# DSOL Banging Christmas Cracker Coffee from Coffee Compass!



## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Ok you lucky, lucky people. Those of you who have been full members (paid up for a three month subscription) will have waiting for you when you get home, a little pressie from Coffee Compass - a special darker offering, especially formulated for the DSOL club and poetically titled 'The Darker Side Banging Christmas Cracker Coffee'

Thanks to Richard Jansz at Coffee Compass and Dave Coffeechap for organising this one.

Drink and be merry!!


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

Thanks all. Can't wait


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

We had some funds left over from all the subscribers so you should all get a lovely Merry Christmas 500g freebie from one of the favourite DSOL roasters, many thanks to Richard at Coffee Compass for coming up with this little beauty and of many thanks to you all for your support and continued support in the darker side of life.


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## gtanny (Jan 6, 2013)

Thanks very much, I was one of the original members but unfortunately had to pull out, also the reason I'm very inactive on these forums presently... Hoping to change that next year... I received a couple of bags and thought I would pop on to say a massive thank you... Looking forward to giving these a go once my current rave beans run out in the next couple of days.

Merry Xmas


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Thanks Richard, Milanski and Dave for organising this. Lovely surprise!


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

urbanbumpkin said:


> Thanks Richard, Milanski and Dave for organising this. Lovely surprise!


I didn't have much to with this one so I'll let Richard and Dave take all the thanks


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

They have just arrived as promised - together with a nice surprise! Looking forward to tucking into these


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## bignorry (Mar 19, 2013)

Thanks everyone, a really great gesture


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Cheers CC and CC!

And Milanski


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Ha! Brilliant! Two wonderful bags of coffee and a little extra prezzie of a coffee compass led key ring torch. Absolutely amazing. Thank you to COffeechap and the DSOL crew and thank you as well to Richard at coffee compass. You're a great roaster and you really got the DSOL ethos and on top of that went over and above the call of duty. Magnificent

I'm stunned, truly stunned and utterly delighted


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## Spukey (Nov 4, 2012)

Thank you!


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## badger28 (Jan 5, 2013)

CamV6 said:


> Ha! Brilliant! Two wonderful bags of coffee and a little extra prezzie of a coffee compass led key ring torch. Absolutely amazing. Thank you to COffeechap and the DSOL crew and thank you as well to Richard at coffee compass. You're a great roaster and you really got the DSOL ethos and on top of that went over and above the call of duty. Magnificent
> 
> I'm stunned, truly stunned and utterly delighted


I second this whole heartedly.


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## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

my first CC delivery arrived today so am really looking forward to discovering what makes them so highly praised on here. Wish I'd got into the DSOL a little earlier as well!


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## Big Tony (Dec 18, 2012)

Amaze balls! Walked in to find two bags of free coffee and a torch!! I want to join the DSOL club again lol. Thanks guys, top stuff


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## evoman (May 13, 2014)

I was surprised to find these in with all the Christmas packages piled up in the porch when I got home yesterday. I assume that the two bags are the same beans, but they have different coloured labels so I thought that there might be some secret difference (the info on the labels appears to be identical).


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## evoman (May 13, 2014)

Ah yes, and the torch. My son saw it and said 'that's mine!'. We'll have to fight it out.


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## MarkyP (Jan 10, 2013)

Nothing here for me...yet!


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Delivery update from Greg at Coffee Compass:

Mrboots2u - Awaiting Collection from the Brookhouse Post Office

666Tyler - Awaiting Collection from the Cranwell Post Office

These next three I'll chase:

Marky P - Out for delivery

Coffeechap - Out for delivery

Blackstone - Out for delivery

Daren - Delivered to number 61, so I assume they've dropped it round

GeordieBoy - Unable to deliver as the address was unoccupied apparently.....if you can check the address and get back to me. [edit: address was given here so I will PM you with it in a sec GeordieBoy]

Other than that all have been successfully delivered. Not too bad.


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Yeah I moved about a week ago, I'll PM you an address


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Thanks

not had a card from the post people to say where it was ....

They normally leave everything in the bench of doom for me outside the house

must be a new person for xmas...

Cheers ill go get it later

Thanks Martin


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Got mine (posted in the Postie thread). Big thanks to CCompas and DSOL organisers


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## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

Is there any of this available to buy? Was late to the DSOL so only did the last guest slot, but would be interested in a bag of this for continued taste testing.

Thanks


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Bigpikle said:


> Is there any of this available to buy? Was late to the DSOL so only did the last guest slot, but would be interested in a bag of this for continued taste testing.
> 
> Thanks


I've got a stash galore at the moment.. When I collect mine happy to send you one of my bags ...

+ we got two each yeah?


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Yep two each.


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

Just for reference, still no sign of mine


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## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

MrBoots - that would be amazing. You are a star. Let me know what you want for them.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

According to Richard at Coffee Compass yours, Blackstone, are 'out for delivery'

Let me know if they are still not arriving over the next day or so & I will have another word.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm also quite well stocked now so I've posted one onto El Carajillo who's a fan of Coffee Compass (and as a bit of a thank you for his help). I'm looking forward to trying them out.


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

ronsil said:


> According to Richard at Coffee Compass yours, Blackstone, are 'out for delivery'
> 
> Let me know if they are still not arriving over the next day or so & I will have another word.


