# Red brick difficulties



## Spooks (Feb 20, 2012)

Ordered myself some red brick after trying at a nearby cafe but finding it a tad more difficult to get anything good yet with very thin crema. To be fair I need to adjust the grind a bit more as I'm getting 2oz in around 35-40 secs but curious if the beans are just too fresh.

Should I give them a week to age before trying again or just adjust grind and retry again


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

When were they roasted?

I find RB better when pulled as a shorter shot - try stopping the pour when it turns thin and pale and aim for between 25 and 35secs (depending on taste) to reach that point.

If your beans are too fresh then you could end up chasing the grind around until they settle, so I'd give them around 5days post roast before I started trying to use them.


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## Spooks (Feb 20, 2012)

Exactly as I thought, only roasted on Thursday so will give em a few more days and return to my faithful HB Blake for a bit.

Many thanks


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

I had a bag a while ago and found they became much more forgiving after at least a week resting. Needed a very fine grind if I remember correctly and like funinacup said, a shorter shot.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Don't be concerned at the prospect of waiting 10 days before using Red Brick.


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

Yeah be patient with the Red Brick, I try and give it a week and a half. From 4 days past roast to 9-10 days I found the grind for a 28second pull went five marks courser, which is a huge adjustment for a Mazzer!

Once it has settled properly you should start finding a few of the huge list of flavour descriptors Square Mile bombard you with, I think 12 in total! I pride myself on a fairly decent palate and it is a gorgeous blend but i certainly didn't find all 12! Syrupy sweetness, dark chocolate, and tropical fruit is about as far as i got!


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## Spooks (Feb 20, 2012)

What a difference a few days makes indeed, wonderful flat whites now. Not great at describing flavours but will try out an espresso or two to see if I can catch a few of the flavours


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

It's also worth trying a longer extraction time... fueled by a tighter grind and/or a slightly larger dose. Try something like:

17.5g in

34g out

35 seconds

The slightly longer brew time will help extract more solids, which will bring out more flavours. The (approx) 50% brew ratio will also help prevent sourness that can come from 60% ratios in lighter roasts & denser beans.


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## stavros (May 4, 2011)

I'm just coming to the end of the bag. I try not to touch Square Mile beans until 5 days post roast these days (good job too as the Postie had mine as the 350g bags are too big for my letterbox). I think this has been my favourite incarnation of the blend, the luxurious cocoa and nuttiness is abundant and comforting, but the fruit notes are so complex my tongue had no idea. I thought of papaya but I'm not entirely sure that's the fruit I'm thinking of. Perhaps even jaffa cake, apricot jam even. Absolute belter of a blend and thoroughly deserves the Stavros two thumbs up rating!


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## Spooks (Feb 20, 2012)

MikeHag said:


> It's also worth trying a longer extraction time... fueled by a tighter grind and/or a slightly larger dose. Try something like:
> 
> 17.5g in
> 
> ...


Using a 15g VST basket so dosing with 16-16.5g as an up dose, extracted 34g in 30 secs and was lovely. The fruit flavours were very present indeed and then into a very dark chocolate.

Thanks for your input Mike, defo usefull as always


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

the latest red brick is available now!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Great to see some love for Red Brick. I have had a number of shots recently that have been bang-on the descriptors.


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## Jugglestruck (Nov 17, 2011)

Okay, I'm off to order a bag of Red Brick......


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

I might pick a bag up from Notes after I finish my current bag of Unkle Funka.


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## thomss (May 9, 2011)

I bought some from 9Bar in Newcastle and they were 2 weeks from roast date and have been great - they did have some which had been roasted only a few days ago but I got the once which had settled


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Had a shot of the old red brick at the pop up flat cap coffee stall just off St giles high street at lunch time. I thought I was doing well with red brick up to that point but the shot was a world apart from what I had been pulling. A mouth feel so thick it was like drinking double cream - in a good way I hasten to add! If you haven't yet then I highly suggest having a shot of red brick from someone who knows what they're doing on top class equipment.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

I was trying to hit the Flat Cap cart near Westminster for a shot of the new Red Brick today, but got snarled up amongst all the Jubilee bullshit en route. Literally arrived as they were packing up. Gutted.


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