I have been a coffee geek for 16 years. Here's my best advice.

Summary

The speaker, a licensed Q grader and coffee enthusiast since 2008, shares insights and tips for coffee lovers. They advise approaching specialty coffee with an open mind, similar to exploring niche music genres. Debunking the kopi luwak myth, they emphasize the importance of coffee's processing and variety over its origin. The speaker recommends starting with a Hario V60 brewer and a quality hand grinder for the best coffee experience. They also touch on water quality, espresso brewing, and the significance of fresh beans, advocating for a balanced approach to coffee brewing and appreciation.

Takeaways

• 😀 Start with a niche mindset: Specialty coffee is like exploring niche music genres, it might be a shock at first but it's worth the exploration.
• ☕️ Avoid the Kopi Luwak scam: It's not the best or most expensive coffee; save your money and try other options.
• 🌱 Learn from professionals: Engaging with coffee professionals can accelerate your understanding and appreciation of coffee.
• 🌍 Geography isn't everything: The origin of coffee beans isn't as important as how they're grown, processed, and their variety.
• 🇪🇹 Ethiopian coffee exception: Ethiopian coffees are consistently interesting, even lower grades can contribute to espresso blends.
• 🍵 Brew with V60: The Hario V60 is an affordable and effective brewing method for beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.
• ⚖️ Invest in a good grinder: A quality hand grinder can significantly improve your coffee experience, more so than an expensive machine.
• 💧 Water quality matters: Use soft water and a TDS meter to ensure your coffee tastes its best.
• ☕️ Espresso tips: Start with medium to dark roasts for espresso, and remember that temperature control is crucial.
• 📈 Freshness is key: Coffee beans are best consumed within 1-3 weeks of roasting, depending on the roast level and storage conditions.
• 🐝 Processing impacts flavor: Experiment with different coffee processing methods to find what flavors you prefer most.

Q & A

How long has the speaker been deeply involved in the coffee industry?

The speaker has been a coffee geek since 2008 and has been writing about coffee full-time since around 2016.

What is a Q grader in the context of coffee?

A Q grader is a licensed professional in the coffee industry who evaluates coffee quality, similar to a sommelier in the wine industry.

What is the speaker's advice for someone new to specialty coffee?

The speaker suggests thinking of specialty coffee like niche music genres and being patient with the process of developing a taste for it.

Why does the speaker warn against the Kopi Luwak coffee trend?

The speaker advises against Kopi Luwak because it's not the best-tasting or most expensive coffee, and they also express ethical concerns about the treatment of animals involved in its production.

What is the 'cheat code' to understanding coffee more deeply, as mentioned by the speaker?

Cupping coffee with professionals is the 'cheat code' as it allows for a deeper and faster understanding of coffee by tasting many different types simultaneously with expert guidance.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of coffee's origin in determining its quality?

The speaker believes that the origin of coffee is less important than how the beans are grown, processed, and the variety of the bean itself.

Why does the speaker recommend the Hario V60 for brewing coffee?

The Hario V60 is recommended because it's affordable, offers the best return on investment, and provides a good starting point for brewing coffee.

What is the speaker's opinion on the importance of water quality in coffee brewing?

Water quality is crucial in coffee brewing, and the speaker suggests starting with relatively soft water and using a TDS meter to measure it.

What brewing method does the speaker suggest for those who prefer strong coffee?

For those who like strong coffee, the speaker recommends starting with methods like AeroPress or French Press instead of jumping straight to espresso.

What is the speaker's advice regarding the freshness of coffee beans?

The speaker advises that coffee beans should be fresh, ideally consumed within 1 to 3 weeks after roasting, and that storage conditions can affect their aging process.

Why does the speaker suggest trying different coffee processing methods?

Trying different processing methods helps in discovering personal flavor preferences and expanding one's palate in the world of specialty coffee.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Coffee Enthusiasm and Learning Journey

The speaker shares their coffee journey, starting as a home roaster in 2008 and becoming a licensed Q grader in 2018. They emphasize the importance of mindset, comparing specialty coffee to niche music genres, and advise patience when exploring different coffee flavors. The speaker warns against the Kopi Luwak myth, urging listeners to focus on taste and quality instead. They also stress the value of learning from professionals and understanding the factors that truly affect coffee flavor, such as processing methods and bean variety, rather than geographical origins.

