Solar Coffee Roasting: A Weird Desert Experiment

[@JadeNeoma]

There was no need for the cinematography to be this good but its so good im glad you spent the time to do it

[@jameshoffmann]

People enjoying it makes it worth the effort!

[@tristanwegner]

10:55 James being delighted by the fact that they turned sunlight into coffee. He will be so happy when he learns about coffee plants and their use of the sun!

[@b3nd0v3r28]

Watching James break bad coming out of the RV is truly a magical moment, even sitting in the plastic chair

[@PeterSierraRacingSupply]

Really giving Brad some competition.

[@NikkLiberos]

My job here is done (If only by someone else).

[@outhy_r]

My only disappointment is that James did not Bripe in the Desert :(

[@bobbwhy]

breaking bad like?

[@hellfish2309]

Cooking some puuuure Math in the desert

[@combscoffee2606]

Great example my friend! We currently operate a 31 kilowatt solar powered coffee & cacao roastery in Gainesville Texas. We use electric Giesen and Diedrich drum roasters at the moment. I have thoroughly enjoyed building and scaling my green certified business (i.e., 2 solar powered cafes and a solar powered food truck) for the past 10 years! Cheers to the future 🙌

[@nathanfaulkner2364]

As a fellow Texan, where might I find your beans for sale!

[@ericka.montanez6821]

that’s awesome

[@aarondavidson6409]

Epic. When do you start uploading videos? ;)

[@sorejack]

so ive got an idea for you. do you remember those old fashioned pinball machines from the forties? you drop pinballs and watch them drop down the ramp full of pins bouncing around? what if you had a stainless steel ramp full of pins that was the right length and number of pins to keep a bath of beans falling down it for 9 to 20 minutes. maybe a small vibrator on the surface to keep them moving like the old football games. now set that trough out in the sun like the solar ovens the boyscouts made, but a little fancier being covered in greenhouse glass. the temperature would easily get to 400. freznel lense maybe to 450. a cheap experiment to run, where if it works all you'd need to do is pour coffee in the top and get your roast at the bottom when they finally made it there. coffee is always moving so no burning, maybe a little emergency solar cell that ran a few motors for a shake. id guess if you had a guy to weld you could make up a prototype in a day. if i lived somewhere like texas or nevada i'd do it myself. cheers!

[@boudebier]

For my graduation I recently designed a compact solar coffee roaster and water boiler using vacuum tubes originally designed for rooftop water heaters. Instead of converting sunlight into electricity and then back into heat I used solar heat directly. I was only able to produce very small batches and the roasting process was definitely not as controlled as usual but none the less quite a fun experiment. If you Google "living with the sun coffee" you can read more about it :).

[@CarrerasCorradosCoffee]

Okay that's really cool.

[@jameshoffmann]

That sounds amazing!

[@waveydavie]

Yeah, the idea that that non-recyclable solar panels and, probably, recyclable batteries made me wince a little. I thought perhaps wind or wave power would be an option here. But yay, hot air, why not! We could get politicians to breathe on beans, but of course they would be toxic beans then. What diameter and length of vacuum tubes did you use?

[@TheNinnyfee]

You should get in contact with Bellwether if they are interested as well. I actually had the same thought, it would be so much more efficient If the machines didn't have to attach to an extra panel, or at least have both options.

[@SpektrikMusic]

@@waveydavie there's only so much we can do with current technology, wind isn't clean too those expired turbine blades have to go somewhere and they're made out of fibreglass so they don't exactly decompose.

[@ratchetz]

Whoever on the creative team paired the cuts of James coming out of the trailer in the morning with that soundtrack choice is a genius. It was absolutely ridiculous, and incredibly perfect.

[@Vespuchian]

It was that quick shot of him grinding on top of the outcrop that took the gag from a 9/10 to an 11. Just a wonderfully unnecessary shot for pure silliness, it's part of James' signature style of 'well put-together Englishman does ridiculous things with a straight face'.

