James Hoffmann: Room For Dissent? - Page 9

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Tim M
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#81: Post by Tim M »

coffeeOnTheBrain wrote:... "cubic inch can only be replaced by cubic inch". ...
There's no replacement for displacement?

Still off topic, I haven't watched to OP's video because I'm not interested in anthropology but I am interested in coffee. Hoffmann's website is what led me to this website.
On topic? I would tend to think people don't argue with Hoffmann because he rarely states an opinion without prefacing it with a lengthy spiel about how it's his subjective opinion and there's nothing wrong or right about his opinion or your opinion. He comes across as very affable.

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JB90068
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#82: Post by JB90068 »

I'll admit it, I've become a fan of James Hoffman. I think he gets so little disagreement amongst his followers is for multiple reasons: He has the chops professionally, he comes across in a very humble way, he discloses any of his professional affiliations up front including in a recently viewed video where he tells us that this video should be seen as an infomercial, he is funny and unless you love Nespresso he isn't overly negatively opinionated and allows us viewers to make up our own minds. Last week, the NY Times did a small article on him that captures the essence of what James Hoffman portrays to most of his viewers including myself.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/dini ... Position=1

In these times where people (fortunately not here on HB) feel that it is open season to vindictively and self righteously scream their opinions at everyone, it's nice to see someone like Mr. Hoffman take the high road of civility while offering his thoughts.
Old baristas never die. They just become over extracted.
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ZenAdventurerUSA
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#83: Post by ZenAdventurerUSA »

I think the main reason that James meets with so little pushback is because he methodically makes a case for what he's presenting. It's rarely just opinion and when it is, he indicates it as such. This buys him a great deal of credibility. Contrast that with Tim Wendelboe who readily admits he really doesn't know, nor care, about the science behind coffee...he just kind of wings it until he gets coffee he likes. His presentations reflect the same level of adventure, inquisitiveness and joy. I, myself, operate more like Tim, but I think that James Hoffmann is the James May of coffee...thorough, methodical, prepared, engaging, funny, earnest. And that makes it tough to disagree with him.

espressotime
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#84: Post by espressotime »

del.

Pressino
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#85: Post by Pressino »

When we encounter others, we tend to rather quickly assess whether or not we "like" them and how much we do or don't. It's all part of the cognitive toolkit that evolved in us as social animals. To cut to the point, I've watched many of Hoffman's videos and find him extremely likeable. I don't always agree with everything he says about coffee, but when I disagree it is mostly over matters of subjective taste (literally) rather than more objective facts. One thing I can say for certain is that almost immediately I formed a rather negative opinion (i.e. dislike) of Mr. Fabian, who struck me as being a somewhat envious sour-minded fellow complaining about the fact that nearly a million of Hoffman's viewers seem to like him. The fact that Fabian choses to take it out on Hoffman's audience, as if they are somehow the problem..."A level of obedience unseen in the coffee scene so far..." doesn't do anything to improve my opinion of him...

Just sayin' :D

PIXIllate
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#86: Post by PIXIllate replying to Pressino »

Yeah, pretty much this.

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iploya
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#87: Post by iploya »

Pressino wrote:Just sayin' :D
I agree. I really like Michael Fabian's other videos.

I also like Hoffman. He has the unparalleled experience and credentials to back it up. He comes up with topics that I never would have thought of. He takes great care to remove bias and he is conscientious to a fault about disclosing any possible sources of bias up front. His videos have exceptional production value, and his delivery is top notch. They educate me, make me laugh, and make me think.

Milligan
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#88: Post by Milligan »

I've watched quite a bit of Hoffman. He is entertaining and there isn't a lot of good coffee content to watch. I agree with others that his humble demeanor is very refreshing compared to so many opinionated people voicing the word of god on social media and YouTube. I highly respect people that have a deep well of knowledge on a topic but don't pretend that they know everything especially on something as subjective as coffee. He also has unique and playful content instead of shoving latte art content out there for views. Not everything he suggests has worked for me, but I really enjoy watching his method and how he knowingly takes his experiments one step too far.

Pressino
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#89: Post by Pressino »

I also like his, at least to me, rather British sense of humor, most evident in his review of The Bripe.

Mbb
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#90: Post by Mbb »

Hoffman is very....watchable.
He's concise, informative, well spoken and easy to understand. His thoughts are at least organized, if not well rehearsed. He's also likable and entertaining.

How many other people have tried 50-year-old espresso on video?

So it stands to reason he's pretty popular to watch.

I think his opinions which he shares are fair and reasonably objective. Although I don't agree with all of them. He basically says to go ahead and use boiling water and don't rinse the filter either. I find that 195-200° water versus boiling water can make a tremendous difference with some coffees. With the hotter being bad.

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