How to Make Coffee Without Coffee Equipment

[@coleockerse5473]

Love how James would rather figure out a way to grind coffee without a grinder rather than use pre-ground coffee.

[@greengohm]

He's not a savage!

[@malaka686535]

Or Instant coffee.

[@blacklightrocker]

As much as I think that a cup of coffee made from freshly ground beans is unmatched, sometimes it’s too much of a hassle to prepare one when you’re away from home for a reasonably long period of time. In that case, I usually resort to pre-ground Italian coffee which is not bad at all (definitely superior to instant coffee). Let’s not forget that most of the Italians (at least the ones I know) have been brewing coffee that way for decades and it’s part of their culture.

[@nhojlagap6222]

Because he's a fancy man

[@julianshepherd2038]

@@malaka686535 no bad language please

[@FernandoHernandez-xq1zi]

I live in a very small town in the U.S., and I own a coffee shop in this small town (I’m talking 1,000 full time residents). I have access to horses and fields, so when you’re ready to travel to the U.S. to brew some cowboy coffee, I’ll gladly host you!

[@JadenNeko]

Make sure James makes a vid out this.

[@clomino3]

Wow! Impressive that you can keep a coffee shop open in such a small town! Would it be rude of me to ask which town?

[@Crypto2638]

That’s interesting. You should make some videos about it such as “running a coffee shop in a small town” 😉

[@benross5372]

My exact thought after he said he’d have to be in America on a horse was “that can be arranged”.

[@tjsmith1925]

I really do need James to talk about cowboy coffee

[@CameronCrosby2468]

You could've put the chopped up smaller bits of coffee from the knife/hammer into the pepper grinder so it grinds more and has an easier time grinding

[@MegaKiri11]

genius right here

[@threehanded8853]

Also could have hammered beans folded into a paper towel

[@Girvo747]

Still would’ve tasted like pepper lol

[@soy_toy]

It’s common to throw away a bit of coffee when changing beans or grind size. Why not discard the first bit of ground coffee that’s mixed with pepper?

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

In this scenario you either have a pepper mill or a hammer

[@meson183]

James Hoffmann , doing his best impression of a bus service. None for ages then three come along at once. Loving it @James Hoffmann

[@realkoko-loco]

I was once in this situation. I did the hammer first, but what works best-I'm surprised you didn't try this. Put the beans in a bag and rollover them with a can or rolling pin or what ever you have that's cylindrical and keep flattening them until they're the right texture. 🙂 Real coffee addicts know. If you know, you know!

[@Zave85]

i was going to suggest exactly this. why not use the tea towel as containment for the beans and crush them with the hammer? when in a pinch i find it very unlikely to have a mortar on hand. the pepper grinder was working well at grinding the beans (you just need to clean it very well), had he crushed the beans a bit before feeding them into the grinder it would have grinded the whole quantity without hassle.

[@122172639]

Every recipe that tells you to grind things/crush cashews or other nuts (or crack the shells of ones that roll a lot, too, if you can't find big enough pliers and lack a nutcracker) etc will say put em in a bag whether a hammer or rolling pin etc is your means of destruction... he clearly is better at coffee than cooking if he's never had to pulverize something with the help of a ziploc bag to contain the mess and keep things from rolling around.

[@matthewheimerdinger9118]

Yeah, the hammer method also deserves a bag.

[@thereveck]

when you first discover james, you don't really expect him to drink anything worse than you do. when you really get into the channel, you start realising.

[@jmt8706official]

facts

[@MeteorMark]

Then you down a Rabbit Hole filled with damp grinds...

[@alejrandom6592]

Fr

[@ijchua]

Funding James to make coffee in America on horseback is the next thing we should do!

[@evilcanofdrpepper]

yes! Now make coffee with nothing but a pocket full of beans and the clothes on your back!

[@kadentstructuraldesign9929]

I've got $20 if someone makes a kickstarter or similar.

[@gaurdro]

The most compelling reason to join his patreon yet!

[@fryedace]

I would love to see himmake cowboy coffee!!!!!!!

[@cofaul1174]

I absolutely second that

[@nathanjfield]

James on Wednesday: makes coffee with a £1,500 hand grinder James on Thursday: makes coffee with a hammer

[@kevind5396]

And the hammer will end up with more views.😂

[@spamcan9208]

I love the absurd juxtaposition.

[@Busterblade20]

Fancy fancy man got unfancy real fucking quick.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Things getting ropey in UK. Need fall back position for total collapse

[@maxhaibara8828]

James on Friday: makes coffee with a £1,500 hammer

[@radash]

We need a combo option: 1. Put the beans in the tea towel 2. Roughly break the beans with the hammer 3. Wash the pepper grinder 4. Run partially-broken beans through the pepper mill

[@radleychin6565]

My god how are we this blessed with so many videos in one week.

