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!

@TheRealAstro_

22 күн бұрын

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.

@MeriaDuck

22 күн бұрын

Yes on all those videos. We all know and love James Hoffman's perspective, I'd love yours as well.

@JGenM

22 күн бұрын

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.

@kebo4660

22 күн бұрын

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!

@UnholynessPlays

22 күн бұрын

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.

@maryrowe3981

22 күн бұрын

🤦🏻‍♀️

@MrOldclunker

22 күн бұрын

That would be a better video and i don't drink, but love to watch alcoholics make fools of themselves.

@TheRmbomo

22 күн бұрын

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.

@kebo4660

22 күн бұрын

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!

@beatazurich

22 күн бұрын

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!)

@EthanChlebowski

22 күн бұрын

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

@gonzaloarias8442

22 күн бұрын

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

@JustCallMeCharlie

22 күн бұрын

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

@kalixmaxwell4742

22 күн бұрын

@@EthanChlebowski I know onyx uses it but it’s not common

@brandonhoffman4712

22 күн бұрын

​@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!

Stoked to see you covered coffee! Excited to watch!

@throwinafitz

22 күн бұрын

Lance the GOAT!

@user-pk6fk5ns1s

22 күн бұрын

A legend appears! Glad to see you supporting Ethan, always nice to see some positive vibes here.

@SamsonOng

22 күн бұрын

Ayyy our Brother Lance is here!

@MiltonGeorges

21 күн бұрын

The Burr-father blesses this video

@rajanand5873

21 күн бұрын

THE LEGEND IS IN THE COMMENTS

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.

@Yupppi

22 күн бұрын

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.

@elmartell5724

22 күн бұрын

Is there a way we can buy from you directly?

@evil_twit

22 күн бұрын

So roast and sell directly.

@Kewkky

22 күн бұрын

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?

@nyanuwu4209

22 күн бұрын

@@Kewkky Excuses are easy.

James Hoffman help me

@JohnHausser

22 күн бұрын

Jesus ☕️ Christ

@ElvenSpellmaker

22 күн бұрын

James Hoffmann BTW, he has two 'n's in his name.

@TheGaymo

22 күн бұрын

@@ElvenSpellmaker he obviously doesn't as he's credited twice in the decription as James Hoffman.

@alessandrofinocchi5608

22 күн бұрын

​@@TheGaymo it's with two n's. Ethan dropped the ball there

@susugam3004

21 күн бұрын

yeah but who gives a shit

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.

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!!!!

@KaitouKaiju

21 күн бұрын

You mean the jar of instant coffee that's been in my pantry for years isn't nectar of the gods?

@KnowledgePerformance7

20 күн бұрын

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.

@Ghostrander

20 күн бұрын

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

@konga382

19 күн бұрын

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.

@959tolis626

19 күн бұрын

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.

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 KZread 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!

@fenner1122

22 күн бұрын

💯

@casssieboy

22 күн бұрын

Absolutely, the fact that these quality videos are freely watchable is out of this world

@MetalThunder3

20 күн бұрын

I do the exact same thing lol. always get so excited to increase my weird and rarely used knowledge

@otajonh

20 күн бұрын

It is just show, entertaining stuff... but nothing to actually gain...

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.

@homedepotindustrialfan936

21 күн бұрын

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.

@neozoen

21 күн бұрын

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.

@johnathanrhoades7751

20 күн бұрын

French press is very forgiving, yes. Any immersion process (French press, aeropress) is more forgiving than drip, espresso, etc.

@lijkenkist1

20 күн бұрын

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

@gorandjalevski8839

20 күн бұрын

@@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.

