James calling the ek43 a “stock and common grinder” feels like giving your house a deep clean, and then when guests come over, apologizing for “the mess”

I like to think that James doesn't use any hair products but rather the amount of coffee he drinks makes his hair stand up the way it does

The David Attenborough of coffee

That "stock" coffee grinder costs as much as a small car.

The hype for James’ Aeropress video can’t get any higher at this point.

James: "This common grinder, EK43" Me: *crying in peasantries*

To me, the advantage of immersion is that it keeps the contact time between coffee and water independent from grind size. With pourover both technique and grind size impact contact time, as alluded to in the video. By making them independent you allow diffusion rate to be controlled via grind size while you manually control contact time. That's an extra degree of freedom in tuning your recipe.

I enjoy coffee very much but hardly ever been worthy of the label coffee snob. I enjoy cheap joe at 711 same way I enjoy it at a fancy cafe and rarely know any difference nor could I tell you how most of these brewing devices work or explain terminology of beverages. But I ADORE. THIS. CHANNEL. You have the most pleasantly soothing voice, near ASMR like in quality, and you are so passionate and ethical and down to earth and even historically educational in your delivery. I could play you to relax anxieties or to fall soft down to sleep or focus on tasks . No crazy annoying bells and whistles. Just a man who loves his coffee and wants to share how you can enjoy it better too. Wish there were many more channels like you.

At this point I watch these videos for two reasons: 1) to learn about coffee 2) to read the always-hilarious comment section

"... but the Aeropress is something we will talk about another time." - I literally shouted out: "BASTARD!"

"a fairly common and stock grinder, in this case EK43" that thing costs more than what I earn in two months.

Not only does he have the most expensive coffee collection , he probably has the most expensive sweater collection also .

James “this common grinder” Hoffmann.

Oh great, now my French press is insufferably pleased with itself.

7 months ago I was considering better alternatives to the Keurig I'd been using for years. This video was a huge reason I opted to switch to a French Press. As I'm out and about throughout my week, I'm consistently grateful & amazed that the coffee I find most delicious is the coffee I brew at home. Thanks James!

Thank you for this! I get so many customers “shamefully” admitting that they use a French press when I ask them for their brew method if they want their beans ground, and I always have to tell them there’s nothing shameful about it. French press is nearly foolproof and makes a good cup. But what really intrigued me was your ad for morning brew, James. Now I’m thinking about all those prizes you’ll win for hitting your link sharing milestones.

The aeropress trolling has really ramped up a notch in recent weeks.

That knowing nod that an ultimate guide is coming...

Explains why my initial attempts at cold brew tasted so awful, sometimes almost as sour as vinegar. Once I got my grind size larger, I got delicious brews. Yet, I had used very find grinds with my blade grinder and had really enjoyed French press coffee. Thanks for helping me make a little more sense of my world!

I really appreciate the fact that James just spoiled the result in the title, letting people who don't care the experiment know the result right away, and at the same time delivers clear reasoning in the video. This title will not let James make more youtube money, but he does it anyway because he wants to let more people know coffee better

James’s combination of geek chic, composed speech and subtle charm really is a joy to watch, immense coffee knowledge aside.

We’ve all made it through 2020. Think we deserve the aeropress video

This is an amazing, simple technique. You actually don’t need a French Press for this. I just used this method with the same ratio in a Pyrex measuring cup. No straining necessary - I just poured it slowly and had no sediment in my cup. This is the first time in a while that I’m drinking black coffee. Thank you James.

Blind taste test when you're alone: Set two cups on a lazy susan, give it a gentle spin while you walk away, come back to not knowing which cup is which.

I’m going to pass out with happiness when the aeropress video drops 😂

So when's the cinematic hype-trailer for the Aeropress video going to drop then, James?

My go to is always immersion...I love my French press. I’ve been using the preferred “Hoffman” process recently with it as well and wow...what a difference! I’m really surprised what letting it sit for 4 minutes at the beginning does for my brew. Truly an amazing cup of coffee every time. Thanks for another great video James.

