I don't like coffee. Can James Hoffmann change that?

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I would pay a lot to be led through a coffee tasting discovery with James like this

👍︎︎ 74 👤︎︎ u/Kid520 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

This is it. This is the pinnacle of YouTube. Literally, my two favorite YouTubers collaborating. This is peak Internet, honestly.

👍︎︎ 196 👤︎︎ u/Free_ 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

I've been looking forward to this collab ever since Tom posted the trailer to the Tom Scott plus channel. It was even better then I hoped for.

👍︎︎ 38 👤︎︎ u/Thelatestweirdo 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

From this video I was curious about what the "sugarcane" decaf method is, and learned that it's a rebranding of the ethyl acetate process that just points out that EA is a natural byproduct of sugarcane fermentation. It's a good reminder that just because something has a scary-sounding chemical name doesn't mean it's actually something scary; I'd been avoiding EA decaf because I was associating it with trichloroethylene (which is pretty nasty but not used anymore) and methylene chloride (which may or may not leave an aftertaste and may or may not be harmful to the environment).

I usually go for SWP and the next bag of decaf on my queue was done with supercritical CO2, but I think I'll specifically seek out some EA/sugarcane decaf to try out as well to see how I feel about it in this context.

So anyway, now I'm looking forward even more to James' long-promised video on decaf.

👍︎︎ 39 👤︎︎ u/fluffycritter 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

This is great, this is a video he should have made on his own channel. I suppose the big coffee tasting but walking someone through the process in real time is really lovely to see. I tell my self I’m going to cup my coffee but I often don’t get round to it I have 3 fresh bags on the go and tomorrow morning I know what I’m doing.

👍︎︎ 42 👤︎︎ u/nildro 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

we have been waiting for it

👍︎︎ 10 👤︎︎ u/eigenlaut 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

Half an hour, damn.

Edit: Yup, that was awesome.

👍︎︎ 29 👤︎︎ u/thiney49 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

Two of my heros, so cool!

👍︎︎ 8 👤︎︎ u/AmateurPolyglot1 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies

