, it makes sense as the first place to start. That being said, I'd love to do a video specifically on the fundamentals of brewing where we dive into: - Water (Ph, mineral content) - Grind size - Bean Ratio - Extraction (refractive index) - Brewing methods (espresso vs filter) So if you want to see that video, we can make it happen (maybe with some other coffee channel's help 👀) Additional learning ➡ ethanchlebowski.notion.site/Coffee-Learning-Resources-e961e8519d04457ba709fc7eea95a1f7?pvs=4 (I'll try to keep this updated as people offer more resources) AeroPress (20% off) ➡ www.aeropress.com/ethan - Another big thank you to AeroPress, without their support I probably would have a made a rushed coffee video just to get one done. So if you want to get 20% off and help support the channel, give them a look!
Good video. The aeropress is a great start to anyone's coffee journey! Want to add for anyone reading that another great reason to buy coffee from your local roaster is that they will roast beans fresh for you. Grocery stores see coffee as a non-perishable good (not as food!) so they will refuse to put a roasted-on date on the bag of coffee. Even if you buy 'specialty-grade' coffee from a grocery store it might have been roasted 5+ months ago and taste quite different to something roasted last week. In general its important to recognize coffee is a food product and getting it fresher is better. Slight note is that its generally considered good to wait a few days to a week after roasting to brew coffee as it needs to release its carbon dioxide buildup from the roasting process, as it might be more bitter to brew it instantly after roasting.
Nice video, quite well done. As someone who roasts his own coffee, it was something else to see your video on a topic I'm familiar with. Although I'd argue that robusta has a worse reputation than it deserves. While it lacks the more floral notes good robusta can have a very nice rich taste reminiscent of grain, nuts, woody and spicy. Part of the issue is that most robusta is used and grown for cheap commercial coffee and not to the standards of specialty arabica.
Thanks for all your time & effort. Great content. As a totally different twist, I've settled on consuming unfiltered Kafa Grande (Serbian brand) Turkish coffee. I just put 1 teaspoon in a large 16oz coffee mug, add water, then microwave for 2:44 (just below the boil-over time). The coffee comes out perfect for such a small amount of this intense powdered coffee. I do (3) coffees per morning and yet each bag lasts ~ (2) months. (6) bags are only $64 on Amazon, so my coffee habit costs only $0.175 per day. For a cappuccino, I recommend steam-frothed heavy cream. The combination comes out like a toasted marshmellow. Thanks again. Cheers!
A funny idea, but from a filming perspective, that sounds really hard to pull off 😆. You'd be racing against the clock sobering up between shots, or needing to re-dose just to stay drunk.
Yes, let's go down the Belgian Trappist rabbit-hole. I spent a few weeks there in the mid-2000s. It was a non-stop bender the entire trip...Belgium is to beer, as France is to wine. Cheers!
Specialty Roaster here to say that you can in fact measure and precisely define roastdegree! A roast degree analyzer is a Small device that measures how much light gets reflected by the roasted coffee beans and gives you a value along the AGTRON scale. 25-45 translates to your typical dark roast, 50-65 would be medium and from 70 upwards you‘d call it a light roast. Of course no two coffees roast the same but when you end the roast at the same temperature at similar roasting times you can get in a fairly narrow AGTRON range. Apart from that, this Video really serves as a exceptionally well crafted entry Point for everyone dabbling into the vast world of coffee, so thanks! And also congrats on the AeroPress sponsorship! (P.S. If this video happens to get new people into coffee… please prioritize good quality coffee over unneccesarily expensive gear 🙏🏻 You‘d be suprised how far a ordinary frenchpress, a plastic V60 Dripper or the advertised AeroPress combined with a decent handgrinder can get you!)
I did come across the AGTRON scale and had several questions regarding it! Do you know how common it is with specialty roasters and when it first started to be used? I think a really cool test would be to get two different green coffees and give them a side by side test at various AGRTON values
I think he did well in the sense that you don't have to buy coffee only based in the roast level label. Since it isn't regulated, you can label whatever you want. I believe that the agtron scale can be popularized since there are more options to get a roast degree analyzer. I think in the future we will have regulations in terms of roast level, that would be great in my opionion
color meters are a good way of ensuring consistency from roast to roast and getting a general idea of roast level, but the Frinsa Collective bean he showcased is a good example of why you can't completely blindly trust them; different processing methods etc. can pretty heavily influence the finished color while the flavor profile in terms of light/dark roast level could be similar, decaf is maybe the most extreme example where the decaffeination process changes the structure/chemistry of the bean so much that you need an entirely different frame of reference for color imo, and anaerobic coffees can taste good at much darker agtron levels than you could prefer for a washed coffee for example
@EthanChlebowski I think the coffee determines the desired roast level. Not all flavors shine in a light roast, but conversely you might not want to lose what's shining in a light roast to a medium roast. Dark roast is for demonologists like Yuban. (My old pal) For me as a coffee person. Light roast means I want to see pith on my beans and in my grinds, I'll be expecting something a bit more unique. Medium roast might have some pith, but might not. I'll be expecting something that tastes like Starbucks. Dark roast can get lost as far as I'm concerned. Stumptown makes some good medium roast. Volcanica has some good med/light roast. But right now I'm bargain shopping Kirkland Ethiopian light roast $19.99/2lbs. It punches above its weight class!
My family have been growing coffee for more than a hundred years. Currently, we get about 30$ for about 100 lb of dry coffee berry, which after processing turns into 60 lb of green coffee, which gets exported for approx 100$ per 100lb, which eventually gets sold for anywhere between 300$ to 3600$ per 100lb. So, middle men plus processing takes the coffee from 20c/ lb that we get to average of 5$ / lb. Wish my family we in the business of processing/exporting as the hardest part and the riskier part is growing but the least paid is the farmer.
Sounds simple, but if they do that, they won't be able to reach the same consumers as if they sell them to the multinational companies. How will a coffee farmer in Uganda mass roast and export coffee to the masses around the globe?
I didn't hear one of the most important factors that can significantly impact the taste of coffee: Grinding! As an espresso and cappuccino enthusiast at home, I noticed a dramatic improvement in the taste of my shots after investing in a good grinder. It's not just about the grind size but also the consistency that a quality grinder provides. Therefore, a high-quality grinding machine is essential for achieving barista-level coffee. Maybe a French press might be more forgiving, I don't use it. Anyway, thank you for the great video.
The finer the grind the more important the grinder is. I started with a cheap ceramic one and my immersion brewing (french press) was still good. The espresso was night and day when I switched to the Kingrinder K2 though. French press was improved by being a little more balanced since there were fewer fines and coarser chunks, but immersion is pretty forgiving. Cold brew is the closest to fool proof because it’s so gentle.
also important to remember: the different ways to make coffee (amount of water, pressure, etc.) also affect the result. so in essence a good tasting coffee is a mix of the bean characteristics, the grinding and the brewing method. a bean that might taste terrible when ground up a certain size using a french press, might taste actually quite decent if ground up to a different grain and used with a mokka pot.
You are right, but this video is not meant for that. The process of brewing coffee or making espresso would be an entirely separate video in and of itself
@@lijkenkist1 Absolutely, that makes perfect sense. Anyway, my additional point was directed towards the title: "Is expensive coffee actually worth it?" Essentially, even if you have the finest beans in the world, without proper treatment and preparation (such as roasting and grinding), it could result in a worst tasting coffee experience.
This channel and video is a PRIME example of why learning via video is so valuable. Large volume of information is compactly, yet digestibly presented with high-quality production value! Perfection! Edit: spelling and grammar.
My first comment ever with this account!😊. But I had to go back and login into a proper account to post here, because it only seemed fair I came into specialty coffee only on 2019, though I’ve been drinking coffee, and I liked them all that while, all my life. I learnt a lot from online resources shared by professionals, and seeing this makes me wish I’d seen this two years ago…, There may be stuff you left out, I don’t care, and there may be stuff the old me would not understand either. But you have offered a lot in such a small space of time and visuals. As a coffee grower, processor, roaster and brewer ( yes I do all of it, and natural too while I’m at it ) I admire the way you touched points in every domain. This can be a small springboard for someone who latches on, it’s to be expected that only less than 2% would see this as basic inspiration. But for a whole lot of others such as me from 5 years ago, this is a great learning experience
I'm a bit spoiled. One of my really good friends is a café owner who imports, and custom blends different ones, and roasts in house. I'm usually the guinea pig for his different blends, and roasts he is testing, before he will sell it. I usually skip sponsor spots, but I will admit I absolutely love my aeropress, I've had it for about ten years now. I use it all the time, not shilling for them, I honestly just really like it, I even sent one to a friend in Washington state
Ethan you're absolutely killing it this last year with the videos. I love the single topic videos packed with information, comparisons and food porn. These videos have helped me change the way I look at certain foods.
I treat these deep dive videos like the superbowl 😂 I got TH-cam up on the living room TV, got my cup of coffee, and a spread of snacks. Please keep up these videos dude, hands down your channel is better than cable!
Ethan, do you every worry about the "Pepsi Challenge" effect when sip testing for these videos? Pepsi wins the sip test over Coke, because people prefer the sweeter, more citrus-y cola in an isolated sip, but drinking a full glass is a very different experience where many people far prefer Coke. New Coke was designed to win the Pepsi challenge but it was so cloyingly sweet and citrus-y it was unpalatable to drink a whole can. When I see cupping sip tests I always think of the failure of new coke and wonder if you're really finding your preferred coffee, or if the process is artifically pushing you into the "Pepsi" of the coffee world.
nice point.. kinda like the way I prefer cold brew coffee to the traditional style, because I can't drink a whole mug of the coffee brewed with hot water, the taste is just so .. filling? it's hard to describe, but calling it the pepsi effect sounds easier. :D
@@MixedMuscleArtsdefinitely experienced this with beer! Beer also varies so much based on what you pair it with. I can't drink a whole pint of an IPA (or any hoppy beer) but I like the first sip, so I always pair IPAs with more salty and cheesy foods because they make IPAs taste better.
FRESHNESS!!! Ethan, can't believe you didn't talk about this. It's the one take away I make sure to tell the coffee curious who may not know. It will give them a huge jump in the quality of coffee they're drinking every day. It's a critical component of buying your coffee for home. Make a follow on video. Roasted coffee is best within 2 weeks!!!!
