• Beans
  • Are we too fussed about the notes in the coffee?

I think I will pass that, for the time being, for two reasons:

  1. I am not a fan of dark roasts
  2. Not sure how that’s going to suit my taste buds.

I know coffee compass is a popular roaster selling OBJ. I have always found their roasts not consistent with their descriptions. Theirs’ err on the right of the roasting scale.

    Elcarajillo Many Sumatran coffees can be great, low acidity sometimes earthy. Java Blawan Estate, good quality Daterras (anything Pentapacked) and good Costa Rican (especially those where you can faintly hear the sound of nose flutes from the bag).

    P.S. Daterra has brightness, but not acidity when correctly roasted..usually lots of chocolate notes/body. I halways have 2 or 3 different Pentapacked Datteras on hand.

      LMSC The taste notes have been something beyond my early machines’ capabilities so it really (almost) became “obsession” (this is a joke, Captain Obvious) once I crossed a threshold.

      Sometimes with the right beans I have been able to drink literally sweet shots with lots of caramel, chocolaty flavours. Recently I had some mid-roasted beans, that were very citrussy in flavour. I had someone to check on our insulation and the guy had a couple of double ristrettos in the framework of 30 minutes. He kept on saying how citrussy the shots were. My wife found the coffee acidic. Go figure 😆.

      I believe that if the notes were something you sense and enjoy it is definitely worthy looking for it. If, however, this is the primary goal, I will definitely not join. As long as you enjoy your shots, notes or not, this is what matters (at least to me).

      Cheers!
      PS BTW my wife and I are currently in Sardinia (Sardegna) and I have to admit that the person in MIlan who told me not to hope for great coffee here was right. I only had 2 or 3 out of more than 10 good shots. Fortunately Sardinia is not all about coffee and we are having great time.

      Current setup: ACS Vesuvius, Nuova Simonelli Mythos One. Past experience, Nuova Simonelli Apia 1 gr., San Remo Capri 1 gr., Bezzera BZ 35e, Fracino Heavenly. Anfim Super Lusso.

      Contact me at: john_yossarian11@yahoo.com

        DavecUK especially those where you can faintly hear the sound of nose flutes from the bag

        This sounds like something Lovecraft could have drunk… or written… or written while drunk.

        Some I get the tasting notes others not.

        I had a Honduras that had bags of strawberry. One of mybfavourite to date.

        I don’t like dark roast either.

        I do like a bright drink sometime but the. I love lemon cheesecake 😂

        I also like ones with a sweet aftertaste.

        How ever, with milk that’s where the butty, chocolate, caramel stuff comes into its own for me

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

        I have to admit I do not have a “go to” coffee and have run for years on various different subscriptions (hasbean, square mile, blue coffee box, dog and hat, etc.) and I really enjoy that. Sometimes I get the tasting notes incredibly clearly and other times I don’t, but it doesn’t worry me and I don’t particularly go chasing them. How I drink my coffee (pourover, aeropress, coffee pot, cortado, americano, flat white, latte and only occasionally straight espresso) is driven by the beans but I’ll usually know from my first cortado how I’m going to end up liking them and will end up sticking to one brew method at home for that bag.

        I am very much in the light/medium roast camp and do not enjoy the “burnt” taste I find with a lot of dark roasts. I do have a soft spot for more “acidic” coffees, but will mostly drink them as a cortado. I absolutely love the change between coffee bags when there is such a stark difference it makes you sit up and go “wow” at the fact they are both coffee… made the same way! When I make coffee for friends, or on the rare occasion I drink straight espresso, I will usually choose a coffee with more chocolatey/sweet tastingnotes because they seem to be what people mostly enjoy and I find the notes incredibly useful to guide me.

        A little rambling, I guess in conclusion I use the notes for guidance but don’t chase them, particularly as I’m using (don’t hate me) hard tap water run through a peak water filter… but that’s another topic entirely!

          cjbailey1 A little rambling, I guess in conclusion I use the notes for guidance but don’t chase them, particularly as I’m using (don’t hate me) hard tap water run through a peak water filter… but that’s another topic entirely!

          You sir must be a rarity…..well done for sticking with it.🤪

            DavecUK not wanting to take this off topic but… I kickstarted it but didn’t end up using it for quite a while so still have filters left. I have had a few bad filters from the early batch (leaking resin) which have been replaced as well so they mean I have some additional over what i bought. I do find I get less buildup of limescale with the water and I also find it does give a cleaner cup. I don’t think I can justify an RO system from both a space and cost perspective and I (personally, not hating on those who do) really hate the idea of using bottled water from an environmental perspective. I am not certain what I will do when I run out of filters. I have thought about it a few times but haven’t come to a conclusion.

              cjbailey1 less buildup of limescale with the water

              How do you verify this ? Do you test the water? I don’t if you mentioned what your set up is ? Brew/pour over, espresso, …

                LMSC totally unscientifically and anecdotally. I have a PIDd silvia which I have had for many years and am quite consistent in the overall usage of. It’s purely down to the fact I have stripped her enough times to know roughly what I expect each time and the last time I did it, which is the first since consistently using water through the peak filter, there was noticeably less to my untrained eye.

                • LMSC replied to this.

                  cjbailey1 Get a drop kit from Amazon. Measure the hardness and alkalinity each on 20 ml of water.

                  The kit is expensive at this time of the year. It is otherwise priced at around £7-£8 for a pair.

                  API GH & KH TEST KIT Freshwater Aquarium Water Test Kit 1-Count

                    cjbailey1 Lot’s of people seem to use the Zero water jug and then re mineralise as req for whatever coffee type they’re making.

                    LMSC KH (Well, total alkalinity which I believe is the same thing) I can give you. It goes from over range on my meter (capable of 0-300 mg/L) to 112mg/L. I don’t have the drops for GH though, which I presume is what is referred to as “total hardness” in the pool world.

                    • LMSC replied to this.

                      😂 What do you mean “finally found it”? This was written 300 years ago…

                      (worth watching for the staging as well as the singing, unless you are allergic to Baroque music)

                      cjbailey1 That alkalinity range is on the higher side IMO. The 50mg/l to 60mg/l is typical range for espresso.

                      The drop kit will give you an accurate reading. Please get it. It’s worth it. As Dave said, a lot of people here are very happy with Zero Water.

                        LMSC I hate you all (not really, but I suspect my wallet will shortly)… I know I should have been thinking about my water before but I’ve been content with where I was! Looks like I will probably end up going down the murky path of RO in reality, the worktop machines aren’t too bad space wise as I should be able to get rid of the kettle with an instant hot water module. Lots to think about.

                        • LMSC replied to this.

                          cjbailey1 Well. You can use Zero Water jug. We have members who are very happy with it. If you are not making too many espressos and steaming, the zero may just do. I think @dutchy101 is one such happy user.

                          I am indeed a happy Zero water user, although the plan was to use this as a stop-gap until my Skuma water unit arrives. Having said that I still have a few filters left so might continue using it until these are all gone