What coffee am I drinking at the moment?

shape_shifter

Suuweet mate!!!  That's what I'm drinking  ;D  I know I know Jeff, it's not ready for another 3 days and I also have a giggle at the label that says 'please'  :P I can't believe I never heeded others advice to buy it before, it's so so easy to drink and bloody good, can't wait to taste it in another three days :D

mycuppa

Shaking my head.....and rolling my eyes ::) I'll be very interested in your opinion of the BA Mark 2.........it's cupping so hot right now - some of our cafe clients are very happy campers, some want to change their house blend across to the BA2. But please just wait....the BA2 was pretty much fresh off the roaster. Did the boys remember to sneak you a little something - your parcel went out before I could see the contents ?

shape_shifter

I am definitely going to wait on the BA, I've told OH he can't have it no matter how much he wants it, that's the reason I submitted to opening the Suuweet early. Do I wait the same as the original, 12 days? Hehe yes they did sneak me something, get a lot of use out of the steam wand on the BES900, some gorgeous sounding thick drinking chocolate :D

mycuppa

on 1319192000:

Do I wait the same as the original, 12 days? Hehe yes they did sneak me something, get a lot of use out of the steam wand on the BES900, some gorgeous sounding thick drinking chocolate :D

The bean that was chucking a wobbly from day 8 - 11 is now out of BA2 and perhaps 7 might be ok and as you know it will continue to improve up to day 14. Sometimes, a rockstar is just too difficult to handle in the long term !

Brett H

on 1319240780:

The bean that was chucking a wobbly from day 8 - 11 is now out of BA2 and perhaps 7 might be ok and as you know it will continue to improve up to day 14. Sometimes, a rockstar is just too difficult to handle in the long term !

Rockstars.... phfffffff!  Give me an Opera Star that retires to a Conservatoire with grace and dignity any day!  Perhaps blend in an Opera Star and save the rockstars for the 'Rockwiz' blend that can afford to run hot and cold and is aimed at the mainstream.  ;D Is coffee the new paradigm for expressing the human condition?  I hope so!

beanflying

Drinking the very last of the Tanzanian Tec Estate from mycuppa before cracking the Columbian/basmati bowl roast tomorrow.

Brett H

Drinking the BH Blend this morning... Honey like pours and lots of Crema.  As a double flat white this is just wonderful.

coffeehorse

Today: Coffee Alchemy Ethiopia Shakiso Natural - last of this year's crop I've found anywhere. Heaps of blue and red fruits in the background, blackberry and chocolate in the foreground, tons of texture, sweetness and body. Dusty cocoa mouthfeel, sparkling acidity. One of the standout espresso coffees of the year for me, and nearly as stunning in milk. If I was competing tomorrow, I'd grab a bag of this. Not as fantastic as a piccolo long black - lots of the balance, texture, clarity and intensity is lost when adding water to the espresso (well, pulling the shot on top). Drunk as: - Piccolo long black (aka medium black) 3/5 - Piccolo latte 5/5 - Double ristretto 5/5 Lovely pong of morello cherries as a dry aroma and in medium Coffee Alchemy Panama Carmen Estate 'Siete Dias de Bellota' microlot My understanding is that this translates as 'Seven Days of Acorns', but I've been told it means 'Seven Days of the Harvest' by someone else. I'm guessing it means this because of the dry/natural process (like fresh acorns used to be processed back when they were a staple crop), drawing a contrast to the washed processes so common in Central America. Anyhow. Whether I say I'm certain that this is the best pourover coffee I've had all year, whether I say it's exceedingly complex with berry fruits, floral and chocolate notes, that it's super clean, very balanced, has a super-long finish an a gentle honeyed sweetness that ties everything in, or whether I say this is easily a 90+ coffee, probably 92-94, I'll say this: This coffee takes me to my happy place!

borat123

I just can't keep away from the Harrars;  star double sort that is...  Sweet, earthy, great with milk, and great without. I should buy more of this but I'm trying to slowly reduce my stash.

Bottom Line

Australia Bundja this morning. Light sweet milk chocolate with a very distinct lingering fresh sweet honeycomb taste. Real honeycomb not "violet crumble" honeycomb. Very nice quaffer coffee.

