Was going to try some Liquid Amber from Sweet Maria but when I went to their site they were sold out of all of their roasted coffees. So I ordered some Tuscano from CCC which is only three hour up the road from me. Was going to look into the Whole Food store and see what they carry.
since my favs from barefoot,ecco,ritual,ect seem to have jumped in price quite a bit, I switched to home roasting also. Many good SO's out there obtainable for 4-10 a pound versus $18 to $20 for a 12 oz bag. for a change of pace I decided to order from Burman instead of SM,and the captains. so far the 3 varietals I've tried have been outstanding and at a reasonable price. Right now I'm drinking Rwanda Ruli Mountain,got to love the brown sugar, berry jam,and chocolate taste. The natural Harrar is also outstanding, the best I've tasted in a few years. very sweet berry toned. Another I'm drinking right now is Guat-Bella Carmona,Taste just like various nuts with honey drizzled over them.Yummy, took each one to either FC or FC+. made great SO espressos.
Brief OT (apologies to the OP), try the DP Mexican Nyarita from Burman's. A "poor man's" version of DP Panama Elida...LOTS of berry. Great as van/pour-over, and SO espresso,...slightly overdosed.
Helen, so many of the aforementioned Artisan roasted coffees have been discussed many times. I order at least 25-30#'s opt these coffee's a year. What better benchmark for us home roasters to compare our efforts to? Still, a mention of green SO and blends suitable for espresso would be a useful inclusion on this nice thread, if only for those home roasters, like me, that purchase roasted AND green. Just my .02. it's YOUR thread, and if you wish to keep it all to pre-roasted, no problem!!!
Still, a mention of green SO and blends suitable for espresso would be a useful inclusion on this nice thread, if only for those home roasters, like me, that purchase roasted AND green. Just my .02. it's YOUR thread, and if you wish to keep it all to pre-roasted, no problem!!!
k- I've been messing with some variances of a sumatra and a columbia...Roasted separately, both just into 2nd crack. minimal external oil.
First was 70/30 sumatra/columbia. Smokey, spicy, kind of like a true southern Italian shot but without the carbon. Then switched to a 70/30 col/sum. Bland. More milky chocolatey but not much anything else. And, not a desirable chocolate bomb.
Then for kicks did a 50/50 blend that was pretty good. Still the spice and sharp but toned down a bit with more milk chocolate. My fav of all 3.
As far as orgins go I don't have the faintest but I know they are both current crops.
Have something new coming soon with a new crop Bolivian.
My original question was what is in your hopper right now. If it is home roasted, I can be sad I can't taste it but I don't mind the thread drift. :) Go for it. :) I would never have bought some Amber from Sweet Marias without it.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
And really the list of favorite Roasters is a great resource, but I was really hoping to hear what people were drinking now and why. And pretty much that is what I have gotten. Just a tad more informal info and what is currently "trending".
Also, a lot of sites I have seen don't tell you what coffees are recommended for espresso. I find that a horrible over sight and very hard for someone like me to know what to order. I don't have a lot of cash to waste and I don't want anything I can't use for espresso. They should list what coffees they sell are recommended for Espresso, pour over, french press, etc. I think that is a reasonable thing. Along with espresso brew recommendations and cupping notes.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
Yes, those sites do but for one example Stumptown did not, I think they do now that I wrote and complained about it. I look at a lot of more local / small time roaster sites. (:
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
I have posted before on this thread, but this morning had an experience that I feel compelled to share.
Brown Coffee Co.'s retail location is on my way to work. "Anything handy is perty favorite," someone once said, but switching from our previous blend to Brown Coffee Co.'s Espresso One: Cottonwood blend produced amazing improvements in mouthfeel and body. When I stopped for a bag of beans, I also got a shot pulled there. It was so full of crema and body that I bemoaned my lack of barista skills, thinking my home technique (with different beans) responsible for the difference. But when I cleared the previous lot of beans out of the hopper and ground a basketful of Espresso One, I was rewarded with (almost) the same level of body and crema that had elicited an out-loud "wow" when I tasted it at their shop.
I've been working with this blend for the last couple of weeks, and have found that it's possible to get different flavor profiles with different extraction parameters (no surprise there, of course). With a brew head temperature setting of 203F and a slow pour (30 seconds after first drop to 50 ml), the taste is mild and smooth with chocolate and toffee flavors. At 200F and a fast pour (30 seconds _total_ to 50ml), bright citrus predominates (but not sourness). I prefer the former in milk, but the latter makes a more interesting straight shot. (The citrus doesn't seem to come through the milk sweetness. But then, I'm making lattes, not 6 oz cappucinos.)
My favorite right now is Verve's Santa Ana SO from Guatemala. It's in my hopper right now, so to speak (I don't actually have a hopper on my HC-600, I'm just dosing per double), and I cannot express how impressed I am with it. It's tasting notes are "butterscotch, cherry cola, vanilla," which intrigued me. And, I must say, this espresso blew my mind. It tastes SO much like cherry cola, it legitimately tastes carbonated (and not because it hasn't been degassed, it's 7 days post-roast). I am almost getting more of a molasses than butterscotch, which gives it almost a moxie taste, but I'll have to tinker a bit. It has beautiful, thick, persistent crema, and I can't get enough of it.
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