Coffee n00b taken the plunge...

MagicMarker

Having gotten myself into a terrible habit of purchasing a coffee every morning on the way to work, I decided to get myself an AeroPress and a Hario hand grinder.

Can anyone recommend some beans for someone who's only coffee tasting experience has been limited to Insomnia? I've taken a look on Hasbean which looks great but just for now I'd like to go the bricks & mortar route!

Sinfonia

I use (and thoroughly recommend!) beans from Nick's.
Website here: http://nickscoffeecompany.com

The main shop is in Ranelagh, so you can just walk in there and buy beans (and get advice, should you be looking for any). They might also send beans via post, not sure.

3fe (in the Twisted Pepper) on Abbey Street sell Hasbean beans over the counter. They're also great with advice, and they make coffee using all sorts of methods (espresso, aeropress and chemex for sure)

Fajitas!

I'd find Nick's coffees overroasted and oily, particularly for filter. CoffeeAngel and 3FE might have something better suited. Best go in to them and tell them what you like in a coffee and they'll have something to suit. Fallon & Byrne also sell Hasbean if that's handier for you location-wise.

The Hasbean website also has a great video/.PDF showing you how to use your Aeropress. It'll be worth grabbing a cheap and cheerful weighing scales to get the best out of your coffee too.

Enjoy!

Sinfonia

I think Nick's roast perfectly for espresso, but do you think a lighter roast would be better for use with the aeropress? (I'm thinking about getting an aeropress for work)

MagicMarker

I was going to head into NicksCoffee tomorrow but after a bit more searching on here I see 3FE have a store on Grand Canal St, which is about 450 metres from where I work, happy days!

Dahtac

With the aeropress you would be best off with a light to medium roast to get the best from it. It produces a lovely sweet cup, but darker beans won't do so well

Slaphead07

Sinfonia wrote: »

I think Nick's roast perfectly for espresso, ...

Agreed but then I don't do filter so much. They have several other, lighter roast, blends that work well in filter. "Sweet Espresso" blend is, not surprisingly, meant for espresso.

Mo14

Sinfonia wrote: »

I use (and thoroughly recommend!) beans from Nick's.
Website here: http://nickscoffeecompany.com

The main shop is in Ranelagh, so you can just walk in there and buy beans (and get advice, should you be looking for any). They might also send beans via post, not sure.

I'd second this, I bought beans here for the first time Friday, Nick is such a nice chap, knows his stuff obviously too. Good choice on the Hario OP too, I got mine yesterday and I'm getting good results with it already.
Enjoy your foray into freshly ground, I know I am (haven't slept much since I got my grinder :P).

Fajitas!

MagicMarker wrote: »

I was going to head into NicksCoffee tomorrow but after a bit more searching on here I see 3FE have a store on Grand Canal St, which is about 450 metres from where I work, happy days!

It'd be worth asking the guys in 3FE GCS in there which of the current stock of beans they'd feel would suit you, and I'm sure if it's not too busy, they'd give you a quick runthrough of how they like to brew from the Aeropress. They're good like that :pac:

MagicMarker

Picked up a bag of Mexico El Curenteno Washed and got myself an Americano (in what must have been a child sized cup, meh, quality not quantity eh?) along with it, very tasty but it will take time to get used to the different flavours compared to what I'm used to.

€8 for the bag though! :eek: I'm supposed to be doing this to save money!

Dahtac

MagicMarker wrote: »

Picked up a bag of Mexico El Curenteno Washed and got myself an Americano (in what must have been a child sized cup, meh, quality not quantity eh?) along with it, very tasty but it will take time to get used to the different flavours compared to what I'm used to.

€8 for the bag though! :eek: I'm supposed to be doing this to save money!

If you really get into it, take out an In My Mug subscription from Has Bean. You save a remarkable amount even on the shorter ones.

Sinfonia

MagicMarker wrote: »

got myself an Americano (in what must have been a child sized cup, meh, quality not quantity eh?)

The smaller the better!
I've come to realise that those 16oz & 20oz lattes and americanos only exist so that you can't really taste how shite the coffee is. I mean even a standard cappuccino is only supposed to have a ratio of 2:1 milk to coffee; a "venti" is 9:1!
The first time I made a decent straight double espresso without any milk or sugar my eyes were seriously opened. Now the most I'll make is a macchiato, and I don't keep sugar on the counter (whereas I went through a bag of sugar in two or three weeks when I was using a capsule machine for a while).

llatsni

Sinfonia wrote: »

The main shop is in Ranelagh, so you can just walk in there and buy beans ...

Noticed that Redmonds off licence across the road stocks Nick's beans too... so if you have a late(ish) night stock fail you can still get your fix.

MagicMarker

Got my aeropress and grinder yesterday. It was like xmas when I got home! Made my first ever fresh cup of coffee and it was damn tasty, especially with the jam donut.

Is it wrong that I randomly open the bag of beans just to have a good old sniff?

Sinfonia

MagicMarker wrote: »

Is it wrong that I randomly open the bag of beans just to have a good old sniff?

I do that more than I actually drink coffee :P