Classic fallacy is that something that is expensive due to rarity and/or demand is also equally better. With common sense it's immediately obvious that is not what guided the price. I always try to buy as light roasted coffee as possible these days, because that often means that 1. there's rich flavour profile that's worth presenting, which indicates good beans 2. the roaster isn't trying to hide the poor quality of beans by roasting them out of all flavour. Not that there aren't good darker roasts, but with them you're just rolling the dice unless you're familiar with the product without any hints. Also prefer, when possible, buying from specialty shops because you get to see the beans before buying the bag, you even get to sniff them if you want and they can recommend you this or that based on your liking, and they rarely overroast beans to hide flavours (instead of roasting them for specific flavours) unlike market brands. The best part about it is their advice though. You can ignore just about everything in choosing coffee and just ask what they recommend you based on what you want, as long as you understand how to brew lighter and darker roasts for their potential. And you can almost guarantee the beans are freshly roasted when you buy from a specialty shop, unlike those market bags that, if they even have roasted date, are at best a month old, often as old as 6 months (even the local roaster coffee bags in the markets can be 6 months old which is sort of infuriating both for the customer and the roaster). When the optimum is somewhere around 1 week to 8 weeks, the last optimal date depending on how much it was roasted. More on the region based coffee flavours: if you just have money and can find coffees of such kind, the more pinpoint accurate the source is on the bag, the better. It might not be your favourite, but you're much more likely to get more ethical coffee and more distinct taste. Because it's not hidden from the consumer, you could investigate the ethical side when you know exactly who the farmer was (so it's more likely to be from a farm that has things in order). Also it's not a mixed bag of different coffees grown for example in Kenya. Even if it's coffee farmed by some community, it's better than vague "Kenya" or "Africa" or something. My favourite coffee was definitely a bag from Ethiopia that had the farmer's name on the bag as source. It was very easy to name different flavour experiences from that cup of coffee, perhaps because all the beans were just about the same. What I've personally noticed in my local coffee shop is that there's definitely regions that have coffee to my taste in that coffee shop, like Ethiopian coffees they have, just in general Ethiopian. Don't know if it's tied to what they like to buy from which area, but they've had similar qualities in some regions I've liked, so I assume the actual farming height and place does play a big role as well (of course it does change the flavour, but so distinctly affect it based on region). Another thing the specialty coffee shops have going for them is that the coffee beans are often very similar in size. This means their roasting was rather homogenous and as a result, your grind setting can control the experience better. To make an exaggerated example: if you grind a very dark roasted bean with a very light roasted bean to very fine grain, your cup will have both the extremely unpleasant bitterness and richness of those two beans. Similarly to grinding them very coarse, you might get a decently balanced and at the same time very underextracted. Making it rather unpredictable and mixed review, not the true nature of that bean any way you grind it. More to Ethan's point about the varieties you get named in specialty coffees, I looked at bags that I saved to remind me in future purchases and you wouldn't get these in market brands ever (all seemed to be single origin): Pacamara, SL28, Ruiru, Batian, Kurume, Welicho, Castillo, Mixed Heirloom. Noteworthy is that all had the farmer's name on the bag, my favourites and least favourites so that's to taste, not to quality. My least favourite (learned from the video, from the variety tree infographic) one was Robusta variety, might be consequential or not. My favourites had either citrusy or red berry, and floral tastes and were from African origin. The least favourites were from South/Central America and had more of a nutty or chocolatey aroma, but not quite the way I enjoy them. As you may have noticed, single origin with a specific farmer can still produce blends (Mixed Heirloom from Ethiopia and one bag had SL28, Ruiru and Batian from Kenya). The Mixed Heirloom was one of my favourites due to almost mandarin like aroma, fresh and fruity/citrusy. The Mixed Heirloom is due to Ethiopia having 6000-10000 coffee varieties (learned this just due to further researching inspired by the video) so almost all of their coffees are blends. Supposedly every village can have its own