[@JBthePAdashC]

2 things from my mind: 1) I just love the direction James has gone with his videos. The level of serious coffee knowledge juxtaposed with his fresh sense of humor just makes my day. 2) I can’t wait to see the Hames Joffman for this one!

[@ThisGM]

It's not a fresh sense of humour. It's a dried, lightly roasted and then cooled sense of humour.

[@JBthePAdashC]

@@ThisGM 🤦🏻‍♂️😂

[@annakareninacamara6580]

it's already out!

[@JBthePAdashC]

@@annakareninacamara6580 woohoo!! Can’t wait to watch it!

[@josefkolaskey108]

Hames Joffman's video parodt is up!

[@robojimtv]

As an electrical engineering graduate, just wanna note that kW is a measure of power which in and of itself is a rate of energy delivery. So kWh is the actual measure of energy. The Bellwether being rated to 9kW means that it needs 9kWh of energy to run for an hour. If you multiply it by 3600 to get the output in the SI unit for energy, you get 3.24 MegaJoules. Also all of this doesn't account for energy lost in the conversion to battery and then from the battery to the actual roaster.

[@burgers8]

James Hoffmann standing perfectly lit in a sunset desert in front of a Bellwether is a more beautiful commercial than anything Brad Pitt produced for Nespresso

[@ericpmoss]

It would have been funny if he had written his name on the bag of beans, just for the snark. :)

[@nomiguda]

it was Delonghi not nespresso, but that kinda proves the point about the ad, the product inclusion was such an afterthought you misremembered it

[@legend8930]

good one XD

[@OyvindBjorgo]

Next step: put a full sized roaster in his bag, and have him transport it around on a motorcycle. ...That should probably be done in CG.

[@tascanis]

@nomiguda exactly, and by the way Nespresso used George Clooney

[@PeaceChanel]

Thank You Everybody for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste.. 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤

[@sagopalm279]

Glad to see the groundwork being laid for coffee roasting on mars.

[@Ja.coffee]

Lmao

[@b.v.skijump432]

🤣🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍 absolutely. Hope to see it when i head to mars...

[@hardwareful]

did you just say "ground work" about coffee

[@rossbrown6649]

Solar intensity is much lower on Mars, so it would take much longer to generate 15KWh, but by the time we get there, we might have more efficient technology...

[@ericpmoss]

“Little Green Beans”. :)

Here in Belgium we have a company already roasting 100% solar called Ray & Jules. They created their own solar roaster in 2019! ❤️

[@jstruyf]

Wanted to say the same :)

[@Will_._]

Hames joffman is gonna love this one

[@Eutrofication]

It's a good size

[@samrijijkot]

he's gonna have a field day

[@ShayanGivehchian]

At this point James only works to provide content for Hames

[@teveszaki]

I was looking for this exact comment.

[@Burning_Dwarf]

I will disapointed if hames doesnt do a breaking bad edit

[@gutobernardo7457]

James please never stop making these skits out of your videos! You are the most cinematic and comedic coffee specialist and my world is better for that ❤️

[@illuminant777XtX]

The shot of James grinding that coffee while dancing seriously turned my shitty day into a less shitty day. Thank you so much :)

[@PeterLePresident]

That's definitely a mood. I feel like that grinding my coffee in the morning.

[@superdude1408]

better times are ahead, wish you all th best

[@androssgetzko2098]

That was just glorious!

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@PeterLePresident I think this is a new technique for grinding coffee to get the maximum amount of joy.

[@francescoandreussi]

Now I need a nightgown just to grind coffee while dancing in the morning

[@aaroncarter8845]

This was shot by stone cold professionals, you can tell. Just the confidence to hold these beautifully composed wide shots, you don't see this kind of work on KZbin very often.

[@aiocafea]

i was absent-mindedly watching and then completely tuned out the audio because i realised he's in perfect focus with the hills behind him

[@guidoandreoli]

Beyond the content and the general idea of ​​the video, I would like to say that it also turned out to be genuinely beautiful. This had beautiful landscapes, beautiful construction of the photography and also that touch of silliness that we like so much in you. Thanks for continuing to push coffee culture around the world, James. Greetings from Uruguay

[@thickandthinking]

I agree with all of this. And I want to add that the lighting is almost surreal at times. Very well done!

