Beans - hasbean

Tell us about the latest beans you've discovered and blends you've tried

Moderators: GreenBean, Gouezeri, bruceb, CakeBoy

Beans - hasbean

Postby Zimpker » Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:31 am

Hi all,

In the interest on learning a bit more about beans and what’s good and what’s not - could I have some advice please?

I ordered my first consignment on beans from “hasbean” which arrived today & I have to say I was impressed with how fresh they were (born on 26th Feb). The one thing that surprised me though was the light colour of the beans. Usually when I buy an espresso roast bean it is very dark in colour.

See pics below;

The dark bean is an espresso roast from Whittard of Chelsea - strong roast.
The second bean is the cup of Excellence Espresso blend form Has bean.
The last is the Brazil Inglaterra Special blend from Has bean.

I guess what's important is the final taste of the coffee, but just interested to know a little more.


thanks. :)
Attachments
Whittard.jpg
Whittard.jpg (43.9 KiB) Viewed 7982 times
Edpressohasbean.jpg
Edpressohasbean.jpg (46 KiB) Viewed 7982 times
Brazilhasbean.jpg
Brazilhasbean.jpg (46.56 KiB) Viewed 7982 times
Azkoyen Single group AZ04
K-3 Touch Platinum Grinder
Zimpker
 
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:08 pm

Postby bruceb » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:01 pm

Firstly, discounting the vagaries of digital photography and on-screen viewing, the Whittard beans are the darkest I have seen outside of my own roastery or *$$. I like dark beans, but those look a bit like the stuff I burn to grill my steaks when the weather allows. The shiny, oily blackness indicate to me that you certainly won't taste much beyond the roast itself. Far beyond Vienna in my book.

For my personal taste I would think that the other two roasts are a bit light. From the pictures (disclaimer above) I would classify them as Full City (Espresso blend) and City ((Inglaterra). The espresso blend may have been a few seconds into second crack, the Brazilian just to second crack...but then, what do I know?

I used to roast very dark, have reduced quite a bit as I am learning to discern bean flavours, in contrast to roast flavours.
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
Image
User avatar
bruceb
 
Posts: 5361
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Northern Hesse, Germany

Postby Gouezeri » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:11 pm

Bruce has hit the nail on the head. What do you want? Bean flavours? Or Roast flavours? If the quality of your beans is moot, you can hide a multitude of sins by roasting them to hell and back. Creating a balance between the two though, is of course subjective and I think Steve would agree (not that he often likes agreeing with me), that he tends to favour lighter rather than darker. You'll also tend to find that beans show more oils as they age.
All of this is academic though... drink what you enjoy!
This week I are feeling sleepy!
User avatar
Gouezeri
 
Posts: 4185
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:56 am

Postby Zimpker » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:19 pm

Thanks bruseb, the photo's are a good representation of the product & all were taken in the same lighting (look the same on my monitor any way). The beans from Whittards do look oily, but are dry to touch. They were quite expensive at £3.20 fot 125g! Won't be buying those again.
I purchased these particular beans from "has bean" as they were recommended as good when blended together somewhere on here.

Have to say I do like the flavour, but had to chuck my first couple of shots as they choked & took 55secs to extract. I dialed Rocky in a little courser at around 6 on the dial & tamped slightly lighter. The result was an extraction of around 30 secs. The shot was a little sour, but hey tasted great as a cappu.
Azkoyen Single group AZ04
K-3 Touch Platinum Grinder
Zimpker
 
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:08 pm

Postby GeorgeW » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:20 pm

Zimpker: you may find it interesting to have a look at the Roasting page at Sweetmarias, and particularly at the pictorial chart showing degrees of roast.
Super Jolly
Hottop
Aerobie
Various sizes of Moka stove-tops
Failed Pavoni Europiccola owner.
Zass
User avatar
GeorgeW
 
Posts: 2102
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:19 am
Location: fife scotland

Postby Raf » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:57 pm

Those first beans are what we commonly describe as charcoal: I wouldn't drink them.

Unless of course, you want to be part of the seven circles of Hell of Tisri, He Of The Dark Roast, Whose Name Shall Be Spoken In Awe But Preferably Not Mentioned In Any Coffee Roasting Context At All. :twisted:
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
User avatar
Raf
Founder Member
 
Posts: 1706
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 9:48 am
Location: Brussels, Belgium

Postby bruceb » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:21 pm

Zimpker wrote: The beans from Whittards do look oily, but are dry to touch.


