I have always been a medium/plus bean man. Since I bought my Evo over 3 years ago (I have never had a coffee machine for 3 years before) I have tried to drink better quality, single origin beans. I have wasted hundreds of £'s in chasing this. I have bought endless brewed coffee equipment and to what extent? Nearly everytime I buy coffee from a new roasted I am thoroughly disappointed.

I enjoy cowboy coffee……drunk from an enamel mug sitting round the camp fire and savouring the taste of coffee. Not a hint of candy floss, dolly mixtures, chestnuts roasted on the open fire or any of that total garbage promised by so many roasters who think the back drop is the most important part.

I am going back to blended coffee from a small bunch of roasters that I know do not disappoint. Once I get rid of the latest rubbish to grace my bench (and that includes an offer from Extract to savour candy floss and grapefruit) then it is off to Coffee Compass whilst my tastebuds stabilise!

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

    dfk41 I’m 100% there with you David. I’ve followed your adventures closely as I value your opinion and this statement vindicates my own opinions too. 😎

      dfk41 been drinking hill and valley, and sweet bourbon the last 4 weeks, as well as Chatswood no6 from Rave. Gone back to darker beans recently, onto Brighton lanes tomorrow!

      I’ve bought about 4kg from Django recently over the last few months, really enjoyed the novelty at first, but I’ve gone off of it the last month or so with lots still in the freezer. Not really enjoying any of it as espresso, but enjoying it a little more as a v60.

      Drinking the medium light Djangos as espresso. I feel myself wanting more body, and less funk…. I realised I just want syrupy, sweet chocolatey shots! Hence the switch back the last month or so.

      Edit: 29/07/24 just wanted to update, I pulled a bag from the freezer of the Django Costa Rican Black honey processed coffee I bought the other month and did a 500g v60 2 cup brew, and actually it was rather good. So for me the v60 is the way to enjoy these lighter roasted beans, I’ll save the dark and med dark for espresso

        I tried the mahogany roast Jampit, which I quite liked, wife wasn’t so keen though.

        Will try the Malabar next time

        And that’s what makes coffee great

        Get what you enjoy, sometimes you need to dip past your comfort zone just to see what you do like

        I’ve had loads of coffee not to my taste.

        Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

        Compared to many on here, I came to real coffee quite late in life. Discovering that, like wine, coffee wasn’t just ‘coffee’ but depending on the type of bean, where in the world it came from and the growing conditions (altitude, soil, climate) you could taste, chocolate, or mango, or toffee or apple or…or…or….. According to some.

        And that has been my problem, trying to experience those nuances. But, either because of the equipment I use, poor technique, or Neanderthal taste buds, I never seem to reach those palate highs. So, all I can do is try different beans and go by ‘am I getting notes of this or that’ or is it just a decent cup of Java? And I have come to the conclusion that it is the latter.

        So, in conclusion, instead of spending my limited spondulicks reaching for the Java stars, I am happy with just getting to the Mocha Moon.

        dfk41 totally agree with you, I did the same, in my case I quit espresso a while ago and focused on brew but after trying several roasters, some of them quite expensive I decided to go back to the basis, I sold stuff I didn’t use and in the end I just kept a Mazzer Super Jolly, a Fellow Ode and I mostly use the French press and the mokka. After many years trying recipes and watching videos and being in several groups I realized all these years I actually only wanted a good cup of coffee, which is what it matters at the end of the day. I also realized you DON’T have to spend a lot for getting a good cup of coffee. I have friends very much into this hobby, mixting waters and stuff and complicated recipes and they told me they cannot achieve a good cup of coffee with the mokka…no comments 😉

          In all the years I’ve drunk coffee, I’ve never experienced flavour profiles that follow the wine aesthetic of plum, vanilla, etc, etc (insert other Oz Clarke hyperbole).

          What I’ve found are profiles that are more general like floral, acidic, etc that I can get my head round. It means there’s less that I can be disappointed by as long as I can taste the generic high level tasting notes. I also find when I’m roasting myself, that I stick to the high level notes as well.

          I’ve stopped my dog and hat, last 3 bags out of 4. Filter roast has had grape and chocolate notes 🤢

          Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

          I am currently drinking a bag of this

          https://tynemouthcoffee.com/products/tynemouth-espresso

          It is a cheap blend, absolutely fine in milk but a little unrefined as americano. If anyone likes ‘cowboy coffee’ then it is good value, as is their decaf. You can get a 25% discount meaning the same coffee @£15 for 500 gms plus postage becomes £11.25 including postage for a recurring subscription. Take a punt and cancel it if you do not like it!

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

          I am obviously behind the times! I am sure Coffee Compass used to have a Roasted On date on their attractive personalised labelling. The 4 bags I have just received now no longer have this but do have a single label on the rear offering a batch number combined with a best before date. Two of the bags are unreadable though. This is a shame as they were always one of my favourite roasters. I suppose it is a sign of the success of an expanding operation.

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

          Fyi my order delivered at the start of July had a roasted on date.