who is tom scott? never heard of him

👍︎︎ 20 👤︎︎ u/tmrss 📅︎︎ Oct 16 2021 🗫︎ replies
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How do I describe you? Britain's leading expert on coffee? <font color="#FFFF00">I don't—</font> Or Britain's leading YouTuber on coffee? Coffee expert? <font color="#FFFF00">Whatever's fine.</font> <i>(laughs)</i> <font color="#FFFF00">It's like asking me what I do for a living.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I'm like, "I don't know. Things."</font> Yeah, I know the feeling. <font color="#FFFF00">I mean, it's a YouTube—</font> Yeah. <font color="#FFFF00">Just so, we can say coffee person YouTube weirdo.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I don't know, I don't know!</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I apologise.</font> I'm with James Hoffmann, who has just asked me to call him "YouTube coffee weirdo", so. <font color="#FFFF00">It's probably accurate.</font> His words, not mine. He's going to teach me about coffee, which is something I know... it's not that I don't know anything about coffee. It's that I haven't really tasted coffee since I was a kid. <font color="#FFFF00">Okay.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Now that was the setup that was initially interesting.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It's like, find your perfect coffee.</font> Yeah. <font color="#FFFF00">And then they were like, a couple of caveats.</font> <i>(laughs)</i> <font color="#FFFF00">You don't like coffee,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and sort of not a huge fan of caffeine.</font> So I decided when I was sort of 14, 15 that I did not like coffee. Because I tried coffee, and I probably tried, I don't think it was instant, but I think it was fairly cheap drip coffee or something like that. I just said, well, I do not understand why the adults like this. I'm not going to do it. And then I kind of never really got into caffeine. I decided that wasn't for me either. So it was just easier to say, "I don't like coffee." But like socially, it's nice to be able to accept a cup of coffee from someone. <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah.</font> It's a thing that clearly a lot of people really enjoy, so I want to reevaluate this. I want to be able to say, I want to able to make the decision, is this a thing that adult me, in my thirties, actually likes? And I think if anyone's going to be able to find me something that is not cheap drip coffee... <font color="#FFFF00">I would hope so.</font> Yes. <font color="#FFFF00">So I worked on the idea that caffeine was mostly out.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So 90% of what you going to taste today</font> <font color="#FFFF00">does not have caffeine in it, which made it a challenge.</font> Yeah, and it will have done. 'Cause I know that's, 'cause decaffeinating things, I looked into the process. It's a big deal. <font color="#FFFF00">It's a big deal.</font> I'm okay with having, like, if there's a bit of caffeine in there, I'm fine with that. Like if I drink more than about one shot of espresso through the course of this though, it's probably going to. <font color="#FFFF00">We'll see how we go.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">We'll see what happens.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So what we're going to do today.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">We're going to do a little guided tasting.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Because, I'll tell you why afterwards.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">We're going to start with one round</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to assess kind of one aspect of coffee</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to see how you feel about it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So we've got in front of us three coffees.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">I'm not going to tell you what they are</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because it's not important.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">We're going to do a sort of a base preference test</font> <font color="#FFFF00">around coffee.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">So what I'm going to do is do these</font> <font color="#FFFF00">as what we would call a cupping,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is the very simple way we taste coffee.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">There's ground coffee in each glass.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I'm going to pour boiling water on top.</font> Yep. <font color="#FFFF00">They're going to hang out for about four minutes.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Give them a little stir, scoop off the stuff that floats,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and then that liquid, we can taste.</font> Right. <font color="#FFFF00">Before I put water on these,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">just for your interest, have a smell of each glass.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">And just see how you feel.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">The smell of coffee to most people is quite nice.</font> Yes, absolutely. <font color="#FFFF00">I'd be interested to know if one of these</font> <font color="#FFFF00">smells nicer to you than another,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and I'm going to go and boil a kettle.</font> Okay, okay. So number one. Okay, so that, I don't have the words for it, but that's, that's not a pleasant, that feels like there's a lot of, kind of, earth, wood notes, things like that. I don't have the words to describe what that is, but the word that came to mind was sort of earth. Number two. Wood. If number one is earth, number two is wood. Oh, number three is a lot nicer. Number three is... Number three almost has a sweet note on top of it. Earth, wood, slightly sweeter, but I don't know what to call it. <font color="#FFFF00">This is quite nice if you liked the smell.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">That smelt pleasant to you?</font> Yeah. So boiling water into each of them. So these are freshly ground? <font color="#FFFF00">Freshly ground.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> - Right.</font> There's a whole process there, which I know you go into great detail about on your channel. <font color="#FFFF00">Everything can be optimised.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Hot coffee is actually really quite hard to taste,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and it's a mistake many people kind of make is that,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">you know, you're drinking coffee hot.