This isn't always the case... Roasted coffee can be good for longer than two weeks. In fact, many light roasts need to be rested for a minimum of two weeks for brewing. This time allows the coffee to release excess CO2 created in the roast. James Hoffmann has an excellent video on the subject if you are interested.
Freshness is a big factor for sure. Light roasts are much more tolerant to (and prefer more) aging so that it can off-gas, but dark (e.g. second crack) roasts should be drank ideally within 1-2 weeks
Within two weeks?? For some roasts, some would say that you want to *wait* two weeks before brewing. Even for dark roasts, this is a really limited window. Most experts seem to say that you should ideally drink your coffee within 4 - 6 weeks of roasting. The specialty roaster I've been buying from says their light to medium roasted coffee is best within two months. And to be honest, it's not like the coffee will instantly turn bad outside that window either. Worrying too much about freshness will only lead you to waste a lot of perfectly good coffee. And if you got it direct from the roaster, you're already doing way better than supermarket coffee which has already been sitting on the shelf pre-ground for a month or two before it ended up in your home.
Not to be a party pooper, but you guys need to realize that most people either never make their own coffee, or they buy what's most convenient, which means either instant or preground. The biggest upgrade possible is having your coffee freshly ground. I've had coffee beans that I'd forgotten in a cupboard somewhere for over a year, I ground them, brewed them and they were still good. Yes, blander than normal, but still more than decent. Back when I was a student and didn't have a grinder, I used to buy ground coffee from a roaster near my house, and it was always the same story. I went to them, bought coffee, returned home and immediately brewed a cup. First one was always amazing. Second day and it was already crap. A week on, I might have just been brewing with soil.
I can see James Hoffmann watching this video and then going into full blown Heisenberg mode, showing up at Ethan's house and uttering "Stay out of my territory..." before backing away into the darkness of the night. Also, I know it's an ad, but I've been using an Aeropress since about 2010. I even just made a cup with mine while starting this video. I hate how fake sponsorships are but honestly, it's my favorite way to brew. The company was created by the guy who made the Aerobee flying disc. He sadly sold the Aeropress and it does seem like the current owner is more interested in maximizing profits, charging about twice these days as in 2010. It's still worth the price of admission, things work amazing and last ages. Also get a good hand grinder! I bought an 1zpresso JX grinder 3 years ago for about $110. The performance is incredible compared to anything electric in a similar price point. Quieter too and it's really not that hard to grind 15-20g of beans by hand. Nothing has really changed in terms of performance and it feels like it will last many more years.
Knowing James, he probably loves seeing new people entering the scene. Every time I've seen a non-coffee creator make a coffee video he's been in the comments encouraging people to get even more nerdy.
Agreed about the aeropress. My favorite coffee is still french press, but my aeropress is second and there's nothing else even close. I use the inverted method with 18 grams of italian espresso beans, ground at 11 on a baratza encore, with 65 grams of water for 45 seconds. Even after all these years I'm still experimenting with water temperature, but my go-to is 15 seconds off boil.
@@BlueDragon1504agreed. he doesn't gatekeep. at worst, he might correct errors or clarify explanations, but he never tries to keep people out, and encourages them to go even deeper
I find that light, medium, and dark is more a way of getting a taste profile. Not really how light, medium, or dark, it is. I use that as a starter, but I do not use that as the final reason why I buy it.
It's extremely inconsistent. Starbucks light roast coffee would have a similar taste profile (or in that range) compared to most specialty dark roasts. Also why the large majority of specialty roasters don't ever mention the roast profile on the bag of coffee. They roast it for the best flavour of that particular coffee.
Tasting notes are more accurate. Some light roasts can have almost no acidity and they will have notes like "nuts, graham cracker, cereal". I find those to be extremely boring. Others are bright and zesty with acidity, like "lemon, grapefruit, any citric sorbet, honey", while others may be more funky like "mango, berry jam" etc. All can be light roasts and be extremely different from one another. From haylike bad coffee that just shouldn't be roasted that light because of their inherent properties, to delicate bright coffees like African coffees, and wild naturals that smack you in the face (which I personally prefer as part of a blend moreso than pure). It's why most specialty coffee roasters use tasting notes instead of just saying dark or light or medium.
@@TheRealAstro_ starbucks is the furthest thing from a standard or quality that anybody should consider or account for when it comes to coffee. it shouldn't even warrant a mention. they roast the shit out of their beans. most people i have talked to about it are convinced it is an attempt to cover up the poor quality of beans they use/sell.
@@raifsevrence My espresso machine can't even make them taste worthy of drinking. I tried their coffee and had to throw it away as it was terrible, no matter what I did.
I think you've done a really great job here walking the line between coffee nerds and coffee amateurs, this video serves as a very good 'introduction to coffee' primer for the unwashed (hweh) masses.
Y'all don't sleep on the sponsored section. I've had an Aeropress since 2018 and it's been my brewer of choice since. There's so many ways you can brew with it, it's easy to clean, and it's actually unlikely that you will make a bad tasting cup with it; it requires less skill (or equipment i.e. gooseneck kettle) than something like a pour-over. Ethan it's actually so awesome that you got sponsored by them.
Many years ago, I couldn't place what I didn't like about the taste of Starbucks until someone mentioned “it's burnt”. Took a sip, and was like, “yep, never again”
I love this video. When I started my coffee journey about two years ago I went full into iced, brasilian, dark chocolate and nutty coffee. After a while I was in love with kenyan, sour and fruity as hell washed coffee and now I am looking for good balance between sours and bitters. 1st of July I am going to try my best in eliminations od Polish Aeropress Championship for the second time - wish me luck guys :D Cant wait for more coffee related videos!
I don't know who u are and I don't even like coffee, but I watched all the 49-minute video just because u presented it so well. Great video and very interesting!
The format of your videos is giving me whiplash. You keep bringing up topics then saying you’ll talk about it later, pose a question, then discuss something from the first minute. It’s hard to follow.
Hmm i think thats just personal preference, I personally find his videos to be well structured. Unlike most videos on food topics they are much more technical and thorough, Rather than a quick "this is this", It gives you the information to understand and come to your own conclusions, While not having to do half the effort into research.
ethan, this channel has easily become my absolute favorite channel to watch-the way you come off as so passionate about these topics and the care you put into these deep dives is so cool and insanely inspiring!! I have become so much more confident in the kitchen and in learning new things because of what I’ve learned from you, thank you so much!!
Great work @EthanChlebowski . As a grower, I think you had a key point with "geisha is whats popular now, who knows what people will like in five years". I'm currently planting out over 20 mind blowing and little known varieries from ethiopian landrace strains like WushWush and Papayo, Sudan Rume, naturally decaf "Laurina Bourbon", Abisinian Java, Yemenese Mocha, chiroso, Venezuelan Monte Claro and criollo, and even some rare and unique Libericas and Canephoras. Im still searching for a few. Namely C. Liberica Excelsa, C. Stenophyla, C. Eugenoides, and the Jember crosses between Liberica and arabica. But not Geisha. Geisha took so long to be "discovered" because nobody liked the flavor until a hype cycle started in Panama around some sort of floral acidity obsession. But real specialty coffee flavor is just getting started. I focus on naturals to exentuate the complex flavors nacent in each variety from our organic regenerative agroforestry project. Anarobic is interesting. Although "anarobic fermentation" is a redundancy. But my take is that coferment is essentially flavored coffee. Still, I may eventually experiment with resting or coprocessing coffee with porcelain and criolle cocoa beans or pulp. its a big world out there. Keep up the good work Ethan! Btw, most coffee your drinking is actually part Robusta, as most comercial crops are now hybrids from the Timor cross. (Usually derived from catimore or Sarchimore) Which are, in my humble opinion, utter crap. Beautiqueen, over productive plants with a profile of cardboard with sawdust and cocoa powder. Its something like 80% of "100% arabica" coffee in the US.
@@CWGminer Roasted beans have air in them, meaning they're brittle and thus easy to break down. Unroasted, or green, coffee beans have no air in them, making them *much* denser, and thus much harder to break down. Burr sets are made to break down roasted coffee beans. While all sharp things dull over time, burrs can dull *much* faster when subject to unroasted coffee beans because of how much denser they are.
Expensive though it really depends who it is. when it comes to coffee usually if it means that the coffee growers, the actual farmers, not Nestle or some other food corporation is getting the money, then it's worth it.
These videos are so thorough, dynamic, and insightful. Literally a documentary. I love the experiments so much. Seeing them mean more than just being presented numbers and data- though, when you do refer to studies it’s such a treat ❤
I got an aeropress in the last couple months, and I can't believe how good of a cup of coffee it makes for how inexpensive they are, and it is crazy portable. Great video! I'm looking forward to trying more coffee varieties!
Seriously, the Aeropress is such a great brewer. One of the rare times where I am in full agreement with the promotion of the sponsor. It can even do espresso-style drinks - not real espresso, but I have gotten very concentrated coffee from it and with a fine mesh metal filter even get some decent body to it. Without the plunger and the right grind, it can be used as a very easy pour-over as well.
You should check out Final Press - the largest ever Kickstarter for a coffee product. It's made from stainless steel and is a fraction of the size of an Aeropress. I replaced my Aeropress with it initially because of microplastic concerns, and now haven't looked back
Good informative video. I don't think it was super practical though for people wondering if they should try that $75 bag. It boils down to taste of course. Most people want "traditional" coffee like "coffee flavor" which usually means a nutty or chocolatey coffee darker roast with some bitterness. When you pay $75 per bag for example, you're getting more exotic notes such as lemongrass, strawberry, raspberry, caramel, etc. Cross-ferments have also been really popular in the specialty scene and a cross ferment with Mango for example yields something resembling mango tea. So really when you're looking to try new coffee it boils down to how flexible are you with your definition of coffee? Most people's minds are blown when they drink a coffee that taste like grape soda, mango juice, or a caramel instead of coffee. Also spending $75 on a bad without buying your own grinder or kettle with thermometer is like driving a BMW twin turbo without Premium gas. The performance and gas milage is significantly degraded. This means that, in my opinion, "finding beans you like" first is not super accurate. I'd perfect one brewing method first and then try different beans as the brewing method and the cup itself can change the flavor drastically. That way you have a blank canvas each time you try new beans. Also Geisha, Java and Typica are Arabica beans so I'm not exactly certain why they are all in the same graphic? It's like putting a "BMW", X3, X2, X1 side-by-side in a graphic.
