YouTube coffee expert James Hoffmann explains what a great cup tastes like and how you can tell if your coffee is on par.
This short, entertaining video is a tour of the many factors that build up a great cup of coffee. Hoffmann has taught me to make espresso and brew my pour-over; why shouldn't he also tell me how to drink my coffee?
I've recently been struggling in the mornings, and I think it is partly due to having picked up a few bags of coffee that don't suit my needs. One morning I found my grinder was out of beans, and when I ran to the closest coffee shop they only had a very floral, light and not very coffee tasting Sumatran single bean. I did not want to make my usual pots of coffee, and after a few days, I figured out why: my body didn't like that stuff. In my haste, I mistakenly picked up a bag of dark roast that I like for espresso but tried to run with it in my Chemex. This is not garbage, but it is not what I like. I think that tomorrow I have will finally return to my regular programming of the local "local blend" that is a light roast but is definitely something Hoffmann would say tastes like coffee.