[@RR-qi1zw]

An interesting BTS fact: James now holds the Guinness World Record for most sunscreen applied in a single day.

[@jazzgod21]

James grinding coffee on top of a mountain might be the best shot in all his videos. We need merch with that

[@maraswen5614]

The dressing gown was just the (coffee flavoured) icing on the cake.

[@alanboreham6466]

Reminiscent of a scene from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[@badfaithbarometer]

I've never been quite so delighted as I was when watching the "emerging from RV" bit.

[@nikos6220]

This is the highest production value KZbin channel I know. Filming, scripting plus James. Top notch. But this vid is next level. Congrats James and to the whole team.

[@PM-wt3ye]

Its quite cool, though you need tenthounsands of dollars to do this...

[@nikos6220]

@@PM-wt3ye absolutely, would love to know what the budget was. On the other hand, talented people can do incredible stuff on relatively inexpensive gear. But this vid here looks EXPENSIVE

[@hopegold883]

I was looking for an Oscar emoji, but of course it’s trademarked.

[@thickandthinking]

Seriously. The quality of the content and the production and people have the nerve to write "you need to upload more often"? This video is really good. It's always good, interesting and fun, but lately it's a whole different league. I'm really impressed. Thanks for the impact in the climate debate!

[@EmilyGallagher]

James wearing a woolly jumper in the California desert might be the most James thing of all. I am so pleased to see you are back, I missed your videos.

[@jameshoffmann]

Most of the time it was surprisingly cold. Then it wasn’t, I got a bit sunburnt, but felt that for continuity I had to soldier on in the knit.

[@KainYusanagi]

@@jameshoffmann Yeah, people think of deserts as just being blisteringly hot (and they are, with the sun's rays beating down on it all the time), but the sand and rock is more a natural reflector of heat than an absorber, so you get a lot of heat when the sun's out and it gets startlingly cold at night. That's what you have to make sure you're prepared for!

[@EmilyGallagher]

@@jameshoffmann I was in the desert in Dubai, it can be damn cold, you are right.

[@EmilyGallagher]

@@jameshoffmann I love your cat inspired white platform.

[@ameliarosenes1330]

@@jameshoffmann you always do have impeccable knitwear choices! Trying to build my husband a good knitwear collection at the moment; suggestions welcome! Haha 👌🏻

[@zybch]

If only all advertisements were as interesting, well shot and well presented.

[@QuietMisdreavus]

My local coffee shop here in Denver uses a Bellwether to roast their coffee and it's really nice. You can see their machine in the cafe right when you walk in, and i had no idea how it worked until you showed off this one today. Thanks for doing this!

[@kelvinwwk]

This video content is the most fun and interesting from the rest. Outdoor shooting, day and night, epic grinding coffee style, press coffee, background music, etc,etc,etc..... Total enjoyment...! Well done!

[@natepowers9776]

So proud to have been a part of building the first few verisons of the Bellwether roaster! So many amazing people still working to make it even better each day.

[@CleanfieldArvid]

Hey, cool! Does the Bellwether use a heat pump or just like a coil heater to convert electricity into heat?

[@jpeppermusic]

Do you know roughly how much this costs? Just out of curiosity.

[@WhackyCast]

10:26 this is the swaggiest thing I've ever seen.

[@ar_nim]

im dead laughing at that shot :)) especially when he grinds on the hill like a rockstar; oh wait, james' a coffee star.

[@mr.skidmarks1034]

James: we are gonna roast coffee with something more practical Also James: *sits on a roaster in middle of desert in California*

[@mowolf2620]

over the top, overly complicated and not at all doable (or at least practical) for most people - plus some nerdy and fun stuff mixed in there as usual - i love it :D

[@tuna-gunk]

This video was so much fun! Awesome to see how high your production quality stays even in the middle of the desert!