@@NoahDVS I don't like them because they don't ship to Europe. Other than that I'm unsure, maybe there was a controversy? Not that I've heard, though. Maybe it's a general feel of "sponsor bad". Or it's just fun to not see trade because it's so common.
I knew this question was going to popup haha, here's my explanation: Q: Why did you use a blade grinder?! A: I only used the blade grinder for the green coffee taste test. Green coffee is extremely hard and dense unlike porous roasted coffee so I didn't want to ruin my burr grinder that was used for all of the other coffees in this video.
I love my Aeropress and my V60... it's wild that the ENTRY level brewers are also the end game brewers... lol it's such an unexpected thing for such a deep hobby (yes, coffee is a hobby... trust me readers)
The real enjoyment in coffee as a hobby is that you can get everything from Aeropress and V60 to french press, moka pot or your average coffee machine (or even espresso machine) and enjoy them all for different reasons. And brewing with all of them is exciting in some way.
@@soupisgood44 Come on man, don't sink down to that idiot's level by just throwing random insults hoping one lands. Just ignore him. I don't even like coffee but recognize it as a perfectly fine hobby, that isn't a contentious statement at all and anyone that thinks it is is so young their opinion doesn't matter or are just intentionally trying to be stupid to get a rise out of others...which also points to being too young (at least mentally) for their opinion to matter.
Fantastic video. I wish I could dive headlong into coffee and wine professionally. There’s something borderline transcendent about the experiences we get from such complex and beautiful consumables, and their ties to our culture and habits. I suspect I may be buying half a dozen Aeropresses for my family members for Christmas. Seems like a really solid product, and your pitch for it was on point. Thanks for all the effort!
Great vid! I especially loved the concise but thoroughness of the process section. No one ever does this breakdown. That said, so much of the content here is almost entirely useless to vast majority of home brewers, as the differences discussed here all go right out the window for someone who can't get a quality extraction. - WATER - uniform grind - considered brewing methodology to match your specific coffee and brewer These are all necessary in order to get any coffee bean to taste like what it was roasted to taste like. Without them, you'll end up with mostly noise in the cup, and won't be any better off for it... Knowing Ethan's interest for depth, I expect he already knows this and is likely planning a companion brewing vid.
@@PhysicsGamer hahaha... I meant it like a signal:noise ratio. You'll mostly be tasting a mix of over- and under-extracted coffee, with at best only a hint of what it actually has to offer. That experience is all most home brewers know.
Ethan I don't think you understand how much I love your content. I'll keep saying this over and over, but keep it up dude. I've been following you since your early days. I don't even know how many subs you had. 10,000? Now look at you. Informative content. Fun to watch. I always learn something new. You're fucking awesome.
Thank you very much for making this video. As a great fan of coffee I'm amazed how complex the production of coffee beans are. Just bought a coffee grinder. From now on I'll focus more on the beans I'm going to buy. ❤
What a great introductory video into coffee! Really well researched and discussed. It's obviously very difficult to go truly in-depth on coffee, since it's such a staggeringly deep rabbit hole but this is exactly what I was hoping it'd be; a great introduction that makes sense for any beginner! Thank you for the great information as always!
I'm not a huge coffee fanatic, before I say this: but I own an Aeropress and I love it. I do follow a few groups online and it's honestly interesting to see someone use it in the factory-recommended way and not the "inverted method" that many Aeropress users rave about. I think a channel like yours should do a video to see if there's any actual difference in taste etc. between the two methods.
Also what I've found out too is the Temp. of the Water and what Water you Do also use with the Beans as it Does make a change it a bit, as i've been brewing a lot as of late and it's great to experiment here and there with Coffee's.
If you mentioned that shade grown coffee is superior to full sun I missed it. Coffee farms decimate bird habitat and are in full sun. Some farms do plant bananas to provide shade, but not many. Coffee planted in forests are shade grown and preserve bird habitat.
@@ZY1982 Shade grown coffee ripens slower allowing more complexity and flavor to develop. Coffee used to always be shade grown until more sun tolerant varieties were developed.
I love these deep dive videos, definitely some of my favorites. If I may give some constructive feedback though, the phrase "We'll get to that shortly" or "We'll get to that later" comes up VERY frequently in all of these deep dive videos. It can be a tad aimless and distracting. I understand the need to acknowledge that undressed concerns will be realized, but it would seem more professional and curated without the large quantity of "as we'll see later" comments unnecessarily padding the information in each section. We're already looking forward to getting to those parts, and know they're coming based on the organizational graphics you present. Please keep making these!
I do agree the videos could be quite a bit shorter if all the delaying to get to topics, and talking about delaying upcoming topics was cut out. Also much less distracting that way for sure
I agree with this. The repeated mentions of content coming later come off as padding. A single summary at the front would be enough and not belabour the point.
The deeper the better, I learn so much from these, I listen several times when needed but cutting out parts would be a disservice, thanks for trusting us with the whole piece! Worst case to satisfy the haters u break it up & release in chunks for the lazies who can’t be bothered with scrolling (tho I feel not necessary if chapter labels)
@@jjjames6894 I don't want parts cut at all either, I love deep dives. It's not about length, it's just about structure and organization, and my view of how to improve on the flow. Definitely not a hater here!
Gesha is definitely worth the price, however, not as a daily drinker, it's more of an occasional treat, I just vacuum bag doses of whole beans and keep them in the freezer for special occasions. This was a great general overview of actual coffee knowledge, not just what the commercial producers want you to know, but, like you said, despite the length, it's only really scratching the surface.
Dear Ethan, Thank you very much for this great, beautiful and very comprehensive video about coffee beans and the whole process with everything on it. I have just seen your video for the second time and next week I will watch it for the third time. I have learned a lot from it thanks to your explanation. They now know much more about the coffee beans to be able to make a better choice. Once again, thank you very much for this very comprehensive and very informative video about coffee beans.
I disagree with that you shouldn't go for light/medium/dark, at least in that regard if you prefer light, dark won't be your favourite and if you prefer dark, light won't be your favourite. at least that should've been mentioned, maybe i did not see it though.
Specialty coffee isn't really roasted "dark" though. Past 2nd crack all coffee starts to taste the same. If you like dark roast that's fine, but then most of the details aren't as important.
The main point is that even if you prefer *a* light roast, you might not like other light roasts, and that just because you found *a* light roast that you like doesn't mean that there aren't medium/dark roasts you might also like.
I have coffee broker friends that sold a lot of coffee to two "major" coffeehouses. The brokers told me that the coffeehouses paid-up for premium coffee but were notorious for rejecting shipments that didn't pass quality control.
The rejected it, but used it. They know they get a knocked off price if they claim a precentage of shipments didn't meet so called quality control. It's a f'ing coffee bean for goodness sake.
@@MrOldclunkerthat’s not how it works. The coffee contract is on SAS/replace, meaning that the contract is “subject to approval of sample” where the sample is not approved, it must be replaced by importer. Only on a super premium lot where there is not an available replacement would the contract price be renegotiated. If the importer is not in agreement that the coffee has had a quality issue, the importer will void the contract and resell it.
These deep dives are awesome. I’d love to see these on a monthly/10 per annum type schedule along with regular weekly (at least) shorter videos in the 5-20 min range. Consistent output would be habit forming and keep viewers engaged. I used to watch your content all the time and think of something you mentioned while at the market or when planning meals, but now I feel like I’ve only seen 3-4 videos of yours this year. I can’t spontaneously watch a 45 min deep dive so whenever I come across them I have to add to watch later and then remember to make time to watch it. I miss the bite-sized stuff.
i feel like the script was out of ChatGPT because he also said he would cover decaf “later in the video” and never did. Also he repeated some of the same lines several times
That caught my attention, but not nearly as much as his use of a long 'a' in "arabica". He said the word *so* many times in the video, and I've never heard anyone else pronounce it like that. Given how central it is to the subject, that seems like a serious gaff.
I've just started watching but I'm already so excited to see what will happen in this great video. Because it is Ethan and I strongly believe he made a great content again. Besides I was recently thinking about the topic but was lazy to go over all content over the internet. Luckily, I've discovered this channel thank to TH-cam's algorithm.
Man, I absolutely loved this video. I went to a coffee tour in Salento, Colombia (south america), and I learned 80% of the content of this video there, picking the cherries all the way up to brewing my cup of coffee, and the information on this video is accurate and it was amazing seeing you deep diving into every single aspect of it. Amazing 👏🏻😍
Also, one thing he didn't mention is that when planted, the Arabica tends to absorb the nutrients from the ground, changing the flavor profile, so the specialty coffee in Colombia usually has banana tress, flowers, limes, etc around the coffe plants to alter their flavor profile, it's great 😍
if you are on computer download browser extension called "video speed controller", with it you can speed up his blabbering with a hotkey (v is the default) and when he gets to the important part, with the same hotkey (v) it will go back to normal and if you are on the phone just press anywhere in the screen and keep pressing, the video speed will automatically goes to x2 and the sec u let go it goes back to normal
You’re one of my favorite youtube channels right now, because I love your deep-dives and your side-by-side taste tests. Thank you for geeking-out so hard on specific food topics, and de-mystifying why we would see different price-points for similar things at the grocery store. For me, it felt like this video was edited in such a way that you felt like you had to do a non-linear timeline- maybe to keep our interest in a longer video? Let me assure you that you are fascinating, and you can geek out even harder with chemical compounds, just please start with things like “What is a coffee bean?” and start in the ground. Tell me it’s a cherry with all the layers. Tell me about altitude, etc. We don’t have to get all Christopher Nolan editing Memento about it, I’d happily watch you for over an hour just fine.
Nah, this is a bad take for coffee. The brewing method has nothing to do with the outcomes of the tests, as long as they are all brewed with the same device. The Aeropress actually works better than something like a V60 or Kalita Wave, etc., because it takes away more of the change the brewing technique can impart on flavor.
Nonsense. The sponsored content does not inthis case impugn the accuracy and independence of the overall content. Yes in this instance one3 has nothing to do with the other.
