# Help me find a suitable coffee bean to use daily. (lever machine)



## Holonomic (Mar 3, 2017)

Hi there, I am new to this hobby/field and have very limited experience with drinking espresso neat, so my pallet isn't very refined so I was wondering if anyone would be so kind to help me find a bean to use as my "go-to". I was surprised on how sensitive each bean is to grind settings (this may be due to the type of machine I have though) so I am now wanting to settle on one bean to use for the next few months.

Ideally I would go to a large roaster or quality coffee shop to taste a varriety but for now I am unable to do so.

First of all here is the equipment I am using:

Espresso Machine: Elektra Micro Casa Leva - Just about got the hang of it and I use the double basket with 15-18g of coffee (depending on the bean) and I am able to get half decent results (I think)

Grinder: Mazzer Robur-E - this grinder is really good, I would hate to think how much coffee I'd have wasted without having the electronic dosser! - Unfortunatly I am going to be replacing this with a Mazzer mini in a couple of weeks as the size of the Robur is just not practical (for me)

So far I have tried only 3 blends from one vendor (other than a bag of illy beans to help me dial in the grinder and practice pulling some shots) - The roaster is http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk - my experience with them as a vendor has been great, the coffee arrived next day and answered my questions about the three blends I chose.

The Blends (disclaimer this is *not* a review and I'm sure any negatives are down to me not pulling it right):

- Mediterranean Mocha Espresso - We really failed to get a shot from this we liked.... I tryed adjusting almost every possible variable and it was always too bitter and both me and the other half didn't like this even in latte' drinks! it was just far too dark/bold/intense for us,

- Hill and Valley Espresso Blend - Again we found this too intense at first but with some adjustment I was able to pull some nice shots from it - It made a lovely Latte' and an enjoyable espresso... but it was still too harsh/intense

- Cherry Cherry - This was an instant hit... The first shot I pulled was a little too sour/acidic nut by the second one it was perfect - this was probably the best espresso I have had to date. It was creamy and sweat (like lightly burnt sugar) with such an amazing mouth feel (it was like liquid velvet) . unlike the others we found the taste enjoyable as a straight espresso and good in milk drinks too - although maybe not as good as the hilll and valley as the flavors were more subtle.

However maybe a touch too high on citrus notes? It is the only one I'd buy again until I am more confident with pulling consistent shots to do the others justice.

I'm sorry for my very poor non-review of the above but clearly you can see we prefer the Cherry Cherry blend







- It was also the only light roast of the three, is what I described above in keeping with light vs dark roasts? If I was to see the flavor notes of the beans before this week I would have said dark bitter coffee would have been our choice but obviously I prefer sweeter blends!

If any one could recommend us a couple of beans to try or maybe you have a favorite light roast (or not) sweet coffee you could point us in the direction of?

Many thanks,

Chris


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

HI Chris

welcome to the forum , surely if you've found some coffee you like then order some more .

Different people have different tastes , me personally at the moment I would Try foundry coffee roasters they always seem to have the nice stuff .

And closer to my way and soon to gain even more recognition is Stangers , I've been told their website is a bit clunky but their beans are certainly not .


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi Chris

You will have found by now that the Robur, good as it is, has a huge amount of retention for home use thus you may find it much harder to dial in as can be 15-20g before you notice the changes.

The other bit that may be at play here is you don't mention how old the beans were when you started in on them? The Hill and valley certainly benefits from at least 10 days rest (as I think does the Mocha) and reduces the harsh edge you are referring to above.

However this does not change the fact that you may prefer a more "fruity" bean and for this you may need to go single origin rather than blend such as the Columbian Veracruz cold fermented from Coffee compass (CC) or if wanting to stay with blend then the sweet Bourbon from CC. If looking for a bit more funk in your life you could try Rocko Mountain from http://www.Foundrycoffeeroasters.com (or any of Lee's offerings are all excellent).