variety, and unidentified varieties are just marked Mixed Heirloom. Meaning to say blends aren't automatically bad. Truly fascinating that they have already updated the coffee tree infographics on Cafe Imports website since Ethan used it for the video. Ironically I do enjoy those "medium roasted" coffees with chocolate and vanilla, even caramelly hints and whatever. They also go better with milk/cream/sugar in my opinion. I'm just not very confident in buying them from markets. Especially since they're more likely to be stale from the unopened bag. Also here medium roast (or we have 1 to 5 in most bags, so 3) is roasted darker than you might expect elsewhere. In market coffees that's often the quality and range (and also age) where you don't get much more than the roast. Many who have only drunk market coffees could be surprised that coffee has wide range of flavours due to that stale market medium roast just tasting like sort of bitter dark roast coffee. For example I've never ever had fruity or berry or floral like flavours in market coffee, no matter which roast level. At best there's a very minor hint of chocolate or so. The lighter roasts would just be less bitter and more acidic coffee taste. And you need to brew it well to get that minor hint of chocolate out, which might not be a thing in your average household even. But don't despair if you can't reason or afford specialty coffee, I still buy market beans or ground coffee at times and I'm happy with the cups I get, it doesn't ruin the experience of "normal" coffee. In fact the big brands have infinitely superior grinding machines that get so much more homogenous grind than your own grinder, be it hand or automatic grinder, could ever get. And since ground coffee is consumed the most, you can sometimes find quite fresh bags, so win-win. Watching James Hoffmann and trying out more expensive (to give a rough estimate 4x the price since the market coffee is like 6 euros a bag and the specialty is 12, but market has 400…500 grams and specialty has 200 grams. Sounds rough but in the end your regular mug of market coffee costs 10…20 euro cents) specialty coffee shop coffee literally changed my life and I've drunk coffee for +20 years. Only after that I learned that coffee has that before mentioned wide variety of flavours. Even if I'm not a great brewer, I get so much more enjoyment out of my coffees these days, I truly enjoy both the brewing process and flavours I can find. I learned to adjust the brewing first with a familiar bag of coffee until I could tweak it based on the resulting taste and what I was looking for, and then started buying different coffees and using that acquired brewing skill to find what their true flavours were. And it's also a good lesson that the bags of coffee are individual. Even if you buy the same coffee, you might need to adjust the brewing, particularly when you buy a different coffee. So it's worthwhile to learn to adjust the brewing based on what you get in your cup and getting to know what tweaks affect what traits. The most important lesson in that was "even if you think you got a pretty decent cup, push the adjustment one step further. Or a whole range further." Like when I was brewing a bag of somewhat dark roast at 85°C because raising it to 87…89°C made it just more bitter and burnt tasting, I thought "what the heck, this isn't _really_ good" and pushed it to 95°C and found out that somewhere between 92…95°C was the goldilocks zone for that bag and me, richer flavour and less of that bitterness (bit surprisingly and contradictingly, usually the hotter the water, the more likely it starts to get bitter). Apparently the coffee wasn't that dark and higher extraction just helped give it so much more flavour that the bitterness with underextraction got overpowered by good flavours. Or something, you never really know for sure. What's truly fascinating is that there's a lot of coffee plant types, but we almost exclusively drink Arabica. Instant coffee and cheaper coffee might be Robusta, or some espresso I recall. Some brands make a blend of Arabica and Robusta for specific flavour profile. But as the climate changes, we're in risk of all the coffee farming areas moving into completely different areas, which is to begin with an economical disaster for the farmers, but also an issue for the current coffee varieties used for coffee. So people are "frantically" searching for different varieties that might be better fit for being farmed in different climates. I feel like Ethan addressed a lot of these points, but maybe this gives a tiny bit more detail to it for someone who is interested. Btw I really appreciate Ethan doing proper academic work by reporting all his source materials. It makes it so nice to further delve into information. And I approve AeroPress too. I use V60 pour over at the moment, but AeroPress makes brewing and adjusting your own process for whatever you have so much easier than anything else.