[@cinemaocd1752]

Imagine the sherif showing up thinking he's cooking meth but he's roasting coffee...I loved everything about this: James measuring power in the number of espresso machine group heads you could power; describing the process of solar power as electrons being bullied out of place by the sun --which is as good an explanation as any solid state physicist will give you and of course, the ROBE...it;s all so bloody excellent.

[@17cr1tt3r]

James: it’s so satisfying to turn sunlight into coffee! Coffee trees: am I a joke to you?

[@Semiosphere]

Best Hoffman quote ever: "We have to, at some point, accept that burning liquified squished dinosaurs is not the right way to roast delicious sustainable coffee." - I lolled so hard.

[@NoOne-ef7yu]

I'd have thought we used the gases from long-dead plankton, or possibly even from manure being broken down. That is, natural gas or methane.

[@KonradTheWizzard]

@@NoOne-ef7yu Come on! No need to spoil a beautiful quote with facts! 😛 (You are quite right, there are no dinosaurs in oil or gas. Not even dino farts. ...But it's fun to think so.)

[@NoOne-ef7yu]

@@KonradTheWizzard At least I somewhat tried to stay on theme ;-) Also, I'd genuinely have thought a few really old roasters straight up get plumbed into the gas pipes, instead of using electricity. Which we still generate by running oversized steam engines on fossilized tree carcasses.

[@alanboreham6466]

No dinosaurs were harmed in the roasting of this - or any - coffee.

[@klarheitpictures]

@@KonradTheWizzard I was taught that it’s somewhat plausible that a few Jurassic Land creatures could’ve been the source of natural oil reserves when by some luck they’ve not been eaten by other creatures… or is it total bullocks? I mean there was probably at least one weird case, so I think James is in a grey area of justifiable half truths 😄

[@stanford-nf4jk]

I used to live in the SoCal desert and there was a cool, little independent coffee place. Though not electric, they had a roasting machine and I could smell the aroma daily, as I lived a few minutes walk away. This brought those memories back!

[@Websta114]

The editing on this was amazing, love your sense of humor and the drip on the morning reveal caused a few side eyes in the office as I caught myself laughing with the grinding on the cliff edge. 10/10 the anticipation to watch your content is genuinely palpable, thankyou for the hard work. It's nice to see the advancements being made in the industry and potential applications across other industries. Amazing content

[@brekkoh]

omg james grinding with a c40 on a desert hill is one of the best images ive seen my entire life

[@KuroDensetsu]

There is actually a coffee shop/roaster in my hometown that developed their own direct sun solar roaster which was able to roast 5lb batches at a time. They have very successfully grown their technology and brand, and now distribute coffee throughout the state of Colorado. Their current generation of roasters uses electric solar, much like the one in your video. Their name is Solar Roast Coffee.

[@janwillemdevos]

That shot with the coffeebag being picked up is just pure gold!

[@HansMaximum]

My gold medal goes to the shot of Jeff leaving the camper.

[@thedude4795]

Whats in the booooox!

[@FranciscoRamirezAraya]

I was thinking how many takes it took to get it right. The camera move is sus though, could be slightly faked

[@FranciscoRamirezAraya]

I checked it and it is a composite, still, beautiful shot

[@HappyZappy]

@@FranciscoRamirezAraya How do u know? I watched it at 25% speed. It looks like 1 take to me?

[@tatemazer]

Very proud to play a part in this production, and grateful that James is sharing the comical wizardry of roasting on one of our Bellwethers 😅

[@MorningNapalm]

So out of curiousity, roughly what does such a machine cost? Not that the price will ever be relevant for me :)

[@MeteorMark]

It was the roast of a Roaster roasting 😉

[@levezze]

This was so well edited I'm actually going to watch it again now. Bravo 👏

[@dmarti47]

👏This, setting aside how brilliant the video is made, is so relevant right now. Most sustainability videos on coffee now seem to focus on the agricultural side of things, which is great, obviously… but nobody else (to my knowledge) has covered this topic specifically. James H. killing it, as always! 👌

[@bilfleming9036]

Perfect scenario for the horse James promised he'd ride while making cowboy coffee! Bring in the horse!