[@snajsnajsnaj]

My thoughts exactly

[@paradise_valley]

Yeah it’s shocking. Not complaining though! :)

[@spidie571]

Thanks to the sponsors (which is a good thing) xD

[@kareliask]

The man is on a tear

[@jamiedavie91]

"After a lot of grinding, my yield is not very much." Sounds like a typical night on the town 😿

[@4ll3sb4n4n3]

Or Raid Shadow Legends

[@oliverdelacruz2366]

Comparing these methods to ground coffee? What would you choose James?

[@beginswithaj]

I've even been to the night on the town-level of "It feels like I'm drinking clothes" more times I'd like to admit tbh 😅

[@Zraknul]

​@@4ll3sb4n4n3 Just waiting for one of these days for James to break out the plug for Raid.

[@dushk0]

@@Zraknul And there are some other things I enjoy with a nice cup of coffee after a hard day of going after business: lay back, having a nice time doing quests. Raid - Shadow Legends is -so much fun- *an interesting experience* with my lv 139 Whatevs Chamacallit. Start yours now and you'll get there in no time.... there's much more to grind than your light roast. HELL IS A PLACE ON EARTH...

[@thelopen9277]

Assuming you washed out the pepper grinder, you could use it along side the hammer method with some modifications: If you placed the coffee beans inside something like a plastic bag that would likely be an effective strategy to minimise your losses when using the hammer. Then since you've broken down the coffee somewhat, you could more effectively utilise the pepper grinder to get a decent grind.

[@Alice-go2nc]

Cousin!

[@thelopen9277]

@@Alice-go2nc Hey, gancha!

[@bhavneetsingh1343]

🔥🔥

[@urouroniwa]

I'm a bit surprised you didn't use the classic "I don't have a grain mill" homebrrewed beer method of crushing it in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. It works incredibly badly, but I've got to think it would be better than the hammer. In Japan there is a kind of mortar and pestle called a suribachi. It has grooves in it. I've discovered that it is amazingly good at grinding spices once you learn how to do it. I think I'll give it a try with coffee tomorrow. Wish me luck!

[@davetraintrain]

Yeah I was thinking for the hammer, I was surprised he hadn't at least wrapped the beans in a bag or a tea towel, would have had better results.

[@sarahrosen4985]

My first thought was a rolling pin also but then I’d throw the cracked beans in the mortar and pestle to continue the job. If I felt it still needed it, finish up with the pepper mill. Just seems like the same process when sanding wood: coarser sand paper down to finer sand paper.

[@peterheinzo515]

at a friends house i just used a blender for 10 minutes, it was drinkable

[@dodaexploda]

yeah, the hammer really only needed a zip-loc bag to save it.

[@junda_ia]

well? don't let us hanging

[@TilmanBaumann]

The reverse of that pepper grinder trick is actually really amazing, There are a huge amount of very decent cheap coffee hand grinders out there. And not many really useful and ergonomic pepper grinders. So I use mid range coffee grinders for pepper. It's amazing.

[@michaelmoceri1118]

From experience, when you're using a hammer to grind food, wrap the food in a towel first. It stops the pieces from flying everywhere, and it lets you turn it as you work for a finer grind.

[@ciggythedrummer]

I was definitely expecting him to wrap the coffee in either the tea towel or the kitchen paper when using the hammer in order to not have the beans flying everywhere 😂

[@waltermeerschaert]

ziplock bags work really well for this

[@touahriaoussama]

yep I expected that too, the hammer would work well

[@WhiskyCanuck]

I thought that was the obvious move as well. It would also allow him be more smashy-smash & enjoy the process more :) I suppose one could argue that the towel/paper would absorb some oils from the coffee or something.

[@MonotoneCreeper]

That's how I would have done it too. He's clearly never made crumbled digestives for a trifle/cheescake

[@0Clewi0]

When you're surprised people don't have even cheap coffee grinders but you don't have ziplock bags.

[@brockmacd]

I stayed over at my brother’s once, a non coffee drinker, but when I woke up in the morning, he had a coffee grinder on the counter! I was so surprised and thankful, I ground my beans, brewed up a pot of French press. 10 ish minutes later, I have a SPICY cup. Thought maybe something was in the mug. Nope. He used a coffee grinder to grind up his smoked jalapeños/chipotle. Quite a surprise

[@manwhoeatsfishinbedwithlig3791]

Sounds good

[@yusuforief8387]

Lol

[@maximumacannona]

AKA a spice grinder

[@RJ-ek7ov]

Thanks for the laugh

[@reuireuiop0]

Chocolate with pepper tastes pretty good, but that remains COLD. Hot pepper in a hot drink, _pfeeewwww_

[@zues121510]

I recently discovered Turkish coffee and as a broke student, I love it. It's strong, the only equipment you need is a cezve pot which cost me £2.99 from the Mediterranean shop and you also need specially ground coffee, which I got 500g (80+ servings) of for £6.99, but you can get 100g for like £1.50. It's also super quick to make and easy to clean. Considering that the only investment I needed for 3 months of coffee was £10, I'm impressed.

