# Review of Rave's Italian Blend for a newbie by a newbie



## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

Hi everyone

i have been lurking on the forum for a while, i'm still learning the ropes so i read more than i write but i thought i'd write a review on Rave's Italian Job for others who are in a similar boat to me

i have owned a gaggia classic and mignon grinder combo for a couple years now, i have not made much use of the machines in this time until recently

here's my story, i love coffee, well lattes and flat whites, my taste buds are not accustom to fancy flavours of almonds and fruit that my be found in coffee beans

to me coffee tastes like... coffee

so i bought my setup so i can have fresh coffee like you would find in your high street chains but it just never tasted right

i read reviews on beans from all over the interweb and it was too much going on, so tried beans from the supermarket, taylors and lavazza, both just didnt taste right

so i decided to give up, my mate had bought a nespresso machine, the coffee wasnt the best but it was consistent and easy to use, a little cold but drinkable

i cleaned up my gear, took some nice photo and went to post it on the for sale section of the forum

but then all was saved, i read about Rave's Italian Job beans being good for beginners so i thought i will give this one last try, if i dont get the hang of it now then there's no hope

i ordered a 1kg bag because i always ended up wasting beans dialing my grinder in and on poor tasting shots

didnt bother with the next day delivery option as the beans need to degas anyway

so a few days later arrived my freshly roasted beans, a week after roasting i gave it a try

1st try:

poured the beans into the grinder, filled my 18g vst basket with roughly 18g, didnt weigh it out

tamp and loaded up it up onto the classic

was a bit fine of a grind or hard tamp and the tamp wasnt level but i went ahead away

60sec into my shot i got about 40ml of coffee in my mug

steamed the milk and made a flat white

result? it was great, tasted amazing, my wife who doesnt like coffee even said it was ok, normally she would just spit it out

2nd try:

it was getting late and i needed a pick me up

so as the last one was about tight i dialed the grinder back half a number and tried again

tamped a little lighter and pulled a shot of espresso

25sec i had 25ml, brew ratio of about 1:1.5

i've never liked the straight shots of espressos i make and can only drink it with milk but i gave it a try

knocked it back and wow, no bitterness, no horrible acidic or sharp taste

its true what i have read, you can't go wrong with these beans

yes i know i make mistakes in making my shots like changing the grind and tamp on the same shot, i know i should only change 1 variable at a time etc

but even after 2 yrs i still consider myself a newbie

these beans have restored my love for real fresh coffee

the beans for Rave are very cheap and a lot cheaper than the stale nespresso pods which range from 30-50p for 5g of coffee

so for all of you who are new to this i recommend you try Rave's Italian Blend

i really couldn't stop myself from drink this coffee all night


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## eddie57 (Mar 21, 2017)

gotta say i do enjoy the Italian blend..


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Well done for persevering - makes it all the more satisfying when you finally get it right and find the beans you like


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Advice - Weight your output will really help you quicken up dialling in process , glad you getting results you enjoy though.


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## Deansie26 (Jan 16, 2017)

Nice review! I've read these are pretty tasty-I imagine a bean that would compliment milk based drinks.

If you fancy a change after these try cherry cherry from Cc. It the first time if I'm honest that I have really noticed a fruity/ sweet smell from coffee beans, very nice.

My first shot was made into an americano and was tasty, I'm unsure if it had a slight bitter taste, hard to tell. I want to see if I can pull out more fruity notes. Need to do some reading lol.


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

now i have found a bean i like i will definitely weigh in and out to perfect the taste

is the timer on the mignon fairly consistent in terms of gram output providing i don't change beans?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Mmiah said:


> now i have found a bean i like i will definitely weigh in and out to perfect the taste
> 
> is the timer on the mignon fairly consistent in terms of gram output providing i don't change beans?


I'd weigh in with most timed grinders i bet the dose at best would be +\ 1g


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## Robbo (Feb 17, 2016)

Its consistent withing 1 g if you keep the same amount of beans in the hopper.

You're better off single dosing. The method i have is to weigh out 18g beans into a small milk jug (not one i use for milk) then tip into hopper, grind back into milk jug and shake it up before adding to portafilter. This also sorts out the static clumping issues


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

From a fellow newbie here is my 2 pence worth:

Essential equipment:

Accurate scales (0.1g increments)

Toothpick

Good fitting tamper

Naked pf.

Before worrying too much about altering brew ratios focus entirely on distribution/tamping. Use mb phone to video naked pf attempts to see where to make changes this will also help documenting your improvements as you will feel incredibly frustrated at times (as you have experienced already).

Single dose, weigh input and output. Keep a record of time taken as this will tell you how consistent you are being with your workflow.

To start with change as little as possible and once you are consistent to +-1 to 2 seconds each shot you can start experimenting with ratios. If you try do this before you've got the foundation's laid you will be very hit and miss. Trust me I spent quite some time at this stage!


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your journey and review.

Really well done with persevering!


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

Once you improve your technique and you make consistent espresso's you'll start noticing the different notes in the coffee. I as many started off liking dark roasts as that was what we we're used to but for me at least I now love the fruit notes in the lighter roasts and I never buy dark roasted beans anymore.

Once you get used to weighing input, output and using a timer you'll never go back. Enjoy!