[@rodrigoffdsilva]

I must say that your out-in-the-wild videos are getting impressively good.

[@quinnobi42]

for some reason that coffee roaster sitting next to James as the sun sets makes me feel like this is some sort of weird sci-fi movie.

[@slam854]

Thank you for the experiment. In the past I have used an electric roaster with super results. I now leave roasting to a local business. I drive an EV so you have my attention, my roasters are NG. I hope your cup was good as each day I try to learn and make mine better. A gentle swigg to you.

[@Photosandfood]

Last year for fun, I roasted coffee on a cast iron pan, on a barbecue grill at -17C. All in all, it was far from the best I’ve ever had, but it certainly wasn’t the worse. Beans came out somewhere between medium and dark roast. I had to keep the lid 80% closed to keep the cold from cooling the bbq. I also continuously shook the pan to keep the beans moving… for 45 minutes! 🤪

[@robertkayhs2049]

James once said he was a fancy man. That robe, indeed. That robe over jeans and a T-shirt with white shoes AND aviator sunglasses says it all. SO LA! The star, not yet ready for the first take, but ready to make THE appearance. For 1 second, I too felt many shades of Breaking Bad. The desert make me think Southern California. A G5/500 is fully fueled and sitting nearby for James' grand exit for the weekend, no doubt. He'll be back on set in the desert Monday early AM, totally wasted but happy. And action.

[@inconspicuous_werewolf3018]

This video certainly made me excited for the amount of innovation that will come in my lifetime. It also made me realize how jealous I am of James' killer morning robe.

[@cranberrymoonchild]

I love your videos. Your calm voice and precise experiments and techniques are the calm my busy brain needs.

[@AndrewCoePDX]

I'm learning one of the current constraints (beyond cost) in the US to adopt larger electric roasters like the 8kg Stronghold, are the requirements of 3 phase power. It also draws almost 35kW, meaning battery storage requires a huge array. I'm hopeful that as more large devices electrify, this will become easier to adopt.

[@mrnice752]

Sounds nice and sustainable. You seen what those batteries are made from? Makes CO2 look like plant food in comparison.

[@joraver]

This was something I very much enjoyed. Thank you for thinking of how our planet could be treated and being ahead of the curve for us.

[@tamago2864]

the production value is craaaaaaazy

[@Arg3ntis]

One of, if not your best video yet! Props to all those involved. This was such a joy to watch, and to see your passion and no doubt those behind the scenes too! Literally smiling watching this whole video Really hope I get the chance to try this coffee, such a cool concept. With home EV chargers and battery systems becoming more common place, I definitely see this taking a foothold

[@My123Tutorials]

Seeing James roasting coffee in the desert is a pure and perfect James Hoffmann thing. Nobody would do that but him. I love that.

[@BeachHouseFan]

Wow… his videos have improved so much from what I watched 2 years ago. Very nice! As for the question about alternative energy. Alternatives are great, and if it is the right move if they are better. At the moment a balance of gas and alternatives is the best choice. As alternatives become cheaper, they will slowly become the bigger part of our lives, but we must do it as it goes… and not impose inconvenience or unnecessary suffering onto others.

[@SparkleInMoonlight]

Such a cool adventurous video 🙂I would have never thought that we would ever see James roasting coffee in a desert, and here it is 😀

[@glleon80517]

Great video! Your six panels on the trailer, assuming full sun and 300 watts per panel, makes 300x6 or 1.8 Kilowatts continually best case. If 0.8 Kw is required to roast 1 kilo of coffee per hour, your roaster can run during the day without needing batteries and have solar power to spare. As usual, there be dragons since coffee cafes are not located in the desert. and much of the world is usually cloudy or the sun is not overhead or the panels are shaded by other buildings etc. I am a big fan of solar, live in the desert in Arizona, so I am all in. Well done, James!

