# Celtic Blend - new fairtrade blend from The Coffee Bean



## coffeebean

Celtic Blend is a new fairtrade coffee from The Coffee Bean. It is a well balanced, slightly sweet, aromatic blend, freshly roasted and available in cases of 10 x 500g bags. You can have Celtic Blend for £8.20/kilo as wholebean or £8.25/kilo for ground coffee. Minimum order quantity is 3 cases of either variety.

Anyone interested?

Andy


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## MikeHag

coffeebean said:


> Celtic Blend is a new fairtrade coffee from The Coffee Bean. It is a well balanced, slightly sweet, aromatic blend, freshly roasted and available in cases of 10 x 500g bags. You can have Celtic Blend for £8.20/kilo as wholebean or £8.25/kilo for ground coffee. Minimum order quantity is 3 cases of either variety.
> 
> Anyone interested?
> 
> Andy


Yes please Andy. How best to pay?


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## coffeebean

Hi Mike,

I've just put it up on the website, so easiest to buy through that! Here's the link http://www.thecoffeebean-vanandroaster.co.uk/Fresh-Coffee.html

cheers Mike! Hope you like it!!

all the best

Andy


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## MikeHag

oooh hellfire... sorry Andy, I didn't see that 3 case minimum thing until now









Is there a way to buy a kilo?


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## coffeebean

there will be!!! Those prices are wholesale prices with quite a saving per kilo for buying in bulk! Selling individual bags will be a touch more expensive (£13.50/kilo). If that hasn't put you off too much, I should have this option available soon!

cheers

Andy


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## MikeHag

sounds good. cheers


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## coffeebean

There we go! You can now buy 500g single bags for £7.00 each here.......

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


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## MikeHag

Ordered









Do you have any recipes that you recommend? If not no worries, I'll have a fiddle









Did you mention previously what the blend is made up from?

Cheers Andy.


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## coffeebean

Cheers Mike! I was out with the van at a football game yesterday so will pop it in the post tomorrow! I won't be too specific, but the blend is made up of a few South American arabica beans and a little African robusta. I don't really go for robusta beans on their own (bit of an aquired taste I think!!), but in a blend they add a little bit of something extra without overpowering the overall taste. Thanks again for the order - if you like it tell all your friends.........;-)


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## MikeHag

Heya Andy. Celtic Blend arrived today. Also received a delivery from another roaster, groaned at the paper bags (sorry - it's becoming a pet peeve!), and was pleased to then find yours arriving in a valve bag. (BTW have you considered using resealable ones? Not a chore, I just put a bag clip on the top.)

Just thought I'd post a quick note, as I know that if I were the roaster of a new blend I'd be chomping at the bit to hear what people thought







Hope you don't mind my posting this.

I like that you have the roasting date on the bag, and that considering you're a small roaster in Wales and I'm in Scotland you still managed to post the beans to me to arrive 5 days after roast - which is fine in my view.

The roast is darker than I'm used to. (City roast? Maybe a little further?) It seems there's a trend at the moment to roast light to medium, to accentuate acidity, so it was great to try a fresh darker roast for a change. As a straight espresso, the roast makes a big difference in the cup. Your notes said "well balanced, slightly sweet, aromatic" and I wouldn't disagree. First off, I think there's quite a light mouthfeel... lighter than I expected from a dark roast. Not thin, just light, which was a relief now I come to think of it, since I guess I expected a dark roast to be a little cloying, but it wasn't at all. Taste-wise, sweet... yes... but I think the roast has given it a rich, bittersweet quality - quite pleasant, and definitely not just bitter. Nutty, Lightly toasted wholemeal bread (in a good way... not burnt), Dark chocolate - brown sugar - I wish I knew what molasses taste like because I have the feeling it would be in that region. It's very balanced, not particularly complex, although I think maybe you're right that the robusta is adding something to the mix as there's a flavour component I can't recognise. I'm not used to robusta (another new experience







) and I'm not having any issues with it being there. As I'd expect with a dark roast, there's little or no acidity and to be honest I'm missing it a little. I don't particularly like bright, zingy espressos, but I'd be interested in your thoughts and whether you've considered raising the brightness a little, either through the roast or the blend. That said, I'm enjoying it! I wonder what those who are fans of Italian espresso would think of it. I think it does have that 'traditional' feel to it.

Anyway, well done Andy! Best of luck with it.


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## coffeebean

Thanks Mike, glad you like it! Thanks for the feedback too - much appreciated!


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## coffeebean

Due to demand for Celtic Blend from both wholesale and retail customers - I have come up with a price list to suit everyone (hopefully!!)

Quantity Price

1-9 bags £7.00 per 500g bag

1-2 cases £65 per case

(£6.50 per 500g bag)

3 cases + £45 per case

(£4.50 per 500g bag)

you can try it here....http://www.thecoffeebean-vanandroaster.co.uk/Fresh-Coffee.html


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## MikeHag

My wife liked Celtic Blend in her latte, by the way. I use her as my joe-public-barometer


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## coffeebean

Your wife obviously has excellent taste!! (in my totally unbiased opinion............!!)


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