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

i think my biggest inconsistency is tamp force, can never tell how how much force i'm applying and when to stop

are the click mats worth investing in?


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

For me you don't need to tamp too hard but it needs to be consistent so you can rule that out. If you're buying from Rave follow their recipes or steps and see how you like it.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Rave

Have one recipe for all espresso which I would suggest needs to be amended a little for the type of coffee used and personal preference . Use 1:2 as a jumping off point Only .


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mmiah said:


> i think my biggest inconsistency is tamp force, can never tell how how much force i'm applying and when to stop
> 
> are the click mats worth investing in?


In my opinion tamping gets blamed too much. Distribution is more tricky and is often overlooked (I know I did).

I use WDT which is mixing the grinds with a toothpick or micro whisk before tamping. You can get a good distribution and tamp without expensive gadgets.

Espresso making is all about removing as many variables as possible, leading to consistency. The easiest way to do this with tamping is to push until you feel a firm resistance, as though the puck is pushing back.

As I mentioned before I am a newbie. I am still learning and more than happy to bow down to someones greater knowledge.

As someone else mentioned you literally won't believe the difference it makes in the cup once you start getting it right.


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

so last night i took all the points on

let the machine warm up for 30mins

ground 18g into a spare pot, broke up the clumps (normally i use a toothpick after grinding directly into the basket) and poured into the basket, used a toothpick to distribute the grounds, used a gentle but firm tamp enough to form a puck but not compress it into a brick

placed my shot glass on a scale and in 25 seconds i got 23ml espresso and 20ml crema at 25grams (1:1.4 ratio) was suprised at the amount of crema this time, almost a 50/50 mix

steamed milk and made an 8oz flat white

tasted good, very slight coffee bitter taste but was pleasant

any recommendations which step to take next?


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Place the cup on the scales whilst making the espresso and weigh as you go.

Aim to stop at brew ratio of 1:2, so 36g. Make a note of the time taken to do this. The aim of the game is consistency of brew ratio and time taken to reach it.

Now this part of the advice goes against the grain a little and others may disagree..

With regards to the bitterness, if it is drinkable don't worry too much about the taste at this stage, not until you get consistent. The problem is if you start changing things to chase the flavour before you have the basics right it's difficult to identify what is going right/wrong and you will find one cup is great, the next awful without having seemingly changed anything.

Once you have distribution/tamping nailed then you can tweak according to your tastes.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

I would recommend you take @Mr boots advice and get some cheap scales to weigh in AND out. This is a far more accurate method than timed grinder and shot glass measure. You will find an improvement in the taste of your shots and can experiment with slightly longer or shorter shots to suit your taste. From your amounts quoted above I think you would find a considerable improvement by weighing.

All part of the learning curve:good:


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

i did weigh in and out, 18g in and 25g out in 25 secs, the ml was just describing the espresso/crema that came out

if i left the shot running i would have got 36g (1:2 ratio)in about 35/40 seconds, so i assume i will need a courser grind setting next time?


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mmiah said:


> i did weigh in and out, 18g in and 25g out in 25 secs, the ml was just describing the espresso/crema that came out
> 
> if i left the shot running i would have got 36g (1:2 ratio)in about 35/40 seconds, so i assume i will need a courser grind setting next time?


Ok good.

If you enjoyed the ratio you got stick to that for now. My advice is change as little as possible until you are getting the same results each time.

It doesn't need to be 1:2 thats just a good starting point for many. In fact a smaller brew ratio is often suited to darker roasts/blends such as the one you are using.


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

thanks for the help, now to try and keep the results consistent before making changes, wish i could have my setup at work, only time i get to make coffee is weekends and evenings but don't want to be having too much coffee at night


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Mmiah said:


> i did weigh in and out, 18g in and 25g out in 25 secs, the ml was just describing the espresso/crema that came out
> 
> if i left the shot running i would have got 36g (1:2 ratio)in about 35/40 seconds, so i assume i will need a courser grind setting next time?


My mistake I thought you had just used the shot glass.

As igm said the 1 : 2 ratio is a guide . Shots either side can be much more tasty, I have found with darker beans 18 gmin / 28 gm out give a thick luscious sweet shot. Tweak your grind and try shots either side the guide and see which you prefer.


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## Elcee (Feb 16, 2017)

Has anyone tried these in filter like french press? Looking for a gift for my parents. They enjoy the single origin stuff I get them but also really like the darker roasted stuff.


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

i'll give it a go tonight in my french press and let you know

should be fairly quick putting it through my old hario hand grinder

and if its any good it may become my work setup


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## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

Rave IJ no good in a french press. 1:12 brew ratio. Tastes very bland. Nothing interesting happening on the taste buds


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

It's not really a French press coffee, it's a blend that gives people a more Italian esq espresso, which I personally do not enjoy but some folk love. Raves single origins are great


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## ShortShots (Oct 2, 2013)

I second that....IJ is not a coffee that I'd want as filter. If its dark filter you're after try Kenya Thiriku or Sumatra Super Gayo


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## jimbocz (Jun 5, 2015)

I had a similar experience to you and still include a bag of Italian Job in every Rave order. Perhaps you should try the fudge blend, that one really pleases me as well.


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## Elcee (Feb 16, 2017)

Thanks for sharing your experience guys. I have some nice blends in filter but its good to know this one is just for espresso.


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