Best & Worst Coffee Videos for Better Tasting Coffee

The internet is filled with lots of helpful tips and tricks on how to make better-tasting coffee, but videos speak for themselves. Here are some of our favorite and most disliked coffee videos.

The nice thing about watching how-to videos is seeing how the process is done from start to finish. The problem is that many of these so-called expert brewing method videos don’t always tell you the truth. Many of them are supposed to be ‘Life Hack’ videos made for entertainment and are designed for clicks and likes.

 

What to look for in an honest coffee tutorial video

The magic of making movies is proof that we can’t always believe our eyes or the insane irrational notion that making the perfect cup of coffee is easy as cake. Let’s take a look at some of the warning signs that you can easily spot right away.

 

Moka Pot

The old-fashioned Moka Pot is better-known in Europe but is now getting exposure in the US from so many homebrewers. There is a right way and a wrong way to make great coffee using the Moka Pot aside from this being a little tricky the first time around. Here is what you need to know:

 

Bad Example:

The first clue is the thumbnail which is a direct tip-off that the stunned look on the face of these guys is a sign of pure clickbait. You’ve seen these before in so many life-hack videos that it needs to be mentioned. The second part is the amount of pseudo-science that is mentioned mixed with genuine facts. There is barely any real footage of making coffee and at least 20 minutes of rambling about what makes the best Moka coffee.

 

Good Example:

This video tutorial is short and sweet and is full of practical tips. They explain the brewing process from start to finish with no fancy editing or over-explanation of how the Moka Pot works. Great insight into what is better for making great coffee each time.

 

French Press

 

Bad Example:

This hipster looks like he could have gotten a role on Mythbusters, but all he’s doing is busting himself! Even the assistant in the back of the video is giving that look ‘oh- Brother, you blew it. There are serious problems in this video from not warming the French Press before brewing, to over-immersion of the coffee grounds. Despite the grounds being coarsely ground, this coffee was probably overly bitter with too much sharp bite. Don’t be this guy!

 

Good Example:

This guy puts some good production value with his intro and a quick look at the process in what is called a flash preview. The rest of his instruction makes common sense for the French Press which removed the risk of over-extracted coffee. This is a great concept for this method of immersion brewing. It’s an alternate take on using this brewing method that isn’t using the plunger which could (technically) put small grains of coffee into your mug.

Pourover

 

Bad Example:

Here is a very bad example of what not to do right from the start of your brewing. This guy does the exact opposite of what his narration says and then ruins his coffee by not waiting for the coffee grounds to bloom before the second pour stage. He even scrapes the sides of the filter which is a major Noob mistake! Because he agitated the grounds too much, the finished grounds look like flat wet sand instead of a rounded cake mound that sits in the center of the filter.

 

Good Example:

This is for the popular Hario V60 Pour-over method and covers the process from grind size to actual brewing without any punches. It also shows the difference in grind size and brewing ratios for the best results. It’s a very well-done video tutorial- with little effort that isn’t hiding anything from the viewer.

 

When searching other coffee videos…

Always look at the comment section if you have any doubts. The coffee community loves to rate and tear apart videos that aren’t being honest. Search for content that is based on the method you are using to the exact type of coffee brewing method. This will always produce the best results no matter which video has a mistake or two. To get a better idea of the brewing process, watch two or 3 videos on the same brewing method and combine them for the best tips and advice.