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 ?

LMSC

MWJB If they’re that easily camouflaged, are they really there?

We would never know, would we?

MWJB watermelon in coffee, more in the finish, following a stronger red fruit flavour.

Wow! you are a super taster!

These notes are subtle IMO. Let’s take an example.

The Bolivia has Tropical fruits like Mango and Water Melon. They describe “fresh acidity, like you get in a watermelon” and at the same time, they also suggest a “crisp acidity”. I can liken that crisp / fresh acidity to Mango and green apple.

It will be good to hear how you does one identify the watermelon flavour when you have a stronger red fruit flavour or mango / apple as dominant flavours.

I am neither a super taster nor aspire to be one. 😄

MWJB

LMSC I am neither a super taster nor aspire to be one. 😄

Neither am I.

I don’t really try too hard to consolidate with what anyone else says about the coffee, if I concur with notes, great…if not and I still enjoy it…still great :-)

LMSC

MWJB if I concur with notes, great…if not and I still enjoy it…still great :-)

This sums up my main question I had raised earlier: “do notes really matter to enjoy an excellent cup of coffee?”. I question this every time I open a new bag! 😊

Thx

DavecUK

LMSC This sums up my main question I had raised earlier: “do notes really matter to enjoy an excellent matter”. I question this every time I open a new bag! 😊

If I’m honesty they don’t, I either like a coffee or I don’t, BUT, when I have a few people who roast share, with a new coffee, they invariably ask….“what’s it like”. That’s the point where I need to care!

LMSC

DavecUK If I’m honesty they don’t, I either like a coffee or I don’t

DavecUK what’s it like”. That’s the point where I need to care!

Is it not 50:50 then? Does it then matter only for the roasters and not end consumers? To some extent, it helps stay clear of certain notes like Rhubarb, Grape Fruit that some consumers may want to avoid.

I do wonder if we are getting side tracked chasing notes than looking at the coffee objectively and enjoy the variations each bag brings. 😊

mobius

LMSC I see flavour notes like ‘markers’. For roasters, I guess that can help suggest that a fresh batch is still the same as the last. For the me, it’s something to help guide what I’m ‘looking’ for, but as others have said, if I get to a good cup and I don’t get any of the notes, I won’t keep searching - I need a ‘hint’ of something to bother going further in refining the recipe.

Mostly, ‘tastes good’ is enough, if there’s no real direction to pursue further.

Of course, the elephant in the room - if there weren’t any taste notes, how would you market your beans as being different from others, other than light/dark, how ethical it is, or what the ‘cup score’ is (another finger in the air that likely is more ambiguous than flavour notes).

MWJB

mobius I see flavour notes like ‘markers’. For roasters, I guess that can help suggest that a fresh batch is still the same as the last.

Sometimes you’ll see a roaster’s notes change completely for the same landed batch of coffee over the course of its availability.

mobius

This morning is “We Are Coffee” San Lorenzo - A decaf bean grabbed from Amazon whilst I wait for others to rest (I ordered from Amazon assuming they would be ‘older’).

These seem to have been roasted on the 26th April (BBE April 2024, batch no. AMZ2604)

A slightly darker bean than most mediums I’ve had, and also very easy to hand grind.

In the cup (17.5g/45g/30s and 17g/49g/44s tests) they are very bright, but close to being balanced I think. Definitely a complexity to them, where I get some acidity (I suspect the raspberry) at the top of my mouth and others (the cherry) at the lower back. Creamy and smooth, with a mellow finish although the roast pokes through there.

I’ll see how they do over the next few days, but I was pleasantly surprised.

LMSC

Blackcat Colombia Tabi Natural

Cup score 93!

Have been enjoying this during the last few days. It is excellent.

Raja123

Next up

Raja123

Started the Jhoan Vergara. It’s an interesting departure from the norm - tastes like gummies. Pulled to 1:2.5 at 93C, with 30s preinfusion. Recommended if you want to try something different.

Cuprajake

This offering from dog and hat

Chriss29

Cuprajake How are you finding this bean? For whatever reason I can’t seem to get much from it. I’m going for a 1:2 in about 22 seconds as suggested about 19 on the Niche dial

Cuprajake

Ive been away all week so it’s been resting, I’ve only really dialed it in atm.

Will know more at weekend when I’m home

Not had coffee for a week now

Ernie1

Haven’t had any Dark Arts for a fair while but really enjoying this one with milk.

Typical Brazilian flavours, really smooth.

PortafilterProcrastinator

First espressos from this bag this morning.

Very much still dialling it in.

First shot ran slow, 18g in @95deg - 54g out in about 63s.

Surprisingly nice given how slow it was. Showed promise.

Second, adjusted grind too much, shot ran fast - 54g out in 27s.

Popped it in my travel mug as Americano for work. Drinkable but only just.

The roast seems to be quite uneven which is interesting.

MWJB

Kiss the Hippo, Colombia, Aponte anaerobic honey Caturra - this is right up my street, the red apple (more the skin) is unmissable, a lighter, brighter, tinglier red fruit acidity too (could be raspberry, also hibiscus tea), bursting with flavour.

A good bang for the buck at £5.60/100g.

All brewed as drip/pour over/Clever steep.

Systemic

Django Insight Subscription - Costa Rican Tarrazu anaerobic. Impressed with the roast - light and even. Only tried as pour over as still a little young - taste notes of tropical fruits and pineapple.

PortafilterProcrastinator

Django Arufa - 18g in, 95deg, 54out c.40-45s

Getting the berries now which is really nice.

Noticeably thicker/ syrupy/ more mouth feel than my last Django - Hatuhei.

Also experimented with aeropress filter at the bottom of the basket. Interestingly it doesn’t seem to run much if any faster, unlike Wired Gourmets video.

LMSC

Never pulled a shot off a filter roast. Thanks to @Cuprajake for gently pushing dog and hat my way! 👏

Took an international filter roast starting this month.

Very nice coffee. Similar taste profile to Crankhouse and Foundry, although this bag is a filter. It’s a Kenyan and so obviously brighter cup. Doesn’t set them apart, IMHO, as I have had similar tasting coffee in the UK.

Very much like this filter roast pulled as an espresso for Americano. Plenty of notes - Blackcurrant and Hisbiscus. It is very sweet, bright, smooth and a lovely finish. It is one of the best bags for me. Am resisting the temptation to go for another cup.

17.2g, 49s, 46g (6.5 bars shot as I pulled longer).

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