UNM

Harrar, Harrar and more Harrar (Jeff's freebie). Ristretto this morning, followed by a couple long blacks during the day - one with espresso base, one made with a batch of cold processed. This batch of CP has come out really well (made it twelve days post roast) and has a much stronger chocolate taste than I usually get from Harrar which I think suits the brew method. As the weather is warming up, next drink from this batch will be an iced coffee.

borat123

Monsoon Malabar, roasted quite light, and left in the bag until day 11.... It still has heaps of gas and requires a ridiculously tight grind, but it's already pretty damn good. Hints of pickled herring or salted fish  ??? aroma from the grind, absolutely no acidity, heaps of body, and even with such a light roast it still has a nice chocolaty aftertaste.  Probably still needs another week or so to settle, but as always a favourite....

coffeehorse

Ethiopia Sidamo DP Haile Selassie from Bean Green Beautiful coffee at lighter roasts, pulled as it looked 'suddenly a little dark', this one hit 2nd crack in the cooling tray! Really lovely chocolate notes with strawberry - don't pull this too slowly at this depth or it tastes very roasty, pulled too fast it tasted almost vegemitey. Going to roast again, but lighter. CH.

shape_shifter

We are still enjoying Jeffs Berry Apocalypse, Jeff you asked my opinion, this version is not as 'berry' as the first version but now that I think I've found the sweet spot on the BES900 with it, it is a lot more rounded and smoother than the first.

UNM

First up a double espresso of my variation on bh blend. Better than last batch and a great start to the day nothing on it that stands out for me, just covers all the bases so to speak, well rounded and easy drinking.  Next was an aeropress of the last berry apocalypse freezer beans in the travel mug for work. Got home lunchtime for an aeropress long black of yirg special prep. Light and refreshing on a hot melbourne day. :coffee2: :coffee2: :coffee2: = better day than yesterday

mycuppa

Many years ago I fell in love with a Guatemalan (coffee bean, not a lady). It was an Estrellas from the now defunct ARC with amazing flavour, balanced acidity, superb sweetness and complex character. Since then I have been searching for the perfect Guat and many times I have been let down by a few overly acidic Guat's - quite disappointing actually. Admittedly, I'd limited my searches to just Antiguas as the definitive all-time classic Guat without broadening my scope to include the many delightful and Way-ways, Guatemala is a revered origin. The finest coffees from this region are like liquid gold - generating clean, bright, strong infusion with dark chocolate bittersweet notes. In more recent times, Costa Rica has risen above Guatemala as a preferred Cent-Am by many roasters - producing cleaner and more intensely sweeter cups without having to deal with the "dark side" of bitter-sweetness (both a blessing and a curse). On 27/10 I ran a 15kg batch of Antigua Los Volcanes to a much deeper level than normal (dropped at 211 - instead of 209). What resulted is perhaps one of the most dramatic coffees I've tasted in the last few months - black or white. Superb balance, clean, intense infusion and absolutely delightful through milk. It's a dark chocolate without the hint of bittersweet taints that can accompany. Yes, I'm in love with Antigua again...........much more complex than any Costa Rican and offering up something for everyone.

askthecoffeeguy

I'm drinking some Honduras COE lot 14 Louis Alfonzo Hernandez Aguas Dulces at the moment - and its drinking like a French Burgundy! I've tries it every day post roast and today, five days after it was roasted, its finally started to 'open up' in the cup, and to give me some of the heady aromas and palate structure that I would naturally expect from a coffee of this stature although I suspect that the coffee is still a baby and will only continue to improve to 3 weeks post-roast plus (if it lasts that long that is!) p 

UNM

Been somewhat remiss about posting coffee related stuff recently due to the silly season hitting with a vengeance, but this week have had some variety of coffees. Bh blend, laos bolaven farms, yirg special prep, png robusta, columbian decaf. Decaf - first sampled 15 min post roast. One word - foul. Several days later - less foul. We've all seen those pours (usually from pressurised baskets) where it starts thin and watery and gets worse from there. Next roast of this one will be darker and much finer grind. I'm not expecting miracles, but should be able to get something less disgusting for no 2 daughter to drink in the evening. Yirg special prep - I really can't be bothered with this one as an espresso, but makes a nice aeropress long black. Wish I had a syphon as I susoect that would suit it well.  Refreshing, quite acidic (citrusy?). Bh blend - espresso, aeropress and cold processed. For me, this is a good 'workhorse' blend.  Seems to work well in everything. There is nothing about it that overpowers, nor Is anything obviously missing. The flip side is that it doesn't have that Wow! factor of some single origins, but so far I am very happy with this one. The cold processed (CP) was a couple of days back, but I recall chocolate, vanilla and a hint of pepper in the finish. Very refreshing on a 30 degree day. I normally dilute at one part CP to 3 parts water for a long black. This was one part CP, one part cold water, two parts ice. Laos bolaven farm - unusual one this, quite a herby, grassy scent and taste, also rather acidic. It is rather a light roast. ok as a ristretto, a bit confronting as a lungo. Not tried other brew methods with this roast. Png robusta. Just opened bag this morning. Will also post a thread under roasting as this was a bit different to other beans I've roasted. Quite an eye opener in more ways than one.  Only had  one cup as aeropress long black. Serious body, hard to described taste really, but bold is one word that springs to mind. Hardly any acidity, quite sweet a bit of nuttiness perhaps. Will be trying as single origin espresso  in a day or so and also in some grinder blends. If you are buying from beangreen in the near future, I suggest you order a kilo or two.

