# Time to order some new beans - suggestions?



## nick52 (Dec 28, 2011)

Hi folks,

The time has come to put in a new bean order. I'm looking for some fairly inexpensive bold beans good in a cappuccino or latte. I'm finishing off some Union Revelation which is good, but a little earthy.

I'm looking for something bold and punchy, but not quite as earthy.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Nick


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Signature blend from Rave coffee


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Lusty from Hands-On....


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

Extract Roasters: Strong Man


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## ripley (Jan 16, 2012)

Black chough from hands on.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

Everyday Espresso, Coffee Beans Shop, my favourite espresso blend ever, to date.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Coffee Real do some good blends. Try 6am or Polar which are great with milky morning drinks.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

forzajuve said:


> Coffee Real do some good blends. Try 6am or Polar which are great with milky morning drinks.


How dark roast are those ones? I've tried perfect secret and holy moly, and though they were both pretty tasty they were too dark for my liking.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Earlepap said:


> How dark roast are those ones? I've tried perfect secret and holy moly, and though they were both pretty tasty they were too dark for my liking.


All Coffee Real blends are at the darker end, though what you consider to be too dark I cant really comment. If you are looking for lighter roasts then Has Bean is your best bet.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

forzajuve said:


> what you consider to be too dark I cant really comment.


Shiny shiny, shiny beans of leather.


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## Michaelb (Mar 27, 2012)

I'm fairly new to the whole coffee connoisseurship thing....is Blue Mountain Blend a high standard of coffee?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Michaelb said:


> I'm fairly new to the whole coffee connoisseurship thing....is Blue Mountain Blend a high standard of coffee?


Its expensive , not worth the money IMHO


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## CoffeeMagic (Aug 7, 2011)

I would be immediately suspicious of the word "blend". A coffee of that provenance (if not a fake) shouldn't need blending


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

Last two orders from Coffeebeanshop have been excellent. The Everyday Espresso is surprisingly good, the Monsson Malabar excellent and at the moment I am on the very chocolatey Ethiopian Yirgacheffe which is absolutely gorgeous. I've also had a few of their Indonesian coffees and ... in short, I am yet to be disappointed by any of their stuff. They roast traditional dark - which means not burnt to within a milimetre of it's life but darker than the third wave roasters - which at the present time is just the perfect amount for me. I would strongly recommend them to everybody!


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## heliuscc (Sep 11, 2011)

Black Chough from hands on


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

garydyke1 said:


> Its expensive , not worth the money IMHO


I supply a Blue Mountain Blend which set out primarily to achieve a very similar taste to the Wallenford Estate coffee (which I can also supply), but without the massive price tag. Don't knock it till you've tried it......

Andy


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

James Gourmet Formula 6 may hit the spot for you based on your description of what you want from the coffee.


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

Michaelb said:


> I'm fairly new to the whole coffee connoisseurship thing....is Blue Mountain Blend a high standard of coffee?


Blue mountain BLEND? I've never had a blue mountain coffee that's high standard, as a matter of fact I've never had one that's nice, but it's down to individual taste preference.

Jamaican blue mountain is the most expensive and is really bland IMHO a lot of places stick the words blue mountain just so people pay more. Anyway what do you like from your coffee and we will probably be able to help you choose something that you like


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

I wasn't blown away by the Everyday Espresso from CoffeeBeanShop and I usually love everything of theirs. Saying that to be fair I was 3-4 weeks old by the time I got to it. I'd definitely suggest giving CoffeeBeanShop's fortnightly offer a go though, you usually get some cracking coffee for the money.

I've just got 4 bags from Rave coffee and again, I've not been blown away so far. It seems quite light roasted and very dry. I had to go down a whole macro number on the Vario to get anything like 25secs. I keep getting quite sour notes from it.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Surprised.... Rave does not roast lightly. Which coffees did you buy?


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

It's the Papa new guinea - Sigri single origin



















It looks quite light compared to most of the ones I get from CoffeeBeanShop


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Oh right, yes, you mentioned this on another thread. TBH I'm wondering why you are expecting a great shot from an SO coffee that is used as a fairly neutral base for blending. Did you buy 4 bags of this, or did you try his other stuff?


