Video by James Hoffmann that all should see!

James has been a good friend of us for years now. He’s long been a fantastic blogger and spokesperson for speciality coffee. When he and Anette opened up Square Mile we were stoked. We’re thrilled that James is now also video blogging and honered to be mentioned in the first episode.

What he talks about it this and this How crema is not the goal of a good espresso at all – quite the opposite. I think James says it in the video better than we possibly can, so take the time and enjoy listening to his soothing voice.

One little side-note before baristas out there begin ignoring the crema completely is that it is still one way of telling whether or not you – the barista – are doing your job right. You can tell a lot about actual the extraction from looking at the crema both during the pour and after. And since we can’t taste all shots we serve (for obvious reasons) we have to rely on the visual indications we get from the crema. When that’s said, crema should never be the goal in sourcing beans, roasting, blending or brewing.