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">You want it for the heat, but if you want it for flavour,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">you won't get the best out of it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And you'll tend to experience things like bitterness</font> <font color="#FFFF00">a little bit more intensely when it's hot.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">That can fade a little as it cools down</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and things get just more interesting.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And you'll experience that.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So I'll tell you now what you think about these</font> <font color="#FFFF00">when you first taste them will change.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Right as you go through.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Now, when it comes time to taste,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">what I don't want to do is just throw a load of flavour</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and experience at you and be like, how is that?</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Because that's just too much.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">The brain was just like, "I don't know."</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And you get into a very much like a,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">"I like it. I don't. I don't know what it is."</font> <font color="#FFFF00">"I'm just, no."</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So what we're going to do when we taste</font> <font color="#FFFF00">is break down sort of single components</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and compare them coffee to coffee.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Right?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Comparative tasting is the single best way</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to learn to taste anything.</font> Right. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, sitting at home with a glass of wine,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">trying to work out, what does this taste like?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">How do I describe this? Really hard.</font> Yep. <font color="#FFFF00">Really hard.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">You might be like, "It's a bit fruity?"</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And that's kind of where you end.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Give yourself two glasses, much more fun,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but you can compare the two, right?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Which one is fruitier?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Which one is more acidic, which one is sweeter,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which one finishes better, all of those kinds of things.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">That's what we're going to do here.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">To start off with, we're just going to focus</font> <font color="#FFFF00">on single aspects of the coffee</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and compare and contrast those.</font> All right. <font color="#FFFF00">Okay. I'm just going to clean this up a little bit now.</font> So when you think clean these up, this is? <font color="#FFFF00">So if we tried to drink this now,</font> Yep. <font color="#FFFF00">that's just ground coffee floating on the top.</font> Okay, let's not do that. <font color="#FFFF00">Which is kind of, I mean it's—</font> It's an experience. <font color="#FFFF00">It's food safe.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Yes.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It's just not nice.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So what you do is you give them a little stir,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and this actually causes most of the grounds</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that were floating on the top to sink to the bottom.</font> All right. <font color="#FFFF00">And then we scoop off whatever remains.</font> Ah, okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Leaving behind, let me throw this in here.</font> I assume that the stuff, so the stuff on top, I feel like is a thing I've seen a lot of coffees? <font color="#FFFF00">Right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Like the, what? How do you mean? Like the foamy stuff?</font> Yeah, or is that a different... Bear in mind, complete novice here. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, okay. I'll give you the very short answer,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is foam happens in coffee</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because when you roast coffee,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">a bunch of the byproducts</font> <font color="#FFFF00">from the chemistry of roasting is CO₂.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It gets trapped inside of the coffee.</font> Oh, okay. <font color="#FFFF00">About a kilo of coffee</font> <font color="#FFFF00">will produce in its roasting process</font> <font color="#FFFF00">about 10 litres of CO₂ at a time.</font> Right. <font color="#FFFF00">A lot of that gets trapped in the coffee,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and certain brew methods sort of bring it out.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So espresso is the most famous.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">1948, a guy invents a high-pressure espresso machine.</font> Yeah. <font color="#FFFF00">And everyone's like,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">"What is the disgusting scum on the coffee now?"</font> He calls it "crema"! <font color="#FFFF00">And he's like, "No, it's natural coffee cream."</font> <font color="#FFFF00">"Natural coffee cream"...</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Right, okay.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is a beautiful piece of marketing that has, I think,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">transported espresso as a kind of a brand around the world.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">What we're going to do,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">what we used to do was get a spoonful,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and slurp very loudly from the spoon,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">aerate the coffee in the mouth,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and sort of turn up the volume.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">But then what we would do</font> <font color="#FFFF00">is kind of give it a quick rinse in some hot water</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and put that same spoon that had been on our mouths</font> <font color="#FFFF00">back in another bowl.</font> Oh, let's not do that. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, so that's not what we do anymore.