05:02

☕️ Brewing Methods and Equipment Insights

The speaker discusses various coffee brewing methods, recommending pour-over with a Hario V60 as an affordable and effective choice. They suggest investing in a good hand grinder for optimal coffee quality and caution against the excessive pursuit of high-end equipment. The paragraph also touches on the importance of water quality in brewing, advocating for a balanced approach rather than complex DIY water recipes. Additionally, the speaker advises starting with medium to dark roasts for espresso and emphasizes the importance of temperature control and extraction ratios for a quality espresso experience.

10:03

🌱 Coffee Freshness and Processing Methods

The speaker highlights the significance of coffee freshness, suggesting that most beans are best consumed within 1-3 weeks post-roasting, with some exceptions based on roast level and storage conditions. They also delve into coffee processing methods, explaining how different processes affect flavor profiles and encouraging exploration to find personal preferences. The paragraph concludes with a note on cupping coffee as a learning tool and a personal opinion that milk coffee, while enjoyable, can sometimes overshadow the true coffee flavors.

Keywords

💡Q Grader

A Q Grader is a professional certification in the coffee industry that signifies the individual's ability to cupping coffee and distinguish between different coffee qualities. In the video, the speaker mentions becoming a licensed Q Grader in 2018, which is a significant milestone in their coffee journey, indicating a high level of expertise and a deeper understanding of coffee flavors and quality.

💡Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak is a type of coffee made from beans that have been eaten and excreted by a certain type of Indonesian palm civet. It is often marketed as a luxury coffee. The speaker advises against the 'Kopi Luwak scam,' suggesting that it's not as good as it's made out to be and not worth the high price, emphasizing the importance of taste and quality over exotic origin stories.

💡Coffee Varietal

A coffee varietal refers to the specific type or variety of coffee plant, which can influence the taste and quality of the coffee. The speaker compares coffee varietals to different types of apples, highlighting the diversity within coffee itself. Understanding varietals is crucial for appreciating the nuances in coffee flavors.

💡Processing Method

Processing methods are the techniques used to process coffee cherries after they are harvested, which significantly affect the taste of the final product. The speaker discusses different methods such as washed, natural, and honey process, explaining how they contribute to the flavor profile of the coffee. This is a key concept in understanding the complexity of coffee flavors.

💡Hario V60

The Hario V60 is a type of pour-over coffee dripper, known for its distinctive hourglass shape and spiral rib pattern. The speaker recommends the V60 as an affordable and effective brewing method, suggesting that it offers a good return on investment for those looking to improve their coffee brewing at home.

💡Hand Grinder

A hand grinder is a manual device used to grind coffee beans, which is essential for brewing coffee at home. The speaker emphasizes the importance of investing in a good hand grinder, noting that it can significantly improve the quality of brewed coffee, and mentions that a quality hand grinder in the $100 to $150 range can make a substantial difference.

💡Water Quality

Water quality is a critical factor in brewing coffee, as the water's mineral content and pH can affect the extraction and taste. The speaker advises using soft water and a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter to measure water quality, aiming for a TDS reading of 60 to 100 for optimal brewing results.

💡Espresso

Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee beans under high pressure. The speaker discusses espresso in the context of brewing methods and equipment, cautioning against the complexity and cost associated with espresso machines, and suggesting starting with simpler brewing methods before moving on to espresso.

💡Freshness

Freshness refers to the age of the coffee beans, which is an important factor in coffee quality. The speaker advises that coffee beans should be consumed within 1 to 3 weeks after roasting for optimal flavor, but notes that this can vary depending on the roast level and storage conditions.

💡Cupping

Cupping is a professional coffee tasting method used to evaluate the taste and quality of coffee. The speaker mentions cupping as a way to accelerate one's coffee knowledge, suggesting that tasting multiple types of coffee side by side can provide insights into different flavors and qualities.

