Good espresso beans & the lack of them

Mr Magnolia

Is filter leaving espresso for dust? This shouldn't be the case of course as they're two separate entities once a roaster hasn't been allured from an old staple. My experience with espresso over the last 12 months or more has led me to believe otherwise.

I've on a couple of occasions purchased under-roasted espresso beans. Now I certainly don't look for a French roast or anything even remotely close to it; the smell of French roasted beans being ground is enough to put me off a coffee but of late I've had beans on more than one occasion just tasted far too 'green'. It wasn't pleasant.

Now I know that filter has become more popular than espresso over recent years and I drink far more filter than espresso myself but when I do want to venture back to my first coffee inkling I want it to be good.

I'm pretty sure it's not me or my machine, I'm still a frickin nerd when it comes to grind, volume, timing and extraction etc. The machine is extremely well maintained, the water's still good and I'm still using the same quality milk I always did and am getting a great micro foam. It looks ok coming out of the spout (which I've also experimented with though it would have nothing to do with the end product) but I haven't seen good dark mottling or the like in a long while.

Has anyone else noticed degradation in the standard of coffee suitable for espresso extraction of late? Where should I be looking for the good beans that are eluding me? Was it something I done?

Gran Hermano

Funny you should start this thread, I was starting to notice my 'In my mug' sub was swerving more and more from espresso to filter suited beans.

I recently put another order in for their espresso starter pack
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/The-New-Espresso-Starter-Pack.html
It's good value and I reckon I'll either order it once a month or if I decide on one particular espresso blend set up a sub for that.

PPC

I've been like this recently as well. I was drinking purely filter as espresso was boring me.

Recently I bought some http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/summer-
espresso and a 18g VST basket and dropped the OPV on my machine, and I'm happy with espresso again.

donnacha

Without question the profiles on the hasbean sub have evolved over the past year and thinking about it I'd say only 1 out of every 3 end up destined for espresso with the others used for filter/fp. To be honest its only the espresso from the group buys that permanently reside in my espresso hopper, other than that I rely on my behmor to give me the espresso profile I'm looking for. Hadn't realised squaremile were doing an espresso sub - I may have to sign up.

Clinker

I find James Gourmet's espressos are reliably espresso-y with full, rich, often chocolatey flavours without ever being over-roasted, but having said that, my most recent purchase from JGC included a Finca la Fany Espresso profile which looked light even for a filter roast and made terrible espresso but was fine in the plunger pot. Maybe the filter profile got mislabelled?

RE*AC*TOR

http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/vst-18g-basket

Gran Hermano

Any progress Mr. M?

Mr Magnolia

Well I'd a bag of Hasbean's breakfast bomb delivered for my weekly sub the week after I started this thread and it was better than anything else I've had recently. Apart from that the Brewtus has been idle which is a shame. Any recommendations would be most welcome.

PPC

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Ethiopia-Shakiso-Natural.html I think this came in the subs a few weeks back.
I found it made a really nice Americano (which is rare) as well as espresso.

Did you pickup the VST? It makes a good bit of difference.

I ordered some beans from here last year and was pleasantly suprised http://www.origincoffee.co.uk/acatalog/origin_coffee.html but I can't remember what I ordered.
Might be worth trying a few out.

Mr Magnolia

I didn't pick up the vst. I've pulled some of the best shots from the machine I'm using so although the vst may well improve things the basket I'm using certainly isn't causing the problem. I will take a look at the vst next time I'm ordering from SQM.

I'll do a bit of reading and order a selection of beans for espesso from HB and report back after next weekend.

Gran Hermano

The breakfast bomb sure was a surprise hit and I have since ordered it again.
There is also a couple of new arrivals on Hasbean from El Salvador that are worth a punt. I am not a fan of the fruity coffees, prefer the chocolate and caramel undertones.

ArcticFox

I recommend...

http://www.badgeranddodo.ie/site/products/27/Brazil%3A+Daterra+Estate%27s+Bruzzi

adrian522

I ordered one of these VST baskets from Square Mile coffee and grabbed a bag of "Summer Espresso" Blend whilie I was at it.

I'll let you know how I get on with both, if anyone is interested.

Also if anyone knows where I can pick up a bottomless/naked portafiliter for the Silvia please let me know.

donnacha

adrian522 wrote: »

Also if anyone knows where I can pick up a bottomless/naked portafiliter for the Silvia please let me know.

I got mine last year from www.HappyDonkey.co.uk

they officially don't ship to ireland but fill in the online form and Scott should sort you out (at least he did for me when I asked)

SeaSide

Have a naked portafilter somewhere. Would be happy to loan it out for a few months.