[@bart8027]

This actually answers my question how to fuel my need for coffee in the post apocalypse.

[@danielzenner]

My wife asked me what I would do about my coffee obsession after watching The Last of Us recently. I guess I have my answer now, lol.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

You are also going to need to live near coffee trees and also learn how to process coffee berries. But hey, like 1/4 of the way there lol

[@mdaddyw_1323]

@@danielzenner In the game, Joel specifically mentions how he misses coffee as he walks by a coffee maker

[@danielzenner]

@@skeetsmcgrew3282Hey, It will give me something to occupy my time!

[@AlRoderick]

I think the bigger reason for coffee deprivation in the post-apocalypse is going to be the lack of international shipping because most of us don't actually live in the coffee belt. That's more likely to be the big breakdown, I'd expect coffee to be one of the first things to be affected if it all really starts to crumble.

[@icebaby6324]

The cinematography in this was incredible. May be my favorite video from you so far apart from ones that are too indispensable simply because of how informative or groundbreaking they were. Amazing work guys.

[@AnthonyBayerl]

I think the world needs a "'James around the world' show! James explores coffee innovations all over." This was great!

[@lurklingX]

i'd watch that in a minute!

[@joyfuflower]

This video had it all. A very cool concept, a great location, a forward thinking sponsor to make it happen, some incredible cinematography and production, just enough humour and all done in the calm and humble style that we all love. As someone else said, Brad Pitt has got nothing on this

[@DanFlynn]

There's something purely magical about coffee growing under sunlight, being roasted from sunlight, and James Hoffman drinking it in the sunlight 🌞☕

[@mpbx3003]

I really love videos like this, where, rather than showing a new product and saying it's the forever solution, we get to see a product which is at the stage of good enough. This can be refined, scaled, and made more accessible in the future, but there's a path forward now for coffee. And the more paths forward we make, the easier it is to get the infrastructure and economies of scale in place.

[@mrnice752]

We are already at current battery production capacity. Where do you think the rare earth minerals needed to achieve this "economy of scale" are going to come from? We don't even have enough copper..

[@Athrix94]

Oh my gosh, two videos in one week?? To what great honor do we deserve such goodness? James. Thank you for making my week that much better! Hope YOU have a great day yourself!

[@pameladaley955]

My FAVORITE part? James' voice is slightly husky as he expounds right after waking up! AAAHHHWWW! James! YOU ARE SO CUTE!

[@justinbravo]

This is the future! Bellwether Coffee and James Hoffmann 🔥

[@dei9134]

This video boosted my serotonin levels to a degree that I was not expecting. Thanks for that

[@Blackmark52]

The morning coffee montage was pretty funny. And I can imagine that James actually owns that robe.

[@jameshoffmann]

I mean… I do now… (it was originally for the Barisieur video, which was a different kind of silly).

[@DjStarstruk]

@@jameshoffmann But the burning question is: where is it from? It's phenomenal!

[@SvenDOYLE117]

Yes @jameshoffman where is the robe from? I have to know.

[@juliascheumer6700]

This video, everything about it, the solar roasting idea itself, the machine, the scenery, camera angle, cut, music, EVERYTHING about it is a stunning, entertaining and humorous piece of art!!!

[@Kelvin_Foo]

James Hoffman roasting and brewing coffee in an RV in the middle of the desert, let’s call it “Brewing Bad” 😂

[@thealimustafa9119]

Ohh God! I'm as delighted as I am envious on how cool this video is and how much James had fun in it!

[@ThomKnepper]

The production quality of James his videos is going through the roof! Love the cinematography with actual useful info combination!

[@ButterfieldEric]

I love this on many levels. The concept; using solar power for an everyday use. The setting; this is near where I grew up, my father’s ashes are scattered in that desert. The result; success, simplicity.

[@gerrydowds6872]

What a phenomenal idea! I've been following you on KZbin for two years and this is my favourite video. The Breaking Bad pastiche helped push it to the top. I'd love to see James at the forefront of environmentally sustainable coffee roasting, which I'm sure he will be.