Cheers. No worries yet as I have plenty of beans in stock


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

My view is that these will need at least 10 days rest given they are quite dark.

I'm enjoying these I must say.

Anyone going to guess yet what they are?

Going by the fact that there are beans of different sizes, some huge, some smaller it's definitely a blend.

My guess is that this is the Brighton lanes blend (although I don't recall seeing the really big beans in that blend before) but taken a little darker than normal?

As for process I'm finding in the L1 these want a surprisingly fine grind that I'd normally expect to use on a light/medium roast type bean and I'm using 16g in an 18g VST basket getting 30g out in about 25 seconds from first drip, ending up with oodles of crema, lots of body and big bold flavours


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## MarkyP (Jan 10, 2013)

Picked mine up from the parcelforce depot this morning... Thanks to ron, Milanski, coffee chap and coffee compass for the early Christmas presents!


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Well, opened mine today. A large, lovely smelling and looking bean. Made an espresso, very nice, dark and earthy taste but I am not going to describe more than that as I am useless! I then made a cappuccino and for me, it was even better!


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

I haven't opened mine yet. How dark did they come out dfk?


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> Well, opened mine today. A large, lovely smelling and looking bean. Made an espresso, very nice, dark and earthy taste but I am not going to describe more than that as I am useless! I then made a cappuccino and for me, it was even better!


Would you describe them as Christmasy?


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## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> I've got a stash galore at the moment.. When I collect mine happy to send you one of my bags ...
> 
> + we got two each yeah?


If you still want to pass one on then just et me know what you want for it?

thanks again


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

They are a nice dark brown and very even. Not dark dark but certainly about right. I closed my eyes as I took my first sip and I was instantly transported away to Lapland.......


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Land of Lapdancers!


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

First go with these. 18g VST 28g out in 25s. These are nice I need to extend extraction time only a little I think. Really gloopy coffee with thick crema. Looking good!


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Finally got mine. Much appreciated behind-the-scenes efforts from Milanski and Coffee Compass to get it to me


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Bigpikle said:


> MrBoots - that would be amazing. You are a star. Let me know what you want for them.


Finally picked mine up.. Pm me I'll post when the Po is next open


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## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

thanks to MrBoots I got a bag of these today and they went straight into the grinder after a good clean.

18g in, 43g out in 25 sec - lovely thick gloopy result with good crema and nice rounded rich flavour. Had been using some beans I was given at Xmas that were very sweet but also very acidic, and I really appreciated the big reduction in acidity in these beans - not quite sure which flavours I've found yet but much more experimentation to follow.

Thanks again to MrBoots


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

Guys, still no sign of this. I thought it was at the depot but turned out to be something else


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Into my first bag of these

Very smooth, not overly roasty and a nice sweetness to the coffee

Man flu means that I cant pick out many flavours but I'm enjoying them (if that makes any sense at all)


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## Bigpikle (Oct 14, 2014)

bit more experimentation last night and today saw a 18g into 50g in 25 sec with milk and I had a rich dark sweet after dinner drink. Put them through the LPE today ground a little finer and it worked well, so will keep at it tomorrow to see how they work. Good to find a darker roast I can make work really easily in both the Gaggia and Pavoni.


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

Was finally able to pick these up today. Turns out the staff at the post office are just muppets. Despite a view visits they kept claiming the parcel was not there. Any, thanks all for the beans and torch


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

I've finished my bags now. Enjoyed these mostly as Flat Whites (21g into 40g, 28s). Really cut through the milk well with a deep chocolate flavour (hardly any roastiness at all).

Surprised how different the beans were in size in the pack however I must say the shots were all pretty consistent so didn't have any real impact on the end result. Did we ever find out what they are?


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

Only had a few shots so far and haven't quite dialled them in. Also really surprised at the size of bean. Will update with more thoughts after experimenting tomorrow


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Yep the size of the bean was interesting, struggled to get some into the HG one. Found them really good though.


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## evoman (May 13, 2014)

I went through a bunch of my stash from this set using a Aeropress - was a great bean for a straight black coffee, as long as I didn't overdue the amount I used per pot (didn't weigh these, just experimented with how much I added and settled on a relatively light dose).


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## stevenh (May 15, 2014)

Nothing from postie for me... running low on existing beans now


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

have gone through the first bag in a matte of days which is quite quick for me. am getting a lovely sweetness to this bean


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Blackstone said:


> have gone through the first bag in a matte of days which is quite quick for me. am getting a lovely sweetness to this bean


What dose/ extraction are you doing?


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

urbanbumpkin said:


> What dose/ extraction are you doing?


18g in, 30g out over 30 secs. what about yourself?


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Did we ever find out what this offering was in the end?


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

CamV6 said:


> Did we ever find out what this offering was in the end?


Have asked the question. Will post when I hear back from Richard at Coffee Compass


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Nice one thanks Ron


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Here is an extract from Richard's reply. Excellent comms as always with this Roaster:



> *The Christmas cracker blend was made from 3 separate roasts of equal proportions . *
> 
> *
> The first constituent was a Genuine Panama Geisha . We were incredibly fortunate to get a small lot of this amazing and rare and very expensive coffee. This had to be roasted a touch lighter in order to retain its special character and mouth feel . *
> ...


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

hmm, interesting. a bespoke blend! thanks ron


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