That's the first sponsorship message on this channel I've watched through, and I signed up to the newsletter too. Would be great to see more free productivity and 'thoughtful pursuits' stuff like that in the future

10:45 I'm scared he's never shown this emotion before

My V60 is weeping so I am giving it a bath with boiling hot water and some coffee grounds

This tracks with my experience. I find the V60 to be a difficult beast to tame, and immersion brews to be more "tolerant" of variance in technique, coffee quality, etc. Although for me the best V60 brew is preferable to the best French Press brew, a mediocre V60 is worse than the worst French Press I've ever made.

The French press has been my favorite brewing method for a long time - I love the flavor and texture that you achieve with it. *AND* after watching your French press video a while back, it improved my press brewing even more! As a note for people who are looking for more clarity in a French press, you can always use a finer screen in it, or even double up on the screens if necessary.

I would love to see a comparison of the immersion methods and techniques. The videos for the Clever, French Press, and Hario Switch all showcase a different technique. Does the technique matter for the method, does one technique or method provide a "better" result, etc. I feel like this is an unexplored rabbit hole.

Notification popping up : THE ULTIMATE AEROPRESS TECHNIQUE By James Hoffman!! The big day is coming and I’ll be there!

James Hoffmann's videos are very involved and explain every little detail to help us learn; this video's no exception.

This man has forgotten more about coffee than I will ever know.

Could you do an overview of "Turkish" Coffee?

"But the aeropress is something we talk about...another time." _James Hoffman with an evil smile_

James just gave a light of joy for the bimbos like me who are stuck with just a French press for God knows how long...

I would find it useful to see the V60 compared against the Hario Switch. Both are identically shaped and paper filtered, but the Switch adds in the option of an immersion phase before the final percolation. It would also be interesting to see these two methods compared using a cheaper grinder with less uniform distribution. I am sure that a lot of people are looking for a method that will work best with the lower-end grinder they have at home.

I don't know why it delights me so when Voiceover James throws to On Camera James

Ok, I'll say it. The switch from voice over to on screen for the beginning of the ad read was damn smooth. You didn't need to do that, but it was such a nice touch for the pacing and I appreciate the extra effort

this was FASCINATING!!!! I love watching james’s videos, I think I learn something new every time!

I could listen to your voice for hours, so mellow and still engaging ❤️

He is getting anime hair. He will star in Coffee: The Anime

The aeropress video is gonna end up being just 90 seconds of James brewing a single cup with it.

This Aeropress tease is like when The Weeknd announced that he put 7 million on his SuperBowl performance. Expectations are high. 😂

I recently started brewing with a coarser grind in general using pour-over, frenchpress and aeropress. The results in all 3 of the techniques seem to benefit from that (at least for my taste). Love too see the magic behind that. Thank you James!

In the world of hot takes , this is pretty damn spicy

Got a Hario Switch after you mentioned it - and haven't looked back since. The combination of immersion and filter is perfect for me. Gives depth, complexity, body and still a clean cup in the end. Grinds as finely as possible before getting harshness and bitterness, but that demands a very lightly roasted bean. Thank you for making the best coffee related channel on KZfaq bar none.

Had this in my recommendations and saw that this video is 3 years old and i remember seeing it when it came out. Love these videos

I'm really glad you showed those extraction numbers, as it kind of points towards something I thought I was noticing. In general, I feel like most of my immersion brews taste like they are more extracted, in a sweeter more balanced way (not a harsher way) when compared to my pour overs.

10:48 you're welcome everybody

I'm starting to suspect that James's Aeropress video will be him going "It's a bit shit really..." as the screen fades to black.