I appreciate the technicality of all your videos. I've been drinking coffee for 64 years (began when I was 12): I choose by just one parameter...how does it smell in the bag. I care about the smell probably more than the taste. My preferred method of preparation is "Cowboy Coffee." When my ulcers were a huge problem many years ago I learned that filtering the coffee inflamed my ulcers but soaking the grounds in my cup never bothered them. I've recently changed to using a small Espresso Machine and having a double-dose every morning. That's basically the same as Cowboy style.
Great vidz! I sometimes roast my own beans…I get hot air popcorn poppers (rotator ones) from my local thrift store and crank them up…work great and got a pretty good product with some practice.
That was awesome! Great video! Please make another one touching the points that were not spoken in this one like decaf or different ways to brew. Thank you!
I really enjoyed the video and loved what you did! Thanks and congrats! Just a small note: the Starbucks coffee you chose, Pike Place, is a traditional blend named after the first Starbucks store location in Seattle. It’s crafted to have a standard, plain taste. Since you’re comparing specialty coffee with other types, it might be interesting to compare Pike Place with one of Starbucks’ single-origin options, like Kenya, Rwanda, or Guatemala, as they’re also specialty-grade. This could offer a clearer perspective on how the quality and flavor of commercial and specialty coffees from the same origin stack up. Ps: there are also Starbucks blends where the beans are blended after the roasting, I recommend the christmas blend (red packaging).
Ethan C., Thanks for a very informative video on coffee beans! I got a lot more than I expected out of this. (And by the way, I'm subscribed to your videos and I am enjoying them.) I use my expensive grinder and espresso machine to make my daily espresso. I have been studying what many experts say about coffee and beens (and espresso) for years. I did not expect much that was new from your video, and I wondered if, as a talented amateur venturing into this field, you might occasionally blunder. But you did your homework, everything you spoke about was informative, and you covered a lot of what many experts spend little time on. Thanks!! - toby
Ethan, I have been a specialty coffee roaster for about 6 years and subscribed to you nearly as long. You’re my favorite TH-camr and I have enjoyed your scientific approach to all things food. That being said, I couldn’t be more excited to dive into a video of yours than this one. :-)
I take high grade dark, medium & light roast & mix them every time I blend. The complexity is amazing. Testing out 30/70 ratios 20/80 etc. Sticking with a single roast or brand is boring AF.
What a good work! I'm a barista and I was genuinely happy about this video. We need to get more people to know what they are drinking, and why they like it, and why it's important to pay what is worthy
Fun video! Thanks!! I searched 20 years for a good coffee and stumbled on it by chance. I drink it everyday but occasionally try something different. Fun to try but every test confirms how great my daily coffee is.
* in the honey process, the mucilage/mucilage doesn't cover the green bean directly but covers the parchhment which is a shell-like structure around the green bean that protects the green bean during the drying process.. this is also interesting to note because in Sumatra they hull (remove the parchment surrounding the green bean) before it's fully dried and finish drying the green beans. This is wild and I've never tried that type of coffee yet but I can only imagine the pressure it puts on the hulling machine to do that
Giving some interaction so others can be recommended this video. A very cool dive into what makes coffee different. I see people ask about other factors that affect flavor, but I think this has been a fantastic video on the coffee itself!
This was an incredible video, lots to learn about coffee. Thank you Ethan! There was one thing I heard that I wasn’t sure if I heard right which was the thing about Peaberry coffee. The first time I heard about Peaberry coffee was in Costa Rica, and I think that on the tour of the plantation they had said that the berry in Peaberry had three beans, instead of the normal two. Still an incredible video, with so much great information!!
Hey, that $75 coffee it's actually from my local roaster. Onyx is my favorite coffee company. I'm clearly biased because I have an onyx a quarter mile from my house but I've tried tons of different coffees all over the country and onyx is always amazingly consistent. They have coffees that I love for a cheap as $18 like geometry but my favorite coffee of all time is onyx's tropical weather for $21. It's really cool to see my local coffee roaster being recognized as one of the best coffee roasters in the world by so many people.
Good breakdown, I've been drinking/buying/selling coffee for 30+ years and learned from this. It's left me with some questions for my own tastes, so informative too.
Thanks!!! Between you and @LanceHedrick I have upped my game substantially. Lance taught me about time and weight being the primary variables in the espresso game... And you my good sir have just explained how to find and understand my coffee. Found a local roaster In Ridgewood NJ - REY SOL only one in the area that had the info you talked about Alt, Process, notes.... Well I can never go back to Starbucks now that I know what real coffee can taste like. Keep the knowledge flowing and Thanks AGAIN!!!
Great video, indeed, the first one about something I knew absolutely nothing about! Quick question for connoisseurs: I love coffee flavour and smell, like the powdered one and I fusing it in milk as well, but I hate the water beverage taste, it's too flat and bitter. I tried good espressos and good pour overs, still not convinced, either too burnt or similar to tea (which I like, but it's a different thing). What should I try? I love acid food but not paired with bitter (like dark chocolate with too many fruity and citrus notes)
First time watching, been recommended before, I love all the info, thank you for getting so technical! One thing though, could you possibly get some sound deadening? The echo was fairly distracting in this video
I also found the echo and audio distracting but really enjoyed the info, I don’t think most of the channels videos sound like this one but most of them are quite informative and enjoyable.
Super informative and comprehensive video on Coffee. I'm a home roaster myself and one of the greatest joys is to roast coffees from all over the world and find out which is best for me. I have narrowed my favorites to coffees from Indonesia Torajah, Sumatran Mandheling, Papua New Guinea, Colombian and Brazilian coffees. They deliver consistently great tasting and of course home roast fresh coffee for me.
Notes, reflections, corrections & additional links:
Hey everyone! This was by far one of the most fun and challenging videos I've made to date. I'm sure there are going to be a ton of questions and comments on this video because the world of coffee is constantly evolving and a lot of what coffee you enjoy does come down to personal preference.
Also, let me just get ahead of this question:
Q: Why did you use a blade grinder?!
A: I only used the blade grinder for the green coffee taste test. Green coffee is extremely hard and dense unlike porous roasted coffee so I didn't want to ruin my burr grinder that was used for all of the other coffees in this video.
Now while this is fairly comprehensive video, it is also really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning about coffee. My ultimate goal with this video is to help YOU explore coffee beans you'll love. I think the best way to do that is by explaining the fundamentals from a price and flavor perspective so you can make an informed decision when you are tasting and shopping for coffee. Remember, all of us have our unique human biases when it comes to coffee:
1. Some of us only drink espresso and espresso drinks
2. Some of us use milk and sugar
3. Some of us like coffee black
4. Some of us only drink iced coffee
Because of this I decided to focus this video specifically on the beans, because without the beans we don't have coffee, so logically, it makes sense as the first place to start.
That being said, I'd love to do a video specifically on the fundamentals of brewing where we dive into:
- Water (Ph, mineral content)
- Grind size
- Bean Ratio
- Extraction (refractive index)
- Brewing methods (espresso vs filter)
So if you want to see that video, we can make it happen (maybe with some other coffee channel's help 👀)
Additional learning ➡ ethanchlebowski.notion.site/Coffee-Learning-Resources-e961e8519d04457ba709fc7eea95a1f7?pvs=4 (I'll try to keep this updated as people offer more resources)
AeroPress (20% off) ➡ www.aeropress.com/ethan - Another big thank you to AeroPress, without their support I probably would have a made a rushed coffee video just to get one done. So if you want to get 20% off and help support the channel, give them a look!
Good video. The aeropress is a great start to anyone's coffee journey!
Want to add for anyone reading that another great reason to buy coffee from your local roaster is that they will roast beans fresh for you. Grocery stores see coffee as a non-perishable good (not as food!) so they will refuse to put a roasted-on date on the bag of coffee. Even if you buy 'specialty-grade' coffee from a grocery store it might have been roasted 5+ months ago and taste quite different to something roasted last week.
In general its important to recognize coffee is a food product and getting it fresher is better.
Slight note is that its generally considered good to wait a few days to a week after roasting to brew coffee as it needs to release its carbon dioxide buildup from the roasting process, as it might be more bitter to brew it instantly after roasting.
Yes on all those videos. We all know and love James Hoffman's perspective, I'd love yours as well.
Nice video, quite well done. As someone who roasts his own coffee, it was something else to see your video on a topic I'm familiar with.
Although I'd argue that robusta has a worse reputation than it deserves. While it lacks the more floral notes good robusta can have a very nice rich taste reminiscent of grain, nuts, woody and spicy.
Part of the issue is that most robusta is used and grown for cheap commercial coffee and not to the standards of specialty arabica.
Thanks for all your time & effort. Great content.
As a totally different twist, I've settled on consuming unfiltered Kafa Grande (Serbian brand) Turkish coffee. I just put 1 teaspoon in a large 16oz coffee mug, add water, then microwave for 2:44 (just below the boil-over time). The coffee comes out perfect for such a small amount of this intense powdered coffee. I do (3) coffees per morning and yet each bag lasts ~ (2) months. (6) bags are only $64 on Amazon, so my coffee habit costs only $0.175 per day. For a cappuccino, I recommend steam-frothed heavy cream. The combination comes out like a toasted marshmellow. Thanks again. Cheers!
There is this James Hoffmann guy, kinda into coffee. would be a great collab :)
My friends want you to do an "Is expensive beer actually worth it?" video where you get progressively more drunk as filming goes on lol.
🤦🏻♀️
That would be a better video and i don't drink, but love to watch alcoholics make fools of themselves.
A funny idea, but from a filming perspective, that sounds really hard to pull off 😆. You'd be racing against the clock sobering up between shots, or needing to re-dose just to stay drunk.
Yes, let's go down the Belgian Trappist rabbit-hole. I spent a few weeks there in the mid-2000s. It was a non-stop bender the entire trip...Belgium is to beer, as France is to wine. Cheers!
And 🇵🇱 polish people are watching you Ethan 😋make us proud hahah ❤❤
Specialty Roaster here to say that you can in fact measure and precisely define roastdegree!
A roast degree analyzer is a Small device that measures how much light gets reflected by the roasted coffee beans and gives you a value along the AGTRON scale.
