# New kid seeking beans



## cplev (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi all. First post here, be gentle with me!

I have previously only used ground coffee for espresso and latte but am seeking to expand my horizons, and looking for advice on beans and where to obtain some interesting blends. I'm near London in Bucks but online suppliers are fine.

i use a Gaggia Classic with a Rancilio wand, and have an Iberital MC2 on order. The Gaggia was a bit of a revelation! I may add a homebrew PID to it since I have a technical bent.

Coffee habit: Morning, usually a long black coffee or occasionally a strong latte or a macchiato. Occasional latte midi morning. Afternoon and evening espresso only, usually a double shot. My partner drinks a latte in the morning and if at home, a lunchtime espresso, but nothing in the evening, perhaps an occasional decaf espresso if we have any.

I like rich and fruity tastes and look for this in red wine and enjoy spicy foods.

Can anyone recommend some suitable blends, either for espresso only or for latte drinking?

Thanks for the advice!

Chris


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Hi, and welcome to the forums!

First quick question: have you replaced the pressurised basket with a normal one and a good tamper? if not do that first and you have a good setup.

For beans read this an take your pick:

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?1656-UK-Based-Roasters

Everyone has a different favourite roaster, so have a try of a few and see what you think. I like Has Bean a lot, it's not a blend but their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Wote is quite fruity, or the Burundi. (plus loads more, read their tasting notes).

If it must be a blend and you are willing to treat yourself Square Mile's sweetshop is an explosion of fruit and sweets and worth the money.


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## cplev (Mar 22, 2011)

I'm using the standard basket and tamper supplied with the Gaggia.

What are the advantages of changing basket and tamper?

Thanks for the beans advice; I had spotted Square Miles sweetshop and was toying with ordering this! I'll have a look at Has Bean too.

Chris



aaronb said:


> Hi, and welcome to the forums!
> 
> First quick question: have you replaced the pressurised basket with a normal one and a good tamper? if not do that first and you have a good setup.
> 
> ...


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## Godders (Dec 29, 2012)

Pressurised baskets are quite popular in consumer machines as you can afford to be pretty unfussy with the age and grind of the coffee (as many people are) and still get "ok" results (it generates a kind of faux crema by forcing the coffee through a tiny hole). You will notice a significant increase in quality if you use a regular basket but you will have to be a lot more precise with the grind and freshness of the coffee.

It's much easier to get a good even tamp (important for good extraction) with a decent tamper that has a bit of weight to it and fits the basket well. I highly recommend madebyknock for good quality at a very reasonable price.

http://www.madebyknock.com/buy.html


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

The HasBean tampers are good too at only £20 - replacing the pressurised basket with a standard one will make a much better coffee, but its harder too. Once you have played with the grind on your MC2 a little you will get the hang of it though. I wouldn't spend loads on beans before swapping to a standard basket, you will get forced crema and not a nice extraction.


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## cplev (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks for the advice - although I think I already have standard baskets. The Gaggia is not a new one, I bought second hand and it came with two baskets, neither is the 'single-hole' pressurised variety. So I'm already a little ahead.

I have been using a blade grinder(an old Moulinex) and can get a fairly fine grind if I keep going and also shake it crazily around to help the larger fragments to get broken up. But it is a very erratic method so I am on the lookout for an Iberital MC2 or similar(I did nearly have one ordered but cancelled when the VAT came up on the checkout - I thought maybe I could find a used, superior grinder at a similar price around £140-150).

I've posted in the wanted section and I keep an eye on the various classifieds and ebay, so might get lucky!

I will wait until I find something before I order any decent beans, and in any case will probably tune in the grind with some supermarket beans first.

Chris


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

If you like rich. Try allpress redchurch. It's quite a rich, dark taste but with a bit of a fruity acidity in there too


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

Again, on the rich coffee front, try:

Has Bean's Brazilian Cachoeira, or Ethiopian Wote Yirgacheffe if you want a mental fruit flavour. I personally wouldn't bother with the Burundi (I'm drinking it just now on nightshift and it's still bitter and not that fruity).

Climpson and Sons' Autumn Espresso Blend and the Sidamo Espresso blend if you want something slightly more fruity. These are relatively dark roasts an so easier to get right in some ways.