UNM

Today Peru Ceja De Selva as espresso first thing. Then this evening some of BeanGreens decaf columbian (daughter likes a coffee while doing homework). The decaf is far better than my first batch. Quite drinkable in fact (I'm not a fan of decaf). This one was roasted much darker - into 2C and then 30sec. One week post roast, oil is developing on the beans. I think I'll just keep roasting this one dark in future. It definitely didn't suit a light roast.

Brett H

on 1322564649:

Today Peru Ceja De Selva as espresso first thing. Then this evening some of BeanGreens decaf columbian (daughter likes a coffee while doing homework). The decaf is far better than my first batch. Quite drinkable in fact (I'm not a fan of decaf). This one was roasted much darker - into 2C and then 30sec. One week post roast, oil is developing on the beans. I think I'll just keep roasting this one dark in future. It definitely didn't suit a light roast.

This is my experience with this bean also.  I really like it darker and it is actually my new favorite Decaf. If you are after a low caffeine bean I highly recommend Bean Green's Opus 1 Brazil Daterra.  It is so sweet and silky roasted just into 2nd crack.  I bought another two kilos yesterday to get me over Chistmas.  They arrived today... wonderful service.

Ronin

Stable Treat from site sponsor Ministry Grounds in my grinder ATM Very nice as flat white and Piccolo. Milk choc with honey sweetness, and hints of raisins on the finish. Also from Ministry Grounds is the Costa Rica La Lajas Black Pearl. Berries in my cuppa. Nice, but not as nice as the Stable Treat IMOP. Would recommend to others though

UNM

So far today: Cold processed harfusa as long black. Straight espresso of  bean swap beans from AM. cold processed PNG robusta as iced coffee. Sunny, warm, not a cloud in the sky and an iced coffee while I work. Good start to the day :coffee2:

Brett H

on 1323210668:

So far today: Cold processed harfusa as long black. Straight espresso of  bean swap beans from AM. cold processed PNG robusta as iced coffee. Sunny, warm, not a cloud in the sky and an iced coffee while I work. Good start to the day :coffee2:

I too have had a cold press but of Tango's Bag C, a lightly roasted Burundi which was enjoyed by myself and very much by my guests who came for a roasting and Unico Spendor retirement bash.  As an espresso we enjoyed the fabulous Bag B (Yemen blend of Tango's) and some BH Blend.  I love the idea of the PNG Robusta iced coffee and think it would be amazing Vietnamese style... and very authentic tasting.

UNM

on 1323231605:

I love the idea of the PNG Robusta iced coffee and think it would be amazing Vietnamese style... and very authentic tasting.

I used to enjoy proper vietnamese coffee in my milk drinking days.  Nowadays, I just drink coffee  neat. Might well try the robusta through the vietnamese dripper though just to see how it affects the flavour. One thing about the cold processed robusta - it is low caffeine. Still a seriously punchy in your face coffee, just not the same buzz. Normally after three coffees in 30 minutes, I would feel some effect of caffeine, especially from robusta. Today, zilch.

shape_shifter

I am drinking so many different beans at present but right now, this instant I am drinking solo's Panama that he did in the popper as an espresso, I've never had an apple tasting bean before, there is a little bitterness to it which I will be interested to see if it's still there when I roast the bean (solo kindly gave me some green of it as well, it's his favourite so I know this was hard to do), it's like a granny smith apple, amazing 

UNM

Double espresso of the brazil/MM blend first thing, not bad - definitely better than as ristretto. An iced DR constanza cold processed to take to work (lots of ice - temp in mid thirties). This bean is very pleasant as iced coffee. Got home early, since it's hogmanay and tested the honduras finca el fila COE (made in the teapot). Only three days post roast, but already very nice.

Muscles

About to make a nice cup of Hawaiian Kona with the aeropress.... hmmm Kona  :thumb:

UNM

Sulawesi bukit marante, roasted saturday. Opened the bag yesterday as I ran out of beans. Drinking as double espresso. tasted crap yesterday, better today, should be just about on form when I run out.  Definitely shows promise already, so I may roast another batch that can rest properly.

ash

Just finished off an Indian Mysore Nuggets espresso. Definately gets better around the 10+ day mark after roasting. The flavours became more pronounced and deeper as the acidity seemed to mellow out. Into a batch of Zambia Terranova from Ministry of Grounds roasted five days ago. I haven't tried this one for a while so it'll be interesting to see what it's like over the next few days

UNM

on 1327530163:

Just finished off an Indian Mysore Nuggets espresso. Definately gets better around the 10+ day mark after roasting.

I find most of my roasts are best 10 days+