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So that's why you have a little cup.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And what we'll do is take a spoonful,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">throw it in the little cup.</font> Yep. <font color="#FFFF00">And then slurp as rudely as you like.</font> All right. <font color="#FFFF00"><i>(slurps)</i></font> <font color="#FFFF00">From the little cup.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">All I want you to do as you taste through these</font> <font color="#FFFF00">is compare the bitterness of one to the bitterness of two,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">the bitterness of two to the bitterness of three,</font> Right, and ignore everything else? <font color="#FFFF00">Ignore everything else right now.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I just want you to focus on bitterness to start with.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Take your time.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Don't feel rushed by me or anything.</font> So, spoonful. <font color="#FFFF00">Spoonful into the cup.</font> Into the cup. <font color="#FFFF00">A little swirl will cool it down a touch</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and make it easier.</font> A little swirl, cool it down a touch. <font color="#FFFF00">I'll have another little go on this.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And then have a sip. Now your brain is going to be like,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">you don't have a benchmark yet.</font> No, I don't <font color="#FFFF00">So have a sip, think about the bitterness.</font> Hm. Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">And then—</font> I mean already compared to, you know, 14 year old me, spitting this out immediately and going like, clearly my palette has changed, 'cause— <font color="#FFFF00">It's not— you're not upset?</font> That's not unpleasant. It's not pleasant yet, 'cause I haven't gotten used to it, but it's yeah. That's a thing. All right. Number two. Oh, that's less bitter I think, or is it just warmer? <font color="#FFFF00">No, it's less bitter.</font> Okay. I've worked that out. <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">That's it. There is less bitterness in two than one.</font> <font color="#CCCCCC"><i>(both slurp)</i></font> No, it's almost, my brain almost briefly thought that was sweet. That's interesting. <font color="#FFFF00">Well, we'll think about sweetness in a second.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Have a compare, so benchmark that bitterness in your brain.</font> Yeah. Number three. <font color="#FFFF00">Number three,</font> Swirl it around. Let it cool down a moment. Now I don't know whether my taste buds have just been blown out by those first two, but that barely tastes bitter at all to me. <font color="#FFFF00">It is pretty, pretty, barely bitter, yeah.</font> Right. <font color="#FFFF00">And people have an expectation of coffee's flavour</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that it is this big, harsh, mean thing,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and so most people reach for milk, or they reach for sugar,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because they want to temper that bitterness.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And milk is an amazing thing.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It's one of the few natural bitter-blockers out there.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Most coffee needs milk and sugar, right?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Most coffee that you will drink in the world,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I would recommend tempering it</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because most coffee isn't very good</font> <font color="#FFFF00">compared to how good coffee can be.</font> Right. <font color="#FFFF00">Now, you said sweetness, so let's go the other way again.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So let's go three, two, one, sweetness comparison, alright?</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">How does the sweetness of one, sorry three,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">compare to the sweetness of two.</font> Okay, right. <font color="#FFFF00">Focus on that.</font> And the spoon does not touch the cup. There is an air gap there. <font color="#FFFF00">That's it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">That's just a little bit for me.</font> Spot the person that used to do computer security. "Air gap". Right, so we're looking for sweetness. <font color="#FFFF00">I only know what that means 'cause I watched <i>Mr. Robot.</i></font> <i>(laughs)</i> <font color="#FFFF00">Now sweetness is a tricky word, right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Because you will have coffees that taste sweet,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but do not taste sweetened, right.</font> Yes. <font color="#FFFF00">So the moment</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that I added a sprinkle of sugar to that</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and you'd be like, "Oh no, that's sweetened."</font> Yeah, that's— <font color="#FFFF00">And instead, you're looking for</font> <font color="#FFFF00">a kind of pleasant characteristic,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">a kind of natural sweetness, but not a sugary sweetness,</font> Right. And I feel like there's a bit of that in there, but I'm being very non-committal on that just to... 'cause I don't know what to compare it to. All right. Number two. It's hard to taste above the bitter note there. <font color="#FFFF00">Well, so now, take yourself back then</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to the first thing you tasted that you were surprised by.</font> Yeah. <font color="#FFFF00">How does that now stack up</font> <font color="#FFFF00">now that you've got a benchmark?</font> I feel like there's a sweet note in there, but I only got it on, like, the last... I'm second guessing myself here. I feel like there was a sweet note in there towards the end when it was starting to get cooler. All right. Let's do number one. So this was bitter, or so— <font color="#FFFF00">This was the most bitter of the three.</font> So does it also have that sweet note in it? So I don't think it does. <font color="#FFFF00">I don't think it does either.</font> Okay. That's— <i>(laughs)</i> I keep, like I feel like I'm guessing. I feel like an imposter here who is magically guessing the correct things, because I don't know. If I were to rate them, I'm not sure about these two. That one's definitely not got a sweet note here. I feel like two might have had more of that. <font color="#FFFF00">Interesting.</font> But I'm not sure about that choice. <font color="#FFFF00">I think they're pretty close in terms of sweetness.