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

I've got others too. I just randomly picked 4 from their website to try them out. Mainly for the free P&P









Why should I not expect good shots from SO coffee?


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Depends on the SO coffee. Espresso is traditionally a blend for good reason, so that you get a balance of different qualities.

Some SOs stand up on their own, some don't. I (personally) wouldn't expect the PNG to. It does look quite light in the photo, might be better filtered. Either way, I wouldn't have chosen that and expected anything exceptional.

What else did you buy?


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Tanzania Kilamanjaro

Brazil Daterra Santa columbia

Ethiopian Sidamo

I tend to have one shot in the morning before work then a couple of AeroPress coffees during the day so I get to use the coffee's for both usually. It just so happens that I've not been at work last week so didn't tend to brew and just stuck to espresso. It's very rare that I get a SO from CoffeeBeanShop that doesn't work great as an espresso. In fact, the blends I've had recently have been pretty bad compared the the So coffees. (Jailbreak from Hasbean and Everyday espresso from coffeeBeanShop)


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

At a guess, as I haven't tried these beans, you might have more luck with the Brazil. The Sidamo will make a good filter, and possibly espresso. If you order again try the Signature blend and the Mocha Java for espresso and possibly the Peru.

Let me know how you get on with the other stuff.


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## kiwigirl42 (May 23, 2012)

I recently bought old brown java and monsoon malabar from coffeebeanshop. They are good coffees individually (i like their depth of roast) but sublime mixed half and half. It softens the tobacco-eness of the java and seems to give more facets to the depth of taste which I couldn't taste with just the MM by itself. The MM seemed a very transient flavour which benefited from being mixed. Just my inexperienced 2pence worth


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

Expobarista said:


> Depends on the SO coffee. Espresso is traditionally a blend for good reason, so that you get a balance of different qualities.
> 
> Some SOs stand up on their own, some don't. I (personally) wouldn't expect the PNG to. It does look quite light in the photo, might be better filtered. Either way, I wouldn't have chosen that and expected anything exceptional.
> 
> What else did you buy?


Some of the best espresso you can get is SO, as what you get is the characteristics of that particular bean by itself, Espresso blends in my opinion are inferior in the vast majority of cases.

The depth of flavour and the cleanliness off the cup is what so often makes them shine, blends are designed however by most roasters to make life easier when making an espresso.

I'd choose SO over blend every time if was given the option unless it was from a poor roaster then I would give both a wide berth


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Well I'm pleased to report that I tried the Brazil Daterra Santa Columbia today as espresso and it's lovely.

Geordie I agree with you about SO.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Daterra is lovely isn't it.

Yep, I'd agree that some SO make great espresso, but of course it's all a matter of personal taste. Some blends from the same region can be great such as the Brazil BSCA #1

Personally though, a well-blended selection of beans expertly roasted and extracted really hits the spot


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

have you tried has beans kicker blend, it's difficult to nail as an espresso but when you do, then WOW! however get it wrong and POW! it doesn't half give you a Kick


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

I've tried all his blends and to be honest I really couldn't get on with them at all. Just too tangy for me. I know loads of people like it though. He is somebody that has really changed his style over the last few years and gone headlong into the third wave thing.

I really like deep smoky smoothness and sweetness so I'm never going to get on with lighter roasted acidic stuff.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Expobarista said:


> I've tried all his blends and to be honest I really couldn't get on with them at all. Just too tangy for me. I know loads of people like it though. He is somebody that has really changed his style over the last few years and gone headlong into the third wave thing.
> 
> I really like deep smoky smoothness and sweetness so I'm never going to get on with lighter roasted acidic stuff.


Give the new Jailbreak a go, I think its a step away from the 'third wave' and more about choc/nut with reigned-in acidity


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Tangy is such a good word to use for the taste I was trying to describe. I've got to admit I'm not a massive fan of roasts with this taste either.


