# Has Bean & Colombia El Meridiano Rioblanco Colombian SC Decaffeinated



## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

In spite of some disparaging remarks I've read here about Lavazza and the addition of the robusta beans in the blend, I've been enjoying my nth case of Lavazza Dek ... BUT ... the points made about freshness and drinking at the best moment after roasting make a lot of sense.

Has Bean appears to be well-thought of by a number of members and having got my VST baskets from them, I'd like to give their decaff a try. My question is: has anyone tried their 'Colombia El Meridiano Rioblanco Colombian SC Decaffeinated', if so, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

Thanks for any helpful responses.


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

big fan of has bean but i really didnt like the decaf. cant remember now why as it was a little while ago but i wouldnt even say it resembled coffee


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Oooops, I should have added that it's a new one that they rate highly: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/colombia-el-meridiano-rioblanco-colombian-sc-decaffeinated


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2014)

Everything Has Bean sell is brilliant - I haven't had a bad coffee from them yet and I've had 27 at the last count. I must admit though I haven't tried a decaf blend or single origin, so can't advise you on that one. Best thing to do is to trust the reviews on the website, and go for it. I'm sure it will be cracking.


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks for your replies Blackstone & Noah


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

it's such a personal preference, for the sake of £5 I'd say just treat yourself!

I've been a HasBean customer for 5 or 6 years now, and I have had a few bags I didn't enjoy but the majority I did enjoy. Personal tastes....


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

centaursailing said:


> Oooops, I should have added that it's a new one that they rate highly: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/colombia-el-meridiano-rioblanco-colombian-sc-decaffeinated


i might give it a go next time round then. to complete noah and aaronb, i have tired many many beans from has bean and besides the decaf, its only jabberwocky that i havent liked. and if you look at reviews on here, many people like jabberwocky so it really is down to personal preference


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks aaronb, to be honest I was thinking of 1kg (4 bags = £20) for my first order to give them a good test. It's all making me look forward to when BB gets my new Zenith 65E in from Eureka! I've already got something in mind for my first mod (is there a name for such a sickness, e.g. mod-itis or something?).

Did my first 1:1.6 brew extraction today with Lavazza Dek, 18.75g in, I was aiming for 30g out but ended up with nearer to 32g in 25 seconds. Had a big smile on my face to find what I'd been doing by volume was quite close to what came by weight!


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

im tempted to pull the trigger on the Eureka Zenith 65E too. not wanting to go off topic but did bb say when they will take delivery


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Hi Blackstone. BB has 8 in stock but with the wrong size hopper, Claudette is waiting for the replacement (short) hoppers to arrive from Italy so when they arrive...


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

thanks. im in a complete spin about what grinder to go for, new/old etc


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Have you seen DavecUK's review - link is from first post in his thread in 'deals': http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?16042-Eureka-Zenith-65E-%A3499-delivered


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## frandavi99 (Jun 8, 2014)

I had this one a while back, I usually brew pour over but this didn't really work as anything other than espresso for me. Espresso was very good though!


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks frandavi, sounds good to me as our drinks are espresso based latte.


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks for all the helpful responses, I've now placed my first ever order for this (or any) speciality coffee.


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

My experience with Has Been was good. There was no roasting date on the pack but the recommended best time and the longer 'enjoyable' time were quoted in weeks. The omission of the roasting date was probably a printing adjustment error which made the roast date slip off the top of the adhesive label. A phone call to Has Bean brought the clarification but do admit they prefer e-mail contact rather phone and I had to wait a couple of hours for a reply.

5 days after the roasting date (Steve recommended 3 to 6) I had my first couple of gushers which getting the grinder dialled in for the new beans. Once the extraction was OK I found the coffee light in body (which I expected with a light to medium roast), sweet with a light caramel taste having also hints of spice and flowers. There was no 'decaff' kind of flavour which in the past has put me off particular beans. All in all it was nice but not as 'special' as I'd hoped, in fact not as good as my *shock* *horror* regular Lavazza Dek and certainly not (for my wife and myself) worth the extra £5.00 a kg.


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## Guest (Jun 23, 2014)

centaursailing said:


> My experience with Has Been was good. *There was no roasting date on the pack* but the recommended best time and the longer 'enjoyable' time were quoted in weeks. The omission of the roasting date was probably a printing adjustment error which made the roast date slip off the top of the adhesive label. A phone call to Has Bean brought the clarification but do admit they prefer e-mail contact rather phone and I had to wait a couple of hours for a reply.
> 
> 5 days after the roasting date (Steve recommended 3 to 6) I had my first couple of gushers which getting the grinder dialled in for the new beans. Once the extraction was OK I found the coffee light in body (which I expected with a light to medium roast), sweet with a light caramel taste having also hints of spice and flowers. There was no 'decaff' kind of flavour which in the past has put me off particular beans. All in all it was nice but not as 'special' as I'd hoped, in fact not as good as my *shock* *horror* regular Lavazza Dek and certainly not (for my wife and myself) worth the extra £5.00 a kg.


