Ethiopian Sidamo and Medium / Medium Dark Roast. 20g, 1.4 turns in Jx Pro, 46.4g out and took a little longer at almost a minute. The group was set 93C and the brew was set at 99C. Took 18s for the first drop into the cup. This is too long. I thought the cup isn’t going to be good. It was so good, I drank straight as an espresso. Fruity citrus and lemon grass for me. It will definitely benefit from loosening the grind. This bag will be very good for brewing for sure, which is what I will do later today. https://imgur.com/a/vTgy8Be

@"LMSC"#p1024 The beans look well roasted for a medium dark roast….who was the roaster?

@"DavecUK"#p1035 Clumsy Goat. They stated both the Peru and this Ethiopian are medium roast. I did not think so. I reckoned the Peru was medium dark / dark. That bag was ok; I was never happy with that Peruvian Bag. This Ethiopian is very good and sweet. I was erring more on the medium dark; I didn’t think it’s a dark roast, looking at the dark yellow / light brown colours at the crevice of the beans; I thought they may have been taken out just before the second crack, not at the second. Obviously, I lack a roasting experience and still learning to differentiate the roasts. 😊 You won’t call it as a dark roast, would you ? Thx

> @"LMSC"#p1039 You won’t call it as a dark roast, would you ? Thx I would call that medium dark…it's about as dark as I like to go, normally I'm in the medium or medium light camps. as my personal preference and that of my roast sharers. That roast was nowhere near 2nd crack and I would guess it's about 30-50 seconds after first…not roasted too fast because I can't see any oil and no charred chaff lines, indicating the burners going off before 1st crack and the roast allowed to coast into it. My guess for what it's worth…anyway, they did a good job.

Crown and canvas - first light Brazilian and colombian blend. Bag states dark chocolate, hazelnut and red berry and I have to say it delivers! Espresso 16g in 32g out: really rich dark chocolate and hazelnut (think greene and blacks) and a gentle acidity to finish. Lovely mouthfeel and long lasting. As a flat white everything’s sweetened up and it really pushes the hazelnut flavour. Delicious. Off to make another 😉

@"Baldrick"#p1770 Hadn't heard of Crown and Canvas before. Having looked at their website and following your positive recommendation I think I will be giving them a try.

@"Dumnorix"#p1793 very popular roaster and some great coffees by all accounts. If you check our commercial directory, you will find some good and reliable companies to use. https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/52-commercial-members-list

@"DavecUK"#p1796 Many thanks for the link.

Origin Colombia Estate Café Granja La Esperanza Farm Potosi Varietal San Juan Process Natural Altitude 1,800-2,000 masl Harvest January - April I got it from my local shop. It's got a really nice sultana smooth taste. Currently brewing it in a Aeropress 1:15 and diluting up to around a 320g cup. Really enjoying it at cooler temps.

Crankhouse, Cordillera de Fuego, anaerobic natural Caturra & Catuai - Initially hesitant & bracing myself due to the pungent, farmyard aroma off the beans, but absolutely delivers in every aspect on the flavour in cup. Complex, good perception of sweetness. Delicious! Like a coffee equivalent to mulled wine. I'm not big fan of naturals, nor Cost a Ricans generally, but I love this. 13\.6g ground at 32 on Wilfa flat, V60 02 with can strainer, 40g every 40s (each pour taking about 13s), 1st 2 pours direct on to the coffee bed, last 3 via can strainer. Dry bed 3:15 for this brew.

Mikari AA (Washed) (Kenya) from Coffee by the Casuals - two ways. Moka Pot - really rich, lots of peach. Very smooth. Pre-boiled water and AP filter, but no 'bloom'. CCD - 18g + 300g - 32 on Niche. Still steeping, but based on brews this week, flavour is more balanced, not as in your face (as expected) - not much pineapple, but more acitidty alongside the peach.

What’s in your cup this morning ?

ooglewoogle

This morning’s cup was a first outing for the Pact Christmas Blend I picked up in their sale last week….ooh la la! A genuinely christmas vibe….dark fruits, some orange zest and a treacly background….really well done. 🙂👌

LeefromFoundryCR

LMSC interesting. We kind of ‘fold’ in the grounds (added to all of the water), like you would when baking. I used to do similarly long steeps in the Aeropress but we’re at around 3 minutes with the Clever. Also a much finer grind than we’d use for Aeropress, not quite espresso though. Good to know the brewer is versatile.

LMSC

LeefromFoundryCR Do you guys check what the EY is?

Please review our brews section and keep us posted your brews. :-)

Coarse grinds as in V60 are for short steeps, whereas coarse espresso / espresso grinds for long clever steeps.

LMSC

Blackcat Indonesia - Sumatra; cup score 87.5. First dial and it’s good, but can’t say it is one of their best bags for me.

This one ran faster. It also requires a lower dose. Nice mild fruity acidity and spices all the way!

Parameters are 91/97, 16.9g powder, 44g out in 27s.

Edit :

Just cut it with milk. It’s nice with milk.