Gran Hermano

adrian522 wrote: »

I ordered one of these VST baskets from Square Mile coffee and grabbed a bag of "Summer Espresso" Blend whilie I was at it.

I'll let you know how I get on with both, if anyone is interested.

Also if anyone knows where I can pick up a bottomless/naked portafiliter for the Silvia please let me know.

Let me tell you something scary, during a lull in work earlier I placed the exact same order! I ordered the triple basket, I started off looking at coffeehit UK but 16 quid postage for a basket was a tad much.

adrian522

SeaSide wrote: »

Have a naked portafilter somewhere. Would be happy to loan it out for a few months.

Thanks for the offer, I'll try and see if I can buy one first as I would prefer to have my own one...

adrian522

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Let me tell you something scary, during a lull in work earlier I placed the exact same order! I ordered the triple basket, I started off looking at coffeehit UK but 16 quid postage for a basket was a tad much.

Yeah, not that cheap at squaremile either, I think it was 7.50 for the coffee, but that maybe for 350g or something.

Clinker

I got the double basket and three bags of coffee (including Summer Espresso) from Square Mile. They were good, but long gone now! The VST basket fitted my naked portafilter perfectly and is in daily use.

alastair

Just ordered the double VST and a six month espresso deal from Square Mile.
Just hope that basket is worth the money - been using the standard Silvia double in a naked portafilter up til now.

Oh, also - better late than never - that Brazil Fazenda São Judas Tadeu from Hasbean (the one supposed to taste of Crunchies) is a great bean for both brew and espresso. Sad to have run out of the last of the green beans this week.

adrian522

Nice to order coffee from a different retailer for a change.

I've put the order in for the bottomless protafilter now, so lots of goodies coming next week.

donnacha

Gonna grab one of these vst's to see what the fuss is all about

2 summer espressos in the basket and I see I can add 1 more bag without affecting the shipping - any advice? I'd rather try something different to my monthly sub but brain ain't working well today and not sure which I have/haven't tried

RE*AC*TOR

To people using the VST basket, I would suggest you also weigh and time your shots.

PPC

19g in the 18g basket for 25 seconds has been pulling some amazing shots for me.

donnacha

Can anyone recommend scales that will measure in increments of 0.1g? I went through a couple of the ones from hasbean, 1 lasted 6 mths, the other died after a week. got sorted with credit but been trawling online for a quality one that'll last.

RE*AC*TOR

Weigh the output as well as the input.

Ebay has lots of affordable scales.

raytaxi

I got one from dealextreme.com.Cheap 10 euro including postage compared to maplins 50.Took about 2 weeks to arrive and goes 0.01g if its any help pm me and I will forward the link.

Clinker

I bought a little digital scales on eBay for about €10. When it failed to appear I contacted the seller who asked if it was OK if he sent one direct from China. It appeared reasonably quickly and has been working perfectly (weighing in increments of 0.01g) for over two years. The original battery lasted less than a week, but other than that, no complaints!

buscuit

Have been enjoying Has Bean's El Salvador San Rafael Bourbon as espresso this week. Lovely chocolate/nutty taste that you would expect from such. Would recommend it.

ArcticFox

Anyone know the 'correct' weight of coffee for a Gaggia double-shot basket?

Mr Magnolia

Tried a couple of Badger and Dodo's offerings and wasn't impressed, over roasted and not the freshest.

Hasbean's Blake was a hit and one to recommend, fantastic with milk too. I'll try another couple of suppliers over the coming weeks.

Mr Magnolia

ArcticFox wrote: »

Anyone know the 'correct' weight of coffee for a Gaggia double-shot basket?

16-18 grams nomally. I dose 18.

buscuit

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Tried a couple of Badger and Dodo's offerings and wasn't impressed, over roasted and not the freshest.

Hasbean's Blake was a hit and one to recommend, fantastic with milk too. I'll try another couple of suppliers over the coming weeks.

Am currently drinking Badger & Dodo's Blackwater blend & must say am finding it really good.

FTGFOP

@Mr Magnolia, did you pick it up in a shop or something? They roast to order every Tuesday and it's with you by Thursday when you do mail order.

The Blackwater blend is too dark for me but they light/medium roast some of the single origin beans which is what I go for.

adrian522

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

16-18 grams nomally. I dose 18.

18g to what amount of coffee? 1.5oz or thereabouts?

RE*AC*TOR

adrian522 wrote: »

18g to what amount of coffee? 1.5oz or thereabouts?

18g to 28g out.
Better off weighing the output rather than judging by volume.

adrian522

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

18g to 28g out.
Better off weighing the output rather than judging by volume.

Thanks ... I'll try that...