25-45 translates to your typical dark roast, 50-65 would be medium and from 70 upwards you‘d call it a light roast.
Of course no two coffees roast the same but when you end the roast at the same temperature at similar roasting times you can get in a fairly narrow AGTRON range.
Apart from that, this Video really serves as a exceptionally well crafted entry Point for everyone dabbling into the vast world of coffee, so thanks!
And also congrats on the AeroPress sponsorship!
(P.S. If this video happens to get new people into coffee… please prioritize good quality coffee over unneccesarily expensive gear 🙏🏻
You‘d be suprised how far a ordinary frenchpress, a plastic V60 Dripper or the advertised AeroPress combined with a decent handgrinder can get you!)
I did come across the AGTRON scale and had several questions regarding it! Do you know how common it is with specialty roasters and when it first started to be used?
I think a really cool test would be to get two different green coffees and give them a side by side test at various AGRTON values
I think he did well in the sense that you don't have to buy coffee only based in the roast level label. Since it isn't regulated, you can label whatever you want. I believe that the agtron scale can be popularized since there are more options to get a roast degree analyzer. I think in the future we will have regulations in terms of roast level, that would be great in my opionion
color meters are a good way of ensuring consistency from roast to roast and getting a general idea of roast level, but the Frinsa Collective bean he showcased is a good example of why you can't completely blindly trust them; different processing methods etc. can pretty heavily influence the finished color while the flavor profile in terms of light/dark roast level could be similar, decaf is maybe the most extreme example where the decaffeination process changes the structure/chemistry of the bean so much that you need an entirely different frame of reference for color imo, and anaerobic coffees can taste good at much darker agtron levels than you could prefer for a washed coffee for example
@@EthanChlebowski I know onyx uses it but it’s not common
@EthanChlebowski I think the coffee determines the desired roast level. Not all flavors shine in a light roast, but conversely you might not want to lose what's shining in a light roast to a medium roast. Dark roast is for demonologists like Yuban. (My old pal)
For me as a coffee person. Light roast means I want to see pith on my beans and in my grinds, I'll be expecting something a bit more unique. Medium roast might have some pith, but might not. I'll be expecting something that tastes like Starbucks. Dark roast can get lost as far as I'm concerned.
Stumptown makes some good medium roast. Volcanica has some good med/light roast. But right now I'm bargain shopping Kirkland Ethiopian light roast $19.99/2lbs. It punches above its weight class!
My family have been growing coffee for more than a hundred years.
Currently, we get about 30$ for about 100 lb of dry coffee berry, which after processing turns into 60 lb of green coffee, which gets exported for approx 100$ per 100lb, which eventually gets sold for anywhere between 300$ to 3600$ per 100lb.
So, middle men plus processing takes the coffee from 20c/ lb that we get to average of 5$ / lb.
Wish my family we in the business of processing/exporting as the hardest part and the riskier part is growing but the least paid is the farmer.
This is why I really dig some specialty coffee shops buying directly from the farmers and a section of consumers starting to gravitate towards that.
Is there a way we can buy from you directly?
So roast and sell directly.
Sounds simple, but if they do that, they won't be able to reach the same consumers as if they sell them to the multinational companies. How will a coffee farmer in Uganda mass roast and export coffee to the masses around the globe?
@@Kewkky Excuses are easy.
I didn't hear one of the most important factors that can significantly impact the taste of coffee: Grinding! As an espresso and cappuccino enthusiast at home, I noticed a dramatic improvement in the taste of my shots after investing in a good grinder. It's not just about the grind size but also the consistency that a quality grinder provides. Therefore, a high-quality grinding machine is essential for achieving barista-level coffee. Maybe a French press might be more forgiving, I don't use it. Anyway, thank you for the great video.
The finer the grind the more important the grinder is. I started with a cheap ceramic one and my immersion brewing (french press) was still good. The espresso was night and day when I switched to the Kingrinder K2 though. French press was improved by being a little more balanced since there were fewer fines and coarser chunks, but immersion is pretty forgiving. Cold brew is the closest to fool proof because it’s so gentle.
also important to remember: the different ways to make coffee (amount of water, pressure, etc.) also affect the result. so in essence a good tasting coffee is a mix of the bean characteristics, the grinding and the brewing method. a bean that might taste terrible when ground up a certain size using a french press, might taste actually quite decent if ground up to a different grain and used with a mokka pot.
French press is very forgiving, yes. Any immersion process (French press, aeropress) is more forgiving than drip, espresso, etc.
You are right, but this video is not meant for that. The process of brewing coffee or making espresso would be an entirely separate video in and of itself
@@lijkenkist1 Absolutely, that makes perfect sense. Anyway, my additional point was directed towards the title: "Is expensive coffee actually worth it?" Essentially, even if you have the finest beans in the world, without proper treatment and preparation (such as roasting and grinding), it could result in a worst tasting coffee experience.
I feel like everyone here needs to meet James Hoffmann
His channel is AMAZING and wildly nerdy in the best way possible.
And he does use a proper grind for his test…
Cool but there's others that are also good as well too
Stoked to see you covered coffee! Excited to watch!
Lance the GOAT!
A legend appears! Glad to see you supporting Ethan, always nice to see some positive vibes here.
Ayyy our Brother Lance is here!
The Burr-father blesses this video
THE LEGEND IS IN THE COMMENTS
This channel and video is a PRIME example of why learning via video is so valuable. Large volume of information is compactly, yet digestibly presented with high-quality production value! Perfection!
Edit: spelling and grammar.
Right perfectly annoying way
Thank you for the thorough analyses, answering the questions in the back of my mind at each culinary turn.
My first comment ever with this account!😊. But I had to go back and login into a proper account to post here, because it only seemed fair
I came into specialty coffee only on 2019, though I’ve been drinking coffee, and I liked them all that while, all my life.
I learnt a lot from online resources shared by professionals, and seeing this makes me wish I’d seen this two years ago…,
There may be stuff you left out, I don’t care, and there may be stuff the old me would not understand either.
But you have offered a lot in such a small space of time and visuals.
As a coffee grower, processor, roaster and brewer ( yes I do all of it, and natural too while I’m at it ) I admire the way you touched points in every domain. This can be a small springboard for someone who latches on, it’s to be expected that only less than 2% would see this as basic inspiration. But for a whole lot of others such as me from 5 years ago, this is a great learning experience
I'm a bit spoiled. One of my really good friends is a café owner who imports, and custom blends different ones, and roasts in house. I'm usually the guinea pig for his different blends, and roasts he is testing, before he will sell it. I usually skip sponsor spots, but I will admit I absolutely love my aeropress, I've had it for about ten years now. I use it all the time, not shilling for them, I honestly just really like it, I even sent one to a friend in Washington state
Ethan you're absolutely killing it this last year with the videos. I love the single topic videos packed with information, comparisons and food porn. These videos have helped me change the way I look at certain foods.
I treat these deep dive videos like the superbowl 😂 I got TH-cam up on the living room TV, got my cup of coffee, and a spread of snacks. Please keep up these videos dude, hands down your channel is better than cable!
💯
Absolutely, the fact that these quality videos are freely watchable is out of this world
I do the exact same thing lol. always get so excited to increase my weird and rarely used knowledge
It is just show, entertaining stuff... but nothing to actually gain...
Ethan, do you every worry about the "Pepsi Challenge" effect when sip testing for these videos? Pepsi wins the sip test over Coke, because people prefer the sweeter, more citrus-y cola in an isolated sip, but drinking a full glass is a very different experience where many people far prefer Coke. New Coke was designed to win the Pepsi challenge but it was so cloyingly sweet and citrus-y it was unpalatable to drink a whole can. When I see cupping sip tests I always think of the failure of new coke and wonder if you're really finding your preferred coffee, or if the process is artifically pushing you into the "Pepsi" of the coffee world.
Interesting, I definitely have this problem with beer.
Very interesting insight
Very interesting. First time heard of that
nice point.. kinda like the way I prefer cold brew coffee to the traditional style, because I can't drink a whole mug of the coffee brewed with hot water, the taste is just so .. filling? it's hard to describe, but calling it the pepsi effect sounds easier. :D
@@MixedMuscleArtsdefinitely experienced this with beer! Beer also varies so much based on what you pair it with. I can't drink a whole pint of an IPA (or any hoppy beer) but I like the first sip, so I always pair IPAs with more salty and cheesy foods because they make IPAs taste better.
FRESHNESS!!! Ethan, can't believe you didn't talk about this. It's the one take away I make sure to tell the coffee curious who may not know. It will give them a huge jump in the quality of coffee they're drinking every day. It's a critical component of buying your coffee for home. Make a follow on video. Roasted coffee is best within 2 weeks!!!!
You mean the jar of instant coffee that's been in my pantry for years isn't nectar of the gods?
This isn't always the case...
Roasted coffee can be good for longer than two weeks. In fact, many light roasts need to be rested for a minimum of two weeks for brewing. This time allows the coffee to release excess CO2 created in the roast. James Hoffmann has an excellent video on the subject if you are interested.
Freshness is a big factor for sure. Light roasts are much more tolerant to (and prefer more) aging so that it can off-gas, but dark (e.g. second crack) roasts should be drank ideally within 1-2 weeks
Within two weeks?? For some roasts, some would say that you want to *wait* two weeks before brewing. Even for dark roasts, this is a really limited window. Most experts seem to say that you should ideally drink your coffee within 4 - 6 weeks of roasting. The specialty roaster I've been buying from says their light to medium roasted coffee is best within two months. And to be honest, it's not like the coffee will instantly turn bad outside that window either. Worrying too much about freshness will only lead you to waste a lot of perfectly good coffee. And if you got it direct from the roaster, you're already doing way better than supermarket coffee which has already been sitting on the shelf pre-ground for a month or two before it ended up in your home.
Not to be a party pooper, but you guys need to realize that most people either never make their own coffee, or they buy what's most convenient, which means either instant or preground. The biggest upgrade possible is having your coffee freshly ground. I've had coffee beans that I'd forgotten in a cupboard somewhere for over a year, I ground them, brewed them and they were still good. Yes, blander than normal, but still more than decent. Back when I was a student and didn't have a grinder, I used to buy ground coffee from a roaster near my house, and it was always the same story. I went to them, bought coffee, returned home and immediately brewed a cup. First one was always amazing. Second day and it was already crap. A week on, I might have just been brewing with soil.