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I think—</font> I feel like I'm at the opticians, and someone's going "One or two, one or two." I absentmindedly finished off that one. You know, there was more in the cup. I just kind of sipped. That was really pleasant. <font color="#FFFF00">Well, that's it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">We're going to get one more sort of characteristic</font> <font color="#FFFF00">at this stage.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> All right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Which is, I want you to pay attention</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to acidity just quickly.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Just taste each one,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and tell me which one you feel has the most acidity to it.</font> All right. Number one. Number two. Ooh. Definitely more in two than one, 'cause I know what I'm looking for here more than anything, like I know what flavour I'm trying, what profile I'm trying to match in my head there. Three, but only. Two definitely has some, but I feel like three definitely has more of that sort of vinegar, citrus bite to it. <font color="#FFFF00">Do you like it?</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Yes.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And so I would say, I would infer then,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that this is probably your preference</font> <font color="#FFFF00">of these three from a sort of tastes perspective.</font> It's got a hint of sweetness to it, and less bitterness, but it's also got that acid bite. <font color="#FFFF00">Right. So from this...</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Yeah.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I now have a good benchmark of kind of what you're into.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">What we're going to do now is refine that</font> <font color="#FFFF00">through another round of tasting.</font> Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Round two is no longer about sort of tastes.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So the first round is really about, you know,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">bitter, sweet, acidity.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">How do you feel about those? How do you perceive those?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">How do you enjoy those?</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Here we're going to focus much more on flavour,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is a little bit more challenging</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because then you're into sort of finding the words</font> <font color="#FFFF00">in the wine tasting and the hints of wisteria</font> <font color="#FFFF00">or all that sort of stuff.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Don't worry too much about that.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">We'll we'll pick it apart a little bit more in a second,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but that's what we're going to do.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So if you want to have a little smell.</font> All right. <font color="#FFFF00">Again, just compare and contrast.</font> Number one. <font color="#FFFF00">See how you feel.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Hmm.</font> <i>(laughs)</i> I don't have the words, you're right. <font color="#FFFF00">No, it's okay.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I'll give you some words later,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and they'll be hopefully satisfying.</font> I don't want to say floral. Floral is the wrong, but plants. <font color="#FFFF00">Yes.</font> Which is an obvious thing. It's coffee. It's a plant. That's not a helpful word, but. Wood bark. <font color="#FFFF00">Okay.</font> Ooh, oh, what's that? That is... that's a memory from something. I almost want to say berries. <font color="#FFFF00">Mm-hmm.</font> I don't know what berry, but that's the note. You're saying, "Mm-hmm," and I can't tell if that's thinking I'm mad or thinking that— <font color="#FFFF00">I can't skew you too far one way or the other.</font> Ooh, um... spice. Specifically almost like the vinegary thing you get from kimchi or something like that. <font color="#FFFF00">Interesting. A kind of fermented note?</font> Yes. Yes, that's the word fermented. All right. <font color="#FFFF00">You are scoring big points.</font> Am I? <font color="#FFFF00">You're scoring big. I'm going to get a kettle.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">You're doing very well.</font> <i>(laughs)</i> I found a skill! <i>(laughs)</i> This is good. So far, doing things where I'm outside my comfort zone, I haven't found skills, and now. <font color="#FFFF00">Your coffee tasting language is very good.</font> Okay, right. <font color="#FFFF00">Flavour.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It's hard.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Yes.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And that's okay, all right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So don't beat yourself up about those kinds of things.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So to start initially,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">do that kind of initial assessment.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Okay, how does this feel? How's the sweetness?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">How's the bitterness? How's the acidity?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Swallow, and then try to figure out what's left</font> <font color="#FFFF00">filling your head.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">What kind of flavours? Yes.</font> Okay. All right. <font color="#FFFF00">That's the sort of easiest time.</font> Number one. <font color="#FFFF00">Just a quick taste here.</font> Number one, not pleasant for me. <font color="#FFFF00">Okay.</font> There's some note in that. I would go with earthy? <font color="#FFFF00">Yep.</font> Not sure if it's the right word, but I'm going to go with earthy. It doesn't work for me, that. <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">But that as a flavour is quite appealing</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to a number of people in coffee.</font> Oh, okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, so that,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that is quite a desirable characteristic.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It's a bit of a Marmite flavour.</font> Yeah, not literally, but. <font color="#FFFF00">Not literally, thankfully.</font> Number two does not have the— I'm trying to work out if it just feels like there... Hang on. That feels like number one, but missing that note. <font color="#FFFF00">Okay, interesting.