@marcilk7534

20 күн бұрын

I use V60 too. I prefer a light roast that is either anaerobic or honey processed, seek out fruity flavors. Probably the best coffee I ever had was a small batch anaerobic from Ethiopia. I can’t remember now, but there was something else special they did. I wish I kept the bag. I usually order my coffee from Big Shoulders out of Chicago. They have never failed with their single origin and small batch. Even their standard options that they have consistently are very good.

@DreadKyller

17 күн бұрын

Roasting darker doesn't necessarily mean lower quality bean and that the roaster is trying to mask it. Some beans just have a flavor profile that shines more when it's undergone more caramelization or when it gets a small hint of pyrolosis. It's about roasting the bean to the level where the flavor of the bean is showcased at it's best. Some beans just don't have flavor profiles that show well with a light roasting. While mass-market roasters will usually roast very dark to help reduce variance and make a more homogenized product, very few specialty roasters will roast beans into oblivion just to hide flavors, if the beans aren't worth showcasing they likely won't buy them again. This being said I tend to prefer lighter roasts most of the time myself, as they tend to be slightly more on the acidic side and I find that acidity helps cut through any bitterness and allows you to more easily pick out the flavors.

@thespegs

17 күн бұрын

Eh, maybe, maybe not

Dude, yes! Medici! Thanks for representing us. Love seeing you at the shop!

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.

@BlueDragon1504

22 күн бұрын

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.

@JohnHausser

22 күн бұрын

James Hoffmann is interesting/brilliant but he also likes to show off

@TekGriffon

22 күн бұрын

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.

@vi-yn1ss

22 күн бұрын

​@@JohnHaussershowing off how, exactly? I've yet to see a video of his that gives me that vibe....

@voidstar.studio

22 күн бұрын

​@@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

The conclusion going over what you went over in detail as a summary was really appreciated!!!

Thank you so much for your hard work, researching and making this video. I really enjoy watching your "deep-dive" videos!

Wow, I love this!! The information is so helpful and enlightening. Thank you for taking the time to put together such incredible content!

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!

This video addresses so many questions I've wondered about over several decades. Well done!

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 ❤

Water, beans, grinding and brewing method are all quite important. I love my aeropress and pour overs.

@rremmy72

22 күн бұрын

water is super important , filtered definitely is best

17:28 Is that a blade grinder? You're going to upset a lot of the coffee nerds online by doing that

@heartcoke

22 күн бұрын

He mentioned on another comment that he only used it for the green bean test so he doesn't ruin his burr grinder.

@EthanChlebowski

22 күн бұрын

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.

@TheMeeeeeeeeeeep

22 күн бұрын

I wouldn't put green coffee in my expensive burr grinder, too. I doubt thats the primary grinder of someone trying >100$/kg coffee.

@Sc4r4byte

22 күн бұрын

I wonder if Pestle and Mortars are considered "best" for green coffee beans.

@reeddemarco

22 күн бұрын

@@EthanChlebowskishouldn’t grind size be a variable in the experimentation, though, if you are talking about extraction?

Man I barely even drink coffee but watching your deep dives is always fascinating. A lot of information with no bullshit well organized and delivered. Keep doing what you're doing, you're awesome

Thank you so much for this video. Super helpful and well-presented. Your time and effort is most appreciated!

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 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 totally love the amount of research you put into your videos! You provide the science behind your experiment and put it in terms just about anyone can understand.

Tea drinker here. Was quite entertaining to see your take on the coffee world. I gave up soda 13 years ago so my caffeine intake is through tea. My husband is the coffee drinker and uses various methods to brew. It seems more of the coffee notes have to do with the processing. This is true to a certain degree with tea leaves but the primary source of determining quality is the location of the cultivar. Processing matters more so with red(black) tea, oolong tea, fermented teas (Puer) or aged teas (white, red/black Puer, and another variety known as Anhua) Aged teas (5+years) are a completely different world as this depends on storage methods and various techniques based on regional culture, like fur example storing your teas in bamboo versus wrapping in paper versus storing in clay jars. Once you source your quality of tea leaves, it's them up to you to control how you brew it by controlling the volume of leaves, temp of water, time steeping, and even type of water.

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.

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.

@DD-DD-DD

22 күн бұрын

This exactly. I take those terms "under advisement".

@TheRealAstro_

22 күн бұрын

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.

@sebaba001

22 күн бұрын

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.

@raifsevrence

22 күн бұрын

@@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.

@thumbtak123

22 күн бұрын

@@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.

Hi, i really needed this kind of video when i started to work at a speciality coffee shop, a big sum up of what is going on in coffee industry and i will be recommending this video to new baristas to watch. Thanks

I love these deep dives! Thank you!

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

I was absolutely clenching expecting a Trade ad, only to be pleasantly surprised that the Aeropress one

@jo.comics

22 күн бұрын

I know, right??

@Artofcarissa

22 күн бұрын

Yeah being sponsored by a coffee maker company instead of a coffee company is a lot more ethical

@bobsmith-qu2oq

17 күн бұрын

aeropress has been taken over by a money grubbing investment group. Our old aeropress is dead.

@NoahDVS

10 күн бұрын

Aeropress is a cool sponsor, but what's wrong with Trade?

@jo.comics

10 күн бұрын

@@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.

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!