I can see James Hoffmann watching this video and then going into full blown Heisenberg mode, showing up at Ethan's house and uttering "Stay out of my territory..." before backing away into the darkness of the night.
Also, I know it's an ad, but I've been using an Aeropress since about 2010. I even just made a cup with mine while starting this video. I hate how fake sponsorships are but honestly, it's my favorite way to brew. The company was created by the guy who made the Aerobee flying disc. He sadly sold the Aeropress and it does seem like the current owner is more interested in maximizing profits, charging about twice these days as in 2010. It's still worth the price of admission, things work amazing and last ages.
Also get a good hand grinder! I bought an 1zpresso JX grinder 3 years ago for about $110. The performance is incredible compared to anything electric in a similar price point. Quieter too and it's really not that hard to grind 15-20g of beans by hand. Nothing has really changed in terms of performance and it feels like it will last many more years.
Knowing James, he probably loves seeing new people entering the scene. Every time I've seen a non-coffee creator make a coffee video he's been in the comments encouraging people to get even more nerdy.
James Hoffmann is interesting/brilliant but he also likes to show off
Agreed about the aeropress. My favorite coffee is still french press, but my aeropress is second and there's nothing else even close. I use the inverted method with 18 grams of italian espresso beans, ground at 11 on a baratza encore, with 65 grams of water for 45 seconds. Even after all these years I'm still experimenting with water temperature, but my go-to is 15 seconds off boil.
@@JohnHaussershowing off how, exactly? I've yet to see a video of his that gives me that vibe....
@@BlueDragon1504agreed. he doesn't gatekeep. at worst, he might correct errors or clarify explanations, but he never tries to keep people out, and encourages them to go even deeper
I find that light, medium, and dark is more a way of getting a taste profile. Not really how light, medium, or dark, it is. I use that as a starter, but I do not use that as the final reason why I buy it.
This exactly. I take those terms "under advisement".
It's extremely inconsistent. Starbucks light roast coffee would have a similar taste profile (or in that range) compared to most specialty dark roasts. Also why the large majority of specialty roasters don't ever mention the roast profile on the bag of coffee. They roast it for the best flavour of that particular coffee.
Tasting notes are more accurate. Some light roasts can have almost no acidity and they will have notes like "nuts, graham cracker, cereal". I find those to be extremely boring. Others are bright and zesty with acidity, like "lemon, grapefruit, any citric sorbet, honey", while others may be more funky like "mango, berry jam" etc. All can be light roasts and be extremely different from one another. From haylike bad coffee that just shouldn't be roasted that light because of their inherent properties, to delicate bright coffees like African coffees, and wild naturals that smack you in the face (which I personally prefer as part of a blend moreso than pure).
It's why most specialty coffee roasters use tasting notes instead of just saying dark or light or medium.
@@TheRealAstro_ starbucks is the furthest thing from a standard or quality that anybody should consider or account for when it comes to coffee.
it shouldn't even warrant a mention. they roast the shit out of their beans. most people i have talked to about it are convinced it is an attempt to cover up the poor quality of beans they use/sell.
@@raifsevrence My espresso machine can't even make them taste worthy of drinking. I tried their coffee and had to throw it away as it was terrible, no matter what I did.
I think you've done a really great job here walking the line between coffee nerds and coffee amateurs, this video serves as a very good 'introduction to coffee' primer for the unwashed (hweh) masses.
Y'all don't sleep on the sponsored section. I've had an Aeropress since 2018 and it's been my brewer of choice since. There's so many ways you can brew with it, it's easy to clean, and it's actually unlikely that you will make a bad tasting cup with it; it requires less skill (or equipment i.e. gooseneck kettle) than something like a pour-over. Ethan it's actually so awesome that you got sponsored by them.
Starbucks over-roasts their beans. They do it on purpose because people mistake it for being “deeper.”
Many years ago, I couldn't place what I didn't like about the taste of Starbucks until someone mentioned “it's burnt”. Took a sip, and was like, “yep, never again”
They do way more than that! Stay away from this garbage! Not even fit to drink period!
Starbucks coffee tastes like it was roasted in the oil pan sludge of Seattle transit buses.
@@gonzotripz2366 Don't let them know you that you know their secret recipe! You will turn up missing! I wouldn't share this with no one!
@@quantumfx2677 😂😂😂😂 thanks I needed that laugh 😆
Water, beans, grinding and brewing method are all quite important.
I love my aeropress and pour overs.
water is super important , filtered definitely is best
Dude, yes! Medici! Thanks for representing us. Love seeing you at the shop!
I love this video. When I started my coffee journey about two years ago I went full into iced, brasilian, dark chocolate and nutty coffee. After a while I was in love with kenyan, sour and fruity as hell washed coffee and now I am looking for good balance between sours and bitters. 1st of July I am going to try my best in eliminations od Polish Aeropress Championship for the second time - wish me luck guys :D
Cant wait for more coffee related videos!
I don't know who u are and I don't even like coffee, but I watched all the 49-minute video just because u presented it so well. Great video and very interesting!
Thank you Ethan for so much info out of a bean! Awesome the world needs more of you. Keep going!
The conclusion going over what you went over in detail as a summary was really appreciated!!!
I’m convinced this video could have been 5 minutes in length.
The format of your videos is giving me whiplash. You keep bringing up topics then saying you’ll talk about it later, pose a question, then discuss something from the first minute. It’s hard to follow.
I find the back and forth tiring as well.
He needs to keep you engaged for the youtube ratio. If not, he gets no money. Kinda...😅
“We’ll get to it shortly”
Hmm i think thats just personal preference, I personally find his videos to be well structured. Unlike most videos on food topics they are much more technical and thorough, Rather than a quick "this is this", It gives you the information to understand and come to your own conclusions, While not having to do half the effort into research.
ethan, this channel has easily become my absolute favorite channel to watch-the way you come off as so passionate about these topics and the care you put into these deep dives is so cool and insanely inspiring!!
I have become so much more confident in the kitchen and in learning new things because of what I’ve learned from you, thank you so much!!
Fantastic video Ethan! As a coffee nerd myself, this video is a proof that we never stop learning new stuff along our coffee journey. Thanks so much!
Great work @EthanChlebowski . As a grower, I think you had a key point with "geisha is whats popular now, who knows what people will like in five years". I'm currently planting out over 20 mind blowing and little known varieries from ethiopian landrace strains like WushWush and Papayo, Sudan Rume, naturally decaf "Laurina Bourbon", Abisinian Java, Yemenese Mocha, chiroso, Venezuelan Monte Claro and criollo, and even some rare and unique Libericas and Canephoras. Im still searching for a few. Namely C. Liberica Excelsa, C. Stenophyla, C. Eugenoides, and the Jember crosses between Liberica and arabica. But not Geisha. Geisha took so long to be "discovered" because nobody liked the flavor until a hype cycle started in Panama around some sort of floral acidity obsession. But real specialty coffee flavor is just getting started. I focus on naturals to exentuate the complex flavors nacent in each variety from our organic regenerative agroforestry project. Anarobic is interesting. Although "anarobic fermentation" is a redundancy. But my take is that coferment is essentially flavored coffee. Still, I may eventually experiment with resting or coprocessing coffee with porcelain and criolle cocoa beans or pulp. its a big world out there. Keep up the good work Ethan! Btw, most coffee your drinking is actually part Robusta, as most comercial crops are now hybrids from the Timor cross. (Usually derived from catimore or Sarchimore) Which are, in my humble opinion, utter crap. Beautiqueen, over productive plants with a profile of cardboard with sawdust and cocoa powder. Its something like 80% of "100% arabica" coffee in the US.
Also, I'll be the one to say smart move on using a blade grinder for the green beans. I wouldn't ruin a burr set on those, either.
Why would green beans ruin a burr set?
@@CWGminer Roasted beans have air in them, meaning they're brittle and thus easy to break down.
Unroasted, or green, coffee beans have no air in them, making them *much* denser, and thus much harder to break down.
Burr sets are made to break down roasted coffee beans. While all sharp things dull over time, burrs can dull *much* faster when subject to unroasted coffee beans because of how much denser they are.
a grinders ability to grind green beans and not choke/stall is a good way to show it has ample torque to grind any roasted beans from light upwards.
Expensive though it really depends who it is. when it comes to coffee usually if it means that the coffee growers, the actual farmers, not Nestle or some other food corporation is getting the money, then it's worth it.
These videos are so thorough, dynamic, and insightful. Literally a documentary. I love the experiments so much. Seeing them mean more than just being presented numbers and data- though, when you do refer to studies it’s such a treat ❤
I got an aeropress in the last couple months, and I can't believe how good of a cup of coffee it makes for how inexpensive they are, and it is crazy portable.
Great video! I'm looking forward to trying more coffee varieties!
James Hoffman help me
Jesus ☕️ Christ
James Hoffmann BTW, he has two 'n's in his name.
@@ElvenSpellmaker he obviously doesn't as he's credited twice in the decription as James Hoffman.
@@TheGaymo it's with two n's. Ethan dropped the ball there
yeah but who gives a shit
Seriously, the Aeropress is such a great brewer. One of the rare times where I am in full agreement with the promotion of the sponsor. It can even do espresso-style drinks - not real espresso, but I have gotten very concentrated coffee from it and with a fine mesh metal filter even get some decent body to it. Without the plunger and the right grind, it can be used as a very easy pour-over as well.
Micro plastics though?
It seems nice, but no plastic is safe when heated so high. I would like the glass version.
You should check out Final Press - the largest ever Kickstarter for a coffee product. It's made from stainless steel and is a fraction of the size of an Aeropress. I replaced my Aeropress with it initially because of microplastic concerns, and now haven't looked back
@@adambrown7895 the reviews on it show lots of negative reviews.
@@adambrown7895 many people said it didnt taste like good coffee.
Never heard anyone mispronounce “Folgers” before. Well done, Ethan.
So it wasn’t just me.
Came looking for this comment! 😀
@@trae74same here!
