It’s one of the main reasons I started and still roast at home. I actually just bought 2kg from two different roasters as I knew I’d be getting through them quickly when I was getting to grips with the Philos, I won’t say who, and both are mediocre at best. One barely has any flavour at all.

Granted it’s a challenge to consistently roast commercial size batches but that’s not much consolation when you spend £40 on a bag of average coffee.

I think there’s sometimes an element of your own palate improving too. I look back at some of the darker roasted blends I used to think were great and actually they were probably not fantastic.

La Marzocco Linea Mini - Mazzer Philos

Ikawa Roaster

For me it’s largely a matter of taste, I know what regions/processes I particularly enjoy and what to avoid.

That said the majority of the beans I buy are ‘daily drivers’ not special or mind blowingly good.

Same here - one of the reasons I tend to stick to what I know… Because, every time I venture out… 90% of the time it ends up in disappointments.

But taste is subjective, so what might be a good one for some, might be a bad one for me - and vice-versa.

    MediumRoastSteam Preference is subjective, taste (as in flavour perception) to a degree, but less so?

    How many people would confuse cheese & chive tortilla chips for blazing hot in a blind test?

    Apart from being to your preference, how often does the coffee live up to the full tasting notes?

    For me, a little over half the time I broadly get one or two, less than 20% of the time they hit the nail on the head.

        MWJB - I agree. I think I can count in my fingers the number of memorable coffees I had and those that I truly enjoyed. Tasting notes… I hardly hit them, but I tend to put those to UIEP - User incapability of extracting properly.

        I’m going to give Darkwoods a go. Any coffee recommended that’s not in the “Dark Woods reserve” category?

            dfk41 It happens more often than we can imagine, irrespective of the price. A lack of information on roast degree or a few lines description of coffee taste will be helpful. But, some of the big roasters will neither listen nor care. One well known roaster said they can’t add these details for 1% of the coffee drinkers and they wouldn’t mind losing them.

            Furthermore, there is no guarantee the brews will reflect the notes on the bag. :-)

                LMSC It is not just notes on the bag though. I could name endless roasters who quite frankly should not be roasting. We as consumers seem to be more impressed with the packaging, the fancy tins and bags than we are with the contents. How can you open a roastery, with little or no experience then start a marketing campaign to sell your goods when you have absolutely no idea what you are really doing? Equally as much though I think if you find that bean which is bang on, then we should share it. I appreciate that I am right at the very beginning of my brewed journey, but I am sure part of my issues are the beans.

                With the help of others, I have named a bean and we have coarsened, tightened, played with volume to the point that the extraction is right……….anyway, thanks to those who have contributed. To those who have not, then I presume the addition of milk is covering tracks. Interestingly, this last bean I could not get any noticeable tasting notes (they suggested Papya and Raspberry tart, pretty distinctive) from, when pulled as an espresso with milk added was quite acceptable……it is a strange world at times

                https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

                    MediumRoastSteam

                    Django coffee - Extrawelt

                    I had it as a filter and it was superb. They only recently started stocking it again. I have a kilo on order, hopefully it’s a consistent taster.

                    It was my most memorable cup of coffee that I have made: a complex cup that was fun to drink because of the complexity.

                    For reference, I liked it more than Darkwoods beans (haven’t splurged on their special reserve though)

                    Also: Django has a forum discount

                        Jcheney Django coffee - Extrawelt

                        I had many coffees from Django - but never this one. I shall order some! Thank you!

                            dfk41

                            I’ll let you know. Free delivery too :-)

                            I didn’t bother with the forum discount - couldn’t find it.

                                dfk41 I am sure part of my issues are the beans.

                                Absolutely! IMO, I would put grinder and beans above espresso machine in the order of importance.

                                  I totally agree. It is so so challenging to find beans that: a) meet my taste preferences and b) are properly roasted. I drink decaf, which most roasters do not know how to roast and stock one as an afterthought. I like a full city+ to Vienna roast. Most roast “medium” and get mislead by the exterior roast colour of decaf, which roasts to a darker colour than the actual roast level. This means that their supposed “‘medium” is actually a medium light. Or they are catering to consumer trends, who expect “notes of mango with a hint of strawberry”. It doesn’t matter if the coffee tastes good as long as the notes sound intriguing and the original seems cool. Many burn their coffee beans. Many do not ship freshly roasted beans with a specified roast date. The few I like don’t always roast consistently.

                                  It’s tough enough to get the shot right. It’s a frustrating pain when you have to work through ½ an over priced 375g bag to get passed the flaws and get the coffee tasting decent.

                                  I have a roaster setup and ready to go in the basement but have not had time to roast. And I am a tad nervous about it as my first try smoked out the house and peeved my wife. Will try again.

                                  The decaf from Django at the start of the year was the best decaf I’ve had by a mile (Colombia Argelia Decaf) A lightly roasted fruity bean that was exceptionally good, I even had to double check the bag to make sure it was a decaf.

                                    I gave up home roasting years ago. I used a 2 stage modded gene Cafe. I quickly realised that professional roasters could make a better job……of course that was then! I had been drinking Extract Sugar cane decaf and for me, it was superb. Then I ordered some and it had changed 360! They kept the same distinctive packaging but changed the country or origin and roast levels.

                                    I do not want this to be a bash them thread but I see no harm in folks telling us of good or bad experiences in relation to tasting notes

                                    https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

                                      The last few coffees I’ve had from Dog and Hat (Three Marks Coffee Ethiopia - Shakiso & FRUKT coffee Yoiner Mosquera) have been underwhelming compared to the tasting notes. It’s not that they’re badly roasted but I couldn’t taste what was on the bag.

                                      It wouldn’t surprise me if roasters are using stale greens but I have no way of proving it.

                                        Platypus The decaf from Django at the start of the year was the best decaf I’ve had by a mile (Colombia Argelia Decaf)

                                        Indeed! I still have some of that coffee in the freezer! It’s a good decaf, but in my opinion it doesn’t match the non-decaf stuff.