The agonizing journey of learning to brew great coffee at home, and the value of theoretical content
What a mouthful!
I've been following James Hoffmann's Youtube channel for a few years.
Last fall, however, something clicked, and I binge-watched almost all of his videos in just a few short weeks. I even re-watched most of the ones I'd already seen.
Most importantly, I started applying his advice.
What advice? What's his channel about?
It's about coffee.
I wanted to learn how to brew better coffee at home.
I learned that it's not just about skill – it's also about the equipment you own! So, I went on a "little" buying spree...
While others brew pre-ground coffee with their cheap Moccamasters, I buy freshly roasted beans from small roasters, grind them with my 300€ hand grinder, and brew with my Hario V60 and a 150€ gooseneck kettle.
If I sound like a snob, it's because I kind of am! 😆
I'm looking down at you from my coffee-stained ivory tower, holding an excellent cup of coffee with my pinky held high.
But I digress... This post isn't about my coffee hobby (ok, that’s half a lie).
This is about actionable vs. theoretical content.
But before we get to that, let's continue the story:
So, Mr. Hoffmann inspired me to buy all this expensive coffee gear. Naturally, he was the first person I turned to when I wanted to learn how to use this equipment to make a great cup of coffee.
And, lo and behold: He has two tutorial videos on his channel on how to brew coffee with the V60 I bought: "The Ultimate V60 Technique" and "A Better 1 Cup V60 Technique."
These tutorials are excellent. Everything is clearly explained, actionable and concise.
But I encountered a problem...
These techniques didn't produce a very good cup of coffee for me. And I had no idea why.
So, I searched for other techniques.
Luckily, numerous excellent coffee YouTubers are available, such as Lance Hedrick, who produces videos for coffee aficionados rather than just novices. He has a fantastic video on pour-over technique.
I tried his technique. And something was still off.
After giving numerous different techniques (there are so many!) a try, I was feeling defeated.
That's what the beginning of my coffee journey looked like.
It's been a few months since then, and now I'm pretty consistently producing my ideal cup of coffee.
I didn't achieve this by using any specific technique that I learned from some miraculous coffee guru. I never "struck gold" when trying out different methods.
Instead...
I watched other videos from Hoffmann, Hedrick, and others that focused less on technique and more on understanding coffee brewing from a theoretical perspective.
I also did a bunch of experimenting myself, trying different variables every day, like pouring techniques, brewing time, and grind coarseness.
I started to understand what practices produce coffee that is over-extracted, under-extracted, bitter, full-bodied, fruity, sweet, or acidic. I started to understand not only the 'how', but also the 'why'.
It was a journey of discovering the theory behind coffee brewing. A journey that required learning through content and experimentation.
That enabled me to view the aforementioned technique videos from a different perspective. I could mix different tricks from here and there, and develop my own technique.
Knowing the exact steps of how someone else brewed their coffee wasn't enough.
Here's a black-and-white (ie. not very nuanced) way to summarize all this: Learning the theory + Learning the action steps + Experimenting and applying what you learned = Producing something great.
I've faced this issue in other areas as well. When I started learning marketing, I only sought out the most actionable content. I ignored everything else – the theory, the stories, and all the other "fluff". However, I wasn't able to successfully apply those actions in my work until I started understanding the theory and philosophy behind marketing.
So, what I wanted to say is this: There's value in theoretical and actionable content. I wouldn't belittle either of them... like some people do.
But do you want to know the real reason why I wrote this essay?
It's because when I teach theory to my students, and try to help them learn something on a deeper level so they can actually apply what they’re going to learn... And someone shouts at me, "Get to the point!" or "Skip the fluff!"... That just irks me. 😆
So, this essay was born out of that frustration, lol.
Cheers from my coffee-stained ivory tower,
- Mitro
P.S. You know the book 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' by Robert M. Pirsig? I haven't actually read the book, but... I like the general idea of it!
So, this essay was kind of my version of the same idea. Consider it an experiment. Instead of Zen, I talked about the value of theoretical content. And instead of motorcycle maintenance, I talked about coffee brewing.
P.P.S. I was TERRIFIED of publishing this post.
Why? Because there’s no way my audience would be interested in reading a long-ass story about my coffee hobby, even if the story was tied to a point interesting to them, I thought.
Ok, I lied. Again.
I was just a little bit anxious, not TERRIFIED.
Because here’s the thing: When deciding what to write about (and how), I try not to think too much about what would be well-received by others. Instead, I’m writing this newsletter to discover what I want to write to others. There’s a mindset shift there.
That may sound selfish. But you know, so much of the writing- and audience-building -advice on the internet tells you to create content that your audience wants… that you might end up suppressing your own desires, interests, and writer’s identity.
I actually came across a great quote about this recently:
Also, if you’ve ever read Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art, I recommend re-reading the part about the differences between the Hack and the Artist. It’s also related to this issue.
Here’s a small passage from the book:
“When the hack sits down to work, he doesn’t ask himself what’s in his own heart. He asks what the market is looking for.
The hack condescends to his audience. He thinks he’s superior to them. The truth is, he’s scared to death of them or, more accurately, scared of being authentic in front of them, scared of writing what he really feels or believes, what he himself thinks is interesting. He’s afraid it won’t sell. So he tries to anticipate what the market (a telling word) wants, then gives it to them.”
More about this later…