Union Foundation and Revelation are nice dark blends which are rich in a toffe/licoruice sort of way. Their lighter roasted Rogue is nice too and has more fruity acidity.

I use a Motta tamper which I got from Cream Supplies which is a great company. The Motta equipment is Italian made and nice quality.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

so when you turn the basket upside-down you see lot's of little holes? If so then great! The plastic tamper is useless though, a metal one is a very wise investment.

As for second hand grinder you should easily be able to pick up an MC2 or something better second hand, check here, ebay and gumtree regularly. You will probably need to give it good clean though, and maybe replace the burrs so keep that in mind.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

You wont get the best out of blends like Sweetshop unless you are really prepared to invest time dialling the coffee in. If you are brilliant. Sweetshop is a very funky blend and often people say it doesnt even taste like coffee!

My advice, get something like Hands On coffee 'Lusty Glaze' or 'North coast roast' http://www.hands-on-coffee.co.uk/on-coffee/

Both very easy to dial-in, a forgiving range of tasty shots, work well in milk. Once you master this move on to more fruity / challenging coffees


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## cplev (Mar 22, 2011)

Well all great suggestions, and I will probably start with Has Bean's starter pack which includes Brazilian Cachoeira as mentioned above, before ordering some more exotic coffees. This will enable me to dial in a new grinder and hone the technique a little.

I've just bought a year old Ascaso I1 steel with the 58mm flat burrs and 20w motor, and a set of spare burrs for very little more than the price of the MC2 new, from one of our esteemed members here, so with the addition of a reasonable tamper, I'm good to go, and should hold off upgradeitis for a while.

Thanks once again for all the useful comments and suggestions!

Chris


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## Pdalowsky (Dec 31, 2012)

Chris would love to hear how you get on.

I will be taking delivery of the eureka grinder today and having had zero bean experience I find myself in a similar place.

I like strong bold coffee whereas my wife likes a medium type of coffee.....but when browsing a site like Hasbeens I simply havent a clue what to buy - they all seem to mention things like fruits, cherry, chocolate, and a variety of other wierd tastes, whereas Im really wanting to start off with some nice coffee!!!

I'll have to look further into this myself !!!!

if anyone has any good solid tips of where I should start im all ears too


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## Nimble Motionists (Oct 22, 2012)

You could try this starter pack from SmokeyBarn http://www.smokeybarn.co.uk/product/sbsp1

There's a good range of coffee there and by the end of it you'll have an idea if you prefer your coffee to have more fruit flavour or chocolate or whatever. They also roast slightly darker than Hasbean/Squaremile but nowhere near as dark as Londinium/Rave/Union so would be a good starting point in that respect too as it'd help you work out whether to go for something lighter, darker or similar the next time.


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## cplev (Mar 22, 2011)

Yes, the SmokeyBarn option looks really good and contains the previously mentioned Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. Three varieties from South America and two from Africa. The names are so evocative of the coffee's origin and wonderful to savour on the tongue, hopefully the flavours will echo these qualities!

Chris


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

I'm really pleased with the beans I have received from Smokey Barn recently. The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Dumerso* were lovely. Blueberry goodness - just like drinking a blueberry muffin

*these differ from the beans in the pack but try the pack and then you will pick flavours you like


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

Glenn said:


> I'm really pleased with the beans I have received from Smokey Barn recently. The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Dumerso* were lovely. Blueberry goodness - just like drinking a blueberry muffin
> 
> *these differ from the beans in the pack but try the pack and then you will pick flavours you like


I thought people were saying they tasted like turkish delight?

Either way they still sound like beans I want to try.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

They have a hint of Turkish Delight at the end. The blueberry hits you first. Sweet beans - lovely. Low acidity too


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## mookielagoo (Dec 12, 2012)

I like the sound of Smokey Barn!...Im currently loving the chocolatey, creamy goodness in the Brazilian blend from Happy donkey...(4 bags left!) Yum


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## frustin (Feb 10, 2013)

Nimble Motionists said:


> You could try this starter pack from SmokeyBarn http://www.smokeybarn.co.uk/product/sbsp1
> 
> There's a good range of coffee there and by the end of it you'll have an idea if you prefer your coffee to have more fruit flavour or chocolate or whatever.


Having started with Jailbreak i'm ready to try something different so i bought this starter pack.


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