Thank you Martin, Emilio and workers for all your work

Oh yes, the build up was incredible. And yes, the more expensive stuff is better, for sure, right off the bat. Let's get into this!!

@genocidegrand2057

22 күн бұрын

no its not. come to asia and buy the cheap ass old roasted real coffee in traditional market. darker deeper more aroma than your watery starbucks coffee. especially dont buy those chivet poop coffee!!

@SpaceyPlane

22 күн бұрын

@@genocidegrand2057 Bruh... He's probably talking about specialty coffee. That's the stuff. Not starbucks or kopi luwak. But that's doesn't mean one can't enjoy those or your cheap ass coffee.

@jo.comics

22 күн бұрын

@@genocidegrand2057 I'm talking about specialty coffee, what are you getting so aggressively defensive about? Starbucks? Really? That's what you got from my comment? I'm talking about light roasted specialty beans from local roasters that cost upwards of 20 bucks a pound, not cheap, exploitative Starbucks coffee.

@jo.comics

22 күн бұрын

@@SpaceyPlaneYeah, that's it, exactly. I wouldn't even try kopi luwak, the animal abuse is horrific there. Thanks, dude.

@EthanChlebowski

22 күн бұрын

It's finally here!

As a coffee nerd myself I appreciate this video

Great job Ethan! Thank you so much for the lesson ❤

Excellent work, very comprehensive. Thank you

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.

@MixedMuscleArts

4 күн бұрын

Interesting, I definitely have this problem with beer.

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.

Hell yeah Ethan! I always look forward to your deep dives and this one is on point. Thanks for the work and sharing of info!

Awesome video, love the presentation of information. Thanks for your work!

These are my easy recommendations for anyone who's starting in coffee: *FRESH MATTERS* Coffee gets stale fast. But it's easy to work around it: Find coffees that have a specific *Roast Date* (not referring to expiration date). The freshest (~1 week old), the better. I'd say up to a month is still ok. If there's no roast date, assume they are months old. They're gonna be the worst version of that coffee. *GRIND MATTERS MORE THAN YOU'D THINK* Coffee begins to stale much faster once it's ground, but then again it's easy to work around it: Don't buy pre-ground coffee. Buy whole bean bags and ask the barista to grind it up for you. They have great grinders that cost thousands of dollars. Ideally, you'd grind it up yourself before brewing, but unless you have a good adjustable burr grinder, a cheap blade grinder just won't do a good job and you'll end up with a mix of odd flavors. Having a freshly ground bag can last you a good week or two. *MORE DETAILS = BETTER QUALITY* Similar to wine, as said in the video, the more specific and detailed information the label gives you, generally means better quality. If you find a bag that specifies: Coffee type and variety, specific place of origin, process type, roast level, roast date, etc. It's probably going to be very good coffee. *YOU CAN MAKE GREAT COFFEE WITH A STANDARD COFFEE MACHINE* Just make sure to turn it off as soon as the brew finishes. The hot plate *will* horribly cook and burn the coffee.

@theyoungfool.1895

18 күн бұрын

Man, I wish you could save KZread comments!

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.

@CWGminer

21 күн бұрын

Why would green beans ruin a burr set?

@jimmyrrpage

21 күн бұрын

@@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.

@silasketgaskets8709

15 күн бұрын

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.

Just found your channel. Love it. Answering lots of questions most of us have. Doing it in a serious and good way. Thank you 👍🏽

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!!

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.

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.

@tacticalcenter8658

20 күн бұрын

Micro plastics though?

@MACTEP_CHOB

19 күн бұрын

It seems nice, but no plastic is safe when heated so high. I would like the glass version.

@adambrown7895

12 күн бұрын

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

@tacticalcenter8658

11 күн бұрын

@@adambrown7895 the reviews on it show lots of negative reviews.

@tacticalcenter8658

11 күн бұрын

@@adambrown7895 many people said it didnt taste like good coffee.

Thank you for the thorough analyses, answering the questions in the back of my mind at each culinary turn.

Easily my favorite channel! The way you science the shit out of a particular subject has inspired me to do these sorts of experiments at home!

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

22 күн бұрын

I have to ask - what does "noise in the cup" even mean?

@thecatspajamas19

21 күн бұрын

@@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.

