SCG's Best Videos: May 2026 Coffee & Gear Roundup

May was a good month for us and we covered a lot of ground. Whether you're trying to figure out why your light roast keeps coming out sour, curious what the cupping process actually looks like at home, planning your first camping trip with a hand grinder, or seriously considering a step-up espresso machine, we've got a video for you. This month's lineup has something for every kind of coffee person, from the brew-curious beginner to the home barista ready to go semi-commercial. Scroll through, find what speaks to you, and hit play.

This Month's Videos

How to Cup Coffee at Home (From a Certified SCA Q Grader!)

A home-friendly walkthrough of the professional coffee cupping process — fragrance assessment, brewing and aroma, and the liquoring (tasting) stage — from an SCG crew member who recently earned their SCA Q Grader certification. Covers why consistency matters, how to approach tasting without preconceptions, and how cupping can help you map out a brewing recipe before committing to a full pot.

Best for: Coffee enthusiasts curious about formal tasting processes; anyone wanting to level up their palate; home brewers who want to stop wasting coffee on failed experiments.

Key products featured in this video:

• Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Pour Over Kettle
• Fellow Ode Gen 2 Electric Grinder
• Fellow Tally Coffee Scale

Is the Ascaso Baby T Plus Espresso Machine Worth It?!

A full hands-on Crew Review of the Ascaso Baby T Plus — Ascaso's first NSF-certified machine to come through the store. The review covers design and build quality (thermoblock + boiler + rotary pump setup, wooden steam lever, compact industrial aesthetic), the app-controlled PID for brewing temp, the 2.5L dedicated steam boiler, three included portafilter options (58mm commercial standard), pre-infusion across four shot profiles, plumb-in capability, and day-to-day workflow. The live demo runs an espresso shot, Americano, and latte back-to-back to showcase recovery speed. Pros: fast recovery, powerful steam, intuitive app, commercial-caliber build. Cons: no flow control, volumetric offset via app adds trial-and-error, descaling must be done professionally due to the steam boiler.

Best for: Advanced home baristas, coffee cart operators, anyone stepping up from a thermoblock-only machine who wants more steam power and commercial-grade build quality.

Key products featured in this video:

• Ascaso Baby T Plus Espresso Machine
• Eureka Atom W 75 Espresso Grinder (demo grinder)

[Section paragraph — leave blank for copywriter. Suggested transition: after the espresso deep dive, the remaining videos shift toward coffee knowledge and brewing craft.]

Why Your Light Roast Coffee Tastes Sour (And How to Fix It)

A clear explainer on why light roast coffee is harder to brew and what to do about it. Covers the history of dark roasting as a quality-masking technique, how light roasts preserve origin character at the cost of density and extraction difficulty, the chemistry behind why acids extract before sugars, the difference between good acidity (fruit-forward brightness) and bad acidity (underripe/vinegary), and the key adjustments — finer grind, higher water temp — to pull a more balanced cup. Includes a memorable toaster analogy for roast levels. Closes with a practical mindset note: light roast isn't harder, it's just less forgiving.

Best for: Coffee enthusiasts frustrated with sour light roast results, pour over drinkers, anyone curious about roast science.

Best Coffee Brewing Methods and Tips for Good Coffee While Camping 🏕

A practical guide to great coffee outdoors — covering storage (airtight, dark, dry; Airscape or Fellow Atmos at home, resealable bags for backpacking), pre-grinding strategy (coarser grind if pre-grinding, no more than a week out), hand grinder selection (Saint Anthony Industries Millwright for quality-first campers, lighter options for backpackers), water quality and temperature management without electricity (boil and rest 2–5 min), and brew method recommendations by group size (AeroPress for solo flexibility, French press for groups). The presenter's personal camp setup: AeroPress + hand grinder + camp stove.

Best for: Outdoor coffee drinkers, campers and backpackers who don't want to compromise on quality, gift shoppers looking for practical gear recommendations.

Key products featured in this video:

• Airscape Coffee Bean Canister
• Fellow Atmos Vacuum Canister
• Saint Anthony Industries Millwright Hand Grinder
• AeroPress Go Travel Coffee Maker

That's everything we filmed in May. Whether you walked away with a new brewing trick, a better handle on what's going on in your cup, or a serious case of espresso machine envy, we hope something here was worth your time. More videos coming next month — subscribe so you don't miss them.