James Hoffmann

James Alexander Hoffmann (born ) He is a graduate of Durham University.

In 2003, Hoffmann released an EP under the stage name "King Seven" which featured "bell chimes, panned-and-swirling acoustic guitars and careful, sometimes glitchy, percussion choices." He also worked as a croupier in a Leeds casino and in the wine industry before entering the coffee industry. In 2004, Hoffmann started his popular blog "Jimseven".

Hoffmann first started competing in the UK Barista Championship in 2005, winning the competition in 2006 and qualifying to compete in the World Barista Championship (WBC). He placed fifth at the WBC in 2006. He became the UK Barista Champion again in 2007 before becoming the World Barista Champion in Tokyo in 2007. His winning signature drink involved a "flavour marriage" of tobacco and almonds. Since becoming the World Barista Champion, Hoffmann has come to be regarded as a pioneer in the third-wave coffee movement in the UK, with The Globe and Mail describing him as "the godfather of London's coffee revolution".

Square Mile Coffee Roasters After leaving his job at La Spaziale in May 2007, Hoffmann co-founded Square Mile Coffee Roasters with his business partner Anette Moldvaer in 2008, a London-based specialty coffee company and roaster. The company was based in Cambridge Heath in 2009 and Hackney by June 2014, before moving to their current location in Walthamstow in late 2018.

With his business partner Tim Williams, Hoffmann temporarily opened a coffee bar called "Penny University" in 2010 through Square Mile. The café was open in Shoreditch from May 22 to July 30 and featured no espresso drinks, opting to serve Hario V60 pour overs, flannel drip, and siphon coffee. Square Mile took over Prufrock Coffee, a café in London, in 2017. Hoffmann competed in the 2010 Aeropress Championship.

Square Mile hosted a pop-up coffee shop during the 2016 London Coffee Festival. The pop-up included two stands, one of which taught attendees how to make good espresso and filter coffee at home, and the other offered a tasting experience of food and drink that highlighted coffee as an ingredient.

In 2022, Square Mile collaborated with Cometeer to produce flash frozen pucks of concentrated coffee, which are then diluted in hot water as an alternative to instant coffee. This was the first time Square Mile's coffee was available in the US. This was followed in September 2022, when Square Mile and American specialty coffee company Fellow announced the roaster would partner with them for the September 13 "Fellow Drop", a weekly, text-based coffee ordering service. Fellow had collaborated with US Barista Champion and fellow YouTuber Morgan Eckroth the month prior.

Square Mile had 37 employees.

Writing On 23 October 2014, Hoffmann published The World Atlas of Coffee through Octopus Book Publishing Group. The book explores coffee history, varieties, growing methods, roasting, and preparation with a focus on origin, cataloguing the coffees grown in 29 countries.

In 2017, Hoffmann self-published his second book, Best of Jimseven, funded through an Indiegogo campaign. The book was a compilation of Hoffmann's popular blog "Jimseven".

In 2022, Hoffmann published his third book, How to Make the Best Coffee at Home through Mitchell Beazley, a part of Octopus Book Publishing Group. In January 2023, the book was honored at the 14th Annual Sprudgie Awards, winning in the category of "Best Coffee Magazine/Book". His channel primarily discusses the specialty coffee industry, reviews and compares coffee equipment, and evaluates different brewing methods. His videos are noted as being practical, easy to understand, and funny, as well as consistently thorough. In January 2023, Hoffmann was honored at the 14th Annual Sprudgie Awards, winning runner-up in the category of "Best Coffee Video/Film".

Other businesses, consulting work, and products In 2014, Hoffmann co-founded Longberry Publishing with Ben Szobody and Jacob Forrest. The company published a magazine they stated would be an "occasional journal of coffee" available in print and e-book. The company was closed in 2018 after publishing two editions.

In 2015, Hoffmann collaborated with ChefSteps and Ben Kaminsky to make a twelve-part series on coffee and coffee preparation. The producers of the series were nominated for a James Beard Award for their how-to videos, including the series with Hoffmann.

Hoffmann founded Tens Hundreds Thousands, which sells limited edition coffee-related products.

Hoffmann consulted for Myracle Kitchen, a subsidiary of Nurture Brands LLC, to develop a plant-based dairy alternative called "Barista Mylk". The product was released in June 2021, with the stated goal of being comparable to cow's milk in terms of taste, experience, and texture, as well as being suitable for use in latte art. The formulation includes oats, fava beans, and coconut cream.