I used these beans initially for v60 and got acceptable results (overly sweet, acceptable taste, sort of) but when tested today for espresso I’ve got nothing but sour shots no matter what I tried. I used 18g dose. First with 40g out it was extremely sour and battery acid hurting your throat. I kept pushing the yield to 45, 50, 60, 70, tried blooming 30 sec before extracting, set the temp to 95, and got some incremental improvements in terms of less sourness but it is still lemony, salty almost savoury so to say. I did not sense any bitterness what so ever as a sign of over extraction. I noticed the 70g shot with blooming got slightly more balanced as the shot cooled down. What is going on here? Is it even possible to make good espresso with these beans? [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/lhichSB.jpeg] [upl-image-preview url=https://i.imgur.com/2FR8bPq.jpeg]

@"Petre"#p18340 we were just discussing this bean in what’s in your cup this morning thread. find it really good and balanced with fruity flavour. I’m using a lever profile , 96 degrees temperature with 1:2.5 ratio

@"Petre"#p18340 I would ideally rest it at least for 2 weeks. Mine is dated the 12 May and I may rest it for a few more days to a week. I believe the light and medium-light would benefit from a little longer rest, IMO

@"Petre"#p18340 What machine are you using?

@"Petre"#p18347 Also, the temperature, the grind and puck prep to name a few. Please post if you have a clip Thx

Using Rancilio silvia pro and a e80 supreme. VST 18g, deep wdt (9 .35 needles), tamped with norma core, shots look quite well on bottomless. About 29-33 sec per shot.

@"Petre"#p18352 Try punching the temp up a bit more

This is one bean I just could not get along with in brew, i managed to tame it eventually by hitting it with high temps on a coarse V60 grind. But still it was overly acidic, especially with RO water. And my modded gaggia classic (PID) I also struggled to produce what I liked from it (without adding a bit of milk) and I suspect that was because of the severe drop in temp in the second half of the shot that the gaggia struggles with.

> @"CYP1A2"#p18364 But still it was overly acidic, especially with RO water. What’s your brew ratio please? I normally prefer 60g//l - 65g/l on V60. If Kenyan, I prefer 55g/l. I brew mostly @"MWJB"#139’s method; James Hoffman’s is also good.

Django Santa Ana sour espresso

LMSC

CYP1A2 One of the things I always prefer is grinding steadily finer - from the default coarse settings for the V60 - until I find the cup either bitter or silty before going back to the preferred settings. This can some times takes a few tries; mostly I find the equilibrium plus or minus a few clicks. Is this the light / medium light? If yes, it may require a little tighter grind even for brews. Another thing you could try for this bag is either James Hoffman’s or Mark’s. I have seen both working well even in the case of Kenyan beans.

CYP1A2

LMSC I think I tried pretty much everything with the Santa Ana and never really got anything I liked.
I think it was just too much for me, I mean too acidic.
The Chelbesa on the other hand is just right, fruity and tangy without being over-powering.

LMSC

CYP1A2 I think I tried pretty much everything with the Santa Ana and never really got anything I liked.

Sorry to hear. I have a bag. Let me post what I find. I am now tempted to open the Ana ahead of Kisinga!

Is it a re-mineralised RO? Otherwise, you may consider adding bicarb to improve the taste. As it is V60, you can even tip a third tap water and the rest RO.

Petre

CYP1A2 I am surprised to find out because at v60 i’ve got the opposite of yours. With KH 20 or more i’ve got almost no acidity at all and I had to go to kh 10 to get some. 18g, 1:17, Hoffman method, around 3 mins total time, harrio papers(the fast ones). Water at 99 straight from boil.

PortafilterProcrastinator

CYP1A2 Interesting comment on the Chelbesa. I really liked that, but for me the Santa Ana had really taken it up a notch.

I always find it interesting to read about different views on beans - we’ll never really know what everyone else is tasting!

Kisinga is very tempting, trying to work out if I can last until 6 June + resting time.

CYP1A2

LMSC
The RO is partially re-mineralised and added bicarb in the end, which made a better cup but dulled the flavours a bit!
I think the anaerobic element was just not to my taste

CYP1A2

Petre I wonder if the batches were different. I have enjoyed most of the stuff I’ve had from Django but I have had the odd roast which was not quite right.
I had a Yemeni coffee that was all wrong!

LMSC

CYP1A2 anaerobic element was just not to my taste

Perhaps; Blackberry notes would normally make the cup a lot brighter. Similarly, Cranberry and Rhubarb notes; Yeast fermentation!

I aim to avoid bags that show these details. But, I get sucked into them for one reason or another! 😊

CYP1A2

LMSC Yep. Although the Kisinga was really nice and much milder, with a very prominent blackberry!

prezes

I found kissinga very promising on the nose but less in the cup! Not as fruity as I was expecting but getting the blackberry with a cocoa base ?

LMSC

prezes Kissinga is the replacement bag instead of Chelbesa. Hope I like the bag.

I only wish they had the courtesy of asking the buyer first! Does anyone know what the cup score of Kissinga is?

CYP1A2

LMSC That’s not really fair! The Kisinga is a nice cup but it certainly isn’t a rival to the Chelbesa, which had a cup score of 89 I think.
I think the Kisinga was around 85.

As above it’s a good cup but not spectacular.

CYP1A2

I had a much nicer cup with the Santa Ana this morning. Slightly finer grind on the v60 and whacked the temp right up.
Kept the pouring kettle at almost a constant boil throughout pouring.
Very nice.
Shame that was the last 15g!

LMSC

CYP1A2 Great news! Glad you hit the mark! Well done. Enjoy the rest of the bag. 👏

CYP1A2

LMSC There isn’t any left! That was the last dose! Haha, life is like that sometimes!

LMSC

CYP1A2 Absolutely. They are good roasters but ….!

Anyway, looking forward opening their bags in a week from now.

ooglewoogle

CYP1A2

My experience of cup scores is that they can seem quite arbitary….and aren’t really proportional to how much I enjoy the coffee….many times having 84’s that kick and 89’s that are ‘meh’. That said, the Chelbesa was indeed delicious. As was the Santa Ana though. We tend towards long/extra long blacks…sometimes finished with cream….and in both instances it was a fruity delight. Pulled at about 18.5g for 38-40g out…..at 94C.

Petre

For me still sour like pickle juice in espresso even at 98 temps. Reverting to v60 to avoid bin it.

LMSC

Petre What’s your set up please? Could you explain your puck prep and post a clip of the shot, if you don’t mind?

Petre me still sour like pickle juice in espresso even at 98 temp

How is the pour? Does it show any visible signs of channelling? I would tighten the grind further! I assume you are not using any puck screen!

Petre

LMSC described the setup and prep here: @ “Petre”#p18352

Not using puck screen and I tried to go finer but the bottomless started to look uneven with hot spots.

I am done with these beans for espresso, my tasting buds are traumatised 😬😬

LMSC

Petre Could not resist. Opened after resting for 2.5 weeks. One of the best bags we have had so far! 😊

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