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

I love coffees that have bags of fruit and if tangy is what it is tangy is what I like, I also like some of the chocolate and nutty flavours, but anything too roasty or earthy is something that I really can't drink.

I almost always drink it black, but when you have coffees that morph in milk so much it amazes me at times, just how different they can taste when served with milk, I used to have people ask me for a "Crunchie Cappuccino" as honestly in milk the sweetness was that of honeycomb and chocolate but was dark red fruits as an Espresso, amazing really.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Well, I've decided to break out the roaster so I've ordered some greens from here:

http://greencoffeeltd.com/asp/ourcoffees.asp#gcBRAES1

Going for the Brazil Daterra Bruzzi and the Brazil BSCA #1 blend. The #1 is quite interesting. Quite earthy. £5 for 500g, as opposed to £10 (!!!!) from Two Day Coffee.

Not had the Bruzzi pre-blended greens before, but everything Ive ever had from daterra has been good.


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

geordie-barista said:


> blends are designed however by most roasters to make life easier when making an espresso.
> 
> I'd choose SO over blend every time if was given the option unless it was from a poor roaster then I would give both a wide berth


Any blends that I roast are only sold after a lot of experimentation and testing. The main criteria for me with any coffee (SO or a blend) is always taste. If it tastes good I'll sell it - if it doesn't I won't. Simple as that.

Andy


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## Edwin (Feb 20, 2011)

chimpsinties said:


> I wasn't blown away by the Everyday Espresso from CoffeeBeanShop and I usually love everything of theirs.


Well, for the first time I haven't been either. I wonder if it's something about the blend right now? The Monsoon Malabar is, as usual, rather wonderful.


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

Brazil Santos Mogiana......a medium strength bean from the Cachoeira Farm in the Mogiana Valley in Brazil. This low acidity, mild bodied coffee with a touch of sweetness on the palate produces a lovely smooth drink.

http://www.thecoffeebean-vanandroaster.co.uk/Fresh-Coffee.html


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## kiwigirl42 (May 23, 2012)

I've just placed an order from Union Hand Roasted for some Foundation Espresso beans and some Monsoon Malabar - I really couldn't get the flavours of the MM I bought from the coffeebeanshop so thought I'd try from somewhere else just to compare. I've also got some Brazil Fazenda Sao Judas Tadeu Pulped Natural en route from Hasbean. I've been gulping down the coffee trying to finish what I've already got to justify starting the new stuff ;0)


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

coffeebean said:


> Any blends that I roast are only sold after a lot of experimentation and testing. The main criteria for me with any coffee (SO or a blend) is always taste. If it tastes good I'll sell it - if it doesn't I won't. Simple as that.
> 
> Andy


That is exactly what you should do and I'm really glad that you do I've a shed load of coffee to get through at the moment but will give yours a try soon


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

kiwigirl42 said:


> I've just placed an order from Union Hand Roasted for some Foundation Espresso beans and some Monsoon Malabar - I really couldn't get the flavours of the MM I bought from the coffeebeanshop so thought I'd try from somewhere else just to compare. I've also got some Brazil Fazenda Sao Judas Tadeu Pulped Natural en route from Hasbean. I've been gulping down the coffee trying to finish what I've already got to justify starting the new stuff ;0)


I'm definitely on the hate side of monsooned malabar a lot of people refer to it a marmite coffee and I have to agree. I've heard others wax lyrical about it, but I just can't drink it


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## steve206 (Apr 24, 2012)

Just to say thankyou everyone!!

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?6450-Night-and-Day!&p=42727#post42727


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## steve206 (Apr 24, 2012)

ripley said:


> Black chough from hands on.
> 
> Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk


Agreed! Just made my Perfect shot with these


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

We now sell Brazil Mogiana beans from the Cachoeira Farm. They produce a very low acidity, mild bodied coffee which has a little sweetness on the palate making a lovely smooth drink. You can find more info about the farm here http://www.mogianacoffee.com/our-farm.shtml

If you fancy trying it yourselves, you can get it here http://www.thecoffeebean-vanandroaster.co.uk/Fresh-Coffee.html

Andy


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