</font> Now I'm not sure there's anything there to replace it. Number one tasted like coffee to me. <font color="#FFFF00">Yup.</font> Number two tastes a little bit more like someone has introduced something to some hot water, and infused it a bit, and there's not enough flavour. That was almost felt weak to me. <font color="#FFFF00">Now, it is in part because it's really hot.</font> That's true. <font color="#FFFF00">So this will improve in flavour as you go down.</font> Oh, there it went. <font color="#FFFF00">Oh, don't worry.</font> That splattered everywhere. Oh, what's that? Number three has a definite note to it that. It's not vinegar. It's something close to that. It's something. I need, I'm going to try number three again there. There's something in that I need to place. It's not citrus. It's something like that. There is. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, it's a sort of acid dominant,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">quite sort of fruit acid flavour.</font> Yes, I remember smelling that and saying berries. Okay. All right. And number four was the one, I don't want to like preempt what my brain is going to say here, but number four was the one where I was thinking fermented notes. Yes, but that's too hot. Hang on. <font color="#FFFF00">That's all right.</font> Yes, that is— That's the same thing. I know it's not kimchi, and it's not going to be the same exact flavour. But that's the same note. Definitely. I'm not sure... So one I would write off as just an unpleasant note, that earthy note is not for me. Of those, I think I prefer number four. If you gave me a choice, I'd go for that, but both three and four are very pleasant in different ways. There's no sweetness in there that I can detect, or at least quite... Three has a bit of it. <font color="#FFFF00">Yup.</font> Four replaces that with that kind of fermented. <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah, it's a sort of more of a, you go to kimchi.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">My brain would really go more into the world of kombucha</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and those kinds of ferments,</font> Right, which is not something I'm familiar with. That explains why. Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">Whereas kimchi, I know must be, you know,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">kimchi often has a kind of lactic acid.</font> Yes, yes. <font color="#FFFF00">Quality to it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I think it's a lactic ferment,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is a different sort of acidity to me than that,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is a little bit more sort of citric still.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Like it's still a fruit acid in there,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but it's sort of a fermented fruit quality to it.</font> The water almost tasted sweet for a moment. <font color="#FFFF00">Now this is for me wonderful.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Because one, you clearly taste the differences.</font> Yes, absolutely. <font color="#FFFF00">You've accurately tasted the differences.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">You've expressed preference quite easily,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">which is definitely useful.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I was a bit mean.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">How would this compare</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to say the one you liked in the first round?</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So number three in the first round and this,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">do you have a preference between the two?</font> You're going to reveal they're the same one, or? <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah, they are. Of course they are.</font> 'Cause that feels weak to me now. That feels like you watered it down. <font color="#FFFF00">It's context.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So the flaw in how we taste in some ways</font> <font color="#FFFF00">is that we are very much contextual.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Right? And so when you produce something very big,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">very heavy, you compare it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Now, there's a fun little game.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Go backwards. So start here, go to here, and go to here.</font> So number four. Right, very strong fermented flavour off that now. Oh, wow! Okay, now I can definitely taste fruit acid in that. Wow. Okay. That way round, I prefer the second one as well. <font color="#FFFF00">Interesting.</font> Going that way, prefer the fourth. Going that way, prefer the third. And this, which of course, I now know is the one from earlier, which is going to change my perception as well. <font color="#FFFF00">But—</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Oh!</font> Does not feel weak anymore. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, so you've gone from actually quite a light bodied,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but high acidity thing to a little less acid,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but a bit more texture, and suddenly it's there.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Now, if you go to here again.</font> Oh, this is going to just, this is going to be very strong now, isn't it? Mm. Yeah, no, that's, whatever that flavour is, whatever that note is that some people like, I do not. <font color="#FFFF00">This is one,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I don't particularly enjoy coffee that tastes like this.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Some people really prize that heaviness, that earthiness,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that lack of acid, those kind of flavours.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">They really enjoy them.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">This is the one from the first round.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So what we've talked about it, it's very nice.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I think it's just a very enjoyable—</font> Going that way, that's the one I enjoy the most. <font color="#FFFF00">Interesting, but it's the,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">it's not the most interesting. It's just very friendly.</font> Yes. That, the number four is interesting. <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah.