# Make your own blend with the Roast Den



## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I haven't seen any discussion of this company on the forums, so thought I'd bring it up. I recently ordered some beans from the Roast Den (http://www.roast-den.com/) I was pretty impressed with the service as they were quick to contact me and despatch my order. I also thought I'd have a go at the bespoke blending from the website. I haven't tried the blend yet, but really liked the concept - you can choose your own beans and roast level etc. and they'll do it for you. I'd love to pop in to them sometime to go through it but for now settled on a couple of fairly simple and relatively heavily roasted options.


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## Lawman (Jul 26, 2013)

Just found this post. I am just getting into coffee and found this place (2 mins from my work). The guys are very helpful and seem to know their stuff. I was only popping in for a bag and ended up spending my whole lunch hour there, tasting the coffee and a good chat. I selected my beans using the interactive touchscreen and 10 minutes later the beans had been roasted before my very eyes. I was impressed. I wonder if there has been any others who have been/sampled there coffees?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

They seemed very helpful when I communicated with them by email. I have to say the blend I made myself online wasn't great - but I'll definitely come back to it once I've got a bit more experience under my belt. Similarly if I have the opportunity to go in and chat and make the selections then I'll definitely do that.


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## Soll (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for the link! I'm liking the look of their blends may give them a whirl


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

What's the quality of the greens. It may that im can't see on the phone properly but are the beans you choose just " Ethiopians ? "


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Yeah Martin seems to be that there is no more info than that online. @jeebsy have you heard of these guys? Based in East Kilbride?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

In too old......

"e Fantasy Collection is the latest coffee blend selection from the Roast-Den. We developed these coffees specifically for the 16 to 30 year old demographic. Dramatic packaging encases modern coffee blends that we believe the 'younger' coffee drikers will really enjoy. For anyone opening their senses to the world of coffee, the Fantasy collection will offer a wonderous entry. The coffees are, of course, not limited to the more youthful, we would encourage our mature customers to rejuvinate with the fantasy blends. We ship the Fantasy Collection in 1Kg stay fresh bags which provide approximately 125 servings using a standard 8g dose per 125 ml serving."


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Ok then! :/


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

I asked jeebsy and rob about these guys the other day after they popped up on a "bespoke roaster" search.

Don't think either of our guys on the spot had heard of them.

Didn't pursue it any further


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I hadn't and I judged a book by its cover with the website. Not really interested.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

8g dose per 125ml serving? I don't even...


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

risky said:


> 8g dose per 125ml serving? I don't even...


1:16 ratio? What could go wrong?

We need someone to refract that.


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## Dallah (Jan 31, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> In too old......
> 
> "e Fantasy Collection is the latest coffee blend selection from the Roast-Den. We developed these coffees specifically for the 16 to 30 year old demographic. Dramatic packaging encases modern coffee blends that we believe the 'younger' coffee drikers will really enjoy. For anyone opening their senses to the world of coffee, the Fantasy collection will offer a wonderous entry. The coffees are, of course, not limited to the more youthful, we would encourage our mature customers to rejuvinate with the fantasy blends. We ship the Fantasy Collection in 1Kg stay fresh bags which provide approximately 125 servings using a standard 8g dose per 125 ml serving."


Sort of like the way they changed the programming of Radio 1 to capture the youth market and get rid of us old folks. I wonder what makes a coffee especially appealing to the 16 - 30 demographic. Are they perhaps best in a frozen crappa-frappa-cino?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Anyway . Let's see what the coffee tastes like . Personally I'd like a little less marketing speak and gimmick and to know about more about the actual beans. Doesn't preclude them being any good , but interesting there isn't a huge focus on the beans themselves .... Just the novelty of own blend and yuth appeal. Let's us know what there are like jlarkin ( but don't do 8g in 125ml would be my advice )


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> In too old......
> 
> "e Fantasy Collection is the latest coffee blend selection from the Roast-Den. We developed these coffees specifically for the 16 to 30 year old demographic. Dramatic packaging encases modern coffee blends that we believe the 'younger' coffee drikers will really enjoy.


"Efantasy" this is the exact type of marketing done by someone who doesn't fit into the demographic he's trying to sell.

And dramatic packaging?

Is this a happy meal?

While I admit to being very impressed by Square Miles mail order packaging; I don't think I've ever bought coffee on the basis of how the packaging moved my youthful and fragile heart.