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.

Love the video Ethan! A lot of really helpful insights. Especially liked the delving into different processing methods, that is a really useful piece of knowledge when trying to select for particular profiles, and before this I had only been familiarized with “ethiopian process” which is the equivalent of natural process I suppose. Would love a sub-topic video with more side by side taste tests of different processing methods, different varieties, and potentially digging more into brewing methods as well. But I really appreciate these investigative style videos that are more oriented toward how these industries function, explaining all the variables in the line of production, etc. I think it’s really helpful as a consumer.

Great video, I've been roasting for over ten years and still learned a few things and found new inspiration!

Wait, so which was his favorite? Must have missed it

@HenkJanLeeuwik

22 күн бұрын

Yes. What was your favourite Ethan?

@pegaseg70

22 күн бұрын

Medici in black

@mikaelwink2217

21 күн бұрын

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

@BenHC

16 күн бұрын

​@@mikaelwink2217 Totally agree. Lots of "you're probably wondering" "well get to later" etc fluff

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)

@Hop_eater

22 күн бұрын

Thats until you start considering grinders… Thats where the end game money goes.

@MrOldclunker

22 күн бұрын

I guess it's a hobby if you have no life, but it impresses Momma that you have a hobby!

@soupisgood44

22 күн бұрын

​@@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

@Yupppi

22 күн бұрын

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.

@Tinil0

22 күн бұрын

@@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.

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 work as a barista, and have so much love for making coffee, so im super excited for this video.

Never heard anyone mispronounce “Folgers” before. Well done, Ethan.

@XNA2NW3

17 күн бұрын

So it wasn’t just me.

@trae74

14 күн бұрын

Came looking for this comment! 😀

Guess you didn't get a lot of sleep making this video.

Loving all these deep dives.

Thanks for making this video! Greatly enjoyed what you have learned through your coffee journey. Your apple analogy was spot on to help describe cherry variety. Hope to see your knowledge journey on each of these coffee topics in the future.

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.

@MrOldclunker

22 күн бұрын

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.

@dosgos

22 күн бұрын

@@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.

@emilymakescoffee1741

22 күн бұрын

@@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.

@slofty

22 күн бұрын

@@MrOldclunker You don't know what you're talking about.

This video did not need to be 50 minutes long.

Thank you for all the videos you make!! I’ve been a subscriber for some time now. I don’t get excited for most things, but when I see you have a new video I grab a great snack and enjoy. Length of the videos are great. Please keep it up!!

Im so glad you took the dive super informative Ethan

Fole-gurs? It's fole-jers. Come on Ethan, didn't you know the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup?

@BruceS42

10 күн бұрын

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 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!

@TheRealAstro_

22 күн бұрын

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

@EthanChlebowski

22 күн бұрын

I'll work on it, thanks for watching!

@creamyhorror

22 күн бұрын

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.

@jjjames6894

22 күн бұрын

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)

@Cosmolydian

22 күн бұрын

@@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!

Wonderful video. I wish your video was there when I started my coffee journey, beautifully done.

Thank you for this - it is a good starter for those that are wanting a clearer picture. Also, always remember that, like wine, every year yields a different flavor profile.

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.

@TheBswan

22 күн бұрын

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.

@ZabivakaPirate69

22 күн бұрын

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.

As a former coffee geek, I think my biggest realization is that I don't want to drink coffee without milk. What this means is that black coffee just doesn't taste like coffee to me, and while I can appreciate the fine flavor notes of specialty light roasts when I drink them black, it's just not something I'm interested in. Importantly, specialty light roasts and even some 2nd tier light roasts (which are slightly darker and closer to specialty medium roasts) straight up don't taste good with milk. The high acidity and fruity flavor makes a light roast with milk just taste like soured milk. This lead me to my final conclusion that what I look for in coffee is coffees that 1) are less than $16 per 12oz and 2) have flavor notes of milk or dark chocolate, nuts, and dried fruits. This lead me to buying coffees that hang around that medium to medium dark specialty range. What was a huge realization was that while roast was an okay predictor of flavor notes, the flavor notes themselves were a much more accurate way of predicting roast level. Essentially, if you go after the broad flavor notes, you'll consistently find coffees you like. I no longer drink coffee because my I inherited British teeth from my mom and so have no enamel, and coffee is so acidic that it instantly hurts all my teeth after one sip. Now I'm more into tea, which only stains your teeth and has much more complex flavors, plus it's easier to brew.