Yes, I've seen those kinds of beans. I'm convinced they lacquer them to keep them from falling apart because they've been roasted to charcoal. :twisted:
Last edited by bruceb on Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Three Francesconi (CMA) espresso machines - Rossi, San Marco, LaCimbali, Faema and 2 Mazzer Major grinders- CoffeeTech Maggionlino, Hottop, Alpenröst and HW Precision roasters.
I decided I needed a bit of a change so I roasted some Monsooned Malabar. That was a change!
Image
User avatar
bruceb
 
Posts: 5361
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Northern Hesse, Germany

Postby CakeBoy » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:21 pm

I bet the oils that appeared during roasting of the first beans have congealed into a hard shell. So you have old, dried oils in great quantity masking the flavour of the beans. Yuk, not my choice :(
www.CakeBoy.co.uk
International muffin blagger

Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
User avatar
CakeBoy
 
Posts: 10006
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:43 pm
Location: Oxfordshire, England

Postby Slimboyfat » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:28 pm

The beans from Whittards do look oily, but are dry to touch.

Varnished maybe? :shock:

...never knowingly underfed


expobar pulser, quickmill 031, Reg Barber Radical Pro US curve, Koenigbot, aerobie, armour plated welded 1910 hybrid german whirley, several french presses, antique nepolitana, an old stovetop, Zassenhaus that smells of pepper and a hoover attachment colander/cooler thing
User avatar
Slimboyfat
 
Posts: 304
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:08 am
Location: Essex UK

Postby Slimboyfat » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:29 pm

Oh - sorry Bruce, you already said that :oops:

...never knowingly underfed


expobar pulser, quickmill 031, Reg Barber Radical Pro US curve, Koenigbot, aerobie, armour plated welded 1910 hybrid german whirley, several french presses, antique nepolitana, an old stovetop, Zassenhaus that smells of pepper and a hoover attachment colander/cooler thing
User avatar
Slimboyfat
 
Posts: 304
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:08 am
Location: Essex UK

Postby monkey66 » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:40 pm

Roast level is a very personal thing but is is probably fair to say that as your espresso making ability improves you crave the subtle tast of good beans rather than the taste of the roast.

Personally I wouldn't even put the first beans through m grinder (let alone drink the coffee) as I would need to clean it afterwards.
Bezzera BZ99S with CAL PID
Mazzer Super Red
Large toolbox
User avatar
monkey66
 
Posts: 655
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:42 pm
Location: London

Postby fred25 » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:03 pm

The good thing about this sort of beans (the Whittard) is that they will taste much the same in a year or so!

So, sure they taste awful, but hey, you DO get consisteny, plus with some good polish they'll look just as shiny for the first shot of 2008! ;)

(sorry for the bad humour :) )
User avatar
fred25
 
Posts: 649
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:36 am
Location: sunny manchester UK

Postby Gouezeri » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:24 pm

Tut tut now chaps. Surely you're not saying that Whittards sell stale beans with a roast profile that Steve wouldn't even produce with his hands tied behind his back, his eyes blindfolded and an adult chat line on the phone? :wink:
This week I are feeling sleepy!
User avatar
Gouezeri
 
Posts: 4185
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:56 am

Postby beansmeanshighs » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:41 pm

I like my beans roasted to the hasbean picture . I tend to find the over roasted bean has little taste . The 1st pick looks like the beans I give to the mother in law. Hey why waste good coffee
beansmeanshighs
 
Posts: 72
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2007 11:05 pm

Postby HughF » Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:25 pm

gouezeri wrote:Tut tut now chaps. Surely you're not saying that Whittards sell stale beans with a roast profile that Steve wouldn't even produce with his hands tied behind his back, his eyes blindfolded and an adult chat line on the phone? :wink:

A Sunderland chat line - please, keep it realistic!

Cheers,

Hugh
Grinders : Macap MXK conical for espresso, Mahlkoenig Vario for Chemex, Macap MC6 (spare when our office was closed) for cafetiere, Zassenhaus Knee Mill for cafetiere when working away from home.
La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 espresso machine. HotTop KN8828P roaster. Chemex manual drip for most brewed coffee plus cafetieres and eSantos.
User avatar
HughF
 
Posts: 1113
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2003 10:47 pm
Location: Hampshire, UK

Next

Return to Beans, Blending and Cupping

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests

cron