# How I chose my 1st beans!



## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Although I've been reading with interest about the different beans you guys use, I have to confess I have absolutely no idea what on earth it all means! I know that beans are grown in different areas, can be blended with other beans or be single origin and can be roasted to different degrees but how this translates into taste and more importantly, what beans should I buy has confused me.

So, even though I'm giving in to typical female stereotyping, I decided to pick my beans based on what names I liked the best - yes I really did just say that! - albeit I did take into account a little of what some of you have said and chose:

250g of Uncle Funka

250g of Dr Strangelove

I realise that picking something based purely on it's name has never worked for me in the past (think Grand National!) but I'm looking forward to tasting them.

However, as I've never used an espresso machine before, I've decided to buy a tin of Costa beans to practice on. Reasoning is that I get to practice dialling in, tamping, pulling a shot without wasting decent beans. Plus as I've ordered the above beans from Extract and they roast on a Wednesday, I'll need to wait a few days before using them won't I?


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Haha like the Grand National metaphor!

To be fair though, sampling new beans and trying something you wouldn't normally go for is part of the fun and can take you to new tastes/places, so why not by name. Going for a coffee subscription is a good way of experiencing a great variety and offers good value too. HasBean are good for this, plus you can sample along with Steve in the In My Mug.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

I'll second the In My Mug subscription idea. I did this at first when I had no idea what to order and it gave me 3 months of learning with expert tuition from Steve.

You've chosen well with Dr Strangelove and Uncle Funka. I'm on UF at the moment and really enjoying it.


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Cheers for that, my birthday coming up and I never know what to say when people ask for present ideas but I do now!

How long after roasting should you leave the beans? All sounds very technical about rates of CO2 etc.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Hi Obsy. Where are you based? Perhaps there's a roaster near you where you could buy fresh beans and chat about different tastes etc. TBH it doesnt really matter where you start because you'll probably soon try lots of different things and work out what sort of things you like. Welcome to the forum









Oh... for espresso give them at least 5 days

Edit: And I now see you're from Teeside. If you're ever up in Newcastle you could have a chat with the guys at http://www.pumphreys-coffee.co.uk/ I'm sure they would help you tons. They also do training, which is definitely a great way to get on the right track.


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

Unkle Funka is delicious. It's a great choice.

I think the idea behind Extracts roasting on Wednesday is that they should be degassed enough for you to start enjoying at the weekend. I started to dial in the day after roasting


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Cheers! I visited Pumphrey's last time I was in Newcastle and I had lunch there and I have to say, the coffee was so poor I couldn't drink it, had an awful taste, quite sour I thought. However, the beans side of things may be very different so thanks for the tip. Looking forward to getting the beans now.


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## kiwigirl42 (May 23, 2012)

I'm halfway through my first ever bag of 'proper fresh roasted' beans just now. They are Brazil Fazenda Tapera Natural beans from Hasbean and are delicious. I'm brewing them up in my Aeropress and they make lovely lattes - smooth and chocolately. I have no idea what I'm going to order next though - I can see how you can get stuck just using one bean!


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

kiwigirl42 said:


> I have no idea what I'm going to order next though - I can see how you can get stuck just using one bean!


If I remember right those beans were quite chocolatey and smooth. You could try something completely different to get a picture of the variety out there. Perhaps a nice fruity, acidic African bean.


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Managed to get a few drinkable shots (in lattes







) using the 2 month old Costa beans and my rubbish grinder. New grinder arrived from Bella Barista with a complimentary bag of their Italia Creme beans which were about 6 weeks old. Thought I'd use these to dial in the grinder and although I managed to dial them in, I really don't like the taste of these at all. Very pungent smelling bean that was stronger once ground, with a really strong and quite bitter taste. I thought they also had a lingering aftertaste that took a while to wash away with water. Tried different doses, pulled longer and shorter shots, tried masking in milk and I still couldn't get away with them. Decided to bin the remainder (about 80g) and try dialling in the Unkle Funka after cleaning the grinder before my new found enthusiasm went down the drain.

Opened the bag to a lovely smell of slightly fruity beans, much more pleasant. Left the settings the same, ground 18g in my double basket and pulled a double shot in 26 secs. Took a good sniff of the shot, smelt much more to my liking and took a sip. Blew my socks off! I know the beans are 5 days post roast and it's the first time in my life I've had fresh coffee but blow me sideways, I never imagined that a decent fresh bean, ground on a decent burr grinder just before pulling the shot could taste so bloomin' marvellous. I've never been able to drink espresso as I've always found it bitter for my palate but I know why now! So the double shot was drank as it was, with fruity notes dancing over my tongue in some sort of taste explosion and I pulled another for my nightly latte (old habits die hard) and it made a huge difference to that too. It's a super bean and I'm really looking forward to trying the Dr Strangelove now. Enthusiasm is restored!

Sorry for the overexcitement but I'm astounded!


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

That's great. It is a bit of a revelation the first decent espresso eh? Especially when its beans that don't have an overly smokey roast flavour to them - I imagine this is what the comp Italian beans were like. Five days post roast is a good amount of time to start using beans for espresso. It varies bean to bean, but if you're getting lots of bubbles in your shots, it could mean they need more resting time to 'de-gas'.


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Indeed. I want to introduce every coffee drinker I know to decent espresso now! The colour of the Italian beans was really dark too so I'm thinking, rightly or wrongly that dark roasts aren't for me. Am going to get a IMM subscription so I can try different beans but am happy with the Funka for now.

Shot poured lovely and evenly, no thinning or treacly parts and the crema was smooth, even coloured and not gassy. Not many bubbles at all so I'm glad I waited. How quickly should I use the beans - I don't want them going stale and losing too much of that lovely flavour?


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi Obsy,

I'm a massive Extract fan and Uncle Funka has become my all time favorite espresso blend! You seem to be just like me, I think i sometimes get on peoples nerves as i'm always 'Excited' about something but I recon its the best way to be!

I'm chuffed to bits for you that you went for the Funka and are loving it. Dr Strangelove is always fantastic aswell, it is seasonal and Dave will buy in 2 bags of each component to make it up and when its gone he will release another completely different blend under the Dr Strangelove banner, this current one is really delicious and im sure you will love it, compared to the previous permutations it has a much wider sweet spot too so you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. Dr Stangelove(I think 4 or 5 variations ago) was to me my first experience of what i define as the 'God Shot' and the reason for my coffee alter-ego/Twitter name/email name of 'Dr Strangebean'

As for how long to keep it, for espresso use depending on how its stored it should remain at its best for a couple of weeks. keep it in the bag with the top rolled over and sealed with a peg and in a air-tight box in a cool place that's well away from any source of moisture, herbs, spices, onions, garlic etc and definately not in the fridge or freezer!!!

A Warm Welcome to Coffee Forums and always be excited about Coffee!!


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Cheers Outlaw! Life's too short to be dull and without decent coffee! Only took me ages to figure that out!

Thanks for the info on the Dr Strangelove - am trying it tomorrow - it would have confused me no end if I'd ordered some more later on and it wasn't the same! I'd have been changing my variables trying to get the same taste which would never have happened and I'd have gone mad!

I knew about not storing it in the fridge/freezer - some advantages of lurking on here for a while before I spent £££.

I'd just tasted that sweet fruity taste of Unkle Funka when my sister rang - was so excited I ended up singing a song and changing a word to coffee! Love it!


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