@kalixmaxwell4742

22 күн бұрын

You talk about coffee like it’s an ex

@SephHaley

22 күн бұрын

I personally think that there are many specialty light roasts that work very well in milk drinks like a cappuccino or a cortado. In my opinion, you get the most interesting and fun flavors out of the wacky processed, light roasts coffee. If we’re strictly talking pour over/atmospheric pressure style drinks, light roasts is harder to mix with milk and sugar.

@marcilk7534

20 күн бұрын

I never liked coffee any other way but black and prefer a light roast. Before I read your comment, I was thinking I should try some cream in the last little bit. I think I will give that a try. I don’t think I can ever get to liking sugar in it or liking it iced. The ironic thing is that I love coffee ice cream, which is cold with cream and sugar.

CMS somm here - the way you approached this is strikingly similar to how I teach my wine 101 classes to the public, and I *love* it. I sent it to everyone I know. Well done. Cheers.

Great start to explaining coffee. It would be a fever dream ti see you and James Hoffman in the same video geeking over coffee!

Fun coffee tip: adding the tiniest bit of cocoa powder (like 1/8 teaspoon) in with your coffee grinds has a massive impact on the taste. It doesn't taste like chocolate, but it removes a great deal of the bitterness. My own personal theory is that the cocoa particles bind the bitterness causing compounds and trap them in the filter paper, giving you the cleanest cup of coffee you've ever had in your life.

@pauldaulby260

22 күн бұрын

That is fun it's like the opposite of adding a bit of coffee to a chocolate cake... gonna try it

@noob19087

22 күн бұрын

@@pauldaulby260 Great! I'm glad to get this idea out there. Note that I mean adding the cocoa powder to the grounds you're just about to brew. Adding it to the cup after the fact gives an entirely different (and in my opinion, inferior) result. Add too much and you'll clog the filter, or get a noticable chocolate note (not necessarily bad, but not the point here). No need to mix it in, in fact mixing has seemed to increase clogging. Just sprinkle on top of the grounds and brew as usual. Either cocoa mix or unsweetened baking cocoa work, but cocoa mix has a lower risk of clogging in my experience. Cacao nibs might also be an interesting option.

@verndogs

22 күн бұрын

ooh thanks for the tip! I will try that

@TheDragonSeer

21 күн бұрын

I've heard similar with salt as well. I'll give this a try though. Thank you so much!

@pauldaulby260

21 күн бұрын

Didn't really notice much of a difference, though I used a non-bitter coffee to start with

The more expensive stuff is better - but not just because it's a higher quality product. Specialty roasters almost always pay way, way more than commodity roasters to the farmers.

@paulblichmann2791

22 күн бұрын

Do the farmers actually give them the good stuff, or same crap as Folgers gets.

@davidfuller581

22 күн бұрын

@@paulblichmann2791 They actually get the good stuff. Usually specialty trends towards small holders and paying them much more for a higher quality product.

@chrispalmer8043

22 күн бұрын

​@@paulblichmann2791 The video didn't really get into how growers sell coffee but it's increasingly common for coffee to be sampled in it's country of origin, ranked and auctioned. Folgers are happy with anything that can be turned black and shipped out whereas specialty roasters want the best lots and will pay a high price. If you get a chance to try a Gesha (Ethan's expensive bag from the vid) I'd really recommend it - they tend to smell quite savory but be incredibly floral and sweet. You should taste the difference!

@AvaByNight

22 күн бұрын

@@davidfuller581 which also has the benefit of the people who are actually growing the coffee getting more money for their work, which prevents poverty. one needs to remember that coffee is mostly grown in 3rd world countries.

@Vitalcoffeeroasters

22 күн бұрын

Majority of roasters will also work with an importer. As a green buyer, roaster, and consultant I often work with multiple importers when it comes to sourcing. It's important to remember that farming takes place in rural areas and importers often have the resources to work with producers, but also carry the cost of importing and exporting the beans, costs and risks that farmers and most roasters can't take on. As far as quality goes, in some cases roasters will receive green samples at different points in the process to get an idea for the quality and consistency.

