I'm gonna tell you a story a little bit silly, but it is also kind of a highlight of my coffee career.

Our story begins in 2000 and four, which feels like a very long time ago Now.

At that time, I worked for Gadjah.

Back then, I sold a little domestic espresso machines in a department store on Oxford Street in London, and we had a special space that was just pure gadget and had a coffee bar that had a two group in a grinder.

And the goal was to sell machines by making people a cup of coffee for free in like a porcelain cup.

And while they were stuck talking to you because they couldn't really just wander off, what do you tell him?

A coffee machine.

Then it worked, and occasionally I would get kind of regulars who just come by, hang out, chat and drink coffee with me.

One of those regulars was a guy called Andy, and I didn't really know who he was, but he was really good conversation, and I enjoyed him coming by and he kept saying he was gonna bring his friend in to buy a coffee machine.

On one day, he brought his friend a guy called Derren Brown.

Now, at this point, Derren Brown was pretty famous.

But to me, I was already a pretty big fan boy.

Having worked in a casino, I got kind of interested in magic card tricks, card shopping, card manipulation, all that kind of stuff.

Derren Brown is very good at that, and I sort of hunted out his video instructional.

It's called The Devil's Picture Book.

It's really hard to get hold of.

I think it was back then, and it was kind of three hours of him doing magic tricks explaining how they worked.

Actually, bunch of those magic tricks would show up again in his show as mental ism, but they're ultimately just a card trick.

This is not the point.

The point of that was like this guy Andy was actually a co writer of a bunch of Derren Brown stuff.

He's got Andy Nyman.

I found out later this is relevant because in 2007 maybe 2008 I got an email saying, Would I like to be on Darren Brands TV show?

I said Yes, even though it's trick or treat and at the time that was slightly terrifying.

But they were like, No, no, no, it's just a little segment come by.

It'll be fun.

We'll do it like an afternoon.

We'd love to have you as kind of coffee related, so I said yes now this has been on the Internet for quite a long time, but but no one really found it.

But then last week, Derren Brown's channel re uploaded that video and loads of you have been in touch.

And I want to tell you about that experience because it is not what it seems in the video.

What we're going to see as we watch this video together is not what happened.

Let's just let's just watch the video together.

I have my laptop here.

I'm ready to go.

I'm ready to enjoy this masterpiece of television with you.

Look, we've talked about how I looked back then in the W B C video where I talked to my routine.

Yes.

Ultimately, I'm sure you have a very witty comment.

I know.

I looked ridiculous.

I knew then, but But I definitely know now.

Anyway, let's watch the video.

One of the techniques I've been showing Glen is an extension of what some people refer to as a photographic memory.

Now this is important all of these shots off old coffee machines.

Well, the filming location for this was the London Coffee Museum that is now gone.

It's now like a painters and decorators supplier, but back then it was owned by a guy called Edward Brahma.

And sadly, he died, and when he died, the museum in the collection disappeared from public view.

It's somewhere, I think, but you can't see it.

And it was an incredible collection of old espresso machines, old roasters, old Brewer's old coffee cups.

It was genuinely a very interesting little museum, but also a bit weird and a bit creepy at times.

Anyway, that's where we filmed this.

So that's why this sort of coffee paraphernalia everywhere to demonstrate what Glenn will be taking on I've invited.

James Hoffman, who was world barista champion, is a leading coffee expert to help me spill the beans as much as I love a pun.

Darren, no, no.

Okay, if you could take maybe three big scoops of coffee on dhe, pretty much cover the train.

Okay?

This is the first thing I need to tell you, this is not the first trick that he did when I was there.

So this is really important because later on, you're going to see a reaction from me.

That reaction was actually to the first trick that he did.

The trick that you're seeing on the TV show was the second trick that he attempted.

And and it was the less spectacular of the to allow me to explain.

The first trick broke my head.

Now I was a Derren Brown fan.

I was a believer going into this, but after this just just blown away his how it worked was really simple.

I got a handful of coffee beans and I have a good size hand on.

I threw them onto a tray.

Darren walked from the other side of the room and asked me to count from 10 to 0 on Dhe.

He stared at this tray of coffee beans for those 10 seconds as I can throw it down.

He then walks to the outside of the room and picked up a clipboard on began to make markings on it on what he did in the next 30 seconds was make markings on a clear sheet of like plastic essentially, and he walks back and he laid the sheet over the tray, and he had marked the position of every single coffee bean with one mistake.

He added one extra bean that wasn't there, but he had the location and sort of angle of every single being on that tray down.

I was blown away.

There's just no way thio trick that you can't fake it.

The only way you can do that in those circumstances with me watching is to remember the position of every being on that tray.

My mind was blown like I was, until they do the trick.

And then they pulled to the side.

And then they stick a camera in your face and ask your questions like How do you feel?

Was that impressive?

Do you feel good about that?

How did he do it?

Could you work it out on you?

Just like I don't know.

It was just kind of wild.

I don't Yeah, that's amazing.

That was really amazing.

I was genuinely stunned, you know?

And excited.

And then the light.

Great thing very much.

We're gonna do one more trick because, you know, well, maybe not so happy with how that 1st 1 went on.