Having finally been gifted an Aeropress this Christmas (after long being aware of its camping usefulness from travelling with friends), I've come to realise just how astonishing a bit of kit it is. It makes truly great coffee without any of the hassle and variability of pour over and espresso (something I hadn't seen discussed much before but this video has finally hit upon) or the siltiness of french press and then you get the whole ease of use and clean up. It is now my main at-home coffee maker, which is something I wasn't thinking would be the case when I popped it on my christmas list.

Clever Dripper - the best of both worlds.

I sure hope that gremlins mug manages to find it's way onto the shelf of wonders in the background.

Please don't spare us the slurping noises.

Yes! A knowledgable coffee KZfaqr who doesn’t need to rely on click bait! Really enjoying your channel since only discovering you a couple of weeks ago. Learning heaps. Thank you 😊 ☕️

It would be interesting to find out how tolerant each method is of grind consistency. Does immersion brewing allow for a cheaper grinder & therefore lower access price point to great results. Presumably so if the taste is less affected across a range of grind sizes.

I feel really comforted knowing that even coffee professionals like James can't deny the appeal of a big weird novelty mug once in a while. Big fan of the Mugwai.

James, lots of us have been waiting for that “another time” )

Your explanation of channeling has somehow clarified my coffee brewing and engineering materials class. Damn, thanks for this gem, James.

I had no Idea KZfaq had a coffee spot! I'm an addict and am so glad your channel will clearly become such an enabler! Coffee is life!

I'm glad you actually tasted the coffee instead of just measuring the TDS.

This really has been my experience when immersion has come to the rescue for a coffee producing too many fines for a good pour over i.e. over extracted tasting harsh. Going coarser to minimise excessive fines results in an under extracted pour over brew tasting sour. Immersion by Aeropress whilst not the giving the clarity gives me my sweet tasting fix (all hail Alan Adler).

Your French press method is becoming my favorite / I’ve intuitively sensed some of this. When I’m making coffee while sleepy (and perhaps not perfectly consistent) there’s a buffer that makes it harder to mess up

Fantastic content, intuitively explained. Thanks for your work, James!

OMG, I've just been reading about the differencces between immersion & percolation brewing methods. Suddenly, I received the notification of this video... It was like, OMG, is it google recommending me an Old video or is it a new one ! Just on time James, just on time ! 💙

that aeropress tease lmao. he's just toying with us at this point.

Your videos are coming to me at the perfect moment in my life when I've become highly immersed in finding the best brew

The one that I have is a French press, and I used it very well. I simply follow Mr. Hoffman's (4 & 7) technique, and voila! I now have a brew to enjoy! Lots'a love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from tropical Philippines!

These results make sense to me, I've found over the years that immersion brewing is very forgiving of grind size/quality compared to pretty much every other brew method. I've taken press pots on a lot of camping trips and a lot of long road trips and ran a huge variety of grounds through them, inconsistent blade grinder grounds, pre-ground in every size available and of course freshly ground from a conical burr machine and have always been able to tweak the brew time and coffee to water ratio in a way that yields acceptable coffee. Obviously there's a sweet spot of grind quality and size and technique that yield an amazing cup coffee from a press pot, but also I've found you can fuck up a lot of things and still get a surprisingly good cup of coffee out of one too. Other brew methods just seem to have a narrower range of variables that produce good coffee. Don't get me wrong I love espresso as well and really enjoy my pour over and even my goofy Bodum vacuum brewer, they all provide their own unique and enjoyable coffee experience when I have fine control over my brewing variables. But if I'm brewing my morning coffee with water I boiled on a campfire and eyeballing my ratios, press pot is the only way to go.

James is the only person who wouldn't click-bait the headline in the most obvious way. He just comes out with the verdict.

Yes!, the brewler is back! Thanks James! It was a fast clip but it's very nice to see the difference in grind!

Really insightful video, I was recently gifted a v60 and ground coffee for it, but after following v60 technique was always left with a muddy filter paper and coffee that was disappointing. I now know why, my coffee is to fine. Thank you for the revelation, the rest of this coffee in going in my french press and a grinder is now on my future agenda.