[@youvegot]

turkish coffee is so gas and its so easy. if i could only have 1 kind of coffee my whole life itd def be turkish

[@contentvulture8682]

Okay, so hear me out: You fold the beans in a clean tea-towel (so they don’t fly everywhere) and crush them with a pan. This gives you pieces that fit into a (clean) pepper-mill. Alternatively, you can use the sieve to keep smashing on the largest bits, and use the paper-towel trick from the other video to remove the super-fines.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

Beans in the tea towel and hammer first before grinding was my thought though crushing with a pan may be better.

[@hawx74]

I was going to suggest basically this, except put the beans on a baking sheet, throw the towel on top and crush them with a heavy bottomed pot. The baking sheet then makes a convenient way to collect the crushed coffee before adding it to the peppermill.

[@mattriggs301]

This is where I ultimately expected him to wind up when I saw the paper towels/Sieve. A combination of all things he's done with the cheap blade grinder just with even less blade grinder.

[@thelethalmoo]

and duct tape a spatula to the grinder to make a handle to wangjangle around quicker

[@berlineczka]

Meat hammer would also be an interesting tool to try.

[@samuel02654]

The image of a full-bearded Survivalist Cowboy James briping hammered coffee shards into the sunset on horseback is now on my list of things that I need to witness in my lifetime to truly be fulfilled.

[@overthebarscouk]

This needs to be made into a reality

[@chris9650]

Who wants to get together to make a go fund me for it.

[@weeksweeks9552]

Holding on to his bripe pipe

[@juandefriedemore5455]

I Almost need to be one of his Patreon supporters to make it happen

[@anttitenhunen4725]

Same, same!

[@jaredkomaike7474]

James: “That’s not good, that’s bad” Also James: Continues to drink the laundry detergent coffee

[@mitulshobbies6868]

Three time! Three times just to make sure it was as nasty as he thought initially. Not all heroes wear capes!

[@loodog555]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4SQYWqanZ5ghKM

[@michanestorowicz6577]

loved that bit as well!

[@tidel32]

Simply boil the towel once..... I think he's never looked into grandma's cookbook!

[@marienixon148]

It feels like I'm drinking clothes.

[@canterios]

I've actually used a pepper mill to grind coffee(a clean one however), and James is right the coffee bean is too big to grind properly. BUT, if you put the coffee inside of a clean tea towel and crush it first with: a rolling pin, the bottom of a heavy saucepan, a tenderizer, etc. The pieces are small enough to fit the pepper mills burrs. It still takes forever to grind, but it at least works!

[@2iemand2]

Exactly my thoughts!

[@ad6449]

Plus you can use the tea towel with. the hammer to keep the beans from jumping around.

[@madcoda]

yar, I think he should use some combination of his 4 methods (e.g. hammer+pepper mill). Covering the beans with towel (or use a ziplock bag) before hammering is actually very good method to prevent the bits flying off.

[@katharinameinzer6297]

@@madcoda yeah! My mom used to crush Biskuits in a ziplock with a bottle. I wondered if this would work with coffee beans too!

[@marcusannegarn8497]

putting the beans inside a plastic bag or even tea cloth before hammering keeps it from going everywhere.

[@RedWurm]

Was thinking of that, just wrap them up and smack em with a rolling pin, at least until they're past the point of shattering and flying everywhere.

[@EtruskenRaider]

Yep. Thought of putting the beans in the tea cloth and then transferring the cloth directly into the sieve for brewing.

[@hawleyrigsby3123]

@@EtruskenRaider This would retain maximum oils, too. But is that desirable?

[@leahgroess5361]

I came to mention this. He has the cloth right there!

[@AndrewDAngeloCCpod]

@@leahgroess5361 I thought that as soon as I saw the hammer and the cloth as well! Figured he'd put whole beans in the cloth, wrap them up, and hammer away. Alas...

[@castl_n]

I am returning to this video for several times now. I am still very surprised you didn’t use Turkish coffee method with a pot you had there. Various techniques exist, the most simple one is room temp water + ground coffee in a pot stirred, strictly no stirring when heating, turn off just before boiling (so it’s about 92°C). It is also very strange to me that you don’t really have an in-depth video about Turkish coffee pot itself, only a brief mention in a Syrian Espresso video :(

[@etwaitelkehtehelal6652]

Aww James, I've crushed a lot of coffee beans (and acorns) and found wrapping the beans (or nuts) in a towel then smashing with a large flat rock works best. That way the beans don't fly everywhere and it goes way faster. That's the way my elders used to smash a lot of foraged nuts all at once. Thanks as always for your work!

[@pmeisman]

I think it’s time to come to America, and do a whole episode on cow boy coffee!

[@mangamaster03]

I agree! That would be fun to watch! I've seen videos of cowboy coffee before, but I'll stick to my chemex for now.

[@danddietz]

Now we’re talking. Come to Texas and get a real cup of coffee! Also, round up some longhorns while you’re at it. Guaranteed a good time.

[@fromtheflightdeck252]

Brokeback Mountain time. Yehaw

[@spamcan9208]

I really want to see him in an authentic setting, i.e. with a chuck wagon and making coffee in a campfire.