There is a roasting date on every pack!

Oh.. i have now read the rest of the post.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

centaursailing said:


> Once the extraction was OK I found the coffee light in body (which I expected with a light to medium roast), sweet with a light caramel taste having also hints of spice and flowers. There was no 'decaff' kind of flavour which in the past has put me off particular beans. All in all it was nice but not as 'special' as I'd hoped,...


Try grinding finer/pulling shorter.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

centaursailing said:


> . t not as good as my *shock* *horror* regular Lavazza Dek and certainly not (for my wife and myself) worth the extra £5.00 a kg.


Define 'good'.

What dose/output are you running?


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

MWJB said:


> Try grinding finer/pulling shorter.


I would, but only got around 12 tries (when allowing for the morning purge of the grinder) from a 250g bag when dosing at 19g (30g out in 30 seconds), I think the lesson for us is that we prefer a darker roast.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Changing output essentially by grinding finer might have helped. Not every coffee shines at 1:1.6 .


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

I tried this last year as part of IMM. It was lovely brewed, but it was difficult as espresso. No matter how fine I went it was always a bit thin.

Having said that going from Lavazza decaf (I imagine this is dark) to a light/medium hasbean roast is going to be a real shock to the system.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Compared to a darker roast, you'd typically need to grind finer at that ratio, to hit a reasonable level of extraction


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

This coffee is pretty darn hard to extract as espresso , you picked about as tricky a coffee as possible to start with .

from memory 20-> 40-44g to get the sweetness. mega mega fine grind


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

We sipped the espresso first even though we aren't into espresso and then made lattes, which we enjoyed, but as I've said it was a little too light and I certainly didn't get the 'jammie dodger' flavour in either espresso or latte form and that was probably my biggest disappointment having a sweet tooth.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

If you are missing the sweetness then as others said you need to grind a bit finer.


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks to everyone who suggested a finer grind and longer extraction. I'm going to give it another go following your suggestions and this time I'll order 2 bags (maybe even 4) of 250g to allow for the experimentation.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

centaursailing said:


> Thanks to everyone who suggested a finer grind and longer extraction. I'm going to give it another go following your suggestions and this time I'll order 2 bags (maybe even 4) of 250g to allow for the experimentation.


Does it have to be decaf?


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

garydyke1 said:


> Does it have to be decaf?


Yes, for health and sleep reasons.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

You have an easier time dialling this in IMO

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/has-bean-unleaded-espresso-blend-decaffeinated


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

That's a useful link Gary, thanks.


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## chinery (Apr 14, 2014)

Interesting to watch your experiment with the coffee, I missed your question first time round but I personally found it really surprisingly forgiving when brewed as a filter about a year ago. It also was okay through the thing that didn't really count as an espresso machine, I'm keen to have another go now that I have a proper one. A great example of decafs not deserving their reputation, in my opinion.

But FYI in conflict with a statement earlier in the thread, they have had this coffee since 2012, it just comes and goes as most of them do (as coffee is a seasonal thing). They wrote a blog post about it which is well worth reading! http://www.hasblog.co.uk/imparting-taste-and-decaf-process


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

This is miles better now.

Grinder a fair bit finer with: 19g in and 30g out in 45 seconds (not counting pre-infusion time) gives a sweet light latte that is very smooth and, hoping it's not auto-suggestion from the roaster's blurb, but I think I can detect a hint of jammie dodger. Lucky I've bought 4 bags of 250g so I can check and recheck!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Glad to hear you are enjoying it more after a change of approach brewing. Under-extraction can be unpleasant


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

I think I was reluctant to lengthen the extraction time in case the 20% robusta in the blend produced a bitter tasting result.


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

After 3 out of the 4 bags now consumed, I'm happy to report that at 19g in and 30g out in 45 seconds (not counting pre-infusion time) this is delicious in an 8oz latte.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

centaursailing said:


> After 3 out of the 4 bags now consumed, I'm happy to report that at 19g in and 30g out in 45 seconds (not counting pre-infusion time) this is delicious in an 8oz latte.


That's excellent news !


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## frandavi99 (Jun 8, 2014)

garydyke1 said:


> You have an easier time dialling this in IMO
> 
> http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/has-bean-unleaded-espresso-blend-decaffeinated


I've tried both the decafs available on Has Bean and find this blend a lot more forgiving as well. Possibly the decaf in the thread title is tastier when I got it right but the blend is more consistently good IMO too.


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