</font> Number three is, it's okay. But going either way, I feel like there's not, compared to these two, those two stand out to me, and this is kind of somewhere in the middle. That one's interesting. That one is just pleasant. But I am so aware that a lot of that is based on me now knowing that that's the one from the first round, that's what I'm looking for, and going this way into it. <font color="#FFFF00">Right, it's— a lot of it's context,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and you can mess with people,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and it's quite fun to mess with people.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">This one here,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">people get very confused when they drink coffees like this,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because they're like, "That's not...</font> <font color="#FFFF00">"That's not really coffee anymore.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Like, what is? That is a fruity, hot thing."</font> If it turns out one of these is actually ground tea, I'm going to be really frustrated. <font color="#FFFF00">None of them are ground tea.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It's all coffee, I promise.</font> So what is number two? I'm going to just check, 'cause I feel like this is the one. Which given I wrote it off as being weak earlier is a really strange thing to say. <font color="#FFFF00">It's not. It's, I mean, that was one way</font> <font color="#FFFF00">you were sort of tripped up by what was around it,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">semi-intentionally, because I think that contrast</font> <font color="#FFFF00">is really interesting</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to sort of understand what you're tasting.</font> But I think of these... Yep, definitely that one. <font color="#FFFF00">Would you say you, do you like the taste?</font> I think this... I do not dislike the taste, <font color="#FFFF00">Yep.</font> but my immediate thought is it would it be better tempered with a little bit of some sort of dairy or equivalent and a little bit of sugar. <font color="#FFFF00">It's absent of defects in a way.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It doesn't have any harshness. There's no bitterness.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">There's no unpleasant flavours there.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">There's a kind of core, kind of coffeeness to it.</font> It is the basic person's coffee. I can deal with that, that's fine. <font color="#FFFF00">No, no, no! Not at all! Not at all!</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Like it is, I think, probably my preference on the table, too,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">if I was to be like, "What am I drinking right now?"</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I mean, I'd lean towards this a little bit,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but I like that a lot, too.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It is just very drinkable. It's nice and sweet.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">It feels nice to drink.</font> What is it then? <font color="#FFFF00">It's a coffee from Columbia.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">This is a good example of the style of coffee</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that you would buy in most modern coffee shops, actually.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So, you know, the kind of wave</font> <font color="#FFFF00">of sort of modern specialty coffees we talk about it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">That's a very good example of the kind of coffees</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that we've been trying to get people excited about.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">All that's left for you to do now is taste this some more.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So what we're going to do is we're going to make this</font> <font color="#FFFF00">as an espresso,</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Right.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">as an cappuccino,</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Okay.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">a little milk drink of some sort,</font> Yeah. <font color="#FFFF00">and as a filter coffee.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Okay.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And you can sort of understand a bit more</font> <font color="#FFFF00">about how you like to drink.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Now you understand what you like to drink,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">now we can do how you like to drink it,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and then you'll end up with your kind of drink</font> <font color="#FFFF00">should you want to go to a coffee shop and order something.</font> <font color="#00FFFF"><i>♪ (bright acoustic music)</i></font> So after a break where the baristas upstairs have made some things. <font color="#FFFF00">They've made some things.</font> I know that's espresso, <font color="#FFFF00">That is espresso.</font> 'Cause it's a tiny shot in a tiny glass. <font color="#FFFF00">It is.</font> I'm going to guess, flat white? <font color="#FFFF00">A cappuccino, a little bit more texture,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">a little bit more foam.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And then I was going to do just a brew of the decaf,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but I thought,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">because you seem a little bit more open to caffeine.</font> I can take it. Yeah, I can take a little. <font color="#FFFF00">And that is something in a similar style</font> <font color="#FFFF00">with caffeine to the list. - Okay.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">And it isn't really a blind tasting anymore.</font> Okay. That would be difficult. <font color="#FFFF00">A chance for you just to kind of assess</font> <font color="#FFFF00">how you like your coffee made.</font> All right. <font color="#FFFF00">So I would say, here's your espresso.</font> Yeah, I just take that. <font color="#FFFF00">Give it a stir first. It's a—</font> Get a shot of that. There we go. Yeah. You see the foam's dissipated a little. Let's stir the foam back in. <font color="#FFFF00">It's actually, the bottom of the drink</font> <font color="#FFFF00">has more dense liquid than at the top.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So as you sip it, the drink would change,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but if you're going to have one sip, forget it, mix it up.</font> All right, so this is decaf espresso with the coffee I chose. <font color="#FFFF00">And it will be pretty intense.</font> Ooh. Oh, wow! Okay. <font color="#FFFF00">So—</font> <i>(laughs)</i> I can see why people like this! And as someone who likes like strong flavours, I can suddenly I see why people like this. <font color="#FFFF00">Yeah, good. It's good.