Having said that- the HB #SSSSSSSS packaging always gives me a flutter.

Maybe they should change it next year to Pavlov's Testing Cache?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I think at least they're trying something different and are being a little bold in some of the packaging. I'm not sure that people who are deadly serious about their coffee, as a lot of people are on here, are necessarily the audience they're going for but that's just my reading of it.

Can't really comment on the coffee because I ordered it back in May. The blends I chose weren't great but I'd selected pretty heavy roasts and that was probably a mistake. I had one of their blends called El Diablo. I think I mainly used it in aeropress and it was pretty straightforward, bold coffee. My friend who takes milk and 2 sugars thought it was great.

As already mentioned the communication from them was very prompt and they were despatched quickly so that side was good. I'd try again but have a lot of others to that I was to try as well


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

ridland said:


> Sort of like the way they changed the programming of Radio 1 to capture the youth market and get rid of us old folks. I wonder what makes a coffee especially appealing to the 16 - 30 demographic. Are they perhaps best in a frozen crappa-frappa-cino?


I hate to say it, but the programming of Radio 1 didn't change, you just got older and started using phrases like "call this music? In my day we had proper music".

And so begins the slow spiral of descent through Radio 2 (with occasional Talk Sport for the outrage), Radio 4 (with a bit of John Suchet on Classic FM 'cos his brother is very good in that Poirot) and finally the local BBC station, because they talk nice and clearly and offer excellent seasonal gardening tips.

NB. this does not include the mid-life crisis where you suddenly start listening to cool kids music, dressing in something not from M&S, get the urge to try a bit of weed (but worry that you heard a recent report on BBC Breakfast linking it to premature dementia) and get chills watching "American Beauty" - oh yes, and take up coffee as a hobby


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Just googled Efantasy - I am now expecting a call from the IT dept.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

NickdeBug said:


> I hate to say it, but the programming of Radio 1 didn't change, you just got older and started using phrases like "call this music? In my day we had proper music".


True. Radio 1's demographic has always been 14 to late 20's and has never changed. I'm 41 now and still listen at some point every day, which probably doesn't say anything very good about me but at the end of the day I love new music and that and xfm are the best ways for me to hear it.

The funny thing for me with American beauty is that when I watched it when it first came out I'd have been about 24 and that's when I got the chills. I was totally convinced that's how my life would end up. Absolutely certain. Now I can watch it and relax cos I'm of that age now and have no urge to go off the rails and start smoking weed again and shagging teenagers. I suppose that's one of the few advantages of having a...er...colourful youth.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

risky said:


> 8g dose per 125ml serving? I don't even...


 I've just bought a V60 and I've been doing it with a ratio of 15 to 16 grams of coffee to 250ml of water. Am I doing something wrong because that would make their advice spot on for this method?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

cold war kid said:


> I've just bought a V60 and I've been doing it with a ratio of 15 to 16 grams of coffee to 250ml of water. Am I doing something wrong because that would make their advice spot on for this method?


Its hard to tell , as on the website it doesn't give details of the brew method they are recommending for this dose , they do make reference to Americano etc on some of them though


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Ive found more info on the coffee though

All 402 of them ....

http://www.roast-den.com/cart/cart2.php


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> Ive found more info on the coffee though
> 
> All 402 of them ....
> 
> http://www.roast-den.com/cart/cart2.php


402? Is that every possible combination or something? Link doesn't work for me.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

jlarkin said:


> 402? Is that every possible combination or something? Link doesn't work for me.


Yeah i think its all the blends and everything

Try this page..

http://www.roast-den.com/shop.html

then click the filter button


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

The link wont work because it needs boots's cookies to load his basket.

402 coffees seems like a lot, no way all of it can be specialty grade.


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## "coffee 4/1" (Sep 1, 2014)

4 billion blends,Wow where to start


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> Yeah i think its all the blends and everything
> 
> Try this page..
> 
> ...


Yeah that works: Yikes. Ah, although it has each size variation etc. so they have Robusta 200g and then further down 4 packs of 1 kg etc. it's a funny old way for the shop to work but there you go.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

If they are a serious operation, they website isn't doing them any favours.


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> If they are a serious operation, they website isn't doing them any favours.


