Expensive Coffee: Can ordinary people tell the difference?

Josh brews up 3 different grades of coffee and hits the streets (aka. the front of our espresso bar) to find out if the random mix of customers, office staff & other passers-by can spot the difference in a blind taste test.

Sections in this video:
0:00 Intro
0:35 Why the difference in price?
2:43 The taste test
4:53 The results
5:58 ...but which did they prefer?
___________________

[digitalspecter]

I like that there were 3 varieties instead of 2. To put the cups in the correct order you have 50% chance to do it with 2 cups but only 17% with three. You might want to ask about their reasoning before they know if they were right.. they'll be a little bit more truthful =) Anyway, an interesting and fun video =)

[KiraDenys]

Would be interesting, to see the test preformed with coffees of different grades from the same region, instead of coffees of different grades from different regions. As people might have a regional flavor preference.

[zrwng]

Spot on. Not only is everyone's taste different, but there are also days when you feel adventurous and desire something different. It is why I started roasting my own coffee. I can buy a variety of beans and roast several single origin coffees each week and then pick what I desire that morning and brew a cup. No need to spend $25 on a single cup, when I can buy a lb or two of a really good bean and roast some delicious coffee myself.

[agentred]

Lady with baby: “It’s not my cup of tea..”
Coffee Guy: “That’s because it is a cup of coffee!”

[Boyetto-san]

I think part of this is that Australia has such a strong coffee culture. In places like where I live, where people are far more set in their ways about the taste of dark-roasted commodity coffee, there's just a really strong aversion to the acidity or light-bodied characters of specialty coffee, and that people will just assume it's bad coffee for tasting different. This really annoys me, which is why I often have to insist that I have better taste than others, even if I personally don't actually believe that's the case!

[fatihahmedakcora]

Awesome video :)

It's something I've observed as well. Many people do not like expensive coffee because they like the taste of coffee rather than the floral aroma. Such people usually like espresso more than filter coffee.

[LuisCaneSec]

I'm always trying different coffees. There are a few that I come back to from time to time, but I'm very adventurous with my coffee. I have a few good roasters in my area that have seasonal coffees and blends that are pretty good. The less expensive single origin and blends are good, but their high end coffees always impress me. A recent one that really impressed me was a Costa Rican white honey process coffee that had cinnamon sticks on the coffee while it was drying. That imparted a subtle cinnamon flavor to the coffee that really made it stand out. It was an experimental ten bag batch that the farm made.

[rozsagabor]

There is a part in the video called "Why the difference in price?" And the answer was: The higher a cup score the higher the price. Okay but why the hell is the cup score higher? I thought we are actually getting an answer instead if this.

[bleskiven]

I buy coffee on a budget, so I rarely go for the most expensive beans. I love to get a cup of fancy coffee from really good cafés, but for the home I buy my local café's house espresso beans. They're good, easy to brew with, and don't go noticeably stale too quickly.

[CoffeebeanerHtx]

This was loads of fun. Glad to have this video slide into my feed. Cheers from Houston, Texas.

[JesusGreenBL]

It's interesting that some of the people correctly identified the most expensive coffee while still having other preferences themselves. It's kinda cool that people seem to have a sort of natural instinct that the more nuanced/interesting cups would be worth the most.

I'd love to see more experiments like this, especially any involving your average supermarket instant/preground coffee consumer. I think those would be especially fun because I think folks who've never had specialty coffee before are always surprised when they discover that they actually prefer light roasts, or that they can suddenly drink their coffee without milk.

[Caffeine.And.Carvings]

I would be interested in a Street Test.
Like customers who would go to a good coffee store I think are more likely to pick the expensive one.
Now take your average worker Joe on his way to work who usually grabs a gas station coffee to go, and high class business consultants with a bureau coffee maker, and let them pick :)

[nasser_almashjary]

This was a really fun video. Try exploring more real life tests like these!

[Narezaath]

Nice, at last I have a proof for some of my friends and family who claim "meh, doesn't make a difference" ;)
I try to mix my approach: if I buy for myself or "for show" I go for something a bit more special (within budget...), but if I have a party to serve which isn't exactly focused on coffee itself but more milk drinks - and ol' reliable goes into my portafilter.

[JakeTechReviews]

As a coffee drinker of 34 years, I love my coffee. I love both on the cheaper and the expensive ends.

[austinfreyrikrw]

Love this fun video. I’m a simple man. I like my espresso milky (cappuccino/latte). I’d go for consistency. The expensive single origin coffee is good for the occasional indulgence and exploration, not my day-to-day cup of joe. ☕️

[cmbat]

Good on you for doing this as it's not a great revenue earner to show that not everyone can pick or likes the more expensive coffee. I've never splashed out on a bag with a 90+ score and it would likely be wasted with milk. 1 in every 5 kgs that I buy are single origin and I definitely noticed more defined and obvious flavour profiles with them. So I like them just because they are different and a nice change.

[MarcoFHQ]

BY FAR the most expensive cup of coffee I've ever had was at World Champion Barista Tim Wendelboe's espresso bar in Oslo, Norway. It was just big enough for one sip, and it was the most acidic and overpowering thing I've ever tasted. Never in my life I've hated a cup of coffee as much as I hated that one, so I can attest that fancy coffee is not for everyone!

[timrea]

Thanks mate love a single origin mild roast normally from Ethiopia...
Over the years I have moved to higher quality beans lighter roast so I can hear the coffee Sing. Looking forward to more from 7 Miles.
Bless You man

[SnA]

very interesting, and absolutely true! I've tried different type of beans, and really not very attached to the price. But certainly different area gives different flavours, and it's fun to switch between them. Now, if I find something I don't really like, I'll just french press it to share with people, because it might be only me not like it, but others might love it