0/10 needed more slurping noises

IF there's an "answer", he gave it rather eloquently in the recap: "If you are stuck with a grind that is not suited for your p/o method though, brewing it w/an immersion brewer may yield you better results.." About as diplomatic as it can be.

Been waiting for this video forever!!

+1 on the aero press video. Please bring us an aero press technique video!! That voiceover transition in the ad was great! Well done as always.

The hype for the James Aeropress video will go beyond what the PS5 can ever dream of achieving

I do find more often than not I do reach for my Clever to give me the most consistently nice cups.

I really love this channel. Thanks for letting us know. I have been using french press as well

I've always liked the French press because of its simplicity and versatility, and this video shows just that

Someone needs to start a petition for James to give us the ultimate Aeropress technique video.

I’ve been using a French press for over 30 years and anytime I switch to a different method. I am not happy so I will stick with it plus the active grinding. The coffee beans is quite mesmerizing.

Very logical outcome, I like that the data lines up so well with my intuition.

Well this was totally fascinating and informative. Thank you so much!

Adding the clever dripper and aeropress would have been interesting here. Round 2? Looking forward to the aeropress video

This is so cool. Makes perfect sense to validate my experiences. Also explains why I feel like I get a better expression of the coffee on my chemex as compared to the V60, I will grind the same coffee 'finer' for the latter than the former and see if I can get to a more similar outcome of taste. What I love about this the most, is I have always felt that the French Press is under rated as a brewing method. I have made great coffee with my French Press, and can't understand why more people don't make a song and dance about it

Brain surgeon,diamond cutter,cameo carver ,tapestry weaver,pointillist painter most of all.Precision,dilligent attention to the minute without losing touch with the over all object( finished "product").I for one,admire and enjoy any "activity" which exemplifies excellence/ expertise,even that perfect poise of the Zen master immersed in stillness: as well a master of the tea ceremony.These are the impressions I get while attending to your discourse.The most mundane activity becomes art.Thank you

Thanks James. This also explains why in addition to the aeropress something like the Clever Dripper is such a good tool for getting decent results every time

03:09 St James Slurping (Tap to repeat)

Hi James! I think coffee type and roast profile plays an ever more important role here. Anecdotally, I have a Kenya I've been drinking, but regardless of the grind, immersion brewing just highlights the coffee's characteristics better than percolation. And I can say the opposite for other coffees. Also, I think it's so important to understand what your filter is doing. You can effectively immerse the coffee and filter with paper, giving it a much cleaner profile. Your knowledge is epic, I love learning with you. 🙂

this is anecdotal, but while visiting my mom her coffee maker was on the fritz, however, she had her old 1961 GE percolator in the garage. I cleaned it up, ran water thru it, then made a pot of coffee. I was stunned by how good it was. Stunned. It rivaled any current coffee maker I have tried. Mostly I make espresso, but I do enjoy a cup of good old american style coffee. I love your channel. Wish you were in the states, because many of the reviews I cannot replicate here in the USA. Take care.

This was very educational! My Aero was bought for camping, but may see my kitchen counter more often.

10:49 awaiting “THE ULTIMATE AEROPRESS TECHNIQUE”

James posts a video so I make an espresso and sit back and chill

Thank you so so much for this comparison. I have found myself currently on a quest for bearable outdoor coffee solution... It is a challenge greater that is seems. Up until now I wasn't much of a fan of the french press, but I have got myself one, so I can froth some milk in it. There is of course and aspect of it being a multipurpose since it is titanium and can serve as a small kettle... Going back to the topic: french press has never been my favourite, but comparing it with travel type drippers, and the moka's weight, and my semi-rational fear towards brewing in plastic - it makes it the best solution for the mountains. Knowing what's going on during the brewing process helped me figure out the way from other brewing methods to this one. Thank you

Thank you for this comparison. I was basically watching it to get a better idea of flavors / strengths for my French press and grinder.