They don't want to fake it.

They could have gone again and had him get it right.

But they were like, Stop.

Perfect.

So we'll move on to the next trick, which is the one that you're seeing here with these, Like, for something without.

So don't do that now.

Finally, would you, uh, pick one out, pick up mean anything.

So if you can mark your being perfect around the other side of it on, it could be anything you like across adopt two dots, your initials, anything you like, but something.

So you're definitely recognize that again?

Very nice.

You know, this is lynda dot This isn't exactly how this trick went down.

I had picked to being out initially, and for whatever reason, that being had been rejected.

And what was interesting is that I was sort of coach towards picking a different one that I thought was quite now I look at coffee, beans and maybe a different way to most of the people.

Maybe I see a little bit more detail in them because I spent a lot of time looking at them.

And so so in the in the back of my brain.

He gives me this being to market.

I feel like I could recognize this being I kind of know what it was.

It might have been.

It wasn't a Marjorie.

It wasn't like an elephant ear or anything that obvious or distinct, But it was kind of a slightly weird looking coffee bean.

Anyway, I mark the bean we carry on.

Good.

Well, that dries.

I now have to memorize the order.

The beans that are on the tray second me a second to do that and just keep half another in your beans.

You know, I'm not gonna flick the bean off or anything like that.

That would be a first, Darren.

I mean, he hadn't come out at this point, actually, So I suppose he was being recently honest.

If you don't get that joke, I'm not explaining that for you on days taking a series of mental photographs.

I'm just gonna face the other way.

Okay.

I'm gonna place your being somewhere on top of the beans in the tray, logically with a cross on the underneath, and I will look the other way.

Please, keep off.

At least you know, I'm not gonna look genuine.

Now I place to being on the tray.

And in that moment, I was like, Could I do this trick to him?

Like I could I could I repeat that trick back to him?

If I felt like I could pick, I could be in that I could recognize on island of that trade beans.

And I was like, Maybe even probably not, but maybe, but probably not.

Okay.

Okay, be happy.

I didn't see where you put it, right?

I know looking at this shot that there's no way that being looked in anywhere.

Distinct.

And I'm remembering this, what, 13 years later.

So, you know, picture sold, but still 1347 beans in that trailer there absolutely are not on Dhe.

Enjoy that.

You know, he flourishes there, but that's nonsense.

More than welcome to Captain.

I'm gonna get myself one shot at this.

I think that that being there is your baby come in.

Okay.

Shut the camera.

I'm impressed.

Excellent.

You can't really cheap that.

So this is my reaction from the first trick that they didn't show right because you could cheat the second trick.

Actually, there's a bunch of ways you could cheat it.

I don't think he did cheat it, but, you know, I might have thought he did if I hadn't seen the first trick that broke my little brain.

So yeah, absolutely pure memory impressed.

That's me on Derren Brown, a feeler Derren Brown fan.

You should be.

He's fantastic.

I would recommend watching any and all of his stuff.

It is incredibly enjoyable.

I've been a fan for a very long time, and for me it was a huge deal to be on his TV show and to meet him even like I was probably found Buoying before the shoot.

I was very excited, and it was kind of weird to see Andy, the guy that I met when I made coffee in a weird coffee bar inside a department store for free for a couple of years.

There is part of that in that context.

It was a good day.

There was a super weird day.

Now it's a couple more things I want to talk about today.

I know that this was, I hope, a nice little moment of light heartedness in amongst a more serious world right now on Dhe, we're gonna be talking about coffee ongoing.

I'm secretly making videos.

What?

People are gonna be making coffee at home, so I want to talk about that.

So two things I want to give away some coffee with every video that I make in the next month or two, so they'll be a link in the description.

If you click it, it's a chance to win our buy coffee for 10 people.

For every single video I'll ship it to you.

It'll be a bag of coffee from me.

I'll pay for it if you If you can afford coffee, please buy coffee.

Coffee businesses are really struggling.

I'll talk about that in a separate video.

It is a tough on scary time for the coffee industry, but if you are a service worker, if you're on shift work, if you've been sent home, if you're not able to buy coffee and you wanna drink coffee, enter below our pick 10 people.

Uh, I'll send them coffee.

I do that for every video for the next two months, so there's a link down below on.

I'm able to do this because this video has sponsors.

Responses like Squarespace sponsored this video that if you're at home and you're working and you're trying to plan for the future, you might be looking at building a website, and if you do, I would recommend getting started with squarespace.

It is incredibly easy to take an idea in your head and turn it into a beautiful website.

Could start with one of their templates and fill it with your personality, your ideas, your image is your voice, all of the things that you want to communicate and say, Well, lots of a stuck at home.

Maybe it's time to finally get your portfolio up online.

Maybe it's time to start publishing the creative writing that you've been doing.

Maybe it's time to start a little online business.

All of these are simple and possible with squarespace on.

I don't need to take my word for it.

I want you to try it.

I want you to go to the link below, sign up for a 14 day trial and build something.

Create something.

And at the end of it, when you're ready to launch useco James Hoffman for a 10% discount on any website or domain.

Thank you to square space for sponsoring this video again.

If you need some coffee, hit that link down below.

I'll say Thank you so much for watching.