Beverast

Finally got around to trying out Blackcat’s Colombian (CGLE). Really enjoyable in a Kalita Wave - Good mix of fruity tartness and sweetness and the boozy/rummy elements. Very similar profile to the Lupe Maria I roaster earlier this year. Just wish that CGLE’s greens were more accessible to home roasters - I bought direct from them earlier this year but it’s just too expensive for the amount you get.

As a comparison I also tried out my home roast in the Kalita Wave, the La Mina castillo natural, after trying out Blackcat’s. A little more berry type tartness initially but lingering sweetness in the finish, along with the boozy/rummy elements. In my opinion a good alternative and cheaper in the long run - 5kg is roughly £70.

dutchy101

Beverast

Wow, that’s a lot cheaper. I paid £36 for 1kg of the Colombian and that was with a 15% discount.

Waitforme

@dutchy101 , me too, but how much is a coffee roaster 🤔

dutchy101

Waitforme haha yes, very true - not to mention the skill required to roast too. I’ll leave it to the professionals

Cuprajake

Just opened these

LMSC

Smith Street Colombian Dora Mendez! Washed mixed anerobic. Cup score is 88.5

16.9g, 41.8g and 20s. That’s too fast and too acidic. I expect a mild to moderate fruit acidity, given the notes are red grapes and floral. Its grapes notes from start to finish; no floral. Should be nice once the acidity is tamed.

The temps were 91.5/97.5. I plan to grind finer and see how it goes; and, I may put up the temp to 93/99, if required.

https://www.smithstreetcoffeeroasters.co.uk/product-page/dora-mendez

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC Smith Street Colombian Dora Mendez!

This is what I’ve been drinking recently. It requires a very fine grind, a lot finer than the other ones I ordered from them which now the name escapes me, but it’s documented in this thread. (Edit: Los Pinos and Pedraza)

It’s quite hard to dial in, as the shot speeds up drastically halfway through.

I have to say… It’s not my thing, somewhat underwhelming.

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam Thank you. That’s very helpful. Las Piedras required a very fine grind compared to any other coffee I have tried so far.

Of all the SS I tried so far, I did like the Los Pinos and Las Piedras. It’s a shame it did not work for you. How varied our taste buds are! :-)

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam Ground this at the lower-end of espresso range. Pulled 42.1g on 17.2g powder lasting 30s. It was too acidic, there were no traces of any flavours and it was like drinking a coloured hot liquid today! 🤣

I have been serving my wife Blackcat’s Ethiopian during the last two days, which she loved it. I seriously doubt it will go well with her.

I will grind even finer, put up the temp, pull a lower ratio and see where it takes me. Their Majina disappointed me across the brews. Unfortunately, I reckon this is also going Majina’s way. I will clever brew this and see what happens.

This and Chazez are 500g pack! 😰

dutchy101

Smith Street Honduras Chazez. Cup score 86.5

Drank as a flat white at 97. Very smooth and nice - getting a caramel flavour from it. Need to grind a little finer for the next one.

Anyone else tried this one yet?

Cuprajake

need to get a few bags before xmas and birthday coffee comes in, any suggestions?

LMSC

Cuprajake I would hesitate to recommend Smith Street, considering the last 2 bags are meh and the bag I had recommended to @MediumRoastSteam (Los Pinos I think) did not go well with him. I guess he finds them underwhelming. Try Foundry. You can’t go wrong with them.

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC Try Foundry. You can’t go wrong with them.

Ditto! - The Rocko Mountain is back in stock at Foundry - I’d recommend that (Although I haven’t bought it… yet!)

@LeefromFoundryCR ^^^

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam Yeah! Saw that. I have been thinking, although I am not sure about two flavours - Vimto and black tea. I am not confident I will enjoy that black tea at the finish.

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC Vimto and black tea. I am not confident I will enjoy that black tea at the finish.

And that summarises well why I think tasting notes are a lot of nonsense. As for me, that coffee is just superb, or at least it was the last time I had it.

Tasting notes… pfff….. 🤣

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam And that summarises well why I think tasting notes are a lot of nonsense

I can’t disagree more. I think I posted a thread on tasting notes a long ago. It’s relevant.

They drive me crazy, tbh. For an example, why does it matter if it is a red or agreen apple, although the latter is known to produce crisp sweet acidity?

Berries - red, black, blackcurrant, cherries : How does one differentiate?

The same goes to the mildly acidic fruit flavours like peaches, pears and nectarines; and so are grapes - red, green and black! They are very nice, enjoy them and mild / sweet fruit notes; and, I definitely prefer these mildly acidic fruit flavours.

The plus side is, it helps me to stay clear off grapefruit, rhubarb, cranberries, bergamot, …

The downside is sometimes the description of certain flavours like tea flavours keeps me from good bags like this rocko mountain. It’s not the roaster’s fault. 😀

The bottom line - while chasing notes, we sometimes forget to enjoy these very nice coffee! ☺️

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC The downside is sometimes the description of certain flavours like tea flavours keeps me from good bags like this rocko mountain

Yet, tasting notes made you buy coffee that you said you don’t like it. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway. Moving on… 🤣

I’ll most likely buy some Rocko Mountain in the new year as right now I’m stocked up.

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