*cough*rave*cough*


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I had a look at clicked 500 gm bag and Indonesia. It has 16 offerings from that region alone. Now, something tells me we are not seen the whole story here. They could not carry that stock level. Many of the blends seem to appear in multiple regions though


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## Lawman (Jul 26, 2013)

I will try and get some more information on beans etc next time I pop in. I did wonder why they didn't specify the type of bean, just the country of origin. Almost like saying all the beans from one country are the same variety. I also wonder how they can match a bespoke blend to your taste using their interactive computer thingy.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Most of the 402 seems like blends .


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

The lady in the pic on the hompeage, I like her hair. She looks friendly. I started to read the shelf life bit now I'm back here.

It was a short romance.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I emailed them to ask about roast levels. Please read their reply with a Scottish accent

Dear Davrud,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your coffee.

As you mention, we have a huge range of options and sometimes that can be confusing but we are always happy to help narrow down the options to something that individual customers should like.

Knowing that you like Indonesian coffees that are quite highly roasted is helpful, it is also important to know how you are going to brew the coffee when looking for something suitable. An espresso coffee would not be as good in a cafetierre or filter machine and a blend designed optimally for a pour over may not be so great as an espresso, so if you could tell us the method you normally employ to brew your coffee we can make some suggestions.

Regarding roast levels, all our coffees are hand roasted, so you are not limited to the 1-2-3-4-5 levels commonly found in supermarkets, we can roast to anything from just roasted at 196 Deg C to fully black roasted at 255 Deg C. Most dark roast coffees are around the 230 Deg C mark. The higher roast levels draw out the olls so unless you are specifically looking for an oily coffee we would suggest a range of 225-235 Deg C (known as Full City Roast to Vienna Roast).

We can offer over 20 single origin coffees and have thousands of blends. You can even make your own blend at our laboratory or on our website. We have some nice Sumatra Mandheling and Lintong coffees and we also stock a beautiful single estate Java.

If you are not making espresso then I would suggest the Java.

If you would like a specific roast level for any coffee on our website, just leave us a note with your order or eMail us when your order is placed and we will roast to that level.

We appreciate you for your interest in the Roast-Den, have a great day.

Roast-Den Ltd., Bespoke Coffee Blends

e: [email protected]

w: http://www.roast-den.com

t: 01355 458 010


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Sk8-bizarre said:


> The lady in the pic on the hompeage, I like her hair. She looks friendly. I started to read the shelf life bit now I'm back here.
> 
> It was a short romance.


I think the lady in the " contact us " page is trying to hypnotise me .....

All i can hear is " Please check the rota :

http://www.roast-den.com/contact.html


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> I think the lady in the " contact us " page is trying to hypnotise me .....
> 
> All i can hear is " Please check the rota :
> 
> http://www.roast-den.com/contact.html


Don't trust her!! She's one of those plastic TV people!!!

The lady I met had a more natural air to her she was lovely.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Sk8-bizarre said:


> Don't trust her!! She's one of those plastic TV people!!!
> 
> The lady I met had a more natural air to her she was lovely.


"met..." lol


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

I raised an eyebrow when I saw her, that's as good as in lala-net-land.


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

Probably best not to comment or you will have some easily offended lawyer claiming that you are objectifying her


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

None of this is real, It's lala land. I don't even exist.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I wonder if Chemex are happy one of their photos (of the Ottomatic) is on the top of the beans page


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## gwapenut (Nov 5, 2011)

To resurrect an old thread ... what was the verdict on this coffee? Three's Wuntu rewards app is offering 400g for £8 delivered (a "60% saving") - is the coffee really worth the full price, or even the reduced price? I've seen no other chat in these forums about it.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Lack of charter on this thread probably gives you an indication of its popularity.

Why don't you try it and report back


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## Ian-G (Apr 19, 2019)

I tried the Brazil Santos and the Honduras SHG. I couldn't get the flavours to come out. The recommended roast level for both was medium, so I took that. If I remember correctly they said the Honduras was best for Cafetiere, Pour Over etc. I used it on a Cona Siphon, with brew times ranging from 1 1/2 to 4 minutes and temps ranging from 92 - 96 C and I got nothing. Ground coarser, ground finer - nothing; dosed higher, dosed lower - the same.

This was a kind of unique experience for me, because no matter what I tried, it still tasted pretty much the same. I've never had that happen before. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but I won't be going back.

The reason I tried them in the first place is because they use a fluid bed roaster, which is supposed to produce a very even roast. Pity.


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