# Deep tasting chocolatey beans?



## Phillikescoffee (Mar 16, 2015)

Hi everyone. I'm very new to this whole coffee thing and am currently using a gaggia classic with pressurised basket (until I find a second hand grinder to upgrade to).

I've tried a few coffees around London and, while I like "bright" flavours I think I'd prefer something with a slightly deeper, chocolatey back of the tongue taste.

I wondered if anyone could recommend something along those lines that will make something OK with my current set up. I was thinking of ordering some Brighton lanes to start but I have no idea what I'm doing at the minute!


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi Phil

If you ordering from Compass Coffeethen you may also want to try there Hill and Valley (if you feeling Brave and if you are do a search in the beans sections for a write up, i leave you to make your own mind up).

You could also give Richard a call, who is most likely going to be the one that picks the phone up and ask him for his advice based on your taste requirements. He truly is mine of information and genuinely a nice guy and company to deal with ( not that other aren't but you started this thread talking of Brighton Lanes which is one of his). Mention the forum which also helps to let them know that their support of the forum is well founded.

Personally have a similar like chocolately beans as my go to but am always suprised at the more fruity varieties as well.

Hope fo help and let us know how you got on

John


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

The pressurised basket will really limit how the coffee tastes.. and are you using a grinder or buying pre ground

Pre ground in general = stale = sour


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

johnealey said:


> Hi Phil
> 
> If you ordering from Compass Coffeethen you may also want to try there Hill and Valley (if you feeling Brave and if you are do a search in the beans sections for a write up, i leave you to make your own mind up).


A review of Hill and Valley Espresso Blend that someone kindly posted for me on another thread:

http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/shop/review/product/list/id/113/category/7/

If ordering from Rave, Colombian Suarez certainly have the deep chocolate notes that you're looking for. Have been enjoying these this week.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hill and valley review in the beans section on page 3 towards the bottom (linking within the site often gets delayed as Mods have to check)

John

p.s. don't forget to ditch the pressurised basket when you get your grinder to get the best out of your beans on the classic. To echo MrBoots above pre ground not so good freshly ground beans, way better.


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## NJD1977 (Dec 16, 2014)

Monsoon Malabar from Mancoco in Manchester - they do mail order. Really deep rich chocolate and nuts.http://mancoco.co.uk/epages/9500030...950003025/Products/0010/SubProducts/0010-0001

http://mancoco.co.uk/epages/950003025.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950003025/Products/0010/SubProducts/0010-0001


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Just bear in If you don't have a grinder you are going to struggle to get the same tasting notes from pre ground and a pressurised basket .


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## Phillikescoffee (Mar 16, 2015)

Thanks for the ideas! I do have a grinder (a bodum something or other) so have been using fresh beans but am waiting for something like a Eureka Mignon or a Compak k3 to come up second hand to upgrade. I tried without the pressurised thingy and the coffee ran way too fast even on the finest setting.

Just out of interest, why does the pressurised basket change the flavour so much?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

In essence they are designed to work with pre ground coffee or coffee ground with grinders that arent suitable for espresso ( see Bodum )

it kids people into seeing a " crema " and thinking oooooh nice coffee, look at the espresso porn ive just made .....

In reality , you need fresh coffee and a grinder capable of producing a decent consistent fine grind to extract a coffee to a decent level to get some of those tasting notes we refer to ..


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## Phillikescoffee (Mar 16, 2015)

So the pressurised basket doesn't really help extraction when the grinds too coarse, just makes the coffee look better? Hmm... Need a decent grinder ASAP.


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## NJD1977 (Dec 16, 2014)

It's not just a crema producing device - it does act to throttle the flow of water through the puck (rather than the fine-ness of the coffee throttling the water itself) and hence can allow the water to be kept in contact with the coffee grounds for a similar time (25-30s) to a non-pressurised basket......the time the water spends in contact with the coffee is one parameter of the extraction process..............however, ultimately if the coffee isn't fine enough, there will be less surface area for the water to extract the coffee from.


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## Phillikescoffee (Mar 16, 2015)

Have just read through the Hill and Valley review thread. I might not brave that just yet! Thanks for all your help.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Probably save that one till you got decent grinder and feeleing confident enough to then brave it. 

Really is nice if you can get the mental pictures of "grannys *** mouth" out of your head when ordering...

Good luck on your voyage and when you have a budget inmind for a grinder pop on over to the Wanted thread as it may push someone to offer up your grinder of choice or similar ( read the guidelines on posting in the wanted section though)

John


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Isn't one of the other reasons Gaggia Classic's come supplied with pressurised baskets got something to do with them coming out of the factory with a 13 or 15 bar pressure? If you haven't already done so you may do well to reduce this to around 9 to 10 bar plus switch to non-pressurised baskets (VST or IMS). Your taste buds will thank you!


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## Phillikescoffee (Mar 16, 2015)

Machine (from here!) came with 9 bar pressure. And it's old enough to have a pressurised rubber thing rather than a dedicated basket. I think might post on the wanted thread, just waiting for something (ideally a k3 or mignon) to come up at the minute.


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## Richard Penny (Nov 14, 2014)

If you look through the DSOL Baytown thread, you'll see that their roast for us was highly praised and looks to suit your taste. Towards the end I think there's a special offer too. Agree that you'll have to get a proper grinder first though. Ebay can be good for bargains, mostly large commercial though.


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## Phillikescoffee (Mar 16, 2015)

Bought a Mignon off here and have used the Monmouth espresso blend I was using before to dial it in. Coffee already tastes a million times more interesting. Obnic kindly sent some very dark caravanserai beans from caravan and I ordered 1kg of rave Italian job to get me started. In a few weeks I'll start trying some of the suggestions from here.


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

Try Sumatran . I find it really chocolatey even with relatively cheap grinder and espresso machine .


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## twotone (Jan 13, 2015)

Phillikescoffee said:


> Have just read through the Hill and Valley review thread. I might not brave that just yet! Thanks for all your help.


It's actually a really nice coffee, the review is excellent though and accurate even though it is 'way out there'.


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