Marks and Spencer coffee bean recommendations?

mrcheez

I bought a bag of M&S Colombian strength 5 beans, but the beans smelled a little overcooked and the coffee is really bitter.

I love strong coffee but this after-taste is now still in my mouth 20 minutes later so perhaps I got a bad batch.

I may bring it back and see if they will swap for another one, are there any other ones you recommend instead of the Colombian strength 5?


I like my coffee strong, but also with a chocolatey fragrance.

I got a strength 5 Colombian in Aldi for around €2.50 and that was lovely, but they were out of stock today.

The high horse brigade

mrcheez wrote: »

I bought a bag of M&S Colombian strength 5 beans, but the beans smelled a little overcooked and the coffee is really bitter.

I love strong coffee but this after-taste is now still in my mouth 20 minutes later so perhaps I got a bad batch.

I may bring it back and see if they will swap for another one, are there any other ones you recommend instead of the Colombian strength 5?


I like my coffee strong, but also with a chocolatey fragrance.

I got a strength 5 Colombian in Aldi for around €2.50 and that was lovely, but they were out of stock today.

In store coffee could be roasted for 12 months. You're best to find a local roaster or order online for nice fresh coffee. Try Rave, a huge selection on there
https://ravecoffee.co.uk/products/signature-blend?variant=3149907329050

mrcheez

The high horse brigade wrote: »

In store coffee could be roasted for 12 months. You're best to find a local roaster or order online for nice fresh coffee. Try Rave, a huge selection on there
https://ravecoffee.co.uk/products/signature-blend?variant=3149907329050

I'd prefer to pick up bags in the shop tbh.

So any recommendations on M&S ?

The high horse brigade

mrcheez wrote: »

I'd prefer to pick up bags in the shop tbh.

So any recommendations on M&S ?

No, I no longer buy hit or miss coffee without a roasted on date
I text my usual order to my local roaster buying 1kg every 3-4 weeks

mrcheez

Only thing I can find is this: https://www.coffeejudge.co.uk/marks-and-spencer

I guess I'll browse through the list and see what they have


btw these are the Aldi ones: https://www.aldi.co.uk/columbian-whole-coffee-beans/p/078748268222302

They're actually pretty stunning for the price

murphyebass

mrcheez wrote: »

Only thing I can find is this: https://www.coffeejudge.co.uk/marks-and-spencer

I guess I'll browse through the list and see what they have


btw these are the Aldi ones: https://www.aldi.co.uk/columbian-whole-coffee-beans/p/078748268222302

They're actually pretty stunning for the price

I tried those aldi ones and I have to say I couldn’t disagree more. Found them to be fowl altogether.

The m+s ones changed unfortunately. They were lovely about a year or so ago but they increased the roast profile to cremated which was an unfortunate move to say the least.

Stick to a decent local roaster would be my advice. Bailies albeit not local do great deals around Black Friday. Subs are the way forward if you can pick them up on the cheap

mrcheez

murphyebass wrote: »

I tried those aldi ones and I have to say I couldn’t disagree more. Found them to be fowl altogether.

Yeah it's weird. At first I didn't like them, but a day after the pack was opened the flavour transformed considerably. It's like exposing them to air allowed them to breath like a fine wine.

murphyebass wrote: »

The m+s ones changed unfortunately. They were lovely about a year or so ago but they increased the roast profile to cremated which was an unfortunate move to say the least.

Is there anything that can be picked up in Tesco / Supervalu that you'd recommend?

There's also a Costa nearby, so perhaps a bag from there might be an option.

murphyebass

mrcheez wrote: »

Yeah it's weird. At first I didn't like them, but a day after the pack was opened the flavour transformed considerably. It's like exposing them to air allowed them to breath like a fine wine.



Is there anything that can be picked up in Tesco / Supervalu that you'd recommend?

There's also a Costa nearby, so perhaps a bag from there might be an option.

Unfortunately it’s the old cliche of you gets what you pay for and that imo is especially true with food stuffs, cheese, wine, bread, coffee, etc which is why I pick up cheap subs from a good roaster when I can.

That said if you like dark roasted coffee most of the stuff you pick up in aldi or that is grand.

Personally I just prefer a light roast which unfortunately tends to be done by small batch roasters, which increases the cost.

mrcheez

Supervalu selling "Frank & Honest" and "Starbucks" ... I'd wager I should probably avoid the latter, but are the Frank & Honest worth a shot?

murphyebass

mrcheez wrote: »

Supervalu selling "Frank & Honest" and "Starbucks" ... I'd wager I should probably avoid the latter, but are the Frank & Honest worth a shot?

I haven’t tried either so can’t comment

uck51js9zml2yt

I buy amora cafe from Amazon 6kg for under £30.

A really nice coffee for the price.

mrcheez

I want to keep this to b&m please

Yes I know it's possible to buy amazballs coffee online, but I just want to pop over to whatever store at lunch and pick up a bag

Mundo7976

Ariosa and Java republic are decent coffees

mrcheez

I've seen Java Republic in Tesco alright. I'll keep an eye out for the other

mrcheez

OK. Can someone explain this to me.

I tried out the M&S beans this morning for the second time (first time was yesterday just after opening the bag), and the taste is dramatically different.

It's more like Lavazza Crema e Gusto ground (which I love with my moka pot). Deep and chocolatey. Even the smell from the open bag is nice whereas yesterday it smelled a bit sour.

No lingering after taste this time.


Do beans need to breath to get the true flavour out?!?

.

alec76

Colombian beans from M&S quite alright, taste and roast profile could vary from batch to batch.

mrcheez

alec76 wrote: »

Colombian beans from M&S quite alright, taste and roast profile could vary from batch to batch.

Right, but why do the beans taste/smell better after airing for a day?

alec76

They definitely smell and taste differently , I wouldn’t call it “better “
That’s what you call “ coffee oxidation “. Coffee beans loosing taste and flavour .

Every bean, even most expensive one would taste as Lavazza if leave it exposed to oxygen for long time .

caviardreams

I haven't tried them yet but I saw they do a new brazillian bean in a brown paper bag that has roast dates printed that are very recent - saw some bags with as recent as 2 weeks or so.

mrcheez

alec76 wrote: »

They definitely smell and taste differently , I wouldn’t call it “better “

Well in this case it's definitely "better" :pac:

alec76 wrote: »

That’s what you call “ coffee oxidation “. Coffee beans loosing taste and flavour .

So it's possible that the beans were excessively bitter to start with but coffee oxidation must have made them "lose" that flavour and settling on a much more caramel/dark chocolate rather than burnt as they tasted initially.

mrcheez

I picked up a bag of Velo Tandem beans for €3.99 in Aldi

https://velocoffee.ie/collections/coffee-beans/products/velo-tandem-2


Another one for the must-try list

J_E

Although the bags aren't dated, you can actually see the day of production and this gives a good clue as to how fresh the beans are.


I can't remember specifically where off the top of my head but you'll see the day at the end, so for example '243' would be August 31. This is the case for a lot of supermarket coffees that don't show the roast date.

mrcheez

J_E wrote: »

Although the bags aren't dated, you can actually see the day of production and this gives a good clue as to how fresh the beans are.


I can't remember specifically where off the top of my head but you'll see the day at the end, so for example '243' would be August 31. This is the case for a lot of supermarket coffees that don't show the roast date.

I was kinda assuming that one year before expiry date is the production date.

Worth checking if this corresponds to the production code.