[@adambier2415]

What if he did a historical episode w James from the Townsend and Son Chanel? I’m sure they could re-create some interesting coffee recipes and methods from the 18th century and if he’s really unlucky, maybe they can find some original coffee from back then too. 0:-)

[@sezend7982]

I was in exactly this scenario during my student days when visiting a friend. We wound up going brute force (beans under a towel, hitting it with a rolling pen), and straining through a paper towel in a syphon. The end result was a floral coffee tea, with barely enough caffeine to get me out of the door to buy a coffee in a shop.

[@BenHenning]

James just drops in a "yes, coffee is a soup" like we wouldn't notice.

[@PeterWasted]

But it isn't though is it? Coffee soup would have the grounds still in it. I think it's a stock.

[@Ma_Ba]

@@PeterWasted He was cupping with the grounds still in when he said so. Cupping is coffee soup.

[@karlkarlng]

There's also the classic 3 bean soup. Vanilla soy latte

[@dcseain]

I once put coffee in a bowl, floated a donut on it, and posted it to social media labelled: Dumpling in Arabica bean soup.

[@ladyflimflam]

My Amish neighbors make coffee soup for breakfast. It’s old coffee with sorgum syrup and milk and ritz crackers. The kids love it.

[@sladeslack6934]

“If I had a pepper grinder that didn’t have pepper in it, that did accept bigger things that would be a coffee grinder.” I laughed out loud at this line.

[@rickmalone9122]

As a hiker I have had questionable coffee enhanced by the surroundings. Grinding between stones is memorable. If you do "survivalist" coffee I have two suggestions. Do it somewhere beautiful is number one. Number two is, don't take Bear Grylls.

[@benjaminshepard]

Re: Bear Grylls: definitely true, although James did specify that the experiment assumes you're making *_water_* hot. 😉

[@rickmalone9122]

@@benjaminshepard just hold the water in your hands above the lava flow. Instant hot water.

[@benjaminshepard]

@@rickmalone9122 Again, with Grylls along, I'd be disinclined to make the assumption that it's >>>water

[@coocooforcoffee4248]

Yes! Please do a survivalists coffee video. “Alone, afraid, in the forest but with coffee “

[@stevefeinstein]

Gonna need to include roasting in that one.

[@ShubhamAtkare]

Came here to say this! We need this video.

[@alinaqirizvi587]

Or in the jungle and you just happened to find a coffee plant

[@coocooforcoffee4248]

@@alinaqirizvi587 genios! 😆

[@andya1752]

Acorns work, apparently.

[@ninal5027]

Three in a row! It's not even Christmas. Don't say tiramisu recipe is coming, I need some time to prepare myself!

[@Thaffin]

"Worst thing since sliced coffe" should be a saying imo

[@AlexTangBang]

I understand that this was a straight test, but I think there's some thoughts on combining methods during the grind experiment! Use the knife/hammer along with pepper grinder to get consistent grounds? Paper towels, maybe more than one sheet just to see what happens! Good video overall on making coffee in a pinch!

[@marley7145]

"Should I do a survivalist version of this?" Hmm, let me think... YES!!

[@rosseauvondasky5138]

I'm having second thoughts on this. By second thoughts I mean survivalist version ON HORSEBACK. YES

[@jessejackson4690]

James and bear grills in the wild brewing coffee from their own urine haha

[@angrytrees7519]

Leather pouch filled with beans and river stones, thwack until coffee is pulverized.

[@maartenklop9505]

Ooh, reminds me of the time I had to survive in the mountains with nothing but my knife and a bag of espresso beans?

[@dradeel]

I'm not gonna lie. This video influenced me to try using paper towels on a regular basis. Just coming back to remind myself of what James thought of it, and it seems it isn't the limiting factor in this one, which maybe isn't that remarkable, but noteworthy, as I find it works even with a properly ground coffee measured on a scale. Every day for the past few weeks I've substituted my V60 for a French press method at work, but I filter the coffee into the cup with my V60 cone through two layers of thin one ply kitchen roll that I rinse with hot water. This paper basically adds no resistance as the coffee passes through, but still catches ~98% of the fine silt. I get all the idiot proof delicious flavors of a French press with the enjoyably clean convenience of an instantly filtered coffee. So there you go... Coffee filters are weirdly a step down now, because the results are equally delicious, the filtration so quick, snd the paper so conveniently there on the kitchen roll. Just jam it into the V60, rinse it so that it sticks to the sides and off you go.

[@paulstephens3759]

I remember forgetting my grinder when I went camping, I had an Aeropress, a scale and kettle though and lots of wholebean coffee. I opted to crush the coffee in a large saucepan with a small saucepan, the results were fairly coarse and uneven so I made an overnight cold brew concentrate in an inverted Aeropress and then added hot water in the morning. It was not too bad and certainly kept the withdrawal headache at bay!

[@DavidRamseyIII]

I appreciate your commitment to drinking coffee. May you never forget your grinder again

[@YngveH8]

"It feels like I'm drinking clothes" was not a sentence I expected to hear today.