Failing the above, lots from HasBean, Rave, Small Batch etc

Hope of help

John


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## "coffee 4/1" (Sep 1, 2014)

With the Mcal i find 12-14gm at lower temps 72-75c for dark- medium dark roasts, pull best, worth a try.


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## Holonomic (Mar 3, 2017)

Wow, thank you all for the great replies.

The hill and valley was just 1 day old when we first tried it... it does taste much better today however but I put that down to me dialing in the grinder... but come to think of it it isn't far off 9f what I had it as last week







I never knew that beans aged well.. i just assumed fresh = better









As for the point you made about the robur and retention of beans, you are spot on. Which is why I think I have got through almost 1.5kg within a week







or maybe we have just been enjoying too much coffee.

Im more than happy to order more of the cherry cherry blend but I kinda want to explore a few more before settling on one (yes I know that contradicts the whole point of me posting this thread).

I think I have a good basis to go off for now but do you think I should stick to single origin beans for now to know how each one normally tastes or should I not?

I have not really got into changing the temp of the mcal yet as I think I have enough variables to play with for the time being









Out of interest is it "normal" to have a staple and then treat yourself to something new every so often or do people tend to jump between a variety? Obviously this is going to be do2n to the individual but I'm curious as to how you guys choose your beans..

Many thanks,

Chris


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

Hello and welcome Chris,

To answer your original question, my 'go to' bean is CCs Mystery Mk5. I can drink this anytime and it is hard to get a bad cup even when the parameters are some way off. Plus, it's very cost effective. However, we both like to experiment far and wide, it's part of the fun. We both like the darker end of the spectrum though so, from the sound of your earlier notes, you might find it a bit dark. On the other hand, I'm inspired enough by your notes to try Cherry Cherry the next time I order from CC.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Rave - Fudge blend -

having said this I think that trying out various coffee S,O and blends from quality suppliers is half the fun. I would also try signature blend as well.


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## Holonomic (Mar 3, 2017)

Rob666 said:


> Hello and welcome Chris,
> 
> To answer your original question, my 'go to' bean is CCs Mystery Mk5. I can drink this anytime and it is hard to get a bad cup even when the parameters are some way off. Plus, it's very cost effective. However, we both like to experiment far and wide, it's part of the fun. We both like the darker end of the spectrum though so, from the sound of your earlier notes, you might find it a bit dark. On the other hand, I'm inspired enough by your notes to try Cherry Cherry the next time I order from CC.


We did not see the mystery coffee on our first viewing (in fact we just went to the espresso range) - at that price I think we shall be giving it a go! I assume the actualy beans change from time to time though? From the description it reads as if it is a bit of a ploy to get rid of certain beans? (not a bad thing) I also get the impression if I was to ask CC this directly I'd get a reply a long the lines of "you tell us"







- The price point it very good however! so I think a bag of that along with some more cherry cherry will be our next order







(either 2 bags of cherry cherry or 1 and a bag of bourbon, which we avoided last time due to the whiskey connotations which sprung to mind - I love whiskey though)

I do suggest you try the Cherry Cherry blend - I'd be interested to see what someone else thinks of it. In our mind it is leaps and bounds above the mocha from CC... we had a shot of hill and valley this morning and it was actually much better!



jimbojohn55 said:


> Rave - Fudge blend -
> 
> having said this I think that trying out various coffee S,O and blends from quality suppliers is half the fun. I would also try signature blend as well.


Thank you - I had not looked at the Rave website yet, I like the layout and the fact you can search by flavour groups (which is ideal for someone new) - I think I may get a 250g bag of the fudge and the Sumatra Jagong Village either before our next CC order or mid way through the month of our next CC order.

I agree with trying different blends being half the fun and I probably will continue doing so in the future, but with so many variables to adjust for now I think I should try to settle on one bean









Thank you all


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I haven't bought any for a while as I've got too many others at the min, but my go to beans for espresso were the Carvetii espresso blend and single origins.


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