</font> Would happily. I won't. We've got a lot to go through, and I'll probably want to come back to that to compare, but- <font color="#FFFF00">I'm really,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">it's surprising to me.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Many people are like, "Okay, that's— I get it,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but it's too much," like that.</font> It's a lot. I'm not, there's specific times when I would want that, but I have no objection to that as like decaf. Decaf espresso is now absolutely on drinks that I will go, "Yes. If you're offering, I'll have one of those." <font color="#FFFF00">Have a little taste of this.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">You can give it a stir, too, just to mix in that foam, and—</font> I'd quite like, can I just try? <font color="#FFFF00">Just go! Just go.</font> Try the foam on top first. <font color="#FFFF00">This is no—</font> 'Cause I can always mix the foam in later. So this is, a cappuccino is foamed milk on top of an espresso, is that right. <font color="#FFFF00">So you're going to use this as a sort of shot of flavouring.</font> Right. <font color="#FFFF00">And then we're going to dilute it back</font> <font color="#FFFF00">to a more normal strength with sweet and delicious.</font> And this is basically all milk with a shot of espresso in there? <font color="#FFFF00">Yep.</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Okay.</font> Oh. Ah. Okay, the foam's nice. Huh. I mean, that just tastes like a coffee milkshake to me now, which I don't think I would have done before today. I think I'd have been so overwhelmed with the bitter notes and the coffee notes, that's all I'd, but that's. <font color="#FFFF00">It's a great breakfast drink.</font> That— Yeah, it is. Ah, I like coffee now. <font color="#FFFF00">You do?</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> <i>(laughs)</i></font> <font color="#FFFF00">I'll take it. I'll take that as a win.</font> Yep. Mmm. That's so nice. <font color="#FFFF00">Do you see why people—</font><font color="#EEEEEE"> That's lovely!</font> That is so nice! All right, so, and the other two here we have. <font color="#FFFF00">Now here, I'll pour you a little bit of each.</font> One of these is caffeinated. <font color="#FFFF00">One of these you've tasted before,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and one of them is a sort of similarish coffee and style,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but caffeinated.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So you should in theory. You might recognise—</font> Now I can notice a difference there, and it's going to be really difficult to tell. I don't know if it's the brew process. I don't know if the camera could pick this up. The top of this is very smooth. There is no imperfection or anything on top of it. The top of this one has a little bit of clouding, a little bit of some sort of thing on top. Almost like there's a little bit of an oil slick or something there. So let's see. So this is the one without that oil, that a little bit of oil. Hmm. That doesn't do much for me. It's not unpleasant. It's— <font color="#FFFF00">Well, again, you're coming from a—</font> Yes, it- <font color="#FFFF00">You started very strong.</font> Yes. <font color="#FFFF00">Then you went to very rich and sweet,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and in contrast,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">this will suddenly feel lacking in comparison.</font> Yes. <font color="#FFFF00">But it has a little juiciness to it.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">There's a little acidity to it that's quite pleasant.</font> Yeah, that's fair. Let's try the other one. Different taste, definitely. Don't know what the note is. <font color="#FFFF00">What's interesting to me is I picked this as a coffee</font> <font color="#FFFF00">that's relatively similar to the decaf one that you liked,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">right, but coffee is extremely diverse.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">Coffees from the neighbouring farms taste different</font> <font color="#FFFF00">the same way that neighbouring chateaus</font> <font color="#FFFF00">produce different wines, so I can't replicate it exactly.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I can just get the stylistic ballpark.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">So it's a similarish level of acidity,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">similar level of texture and sweetness.</font> This one I prefer. <font color="#FFFF00">I think that is a very enjoyable coffee.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I think this enjoyable coffee. I think this is,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I can't taste it,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but I would presume, intense, fun, almost overwhelming,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">but like you can understand the appeal</font> <font color="#FFFF00">of wanting to stand up in a bar in Rome</font> <font color="#FFFF00">and have a little espresso and move on with your day.</font> Yeah. 100%. Oh, yeah. If I ever go to somewhere that's known for good coffee, that's what I'd order. Even if it's decaf, that's what I'd order, because this feels like an experience. It is like, order— the best comparison I've got is hot sauce or something like that. It is like ordering something with a lot of hot sauce in because there is so much flavour and so much going on. Whereas this, I will happily just have this. This is really nice. That's lovely. <font color="#FFFF00">I just like the idea of taking you from,</font> "I don't like coffee," to espresso. <font color="#FFFF00"><i>(laughs)</i></font><font color="#EEEEEE"> Thank you. Thank you, James.</font> You've taught me to like coffee. <i>(laughs) </i><font color="#FFFF00">That was the goal for today,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">so I feel like I ticked that box.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I'm kind of relieved.</font> <font color="#FFFF00">I was genuinely nervous that you would just be like,</font> <font color="#FFFF00">"This is all disgusting.</font> I don't like anything," and then— So was I. To be fair, that would have probably been more entertaining for the audience. <font color="#FFFF00">Sure. But yeah.</font> No, this is... I've got a new thing I like. Thank you very much. <font color="#FFFF00">My pleasure.</font> <font color="#00FFFF"><i>[Formatting: Caption+ by JS* https://caption.plus]</i></font>
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Channel: Tom Scott plus
Views: 2,004,691
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: tom scott, tomscott
Id: Z-iNAyu-ejo
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Length: 30min 16sec (1816 seconds)
Published: Sat Oct 16 2021
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