[@fryedace]

My favorite thing he said! James you are truly funny when you don't like how a coffee tastes.

[@jorgep8139]

Man, I hardly ever sit down to exclusively watch KZbin videos, but James' videos are great. Perfect mix of charming, funny, clever and interesting content.

[@jasonocart3947]

"And there's no way that I'm talking about cowboy coffee until I'm in America on the back of a horse." Clip it and ship it boys. Hoffy's going to America

[@markzeddo6033]

I for one am looking forward to this video!

[@grabble7605]

He could also go to Turkey. It's basically just Turkish coffee.

[@leumas75]

My family own a dude ranch in west Texas. He is welcome anytime.

[@7ableleg]

Where's the GoFundMe page?!? I would donate to this in a heart beat!

[@nathanielfruchter9636]

Needs a really dramatic opening shot of someone on horseback in the full Clint Eastwood getup with hat and poncho. Their silhouette shows them taking a long drag from a pipe hanging from their lips. No. It's a bripe.

[@datup09]

My Tip: when crushing things with a hammer (I did that with Nuts before) put them in the tea towel, prevents mess and keeps them clumped together. My Question: Couldn't you regrind the hammer, or knife results with the pepper mill (cleaned of course)? So much fun, thanks for the giggles!

[@brickonator]

For coffee, I'd probably put them in a plastic bag or a pouch of parchment paper, etc, so that the cloth doesn't absorb too much of the finer bits of coffee.

[@Anthropomorphic]

That was my thought as well. Crush it up coarsely with either the hammer or mortar and pestle, then grind with the pepper mill. Might still take an awful long time to grind it all through, though.

[@drackar]

@@brickonator Plastic would be bad, you'd end up with lots of plastic in your beans. The way I'd go is a heavy canvas sack.

[@mbalicki]

In the emergency of a broken coffeemaker I managed to get by with a zip bag and a rolling pin. 😊 My first instinct was to use a meat mallet, but rolling pin helped me to achieve more uniform grind size.

[@kevinalvarado3724]

Coffee inside a pepper grinder, the not so ultimate spiced latte technique

[@markwalker3484]

I use a blade grinder that I also grind garam masala in, I don't mind the cross-polination.

[@jarrodfrankum]

@@markwalker3484 I'm kinda about the peppery coffee. I bet it would be worth trying

[@jcrowther48]

The “h-“ slurp cutting away straight to James’ pained reaction to the pepper coffee is genius

[@gaiaiulia]

The whole video is genius, imo. Best one yet.

[@jamesdenzer8965]

Not sure a mortar and pestle will be readily available to all. Try this: hammer the beans in a baggie (to keep the beans from flying and for an initial reduction in size), then place that coffee into a CLEAN pepper grinder. The grinder will work on the beans after the initial reduction in size via the hammer. A meat tenderizer will work in place of the hammer, and a tea towel can work for the baggie.

[@brian1264]

hammering a bag is the way many bartenders make crushed ice

[@laptopolist]

I wonder how the bottom of a heavy saucepan might work to “grind” the coffee, after which you can use it to boil the water. I’m also curious if a two stage grind would yield better results, where you break the coffee down into smaller bits using the mortar and pestle, or saucepan, followed by a finer grind using a clean pepper mill.

[@stevewilcox6375]

Just what I thought!

[@roastedbeans2051]

THISSSSS

[@hakonmellem2857]

Tried this, ended up putting the beans in the saucepan and smash them with an empty beer bottle. The coffee was bad, but needed

[@nicolaihaasgiedraitis4082]

@@hakonmellem2857 Hope your coffee is easier today! But I think the idea was to use the bottom of the saucepan to crush the beans then grind with a pepper mill. Has anyone tried this yet or is this my homework?!?

[@rujipars]

I used to grind pepper with mortar pestle (very common for Thai kitchen), I think they will do without following with pepper mill. WIth the rolling movement that james also mentioned.

[@martinbarnes2494]

I thought this video was just for fun but after forgetting to take my filters to work I have just Aeropressed a drinkable quality coffee through NHS-provided paper towel! Thank you, James.

[@tildessmoo]

I'm impressed the paper towel held up to an Aeropress, honestly. I guess the plastic sieve helped to reinforce it, but still pretty cool.

[@fynn2350]

@@tildessmoo Paper towels are sturdier than you'd think. An unsupported drip filter would most likely rip if you used it the way James uses the paper towel in the video (ask me how I know...). I'm not exactly surprised, I'd just expect higher chances of clouding than with an actual Aeropress paper.

[@smotiontx]

On more than one occasion I have gutted the filter out of a hotel Kcup because I forgot the filters for my Aeropress. Works in a pinch!

[@brananherndon6947]

I regularly use a mortar & pestle when I make Turkish coffee, as my grinder (which happens to be a small food processor with a blade similar enough to a blade grinder) doesn’t get it fine enough

[@mikej9564]

Best entertainment ever, thanks James. My “travel coffee” has been beans in a ziplock bag beat silly with a hammer and brewed through a paper towel (the American version of a kitchen roll) straight into the cup. See ya here fer sum cowboy coffee.

