# Has Bean Blends eww?



## thesmileyone (Sep 27, 2016)

So I appreciate that currently my setup sucks BUT...

First beans I bought from HB were costa rican SO's and they tasted amazing.

Based on reviews on HB's coffee I ordered... Breakfast Bomb, Philter (not opened yet) and 1973 Mk4.

And no matter how I brew or espresso these beans they just taste...rancid. Like dishwater. They smell bad too.

I'm guessing my equipment is not good enough ( I made a new thread on this but no one answered) so shall I just throw them away and go back to Single Origin?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

have you tried contacting hasbean, they will probably swop them, their reputation and customer service will matter to them.

I think its good to get an idea of the different different taste and flavours of S/O before trying blends so you know the blend will have a base that suits your prefrences. Ive had some blends that sucked and others that were great, Ive a few favorite S/O that I keep coming back to.


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Hello welcome to the forum , I am suprised at your comments .

are you weighing and timing your shots ? , perhaps an adjustment to your technique is all that is required.

moving from one coffee to another will just compound your difficulties if there is something missing from your technique of preparing your coffee.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

thesmileyone said:


> And no matter how I brew or espresso these beans they just taste...rancid. Like dishwater. They smell bad too.


It would be useful to know how you are brewing your coffee & espresso (doses weighed to 0.1g, brew water & shots weighed to the gram, brew times, grinder settings)...the likelihood of multiple bags having an issue is pretty low, 'finger trouble' is the most likely suspect.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Don't throw beans away , at worst offer then to some here . But The taste is a function of how you brew them and to down degree what with .


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi

Looking at your kit list on another post would suggest you may have found "the sweet spot" for the SO with your Nutribullet and are not able to grind to suit the origins.

Until you sort your grinder out it may be highly unfair to lay the blame at the door of the beans / blend as there will so very many variables that are next to impossible to rule out.

To answer the questions in your other thread, if you want to grind for espresso and V60 a Mythos One is not for you as will be a pain to dial back and forth and what you save in retention you will lose tenfold in getting back to ideal espresso. Can be done but a huge PITA. With your budget you might be better served with slightly less expensive espresso grinder and a hand grinder such as Lido or Feldgrind for V60 / pourover duty.

The Coffee machine itself may also not be thermally stable enough (DeLonghi?) to rule out any variables there so may be adding in its owns spanners (am not blaming or running down the machine just pointing out)

If you were prepared to buy second hand your budget will provide you an awful lot of grinder /hand grinder or dedicated brew grinder / Machine that could rule out some of the issues you having as straight black coffees or espresso's (can't comment on the coconut / fats etc drink mentioned on another thread).

Some of the blends you mentioned will work best as espresso, but you may want to try them in the V60 to rule out the machine before blaming or at least offering the roaster a chance to comment via direct contact, the bean or blend.

Hope of help

John


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

On the other hand, some blends especially, are just rank........they cannot appeal to every mans taste. I drink dark, others hate the thought.....move on to the next ones matey and do not dwell on the matter


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

''They smell bad too''

The two blends you have opened both contain a large proportion of natural process coffee. inherently 'funky' in aroma and flavour. Brew them in a french press and see if you like the flavours.

Naturals are not for everyone. I suspect you'll like the smell of the philter more being washed / semi washed processing


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> On the other hand, some blends especially, are just rank........they cannot appeal to every mans taste. I drink dark, others hate the thought.....move on to the next ones matey and do not dwell on the matter


Bad advice. In essence you're saying don't learn how to make coffee, just find coffee that fits what you do ...like only making salads because every time you turn on the stove you have a fire in your kitchen. It's not the food's fault.


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## thesmileyone (Sep 27, 2016)

garydyke1 said:


> ''They smell bad too''
> 
> The two blends you have opened both contain a large proportion of natural process coffee. inherently 'funky' in aroma and flavour. Brew them in a french press and see if you like the flavours.
> 
> Naturals are not for everyone. I suspect you'll like the smell of the philter more being washed / semi washed processing


Interesting you say this, because I opened Philter today and LOVED the smell, made it with V60 and it tastes delicious, having said that I am using (red top, so skimmed?) milk instead of cream and none of the coconut oil or butter today (cheat day).

I am not going to get a Mythos One but rather considering a Mythos Plus or a Compak E8 as well as a hand grinder for the v60. I am going to get the hand grinder pretty soon infact probably next week, I believe a hario mini mill is sufficient and will do the electric screwdriver mod if hand grinding is too arduous. I do love espressos in the day, they are carb free which is brilliant for my dietary requirements. For the expensive grinder, OD is essential for me as well as low retention.

Thank you everyone for the advice!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

You are not the first to hate Naturals and certainly wont be the last .

Oh and well brewed black coffee is a wonderful thing. very low carbs


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Confused - so are the taste defects when your are adding coconut and butter or not ?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

thesmileyone said:


> For the expensive grinder, OD is essential for me as well as low retention.


Shameless plug.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?33658-Compak-E10-For-Sale-%A31000


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

thesmileyone said:


> I believe a hario mini mill is sufficient and will do
> 
> Thank you everyone for the advice!


Hario mini will work fine & is comfortable to hold, handle is a bit short, how about a Porlex?


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## thesmileyone (Sep 27, 2016)

That actually leads me on to my second question, what is the best hand grinder for £30? Because I see a lot of choices on Amazon, and it seems from the reviews, they all break eventually.


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## thesmileyone (Sep 27, 2016)

Mrboots2u said:


> Confused - so are the taste defects when your are adding coconut and butter or not ?


I use espresso shot (just the coffee) to see if I like things, and I dislike 1973 and Breakfast Bomb immensely. The costa rican stuff was very acidic and eurgh to drink but the aftertaste was excellent, like dark chocolate, and lasted a good 45 minutes, because I specifically remember needing to drink water and putting it off as I didn't want to lose the aftertaste!

That was this stuff https://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/costa-rica-sumava-monte-llano-bonito-yellow-honey


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

thesmileyone said:


> I use espresso shot (just the coffee) to see if I like things, and I dislike 1973 and Breakfast Bomb immensely. The costa rican stuff was very acidic and eurgh to drink but the aftertaste was excellent, like dark chocolate, and lasted a good 45 minutes, because I specifically remember needing to drink water and putting it off as I didn't want to lose the aftertaste!
> 
> That was this stuff https://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/costa-rica-sumava-monte-llano-bonito-yellow-honey


You're saying you dislike them, but you're not telling us any details of how you are making the coffee. I can make any coffee taste horrid...trust me  But once you get a recipe down, most will taste good. Remember you are "making" the drink from the potential contained in the beans.

I don't think that "Eurgh to drink" is what any roaster is shooting for


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