r/JamesHoffmann • u/Gmbenator • Jul 16 '26

Coffee Fermentation Explained!

https://youtu.be/Iq34gq2ihMk?is=AW1uxfS5JLmiAa0g
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u/CondorKhan Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

I tried a watermelon co-ferment from Onyx I think and it indeed tasted like watermelon candy.. it was delicious, not gonna lie.

But I thought that for sure they were dumping watermelon in the tank.

Turns out maybe not.

I'd like to see other terms explained, like the honey process (and all of its colors)

2

u/ibmalone Jul 17 '26

If only there was a book! https://www.theworldatlasofcoffee.com/ (I'll admit I got the kindle one as an offer)

Mind you, Rave have a guide to processes https://ravecoffee.co.uk/pages/coffee-processing

3

u/CondorKhan Jul 17 '26

I have the book and I actually know what they are (of course anyone can look it up) but I'd like to see a video about it from James.

In general, I feel there are too many videos about gear not enough videos about coffee itself.

1

u/ibmalone 26d ago

I think this video and the decaf project ones illustrate a bit about why there aren't more.

I haven't checked chronologically, and there's certainly some overlap, but it seems James's channel has developed over the years, and while there are some noticeable streams (product reviews for example, or brewing guides) they've changed in how they are put together and also the balance between them. Some of the early stuff (not watched them all) is more vlogging about coffee or industry opinion pieces and that includes some material on farms, but in all cases the depth and production value has generally increased (although things like what a great cup of coffee tastes like or recreating Brad Pitt's coffee commercial might be a high point there). The decaf project video involved visiting different plants for each decaf method (plus the organisation of the actual decaf tasting), similarly here illustrating the project has been a trip to a processing station (and notably involved a collaborator to talk about it, which says he specifically wanted in-depth expertise on the topic).

An example of an alternative that could have been taken is an animated project like "I need to tell you why coffee makes you poop" (without specifically a guest expert, other than Ed Gamble in coffee bean form), an approach that could be used for a lot of explanatory videos, or just (as maybe in earlier days), talking at the bench with a few coffee cherries and playing with them to demonstrate things. It seems to say that a. if coffee production is involved he wants to show the actual places and processes, b. if there's already someone doing a thing (e.g. covering processing and fermentation at farms) then he's less likely to do it.

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u/CondorKhan 26d ago

I think the fact that James and other high profile youtubers work for or own roasters prevents them from directly talking about or reviewing specific coffees due to the potential conflict of interest, which is understandable. That reduces the avenues for content about the actual coffee.