You put a tremendous amount of homework into these videos that hasn't been lost on me....a happy subscriber

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.

I buy my coffee based off of smell. If you squeeze a bag at the grocery store and put your nose next to the hole in the bag that lets air out and not in (usually at the top), you can smell the beans and that will give you a really good idea of what it’s going to taste like once it’s brewed.

We dived so deep I can see the Titanic! Oh crap, what is that popping soun

This is the best video you have ever done mate! Being a coffee person myself, I appreciate the amount of research you have put into this. Thanks for the effort.

Great job lots of awesome detail and information in this video as a coffee lover

*James Hoffman has joined the chat*

James Hoffmann be like : 👁️🫦👁️

I've had a hard time finding a local coffee shop that I enjoy (for flavor and atmosphere) and also a locally available product for home brewing. I appreciate this deep dive, as it'll help me make more informed decisions.

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.

I somewhat disagree with the beans. Yes it's important ingredient, but water is the most used ingredient in coffee, if you use tap water that is really bad quality the coffee will be bad too. So in my opinion all 3 are important the brewing, the beans and the water. The water is like approximately 80% of the coffee caffeine and others parts are the rest.

@Ash_Wen-li

22 күн бұрын

Well you want to keep your water source consistent. If it's consistent then everything else matters more

@MeriaDuck

22 күн бұрын

I'd add grinding to that, if considering that as a separate step prior to brewing.

@jo.comics

22 күн бұрын

However, without any coffee beans you have no coffee no matter how good your water is. Yes, water is super important, and that's a whole other video, really, however, you can still get decent coffee from great beans and simple, brita-filtered tap water. I don't disagree but I also don't fully agree.

@antony1458

22 күн бұрын

​@@MeriaDuck true I forgot about that. A good grinder will definitely help too.

@antony1458

22 күн бұрын

​@@jo.comicsyeah that's what I was trying to tell, all 3 are really important for a great cup of coffee. The process of brewing (which is what brewing method you are using, grind level, technique and dose), good water quality (you can research how from a chemical perspective, chlorine, calcium carbonate, etc affects the same cup of coffee) and finally the coffee bean as Ethan explains in the whole video.

Taste is purely subjective. The only value it has is what you put on it.

@Trome1200

22 күн бұрын

Cream pies 🤤

Thanks for all the work you put into these! I am almost ready to harvest my poblano peppers that I grew this year specifically to try the poblano and oaxaca tacos you were raving about years ago.

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

Horrible editing, never goes to the point, just around questions all the time. It's 50% Fillers. Could be losslessly compressed into a 25min video. And I might be wrong, but I didnt see a proper grinder being used :/ THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL

TLDR: Your grandparents' cheap coffee came through abusing poor people in developing nations. Your average expensive coffee today is working with those people to build communities, save forests, and send kids to school. And it tastes way better to boot. Spend the extra cash to get something good.

@andrewfox368

22 күн бұрын

So you’re saying if I abuse poor people, I can spend less money on coffee?

@gurugurumawaru7869

22 күн бұрын

Well said, Fair Trade all the way.

@konga382

22 күн бұрын

I am okay with this as long as we can be sure that money is actually going to the people picking the beans and not tyrant land owners or greedy middlemen.

@MeriaDuck

22 күн бұрын

Yes, this is why I prefer my single origin specialty at 25 euro per kilo, roasted at ordering over the 7 euro per kilo mass market blends.

@smuglord9903

22 күн бұрын

no, they can starve and slave away for my coffee, the suffering adds flavour.

This is fascinating and well done. I think I’ll wait till after my coffee ☕️ to finish watching. Don’t want to miss “everything”.

Thanks, Ethan! This is a greet video for someone who finally came around to coffee after 36 years of resistance. Excited to continue the journey!

Not making espresso and focusing on one kind of filter (because they sponsor you) in a video about coffee is certainly a choice

I feel like everyone here needs to meet James Hoffmann His channel is AMAZING and wildly nerdy in the best way possible.

Amazing man thanks for the info much appreciated

Wow this is such an interesting video! This is an automatic subscribe! Thank you for your hard work.