💡Milk Coffee

Milk coffee refers to coffee drinks that include milk, such as lattes or cappuccinos. The speaker expresses a personal opinion that milk coffee is overrated and suggests that to fully experience coffee, it's best to drink it black without any additives that might alter the flavor.

Highlights

Becoming a licensed Q grader in 2018 enhanced the speaker's coffee expertise.

The speaker's coffee journey began as a hobby in 2008 with home roasting.

Specialty coffee should be approached with an open mind, similar to exploring niche music genres.

The kopi luwak coffee is a scam and not a mark of quality or taste.

Professional cupping sessions are a 'cheat code' for deepening coffee understanding.

The origin of coffee beans is less important than the growing, processing, and bean variety.

Ethiopian coffee stands out and can be an exception to the terroir rule in coffee.

The Hario V60 is recommended as an affordable and effective brewing method.

Investing in a quality hand grinder can significantly improve coffee quality.

For those who prefer strong coffee, starting with AeroPress or Moka pot might be better than an espresso machine.

Water quality is crucial in coffee brewing, with soft water being a good starting point.

Espresso should be approached with medium to dark roasts due to their easier extraction.

Temperature control is vital for espresso brewing to avoid under-extraction.

Freshness is key for coffee beans, with most being best consumed within 1-3 weeks post-roasting.

Coffee processing methods significantly affect flavor and are worth exploring.

Cupping is an excellent way to accelerate coffee knowledge and discern quality differences.

Milk coffee might be overrated for those seeking the purest coffee experience.

Avoiding extreme brewing trends and focusing on personal taste is recommended.