Waiting to see how Maxwell House could also be pronounced (Okay Boomer…) ah… the 80’s TV commercials with there jingles
@@rogerchiu2210Listen to a Canadian. 😂
Good informative video. I don't think it was super practical though for people wondering if they should try that $75 bag. It boils down to taste of course. Most people want "traditional" coffee like "coffee flavor" which usually means a nutty or chocolatey coffee darker roast with some bitterness. When you pay $75 per bag for example, you're getting more exotic notes such as lemongrass, strawberry, raspberry, caramel, etc. Cross-ferments have also been really popular in the specialty scene and a cross ferment with Mango for example yields something resembling mango tea. So really when you're looking to try new coffee it boils down to how flexible are you with your definition of coffee? Most people's minds are blown when they drink a coffee that taste like grape soda, mango juice, or a caramel instead of coffee. Also spending $75 on a bad without buying your own grinder or kettle with thermometer is like driving a BMW twin turbo without Premium gas. The performance and gas milage is significantly degraded. This means that, in my opinion, "finding beans you like" first is not super accurate. I'd perfect one brewing method first and then try different beans as the brewing method and the cup itself can change the flavor drastically. That way you have a blank canvas each time you try new beans.
Also Geisha, Java and Typica are Arabica beans so I'm not exactly certain why they are all in the same graphic? It's like putting a "BMW", X3, X2, X1 side-by-side in a graphic.
Great video. As someone who’s spent a portion of my career in training personnel, I love your use of focused objectives and review.
I was absolutely clenching expecting a Trade ad, only to be pleasantly surprised that the Aeropress one
I know, right??
Yeah being sponsored by a coffee maker company instead of a coffee company is a lot more ethical
aeropress has been taken over by a money grubbing investment group. Our old aeropress is dead.
Aeropress is a cool sponsor, but what's wrong with Trade?
@@NoahDVS I don't like them because they don't ship to Europe. Other than that I'm unsure, maybe there was a controversy? Not that I've heard, though. Maybe it's a general feel of "sponsor bad". Or it's just fun to not see trade because it's so common.
17:28 Is that a blade grinder? You're going to upset a lot of the coffee nerds online by doing that
He mentioned on another comment that he only used it for the green bean test so he doesn't ruin his burr grinder.
I knew this question was going to popup haha, here's my explanation:
Q: Why did you use a blade grinder?!
A: I only used the blade grinder for the green coffee taste test. Green coffee is extremely hard and dense unlike porous roasted coffee so I didn't want to ruin my burr grinder that was used for all of the other coffees in this video.
I wouldn't put green coffee in my expensive burr grinder, too. I doubt thats the primary grinder of someone trying >100$/kg coffee.
I wonder if Pestle and Mortars are considered "best" for green coffee beans.
@@EthanChlebowskishouldn’t grind size be a variable in the experimentation, though, if you are talking about extraction?
I love my Aeropress and my V60... it's wild that the ENTRY level brewers are also the end game brewers... lol it's such an unexpected thing for such a deep hobby (yes, coffee is a hobby... trust me readers)
Thats until you start considering grinders… Thats where the end game money goes.
I guess it's a hobby if you have no life, but it impresses Momma that you have a hobby!
@@MrOldclunker you talk like you're the kind of dude who thinks Dunkin Donuts coffee is gourmet and drinks whatever his mom keeps in the cupboard
The real enjoyment in coffee as a hobby is that you can get everything from Aeropress and V60 to french press, moka pot or your average coffee machine (or even espresso machine) and enjoy them all for different reasons. And brewing with all of them is exciting in some way.
@@soupisgood44 Come on man, don't sink down to that idiot's level by just throwing random insults hoping one lands. Just ignore him. I don't even like coffee but recognize it as a perfectly fine hobby, that isn't a contentious statement at all and anyone that thinks it is is so young their opinion doesn't matter or are just intentionally trying to be stupid to get a rise out of others...which also points to being too young (at least mentally) for their opinion to matter.
I have been coffee nerding since 2020, and you managed to not only make a great beginner video, but also teach me something new.
Fantastic video. I wish I could dive headlong into coffee and wine professionally. There’s something borderline transcendent about the experiences we get from such complex and beautiful consumables, and their ties to our culture and habits.
I suspect I may be buying half a dozen Aeropresses for my family members for Christmas. Seems like a really solid product, and your pitch for it was on point. Thanks for all the effort!
Great vid! I especially loved the concise but thoroughness of the process section. No one ever does this breakdown.
That said, so much of the content here is almost entirely useless to vast majority of home brewers, as the differences discussed here all go right out the window for someone who can't get a quality extraction.
- WATER
- uniform grind
- considered brewing methodology to match your specific coffee and brewer
These are all necessary in order to get any coffee bean to taste like what it was roasted to taste like. Without them, you'll end up with mostly noise in the cup, and won't be any better off for it... Knowing Ethan's interest for depth, I expect he already knows this and is likely planning a companion brewing vid.
I have to ask - what does "noise in the cup" even mean?
@@PhysicsGamer hahaha... I meant it like a signal:noise ratio. You'll mostly be tasting a mix of over- and under-extracted coffee, with at best only a hint of what it actually has to offer. That experience is all most home brewers know.
As a coffee nerd myself I appreciate this video
What's happening here at 00:42 ?
Packing coffee in a coffee bag.
Ethan I don't think you understand how much I love your content. I'll keep saying this over and over, but keep it up dude. I've been following you since your early days. I don't even know how many subs you had. 10,000? Now look at you. Informative content. Fun to watch. I always learn something new. You're fucking awesome.
Thank you very much for making this video. As a great fan of coffee I'm amazed how complex the production of coffee beans are. Just bought a coffee grinder. From now on I'll focus more on the beans I'm going to buy. ❤
The moment I saw a blade grinder, I saw lance hendrick and James Hoffman astral projections in the back of my mind nodding in disappointment.
What a great introductory video into coffee! Really well researched and discussed. It's obviously very difficult to go truly in-depth on coffee, since it's such a staggeringly deep rabbit hole but this is exactly what I was hoping it'd be; a great introduction that makes sense for any beginner! Thank you for the great information as always!
Ethan Chlebowski I can't tell you how much I love your approach to these foods. Very scientific and as unbiased as possible please don't ever stop.
I'm not a huge coffee fanatic, before I say this: but I own an Aeropress and I love it. I do follow a few groups online and it's honestly interesting to see someone use it in the factory-recommended way and not the "inverted method" that many Aeropress users rave about. I think a channel like yours should do a video to see if there's any actual difference in taste etc. between the two methods.
Also what I've found out too is the Temp. of the Water and what Water you Do also use with the Beans as it Does make a change it a bit, as i've been brewing a lot as of late and it's great to experiment here and there with Coffee's.
If you mentioned that shade grown coffee is superior to full sun I missed it.
Coffee farms decimate bird habitat and are in full sun. Some farms do plant bananas to provide shade, but not many. Coffee planted in forests are shade grown and preserve bird habitat.
Wait. How is shade grown coffee superior, apart from its being more environmentally friendly?
@@ZY1982 Shade grown coffee ripens slower allowing more complexity and flavor to develop. Coffee used to always be shade grown until more sun tolerant varieties were developed.
I love these deep dive videos, definitely some of my favorites.
If I may give some constructive feedback though, the phrase "We'll get to that shortly" or "We'll get to that later" comes up VERY frequently in all of these deep dive videos. It can be a tad aimless and distracting. I understand the need to acknowledge that undressed concerns will be realized, but it would seem more professional and curated without the large quantity of "as we'll see later" comments unnecessarily padding the information in each section. We're already looking forward to getting to those parts, and know they're coming based on the organizational graphics you present.
Please keep making these!
I do agree the videos could be quite a bit shorter if all the delaying to get to topics, and talking about delaying upcoming topics was cut out. Also much less distracting that way for sure
I'll work on it, thanks for watching!
I agree with this. The repeated mentions of content coming later come off as padding. A single summary at the front would be enough and not belabour the point.
The deeper the better, I learn so much from these, I listen several times when needed but cutting out parts would be a disservice, thanks for trusting us with the whole piece! Worst case to satisfy the haters u break it up & release in chunks for the lazies who can’t be bothered with scrolling (tho I feel not necessary if chapter labels)
@@jjjames6894 I don't want parts cut at all either, I love deep dives. It's not about length, it's just about structure and organization, and my view of how to improve on the flow.
Definitely not a hater here!
Gesha is definitely worth the price, however, not as a daily drinker, it's more of an occasional treat, I just vacuum bag doses of whole beans and keep them in the freezer for special occasions. This was a great general overview of actual coffee knowledge, not just what the commercial producers want you to know, but, like you said, despite the length, it's only really scratching the surface.
Dear Ethan,
Thank you very much for this great, beautiful and very comprehensive video about coffee beans and the whole process with everything on it.
I have just seen your video for the second time and next week I will watch it for the third time. I have learned a lot from it thanks to your explanation. They now know much more about the coffee beans to be able to make a better choice.
Once again, thank you very much for this very comprehensive and very informative video about coffee beans.
Your videos are incredibly helpful. Please keep sharing such valuable content. Thank you!
I disagree with that you shouldn't go for light/medium/dark, at least in that regard if you prefer light, dark won't be your favourite and if you prefer dark, light won't be your favourite. at least that should've been mentioned, maybe i did not see it though.
Specialty coffee isn't really roasted "dark" though. Past 2nd crack all coffee starts to taste the same. If you like dark roast that's fine, but then most of the details aren't as important.
The main point is that even if you prefer *a* light roast, you might not like other light roasts, and that just because you found *a* light roast that you like doesn't mean that there aren't medium/dark roasts you might also like.
I have coffee broker friends that sold a lot of coffee to two "major" coffeehouses. The brokers told me that the coffeehouses paid-up for premium coffee but were notorious for rejecting shipments that didn't pass quality control.
The rejected it, but used it. They know they get a knocked off price if they claim a precentage of shipments didn't meet so called quality control. It's a f'ing coffee bean for goodness sake.
@@MrOldclunker There were rejection processes and a lot of money at stake. The brokers weren't just going to leave millions of dollars on the table.
@@MrOldclunkerthat’s not how it works. The coffee contract is on SAS/replace, meaning that the contract is “subject to approval of sample” where the sample is not approved, it must be replaced by importer. Only on a super premium lot where there is not an available replacement would the contract price be renegotiated. If the importer is not in agreement that the coffee has had a quality issue, the importer will void the contract and resell it.