[@DrWayLay]

Great episode! A topic I would love to see covered is high altitude roasting and brewing. As someone who lives at 9000 feet/2700 meters it can be tricky to adjust certain recipes for a good cup of coffee.

[@pd6054]

Gorgeous machine! I’d love to have that in place of the refrigerator 😂

[@HenryPiffpaff]

Well, you could buy it from the money you'll save on groceries!

[@slyguymcgee]

Production value and sweater game on point. A classic Hoffman video at its finest.

[@Komaru.89]

This is delightful, educational, and all I can do is look forward to the inevitable Hames Joffman take.

[@lew.wright]

The production value in this video is RIDICULOUS. I freaking love it

[@sharonluvisi6069]

And, to cap it off, you made your solar-roasted coffee with an Aeropress! This was a fun episode, James.

[@feckaroundandfindout]

As someone who loves coffee, and loves cinematography, your channel makes my day. But also, this is exciting technology for our future, and the machine itself looks really nice!

[@norabrice]

This was such a great adventure! Thanks for taking us with you

[@Twicrumbles]

This is fantastic! As a coffee nerd with a day job in ridding the Dutch of their natural gas use, this is right up my alley. But please James, you gotta figure out your Watts and your Watthours...

[@bastiaan1150]

10:25 Hoffmanns version of breaking bad: roasting coffee in an RV in the desert

[@xyzpdq1122]

Roasting Brad

[@random66849]

every day we get just a little bit closer to a proper video about home roasting

[@RusselynConnor]

As fans who live off-grid in the SW desert, this was a blast to watch!. Maybe if you'd done your roasting during peak hours of the day, you could have doubled your output! And the Bellwether is wonderful: a cross between a space-age vending machine and front-loading washer!😀

[@chanacavids]

🤣

[@JonYounghusband]

It’s so refreshing to see this. I’ve recently switched my off grid cafe over to solar and batteries from a petrol generator. The work involved in ensuring I could make the cafe run viably for a day was incredible but now proving possible! Maybe I could start roasting coffee off grid next 😍

[@Randyball711]

I'm just amazed by how this channel keeps things fresh and continuously surprises with new projects, greater ambition and more dances in bathrobes on top of a hill on the desert.

[@Nazlairdie]

Been watching for a long time & I ❤these types of videos, informative, beautifully filmed & looks like James is having a lot of fun, loved it!.

[@melvinfeynman]

Love this video. I live in Oregon and in my local grocer's there's a solar roasted coffee! The company is called Solar Roast. Would be an interesting follow up to this video to see their take on it.

[@daRock1212]

I do just this over the summer. I built a solar generator (2.5 kWh), store sunlight during the week, and roast on an SR 800 on the weekend (no warmup required for small fluid bed roasters). Works well for my volume!

[@richjback]

Only problem is, the cafe needs to own a desert to locate their roaster

The production quality is through the roof on the latest few videos... what is happening... awesome stuff!

[@nicoalbrektsen4615]

Imagine walking through the desert in the middle of the night and smelling fresh roasted coffee😂

[@darylgrunau]

Besides how beautiful this entire thing is shot, it’s also the kind of thought provoking content that is needed much more in the coffee space. I’d love to get my hands on a bellwether

[@fatlegolas]

10:20 - 10:45 truly is a cinematic masterpiece. Thank you James, we love you. - the whole internet.

[@NeverTakeNoCut-offs]

Meh

[@maximillianferris228]

Oh man, the production values... Such a bit of cheer in my day. Also, can't wait for Hame's interpretation...

[@Koroto]

Ok, James, you've done some wacky stuff, but I never expected a Breaking Bad x Coffee Roasting crossover 💀😂 Also - can we just talk about how this is the perfect example of how to manage brand integrations? Amazing job as always! 👍

[@chipkk7868]

What an intersting and jusst plain fun idea of how to use technoligy to address energy needs. I am so glad it was put together.