[@segamble1679]

COWBOY COFFEE!!!! How has James not tackeld this yet?

[@MattyLaws]

I'd have thought a rolling pin would be a better option. They are generally readily available in the average kitchen.

[@jvallas]

I’d pour the water directly into the ground beans, then filter through the paper towel after it’s brewed. I just have a gut feeling you’d extract more flavor that way.

[@natperXD]

@@segamble1679 he explained it at 10:15 where he says he’ll talk about when he’s in America on the back of a horse.

[@underscrutinyallnight]

The way James folded that paper towel effortlessly while still looking at the camera tells me there is a story behind it

[@maxschmidt666]

Years of experiences in dealing with masturbation remains the British way...

[@tomzahradka]

I used to use hammer for a while after moving to a new apartment in 2016. It was guite fun and a lot of friends coming to my apartment wanted to try this “technique”. It kind of keep you very present in this fast forward moving world. But I used a motion very similar to the mortar and put coffee beans into kitchen cloth, so it didn’t jump everywhere :) Thanks for the video, James

[@nicholasgeorgelarts]

Yes please do a survival coffee making guide! I’ve realized that the manual methods of making/grinding coffee while being great brew methods also translate well if you’re out of power and can’t use a coffee machine/electric grinder.

[@SuperGnarWhales]

"there's no way that I'm talking about Cowboy Coffee until I'm in America, on the back of a horse" foreshadowing?

[@inuyasha4588]

I think the bearded version of James Hoffman is making a comeback

[@Zraknul]

Title for the series: "James goes to America"

[@mariamercedesandrade8550]

You could have used the knife to crush the coffee beans, like when you crush garlic, and maybe grind that with the peppermill. On the brewing part, I know you wanted to try a pour over, but I would suggest the Colombian method (both my grandma and my mother-in-law are Colombian): boil water on a pan, throw the grinds on the boiling water, turn the heat off and place a flat plate with a bit of cold water on top of the pan (the cold water is supposed to cool the plate and get the coffee grinds to get to the bottom of the pan).

[@jvallas]

I need to try this just to see the result. I’m fairly happy with cowboy coffee pots, so this seems similar, but I’m guessing waiting to put the grounds in already boiling water may have a taste advantage.

[@nandugrinsekatze4142]

"When all you have is coffee beans, everything looks like a grinder."

[@4ll3sb4n4n3]

"What if I drive over the beans with my car"

[@Ghorda9]

@@4ll3sb4n4n3 a mouth is just a grinder that can feel pain.

[@nulnoh219]

@@Ghorda9 Hmmm yes. Chew on Fresh Roasts, then gargle hot water. Filter with Teeth, and swallow.

[@Ghorda9]

@@nulnoh219 or get a "friend" to do that for you and have them spit in into the cup.

[@willnzsurf]

😹

[@WrestlerMoore1]

So, I've had to do this before, I bought a new grinder, then my old one broke before the new one came in, I wanted coffee, didn't want to put on pants and I use a mortar and pestle often in the kitchen. So what I did was I measured out my coffee, ground it, and then I filtered it using strainers and sivs to get a grind size I was happy with and put it in a French press. It worked and actually quite well, it didn't take long, but I'm happy I have a better grinder now lol.

[@dushk0]

Tried pestle, also poppy seed grinder...doable but there's a reason we don't really use those methods. Mortar is actually okay for a gravel-sized grind for an overnight cold brew but...

[@brazni]

On the note of doing it survival style, there are a few different fun styles one could try, as mentioned cowboy coffee which is also popular in the wilderness of Scandinavia despite the lack of cowboys. Another fun thing might be to try and spruce up instant coffee because that is a common thing to take with on hikes due to its low weight and ease of storage. Or one might try to get something not entirely unlike cappuccino with a plastic bottle, glacier water and powdered milk. All in all it is a fun and interesting challenge to try and cook in the outdoors, not just limited to coffee

[@kjh-kjh-kjh]

“…on the back of a horse in America…” Don’t threaten us with a good video.

[@HickLif3]

It's gonna be a while. He would be hard pressed to find s cowboy that uses the same precautions he would want

[@SojournerDidimus]

"And yes, yes, coffee is a soup" - James Hoffmann Who's gonna make a t-shirt out of this?

[@andrelaschet3957]

I’d buy one.

[@irinashestova]

and the next line should be " And a soup is very good for health"

[@EasyMoneySG]

There is something weirdly humorous about watching James drink horrible coffee.

[@YashSharma-dt4yd]

Soooo... are you giving away the hammer, mortar-pestle, and knife to the Patreon supporters?

[@Ma_Ba]

Thorough and consistent viewer comment!

[@rigosulthan6893]

Nice one😂😂

[@ryanstoltzfus1435]

That's a nice knife...I wouldn't say no to that :D

[@leumas75]

I second the knife comment, that is indeed one nice blade.

