Coffee for espresso...

by **blackice** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:40 pm

Off topic: Illy: They have contracts and long-term programs with specific farmers, they educate them to follow the company's standards in order to have a reliable input. They also help the farmers' communities. They are not angels of course :-)

Steve: 9 coffees are a lot for me too. 4 coffees most times is OK for me although SO espresso can be interesting.

I'm looking forward to the spare parts of my Cremina. SOs are supposed to be better with lever machines.

by **Steve** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:31 pm

Hey matt you buy the best coffee in the world but and you can have a coffee university but if it aint fresh (sorry stuck record here

)

Hey black Ice I love SO shots, and contary to what most other people think some of my most interesting shots have been SO. Lets start a SO group my friend

And 4 coffee's is good for me too in a blend (if I must) give it a ballance without going to wrong.

Steve

by **GeorgeW** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:41 pm

Steve wrote:Hey matt you buy the best coffee in the world but and you can have a coffee university but if it aint fresh (sorry stuck record here )

Hey black Ice I love SO shots, and contary to what most other people think some of my most interesting shots have been SO. Lets start a SO group my friend And 4 coffee's is good for me too in a blend (if I must) give it a ballance without going to wrong.

Steve

Can I be part of the SO group Steve.......but can I reserve the right to withdraw once I've plucked up the courage to blend? :lol:

Just kidding ..but I can't tell you how much I enjoy SO's now that everything has come together. I'm sure it's the only reason my wife stays married to me.

by **Steve** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:44 pm

More the merrier

by **Joris** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:30 pm

Usually drink SO as well, reporting for membership

by **JulieJayne** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:25 pm

SO membership still growing, where do go now? :-)

by **Cookie** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:50 pm

so having read six pages now, there isnt a definitve best SO bean for espresso?

by **JulieJayne** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:52 pm

Nope, it is all down to personal taste. And time of day, mood etc, etc.

by **Cookie** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:48 pm

yeah i figured as such, but expected a consitant shortlist of something that the vast majority like, but it seems a lot more varied than that.

by **blackice** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:44 pm

My blending principles application:
I have Brazil Ipanema, Uganda Bugisu AA (washed), Ugand Drugar (dry), Uganda Robusta (of high quality). I roast Brazil+Bugisu at start of 2nd crack. I roast Drugar+Robusta at 30 sec in second crack.

The final coffee percentages:
50% Brasil sweet base
25% Bugisu elegant winey acidity
15% Drugar spicy complicated body
10% Robusta for bite and sweet body

I may be able to find a Guatemala Santa Barbara for a good price in the near future. I'm still waiting for my other coffees to arrive...

by **blackice** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:49 pm

Steve on the SO front I really like the Guatemala Casi Cielo (of *$) as espesso. I've also liked the Yemen Moka Sanaani.

The Brazil Coffees are nice as SO espressos but very simple IMHO. There are some blends of Brazil coffees though like yours (espresso perfeito sample tasted as espresso from my friend TMCer ekoul) and Brazil Ipanema Espresso (tasted at another friend of mine), that are more complicated and very nice. These coffees can be called SO IMHO.

by **Steve** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:22 am

It depends on the SO to be honest good SO will be complex, more complex than a blend some times, different days require different tastes

Steve

by **blackice** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:21 am

I went to the Annual Food and Drinks exposition, here in Greece on Sunday. There was a lot of food for my brain. I found a fellow roaster who runs a small company and has built a big roaster for himself and we spoke about machines, roasting, and blends. I tasted an espresso made with cheap coffees and it was nice. The blend was Brazil Santos (generic), Costa Rica (10%), Nicaragua, and Guatemala. It had nutty chocolate flavors but it was a little bitter (maybe brewing temperature or sth else not beans related).

So I add this to my list. If you replace the Santos with a better Brazilian and get a good Guatemala you'll get a very good espresso IMHO.

PS
I've tasted another blend of my own which was 50% Brazil Santos, 17% Uganda Drugar, 17% Ethiopia Djimah, 8% Uganda Bugisu, 8% Ethiopia Harrar and it wasn't good. It was like mixing different foods and eating sth without any particular taste. Just a blend. Nothing extraordinary. Drugar has a very strong character and shouldn't be mixed with other similar coffees. I should also use only Harrar or only Bugisu. Lesson learned. I'm going to roast a new batch today. The blend will be kept secret for 3-4 days...

by **ivdp** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:40 am

Cookie wrote:yeah i figured as such, but expected a consitant shortlist of something that the vast majority like, but it seems a lot more varied than that.

I don't think you should look at what the vast majority likes.
You might be ending up drinking Vietnam and Brazil . . . or even a commercial blend.

Ivo

by **Cookie** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:51 am

kinda meant the vast majority of people with taste. did see a few beans pop up repeatedly, might be a time to move away from bought espresso blends and have a play at my own.

Coffee for espresso...

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