@@MrOldclunker You don't know what you're talking about.
Guess you didn't get a lot of sleep making this video.
These deep dives are awesome. I’d love to see these on a monthly/10 per annum type schedule along with regular weekly (at least) shorter videos in the 5-20 min range. Consistent output would be habit forming and keep viewers engaged. I used to watch your content all the time and think of something you mentioned while at the market or when planning meals, but now I feel like I’ve only seen 3-4 videos of yours this year. I can’t spontaneously watch a 45 min deep dive so whenever I come across them I have to add to watch later and then remember to make time to watch it. I miss the bite-sized stuff.
Great video! You took concepts that can sometimes get too complex and made them super relatable and easy to understand!
Wait, so which was his favorite? Must have missed it
Yes. What was your favourite Ethan?
Medici in black
i feel like the script was out of ChatGPT because he also said he would cover decaf “later in the video” and never did. Also he repeated some of the same lines several times
@@mikaelwink2217
Totally agree. Lots of "you're probably wondering" "well get to later" etc fluff
Fole-gurs? It's fole-jers. Come on Ethan, didn't you know the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup?
That caught my attention, but not nearly as much as his use of a long 'a' in "arabica". He said the word *so* many times in the video, and I've never heard anyone else pronounce it like that. Given how central it is to the subject, that seems like a serious gaff.
@@BruceS42 Yeah... arabica as aRAYbica really got to me.
Bro said Folgers with a hard G?
I've just started watching but I'm already so excited to see what will happen in this great video. Because it is Ethan and I strongly believe he made a great content again. Besides I was recently thinking about the topic but was lazy to go over all content over the internet. Luckily, I've discovered this channel thank to TH-cam's algorithm.
Man, I absolutely loved this video. I went to a coffee tour in Salento, Colombia (south america), and I learned 80% of the content of this video there, picking the cherries all the way up to brewing my cup of coffee, and the information on this video is accurate and it was amazing seeing you deep diving into every single aspect of it. Amazing 👏🏻😍
Also, one thing he didn't mention is that when planted, the Arabica tends to absorb the nutrients from the ground, changing the flavor profile, so the specialty coffee in Colombia usually has banana tress, flowers, limes, etc around the coffe plants to alter their flavor profile, it's great 😍
God damn this guy babbles on forever without saying anything. Jesus! Get. To. The. Point.
Literally did no comparisons either
if you are on computer download browser extension called "video speed controller", with it you can speed up his blabbering with a hotkey (v is the default) and when he gets to the important part, with the same hotkey (v) it will go back to normal and if you are on the phone just press anywhere in the screen and keep pressing, the video speed will automatically goes to x2 and the sec u let go it goes back to normal
This video did not need to be 50 minutes long.
Are there any non-plastic presses you could recommend? since heat and plastic are not a good combination
You’re one of my favorite youtube channels right now, because I love your deep-dives and your side-by-side taste tests. Thank you for geeking-out so hard on specific food topics, and de-mystifying why we would see different price-points for similar things at the grocery store. For me, it felt like this video was edited in such a way that you felt like you had to do a non-linear timeline- maybe to keep our interest in a longer video? Let me assure you that you are fascinating, and you can geek out even harder with chemical compounds, just please start with things like “What is a coffee bean?” and start in the ground. Tell me it’s a cherry with all the layers. Tell me about altitude, etc. We don’t have to get all Christopher Nolan editing Memento about it, I’d happily watch you for over an hour just fine.
Please don't sponsor products directly related to the video topic. It makes you less trustworthy
Nah, this is a bad take for coffee. The brewing method has nothing to do with the outcomes of the tests, as long as they are all brewed with the same device. The Aeropress actually works better than something like a V60 or Kalita Wave, etc., because it takes away more of the change the brewing technique can impart on flavor.
Nonsense. The sponsored content does not inthis case impugn the accuracy and independence of the overall content. Yes in this instance one3 has nothing to do with the other.
I appreciate the technicality of all your videos. I've been drinking coffee for 64 years (began when I was 12): I choose by just one parameter...how does it smell in the bag. I care about the smell probably more than the taste. My preferred method of preparation is "Cowboy Coffee." When my ulcers were a huge problem many years ago I learned that filtering the coffee inflamed my ulcers but soaking the grounds in my cup never bothered them. I've recently changed to using a small Espresso Machine and having a double-dose every morning. That's basically the same as Cowboy style.
You would love the Aeropress!
Great vidz! I sometimes roast my own beans…I get hot air popcorn poppers (rotator ones) from my local thrift store and crank them up…work great and got a pretty good product with some practice.
As somebody with an Aeropress already, it really IS a great vessel to start enjoying and understanding coffee.
That was awesome! Great video! Please make another one touching the points that were not spoken in this one like decaf or different ways to brew. Thank you!
I really enjoyed the video and loved what you did! Thanks and congrats! Just a small note: the Starbucks coffee you chose, Pike Place, is a traditional blend named after the first Starbucks store location in Seattle. It’s crafted to have a standard, plain taste.
Since you’re comparing specialty coffee with other types, it might be interesting to compare Pike Place with one of Starbucks’ single-origin options, like Kenya, Rwanda, or Guatemala, as they’re also specialty-grade. This could offer a clearer perspective on how the quality and flavor of commercial and specialty coffees from the same origin stack up.
Ps: there are also Starbucks blends where the beans are blended after the roasting, I recommend the christmas blend (red packaging).
Great video. Razorback living in Austin here. Same? Onyx definitely my favorite Fayetteville roaster.
Ethan C., Thanks for a very informative video on coffee beans! I got a lot more than I expected out of this. (And by the way, I'm subscribed to your videos and I am enjoying them.)
I use my expensive grinder and espresso machine to make my daily espresso. I have been studying what many experts say about coffee and beens (and espresso) for years. I did not expect much that was new from your video, and I wondered if, as a talented amateur venturing into this field, you might occasionally blunder. But you did your homework, everything you spoke about was informative, and you covered a lot of what many experts spend little time on. Thanks!! - toby
For a person who is planning on opening up a coffee shop and carries shit knowledge, this video is a good boost to their knowledge! thank you so much
Thanks for helping us understand how coffee is sourced and roasted.
I love your thought process and dedication to dissemination of information. So interesting!
Ethan, I have been a specialty coffee roaster for about 6 years and subscribed to you nearly as long. You’re my favorite TH-camr and I have enjoyed your scientific approach to all things food. That being said, I couldn’t be more excited to dive into a video of yours than this one. :-)
I take high grade dark, medium & light roast & mix them every time I blend. The complexity is amazing. Testing out 30/70 ratios 20/80 etc.
Sticking with a single roast or brand is boring AF.
Coffee buying is so overwhelming sometimes-thank you for breaking down flavor and price differences! 🌟☕ Can’t wait to see your top picks.
What a good work! I'm a barista and I was genuinely happy about this video. We need to get more people to know what they are drinking, and why they like it, and why it's important to pay what is worthy
Thank you so much for your hard work, researching and making this video. I really enjoy watching your "deep-dive" videos!
Fun video! Thanks!! I searched 20 years for a good coffee and stumbled on it by chance. I drink it everyday but occasionally try something different. Fun to try but every test confirms how great my daily coffee is.
* in the honey process, the mucilage/mucilage doesn't cover the green bean directly but covers the parchhment which is a shell-like structure around the green bean that protects the green bean during the drying process.. this is also interesting to note because in Sumatra they hull (remove the parchment surrounding the green bean) before it's fully dried and finish drying the green beans. This is wild and I've never tried that type of coffee yet but I can only imagine the pressure it puts on the hulling machine to do that
Giving some interaction so others can be recommended this video. A very cool dive into what makes coffee different. I see people ask about other factors that affect flavor, but I think this has been a fantastic video on the coffee itself!
This was an incredible video, lots to learn about coffee.
Thank you Ethan!
There was one thing I heard that I wasn’t sure if I heard right which was the thing about Peaberry coffee.
The first time I heard about Peaberry coffee was in Costa Rica, and I think that on the tour of the plantation they had said that the berry in Peaberry had three beans, instead of the normal two.
Still an incredible video, with so much great information!!
Hey, that $75 coffee it's actually from my local roaster. Onyx is my favorite coffee company. I'm clearly biased because I have an onyx a quarter mile from my house but I've tried tons of different coffees all over the country and onyx is always amazingly consistent. They have coffees that I love for a cheap as $18 like geometry but my favorite coffee of all time is onyx's tropical weather for $21. It's really cool to see my local coffee roaster being recognized as one of the best coffee roasters in the world by so many people.
Good breakdown, I've been drinking/buying/selling coffee for 30+ years and learned from this. It's left me with some questions for my own tastes, so informative too.
Thanks!!! Between you and @LanceHedrick I have upped my game substantially. Lance taught me about time and weight being the primary variables in the espresso game... And you my good sir have just explained how to find and understand my coffee. Found a local roaster In Ridgewood NJ - REY SOL only one in the area that had the info you talked about Alt, Process, notes.... Well I can never go back to Starbucks now that I know what real coffee can taste like. Keep the knowledge flowing and Thanks AGAIN!!!
Great video, indeed, the first one about something I knew absolutely nothing about!
Quick question for connoisseurs: I love coffee flavour and smell, like the powdered one and I fusing it in milk as well, but I hate the water beverage taste, it's too flat and bitter. I tried good espressos and good pour overs, still not convinced, either too burnt or similar to tea (which I like, but it's a different thing). What should I try? I love acid food but not paired with bitter (like dark chocolate with too many fruity and citrus notes)
First time watching, been recommended before, I love all the info, thank you for getting so technical! One thing though, could you possibly get some sound deadening? The echo was fairly distracting in this video
I also found the echo and audio distracting but really enjoyed the info, I don’t think most of the channels videos sound like this one but most of them are quite informative and enjoyable.
Super informative and comprehensive video on Coffee. I'm a home roaster myself and one of the greatest joys is to roast coffees from all over the world and find out which is best for me. I have narrowed my favorites to coffees from Indonesia Torajah, Sumatran Mandheling, Papua New Guinea, Colombian and Brazilian coffees. They deliver consistently great tasting and of course home roast fresh coffee for me.