[@josephmcc311]

Yea the knife is certainly a keeper...

[@FetteryJ]

Can’t believe I’m saying this but this has become a surprisingly useful and informative video

[@stanford-nf4jk]

If you have a Molcajete & Tejolote (Pre-Hispanic mortar & pestle) you can make an underextracted brew that will taste of peppers, garlic, tomatoes, tomatillos, cilantro, and/or any other ingredient you’ve ever used to prepare salsa with! 🤢

[@Clyman974]

I'd love to see you try ancient methods, like, either when the Europeans or African discovered coffee for the first time, what techniques did they use that turned out to make them like coffee?

[@thickandthinking]

YES to this!!!

[@davidrobinson5180]

Looking forward to part 2, "Dialing in Extraction on Mortar & Pestle Paper Towel Coffee".

[@ChronicWatClesNarnia]

Hi James - I’ve definitely ground coffee while ill-equipped by placing the coffee between two nesting bowls (of glass or ceramic) You end up grinding it by applying pressure and swirling. Sort of like an improvised mortar and pestle.

[@amunak_]

Some tips: If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you might want to try using a ceramic mug with coarse (untreated) bottom. It works great for grinding pepper in a pinch, it'll probably work for coffee as well. You might have more luck with immersion brewing. Instead of trying to percolate with too coarse grinds, do an immersion brew, maybe even taste it while it's brewing to check for strength, then when you're done you can use just a sieve (or a sieve with a paper towel, or just a paper towel or such) to filter the coffee. I definitely missed immersion in the video.

[@hikermichael9443]

Tip for making coffee with a hammer. Bundle up your coffee beans in the cloth you will use to filter and crush the beans while it's wrapped up so as not to loose the beans. It's much quicker and results in the beans already transferred to the cloth. Same can be applied with the mortar and pestle.

[@juliahcornell]

I'm so happy this video exists, I just moved to a new country and I've almost finished aquiring a new set-up for super cheap, mostly from flea markets, but I hadn't found a good way to grind it yet.

[@psoda3721]

"An idiot once said. With a sufficient violence, just about anything can be a hand grinder." -James Hoffman 2021

[@shelleycoopersmith855]

Ooh, imagine James going to meet and visit with Cowboy Kent Rollins for a cup of his cowboy coffee and a chat about traditional ranching life out west in the United States of America...the scenery and music could be awesome, plus the high quality editing, all in all it's bound to be a fabulous video!

[@jvallas]

And dancing at the end.

[@hollyoswald7808]

Oh, he has to do it!

[@artmenist]

I had to make cold brew, and i had only kitchen blender. Soooo, i just blended coffee beans with water, and after 24 hours i got not so bad cold brew. Cheers!

[@TheGlenn0]

The stars: Man, i really loved the video, this is the content I’m here for. A bit silly, informative and fun! I enjoy the way you speak about “cheap coffee methods” because that’s what I have the means for. I mean, I love the deep dives in 1000+ dollars equipments as much as the next guy, but this feels much more… relatable! Now, to the wish: if you are going to brew with a cloth and a hammer, wouldn’t you put the beans in the cloth and bang on that? Of course the pestle and mortar is gonna be better, but we all knew that on beforehand, right? Feels like the hammer never even got the chance! Thanks for the videos!

[@gabrielday2388]

The best strategies for grinding with these tools are probably to use some of them together. Wrap beans in tea towel before using hammer. Or give beans a light chop and then put them in the pepper grinder so they're peppercorn size.

[@TheMetalicsound]

3:35 pro tip for grinding with hammer, just put the coffe inside a tea towel or something simmilar to avoid flying coffe.

[@LadyTigerLily]

I was not expecting an imagined emergency grinding session with James, but I'm along for this ride. MacGyver me, cap'n.

[@doubtful_seer]

Hey, embarrassing if you’re not who I think you are, but this is kassie/wren. lol I haven’t been on Facebook regularly (or at all recently), so I hope you’re doing well. =)

[@pyrotelekinesis7253]

The sequel: two rocks and a bripe

[@federicomuciaccia9191]

it would be awesome!!

[@marianedmond5326]

Thanks James........just bought a hand grinder, have a generator and a gas grill with burner,.......and then there is tea if all that goes to crap....I also have a firepit. I will not be denied a warm beverage. LOLOL You are so brave, patient and adventuresome. Appreciated.

[@groenendael9203]

I’m surprised that you didn’t just wrap the hammered bean in a paper towel or two to keep them in place. A ziploc bag works great as well.

[@guillaumedep1]

I would have gone with an immersion blender, but that's just me.

[@EB-coffee]

I used to put beans in a plastic bag and used a mug to crush them when I found myself at a friend’s place when they only had a French press and a swirling blade grinder.

[@pancakefoxp]

I'm just starting to get into coffee, and my coffee equipment is still in the post so I've been making coffee like this for a week. This has meant that I've still been learning about amounts and methods etc before my equipment arrives, so this has been really helpful!!

[@brepires]

James earlier this year: drinks a donut. James today: drinks clothes.

