HAPPY christmas everyone.

🎄🎁🎄

Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.

About Me

MWJB - no, not at all. Nothing to do with taste - just roast dates. Im merely saying that Darkwoods is capable of sending, in the same order, a bag of coffee hat was roasted 2 weeks prior to order date, and another one which was roasted when the order was placed. I just wished there was consistency - they are sent “rested” coffee or “fresh” coffee - or at least give you the option to choose. Sorry for the confusion. 👍

    dfk41 Simple, when I buy multiple bags of beans I buy them expecting them to have been roasted more or less to order. They then join my own stock rotation queue.

    We are on the same boat. I’m the same: If I buy freshly roasted coffee, I expect the roast date to be when I placed the order (+/- a couple days).

    I was questioning what you said earlier:

    dfk41 If they were purposely resting their beans in strict rotation so that we could open them immediately upon arrival, then I take my hat off to them

    Which, for you, it wouldn’t work anyway, given what you said above (i.e.: You, like me, manage your own stock rotation, so no point in taking hats off to anyone).

        Definitely El Placer offerings have been the stand out beans for 2024. Pleased to see they’re available now. Fingers crossed this year’s beans are as outstanding as last year’s.

        They aren’t the only one sending back-dated coffee. Usually, I have stocks. In these cases, I simply vac pack and throw them in the freezer.

        Unless the roast date is more than 2-3 weeks old, I don’t waste time contacting them. Because, such communications do not lead anywhere, however healthy they may be. Roasters like Foundry are exceptions and hats off to them.

        dfk41 …and to the others that have enjoyed them & said so in this thread.

          dfk41

          David the little refurbed La Pavoni lever you kindly sold me earlier in the year has been a wonderfully restful byway in coffee - much appreciated!

              I got my first proper machine just over a year ago so it has been a year of discovery for me, self levelling tampers, various electrical and manual hand grinders (k6 and KUltra)

              But I’d say the duo however takes the crown, it’s led me to producing consistent repeatable shots from various coffees back to back and back again. It really does work well for switching beans regularly.

              I’d like to give the runner up crown to the Fracino Cherub,what a marvellous but industrial bit of kit it is, easy to work on (needed a few repairs), strong (too much even) steaming power and most of all easy to rinse off back to back shots in company…I know they say to do a cafeteria when you have to give out many coffees, but if it means I can hide in the utility for 20mins to make espresso based drinks I’ll take it :p

              I have toyed with changing the cherub to a fancy profiling machine, Bianca perhaps, but I’m not sure how much it will benefit my medium dark preferring pallet at all.

              EK43. It’s opened up a whole new world for me. £800 🙂👍

              Flair 58, Mahlkonig EK43, Kinu M47, 1zpresso ZP6.

                MWJB Are you familiar with Curve? I reckon they’re a great roaster. But I’m probably biased because they’re local! 😅👍

                Flair 58, Mahlkonig EK43, Kinu M47, 1zpresso ZP6.

                • MWJB replied to this.

                    JimmyP I’ve used Curve a few times over the last 4 years. I recently enjoyed their Festive Filter, Ethiopia, Lalesa, red honey landrace (my preference over the 4 coffees I had on my bench at the time). I’m not a big fan of Ethiopians generally and wouldn’t have pegged this as an Ethiopian just on taste. However, I am currently drinking the Dark Woods, Ethiopia, Ardent Sidama Pinnacle Dembi Sun-Dried Natural mixed heirloom, which is one of the best Ethiopians I’ve had in recent memory. I’m not saying that’s because it came from Dark Woods, there is also a considerable difference in price between the two to consider.

                      I bought too many coffee gear items in 2024! However the biggest success story among them by far was the lagom P100. Easily the best grinder I have ever purchased and my nomination for the most ideal coffee grinder ever made. Perfect workflow, zero retention, less noisy, zero static, super fast even at setting 3 or 4, fluffy grounds, great clarity in the cup, looks great.

                      For me Fellow Aiden. No doubts.