Transcripts

I've been writing about coffee almost

full-time since around 2016 and in 2018

I became a licensed Q grader which is

kind of like the coffee worlds version

of a summer year but actually I've been

a coffee geek for a lot longer than that

probably it started on a hobby level all

the way back in 2008 when I began

roasting at home and back then there

wasn't very much coffee knowledge

available online and actually many of

the things we take for granted today

wasn't even invented so today I wanted

to talk about all the things that I wish

I'd known back then things that could

have saved me from a lot of grief or a

lot of time and effort so I'll just jump

right into all these points in a rapid

fire way and then hopefully they can

save you some time if you're just

getting into coffee so the first thing I

want to talk about is the mindset think

of specialty coffee as you would think

of Niche music maybe like jazz or indie

rock or classical music if you're used

to mainstream pop even really annoying

pop music then jumping straight into the

small Advanced chras might shock your

system a little bit and it could take

some time to get used to it but just

stick with it because it will definitely

be worth it and now on to number two and

I need to say this right away don't fall

for the kopil luak scam it's not the

most expensive all tastiest coffee in

the world it's actually not good at all

so just save your money and taste butts

and I'm not saying this because I'm some

crazy animal activist this is just an

objective fact and it's about taste and

coffee quality to be honest I think what

happens at there Farms is probably just

as bad so in the title I mentioned that

I've been a coffee geek for 16 years

because that coincides with when I

started roting coffee at home for fun

but actually the first few years of my

learning curve was rather slow the

really big change in my coffee

understanding came when I started coping

coffees with professionals and that's

really the cheat code if you want to

understand coffee much deeper and much

faster trying many different coffees at

the same time and ideally with someone

more experienced who can help you to

understand the difference will really

help you in your coffee Journey the next

tip is about understanding coffee better

so many people think exotic locations

and coffee countries are important but

whether a coffee is from Hawaii or

Jamaica it doesn't really mean anything

the coffee beans are just seeds inside a

cherry and they don't know anything

about geography or land borders no what

makes the real difference is the way the

beans are grown how they are processed

after they are harvested and what

variety of bean it is you know like

there are different apples like let's

say Fuji and and delicious well the same

goes for coffee so for example in Kenya

which is famous for their outstanding

coffee they grow a certain type of

coffee and they also process it in a

special way in Brazil they grow other

types of coffee and they tend to do

something called pulp Naturals which is

a very different way of processing the

coffee after it's been harvested so this

idea about teroa that comes from wine is

less important in coffee that being said

if I had to pick one exception to that

rule it would be Ethiopian coffee I

can't recall having a boring Ethiopian

coffee and even the bad ones the ones

labeled grade three or four can still

play a role in an espresso blend okay

let's switch gears a little bit and talk

about Brewing methods and Equipment if

you have to choose one Brewing method

then go with po more specifically the

Hario V60 it's affordable and offers the

best return on investment for any coffee

equipment I started using the V60 in

2011 and even though so many new poor

over competitors have entered the market

it's still one of my go-to rers that

being said if you can afford to spend a

little bit more then consider the Hario

switch it can do all the same things as

the Hario V60 but offers just a bit more

control over your Brewing process

because you can also use it as a steep

and release device learning to brew por

can be a bit tricky in the beginning but

I'd say that with my standard switch

recipe you can get results that are

around 90% similar to a really good poro

I'll put a link to that recipe up here

so you can check it out if you're

curious with the money you save from

getting a relatively affordable poo

device you should also invest in a good

hand grinder a V60 combined with a

quality hand grinder in the 100 to 150

dos range will allow you to make better

C than 98% of people out there and now

that we're talking about Grinders I

probably have around 40 Grinders in my

apartment right now and the law of

diminishing returns really kicks in

early here if you spend between $150 and

$250 on a hand grinder then you really

have to go up to the $700 to $1,000

range before you get anything that's

significantly better but I should say

that this applies specifically to hand

Grinders with the electric ones you

usually have to pay a bit more so the

next tip is about coffee preference if

you one of those people who really like

strong coffees and the idea of a floral

and fruity coffee like this one here

doesn't appeal to you at all then I

would probably encourage you to start

out with something like an aerrow press

or a Mot instead of going directly to an

espresso machine and thepress machine is

just so much work and so expensive

compared to what you get back

flavor-wise the exception to this is

manual espresso makers which are a lot

cheaper and they also tend to provide

more insights into the espresso Brewing

process you can actually learn a lot by

using them and they can still produce

tasty shots if I were you I would only

consider an espresso machine after you

already mastered some of the other

Brewing methods but we'll get back to

Espresso a little bit later in this

video water can be the most complicated

aspect of coffee brewing but it's also

where you get the most efficient results

for your money don't get too overwhelmed

approach it step by step if you start

out by using a relative soft water than

you're miles ahead of most other people

you can use a cheap TDS meter like this

to get started aim for reading around 60

to 100 and then uh it will usually give

you a pretty good result it's possible

to do more precise measurements if you

have something like this an alkalinity

measurement kit but a TDS meter is

probably the most convenient way to get

into that ball park of pretty decent

coffee water my next advice is to be