[@neildesperandum6114]

I’d be very interested in seeing a direct comparison between coffee beans freshly ground in an entry level grinder such as a Wilfa Svart versus a freshly opened pack of pre-ground coffee. The same coffee of course. Preferably purchased from a supermarket. Heresy, I know, but…

[@francescareilly4713]

I would be super interested in this!

[@waltermeerschaert]

@@francescareilly4713 or, to be scientific, grind a pound, measure out several days worth, and do a head-to-head against fresh ground after a day, 4 days, two weeks,,,

[@dushk0]

@@waltermeerschaert don't grind for more than 3 days, if possible

[@strongbear88]

We here in Sweden also has a tradition of making coffe by boiling it over an open fire or a stove, and then drinking it without removing the coffe grind it is called kokkaffe(boiling coffe) usually drunk(?) By foresters in the north parts of sweden

[@jvallas]

You have absolutely used the word “drunk” correctly, which I can’t say about most U.S. citizens. 😁

[@alexanderakselsen8860]

I sometimes go to a cabin in the weekends and try to bring my coffee equipment, but it happens that I forget something. This video would have been handy a few weeks ago. Anyway, you should have used the hammer with the tea-towel and then used that in the pepper mill. To rinse out the pepper mill, grid some uncooked rice first.

[@Simon-iq1yl]

My thoughts as well (and I've never done it - just what I would have as its common in cooking to smash inside a tea towel or ziplock bag)

[@xtrct7303]

James you're gonna make my night sleepless again knowing that coffee is a soup

[@MaverickRiou]

James! Lovely vid. Though, ever thought about using the tried and tested methods of crushing nuts/biscuits for baking: a couple of ziplock bags, & a rolling pin/bashing object? It would reliably keep your beans in one place, and easy clean up.

[@ReasonImprisoned]

"And yes. Yes... Coffee is a soup" (in a tired but loving voice) does it for me.

[@KualityE]

So a latte is a creammy soup

[@btschaegg]

"That's… not the worst cup of coffee I've ever had." Ah. Paper towel pour over beats 50 year old canned coffee. Got it. **makes note on clipboard**

[@theblitz6794]

I appreciate he goes all the way in applying his coffee expertise

[@JimFaindel]

Pestles and mortars are not something I'd wip out early in the morning for some coffee (those are reserved for my breakfast's salsa), but the paper towel trick actually makes me interested in switching to pour-over for a spell. Thanks!

[@russell.bishop]

The way James hammered those beans tells me he's probably not an experienced drug user.

[@DavidRamseyIII]

He seems like a caps man

[@cptn.penguin902]

... hta kind of drugs do you take, that require a hammer?!

[@221b-l3t]

@@cptn.penguin902 Seeds and stuff, that have to be crushed and steeped in water. There a bunch of seeds that contain LSD-like substances and are completely legal to buy. There's like a thousand plants or more but the most common are a variety of indian climbing vine, whose seeds contain high levels of LSA, chemically extremely similar to LSD. There's also a bunch of barks and roots that contain DMT.

[@221b-l3t]

@@cptn.penguin902 But you put it in a piece of cloth or kitchen paper before smashing, that way you get much finer results and no mess.

[@nackedgrils9302]

@@cptn.penguin902 I used to crush opiate pills with a hammer or a rolling pin. You either do it in a doubled plastic bag or in a piece of paper folded in some way that won't let particles escape. Oddly enough, my drug dealer at that time had a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding opiate pills.

[@ankur912]

Family trip, no one had a coffee grinder so I double bagged the coffee and ran over the bag with my car, got a really corse grind and used to make coffee. It tasted surprisingly well!

[@eviloatmeal]

Also, while I understand the concept of safety for purposes of the demonstration, it's still humorous to imagine the scenario in which you're traveling and have forgotten all coffee equipment, but thank gosh you remembered to bring your safety glasses.

[@natperXD]

I like how this implies that you are traveling with a mortar and pestle

[@thomas2cv]

@@natperXD Any of you aren't? Radical

[@kaneblaber1217]

I think I have come up with a pepper mill solution. Drawing inspiration from a previous video of re grinding ground coffee, use the mortar and pestle to smash up the beans into smaller boulders, then put it through a clean/never been used pepper mill. Thoughts?

[@johnathanmorlock]

Honestly loved this video. Should definitely go on a camping trip and see what you can do. Some leaves, a few sticks, maybe some bark, and a fire... I believe in you, James!

[@danlyle531]

"Would anyone like a cup of coffee?" *wields hammer*

[@darkchocotony3391]

scary

[@joshuawilliams4077]

This is a serious contender for my favorite Hoffman video ever. Loved every minute of it.

[@thickandthinking]

Same!

[@burchified]

I made coffee on a camping trip once by grinding beans between two large rocks, boiling everything in a pot and straining it through a clean sock. Turned out far better than I had expected, probably due to using fresh stream water.

[@jordanmckay7037]

I’ve been really hoping to see a good video about the use of a pestle and mortar in coffee grinding for a long time.