Hi! My name is James, and I make videos about anything and everything to do with coffee, occasionally food and sometimes business/entrepreneurship. I create how-tos, guides, reviews, vlogs, video essays and mini-documentary films. In the real world, I've started a few companies, I wrote "The World Atlas of Coffee" and "How To Make The Best Coffee At Home". I do a little advisory work for startups too.
If you want to get in touch, drop me a line but please read these two things first:
1. I don't do paid reviews. I have a Patreon that helps me buy the products I want to review to prevent bias (then I give them away!)
2. I get a lot of email, so sadly I can't help with queries about which equipment you should buy.
TO GET IN TOUCH PLEASE REACH OUT VIA WEBSITE: www.jameshoffmann.co.uk/contact-me
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James Hoffmann
The latest Americano video raised a lot of questions. We did some follow-up testing to answer a few of them. (Sorry for the long post!)
1. Degassing espresso in the chamber vacuum.
A lot of people requested that we try to degas the espresso before adding it to the steamed water. The taste impact was surprisingly minimal - both on the shot itself and also on the final drink.
2. Should we be steaming water for filter coffee?
I won't lie, this one made me nervous. We tested this with pour-overs brewed on a V60, using water heated to 92°C. If I'm honest, the jury is still out on this one. The steamed water was probably reliably detectable in blind testing, but we still don't have enough data to be conclusive, and frankly, any improvement is so minimal that I just don't think it is worth the effort. The difference wasn't flavour, as much as the steamed water having possible, maybe slightly better texture. But nothing like the difference in an americano.
3. Can you aerate boiler water to make it taste better?
We tried aerating water with a little electric whisk. In a blind tasting we couldn't tell the difference between this and the straight boiler water. This was kind of surprising, and something I had expected to work. I have a bunch of theories, but I don't really know what I'm talking about in the realm of dissolved gases. We have more tests to do here though!
4. Can you put this on a menu in a cafe?
I don't think the sound of steaming water belongs in a busy cafe. It's not good. However, the steamed americano/hot aerocano/the black coffee cappuccino doesn't make a terrible noise, and does taste pretty good. It isn't on the official menu, but if you happen to be in Prufrock* in London, then you can now get a Steamed Americano there. (Crema will be skimmed before the espresso is steamed with the cold water, of course).
*I am involved in Prufrock, so it seems appropriate to declare this!
There are a couple more things to test, and if we find anything notable or end up understanding what is causing the change, then we'll let you know!
4 weeks ago | [YT] | 405
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James Hoffmann
We are excited to offer another worldwide coffee tasting, and this time we’ll be exploring fermentation. At this stage we’d love any coffee roasters around the world, who are interested in taking part, to sign up to the newsletter here: thefermentationproject.com/
Signing up just means you get more information about the purchasing process, it isn’t a commitment to anything!
(Don’t sign up if you just want to taste - more info for you will come later, when we launch the first video.) If you want to help spread the word, or encourage your favourite roaster to sign up, then do share the link with them! It’s also linked on my Instagram and Facebook profiles.
It’s going to be super interesting, and the big worldwide tastings are always a tonne of fun. More to be revealed soon!
2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,070
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James Hoffmann
BARISTA SURVEY: The Cappuccino Index - forms.gle/DZFThBdjWi1ggVwBA
How long does it take for a barista to earn enough money to buy a cappuccino in their own coffee shop? What does that tell us about different economies and coffee cultures around the world?
I last did this survey maybe a decade ago, and it was super interesting, and I really want to run it again to collect more data. Obviously, all the findings will be shared (the data is anonymous). Hopefully it can also help with benchmarking wages for baristas in different parts of the world!
If you work in a coffee shop/serve coffee anywhere, I'd love for you to take 1 minute to share some info. If you don't, then any sharing with people who do would be very much appreciated. I want to try to get as much data from different countries as possible.
Thank you!
James
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 753
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James Hoffmann
We made this a couple of years ago, but the idea was to make something evergreen. However, it would also be remiss not to note that there is a new edition of The World Atlas of Coffee, which makes a lovely gift. There are a few signed copies left in the US warehouse here: us.tenshundredsthousands.com/products/the-world-at…
Also, signed copies for everyone else are here: shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/the-world-atlas…
5 months ago | [YT] | 281
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James Hoffmann
We made a coffee cup! I know a lot of folk don't enjoy Shorts (I can't argue with you), so may have missed this announcement. We debated on making this a normal video, but it didn't seem worth it for something quite short.
The print on it is a single-run, limited-edition print, but the shape will be around for a while!
Also, we are working on some solutions for the places we're currently unable to ship to. We wish global logistics was a little easier than it is!
Finally, this video features the single most awful mug that I own...
6 months ago | [YT] | 234
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James Hoffmann
The new 3rd edition of the World Atlas of Coffee is out pretty soon. If you/your coffee shop or coffee business wants to stock then we can connect you directly with the publishers. Let us know you're interested here: forms.gle/DdGHU1KzRfk9xjK28
If you are after a copy for yourself (Thank you!) There are lots of links here: linktr.ee/jimseven including options for signed copies in different parts of the world.
8 months ago | [YT] | 467
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James Hoffmann
I really did enjoy this cocktail! (And getting the opportunity to have Kevin make me several other delicious things that evening was an absolute treat.) I want to mess around with concentrated Guinness more because the flavour was so interesting!
11 months ago | [YT] | 384
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James Hoffmann
Please share your decaf results!
forms.gle/44iFdEfNPc4pnCUt5
We've made a form to submit your tasting experience. It's fairly in-depth, but you don't have to fill everything in if you don't want to - do please just share what you're happy to!
1 year ago | [YT] | 562
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James Hoffmann
The Decaf Project is well underway! The next video in the series will be out on Friday. If you are interested in joining the tasting still, then a few roasters worldwide have some stock left - but not much! www.thedecafproject.com/ for more info and to get in on this one-time-only experience...
1 year ago | [YT] | 586
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James Hoffmann
I was delighted to play a small part in this delightful video. If you're interested in cooking, the history of fine dining, molecular gastronomy, coffee, tea, recipe development, edible pond scum and more - then I strongly recommend checking it out. @ChrisYoungCooks is making incredible videos, so if you've any interest in food at all then subscribing is a very sensible thing to do.
1 year ago | [YT] | 529
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