cautious of the Rabbid hole of water it

can be one of the most complicated

aspects of coffee brewing and it's easy

to get overwhelmed especially if you

start making all these DIY recipes I'd

especially stay away from recipes that

only rely on baking soda and epom salt

natural Waters don't have this kind of

composition and while the hardness to

alkalinity ratio might look very

intriguing on paper the results in your

cup will probably be disappointing I

think coffee water should have some

calcium in it but of course not too much

when and if you get into espresso I

would suggest that you start with dark

or medium roasts while light roasts are

trendy in the coffee World they don't

work as well for espresso due to they're

more acidic and hard to extract nature

light roast shine and pour over and

aerop and other methods but for espresso

stick with something that's a little bit

easier to brew like medium to dark roast

then eventually if you want you can

explore light roast to Espresso but if

you don't like it then that's totally

fine temperature is really important

with espresso the worst espresso you'll

ever taste is one brute with water

that's not hot enough avoid this by

getting an espresso machine P

temperature control the second worst

espresso you'll taste is one made from a

light roast that's not extracted

properly so don't be afraid to go beyond

that typical 1 to2 espresso ratio longer

ratios are usually more balanced and

easier to brew especially for light

roast Al to be a little bit cautious

when you're getting into espresso not to

get Dawn into that endless Rabbit Hole

of constant gear upgrades instead of

splurging on every new Gadget start with

a magnetic funnel a PO screen and a

calibrated chamber these will will help

you to maintain a clean countertop Clean

Group head and get a consistent even

Tamp every time I'd also consider

investing in a nice single basket and a

small steaming pitchure you don't have

to make giant cavadas at home you can

actually get rather small pitches that

allow you to steam down to 80 to 90 ml

of milk I'm still kicking myself for not

getting one of those a lot earlier the

same goes for single shot espressor

baskets they have a bad reputation but

some of them are actually quite okay

especially if you're going to add milk

to your coffee coffee beans should

always always be fresh for most beans

the ideal time to consume them is within

1 to 3 weeks after roasting but this

depends a little bit on roasting style

roasting machine and the type of bean

and it will also depend on how warm it

is where you're living beans age faster

if you live in a place where it's 30°

inside compared to 20° if you're Brewing

very light roast once in a while you

will meet some beans that benefit from

more than these three weeks of roasting

time if the coffee tastes like a mix of

grass peanuts and hay then most likely

it's worth waiting a little bit longer

before you brew it and it can also be a

good idea to use slightly harder water

water with more minerals and hotter

water than usual if you're worried about

your coffee getting Ste then don't be

afraid to store it in the fridge or the

freezer also you don't have to thaw

coffee you can just grind it directly

from the fridge the main enemy of coffee

in the fridge in my opinion is not

condensation but it's rather other

flavors from other food items in your

fridge so just make sure that they're

sealed really properly remember remember

that frozen coffee always tastes better

than St coffee so use this option when

necessary coffee processing is nearly as

important as roast level when it comes

to determining flavors as you start

exploring specialty coffee try different

processing methods to discover what you

like the best despite the name honey

process doesn't involve any honey the

term refers to the coffee seed that's

been removed from the Cherry skin but

still has some kind of sticky fruit

mutilates on them during the drying

process natural processed coffee is a

little bit the same it's not more

natural than other types of coffee

processing it just refers to the coffee

seed The Coffee Bean is being dried

inside the Cherry instead of being taken

out before stride wash coffee is the

most common type of coffee processing

today while it's the standard it's not

necessarily the best way to expand your

pallet if you're new to coffee as

mentioned before the best way to speed

up your coffee knowledge is through

coping which involves tasting multiple

types of coffee side by side one cing

session with a trained professional is

worth one year of regular coffee

consumption in terms of what you can

learn if you're serious about

understanding coffee coping will make

you old and wise in coffee knowledge

very quickly when coping it can be

helpful to have a bowl of instant coffee

on the table this provides a pretty big

contrast and helps you to appreciate the

differences between high quality and

lower quality also at least one time try

to cup some reuster coffee as well next

to the Arabica it will open your eyes to

why Dino coffee tastes the way it does

you can also get into roasting coffee

yourself if you want to to learn more

about coffee flavors and how roasting

modulates those flavors but don't get

into it because you want to save money

or because you expect to drink better

coffee getting good at roasting takes a

long time and a lot of practice and

you'll over and under roast many batches

and the next one is a little bit

controversial but in my opinion milk

coffee is overrated I think the Italians

have a good point with the rule one milk

coffee per day if you want to experience

coffee to the fullest and be a real

coffee geek it's best not to add

anything that alters the flavor

perception if you're a wine lover you

also don't add any lemonade or weird

things to your wine and finally in

coffee brewing as in life in general the

middle ground is often the best place to

be be careful about dock Mass such as

more extraction is always better or

bypass water must be avoided at all

costs if you can avoid these extreme

Trends and focus on what just tastes

good to you then you're in a pretty good

place and if you're still confused about

this whole crazy world of specialty

coffee and Equipment then I have a guide

on how to pick the first coffee grinder

I'll put that right here and then you

can just check it out I also have a

video about the most common mistakes

that beginners make when BR por or

coffee I'll put that video right here

and then you can just click other one of

them and then I'll see you over there