# Lusty Glaze



## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

I am struggling with this coffee and most of the time the espresso is quite bitter, though occasionally I can pull one that is amazing and even "sweet".

This is probably indicative of the potential of this coffee and my inability to get it right (very probable) or just sheer chance in getting the correct beans blend mix in the grinder (unlikely).

From other posts I see that other people too are finding this coffee challenging, however there are also some of you claiming that it is quite forgiving (which is why I tried it).

I have dialled the grinder for 9g beans extracting just short of 1oz (29g) with a single basket (2oz with the double) in 28 to 30 seconds.

I don't even want to start to think about temperature with my Baby Gaggia.

How do you dose this coffee?

Thanks.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I love these beans to death. I find that with Lusty Glaze the sweetness is directly related to the beverage weight, and long shots aren't the best use of these beans. They are a medium roast, and they benefit from a medium brew temperature. 93C is recommended by Paul, and for those of us with unstable 'humped' temperature profiles I think they work wonderfully on the Gaggia Classic after two 2oz flushes, a pause until the light comes back on, then a brew temperature that goes from around 91C up to 93/94C then down to around 87C. Keep it short. I use around 18g for a 27g shot, which is around 1.5oz, and watch the oily, chocolatey goodness folding ovef itself in the cup. If it becomes yellow or runny, you've let it run too much.

There's no such thing as an easy bean in my view, but I wouldn't call Lusty Glaze one of the difficult ones. I've been using it as my only espresso blend for many many months, and loved it, but as I've found by my own recent failings with it, anyone can get it wrong, and if you do then it's all about the barista, the grinder or the machine.

Let us know how you get on.


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## lucky13 (Dec 30, 2011)

some progress i've made recently may work well for you.

I think your extracting too much coffee for the ammount of beans you are using.

Try extracting 1.5 x the amount of liquid as beans used. so 9g of beans = 13.5 grams of espresso.

I've recently moved from 15g of beans with a 2 oz extraction to 15g of beans with a 22.5g extraction.

£5 on some mini gold scales have been my best purchase to date.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

14 or 15g double, pulled slow and thick.

Odd. I really found this coffee flexible.


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

Following your advice I've gone down to 22g (liquid) and I immediately noticed an improvement (still from 9g beans).

In fact it was rather nice. I think I am moving in the right direction. Thanks.

For Expobarista: I assume you are referring to 15g in the basket, not extracted coffee liquid.

If so, how much liquid do you extract?


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Standard double. No idea how much that weighs, to be honest I don't go in for scales under the cup.

Hope you get there with it. It is a coffee I'll re-order as I found it almost impossible to pull a bad shot with it. Mind you, I do have a machine that is very likely more stable than a Baby.


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

I'm gonna try the weigh method with mine as I'm having trouble with it too


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## RvB (Nov 9, 2010)

9g in - 29g out does sound rather long. I'm using an 18g dose in a VST basket and aim for between 30g and 36g out in about 30 secs, for me that seems where it tastes the best, intense, sweet and chocolaty. I do find it quite forgiving, if you don't get it spot on it will still has a nice taste. But sounds like you need to slow the shot down a bit and don't extract so much.


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

lucky13 said:


> some progress i've made recently may work well for you.
> 
> I think your extracting too much coffee for the ammount of beans you are using.
> 
> ...


im pretty near that now, will get down a little more tomorrow and try that out


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## ripley (Jan 16, 2012)

I got an email off hands on saying that they have half price shipping on 1kg bags of their signature range until Friday this week and this obviously includes Lusty. Ordered 1 this afternoon and it was £17 in total. Maybe worthwhile to know if anyone is running low.

cheers


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

I've settled at 9g Beans for 21g extracted in 26s.

The nasty bitterness is gone and it is quite consistent as long as I resist the temptation of extracting more liquid.

Thanks for your help.

The amount of crema is bordering the ridiculous (1cm). Good for latte but a bit over the top for espresso which is my drink of choice.

By the way, I have a feeling that this coffee has a higher amount of caffeine than average.

I've no way of measuring this so I am judging by the "kick" I am getting.

I'd be interested in knowing what you think.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Depends what you compare it with







Dark roasts have less caffeine than medium roasts


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

Perhaps I have just been drinking too much of it while trying to get it right


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

MikeHag said:


> Depends what you compare it with
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Depends how you measure it. By volume, yes. By weight, no. The water content of the bean is reduced at a much faster rate than the minimal caffeine loss.

When you consider that many people dose espresso by weight, then the opposite of what you say comes into play.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

If Lusty contains any Sumatran coffees then yep, it will hit you!


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Expobarista said:


> Depends how you measure it. By volume, yes. By weight, no. The water content of the bean is reduced at a much faster rate than the minimal caffeine loss.
> 
> When you consider that many people dose espresso by weight, then the opposite of what you say comes into play.


Hmm, I see what you're saying. A dark roasted bean will have less caffeine per bean, but will weigh less too so per basket dose caffeine could be higher for dark beans. Thing is, if you're dosing dark beans by weight you would use less beans purely because it would take less weight to fill the basket.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Compared to a lighter roast? No, more beans, because darker ones weigh less than lighter ones for a given dose weight.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Yes but you wouldnt be able to use the same dose weight as it wouldnt fit in the basket


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

You are wriggling on the hook now









Get a bigger basket.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Is that a bigger basket if I want the same amount of caffeine?

You'll need a bigger hook to catch this fish


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

I think if you go back a couple of posts and re-read, you see you've already been caught, landed, boned and fileted, and I'm about to tuck into you with a fine chianti.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I think you're tucking into a red herring


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

success !!!

ive been tinkering with times, weights etc with my 1kg of lusty for over a week, got it to pretty much the times and weights etc everyone has liked it at, decided im not weighing my shots all the time now ive got it in the ballpark its too much fannying around, i just want a coffee, cleaned the machine last night, proper puly caf back flush etc, got home from the gym tonight, had the machine warming up for about 45mins, weighed out 15g, ground, tamped, into the machine, straight into a cup but watching the colour of the extraction this time, let it blonde for 2-3s (i now know what blonding looks like properly now ive got the naked PF), diluted with water, added milk, result being one of my best americanos ever, proper tasty

thanks to everyone who has helped me along this journey since starting with a xmas present of a gaggia classic, ive learned so much, and bought much more lol, but ive finally pulled some crackin shots and made a drink id be happy to pay for from a cafe









i should also add that my lusty was roasted on the 16th Feb, so hardly 'fresh' but ive now got the best out of it, better technique probably, but also maybe its now at a better point time wise, for my tastes anyway


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Well done!


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## ripley (Jan 16, 2012)

brun said:


> success !!!
> 
> ive been tinkering with times, weights etc with my 1kg of lusty for over a week, got it to pretty much the times and weights etc everyone has liked it at, decided im not weighing my shots all the time now ive got it in the ballpark its too much fannying around, i just want a coffee, cleaned the machine last night, proper puly caf back flush etc, got home from the gym tonight, had the machine warming up for about 45mins, weighed out 15g, ground, tamped, into the machine, straight into a cup but watching the colour of the extraction this time, let it blonde for 2-3s (i now know what blonding looks like properly now ive got the naked PF), diluted with water, added milk, result being one of my best americanos ever, proper tasty
> 
> ...


Thats good news Brun,

Any ideas how long you let the machine run for on that shot? Where do you take the hot water from and finally what did you taste? LOL

Incidentally, I left the beans I got over a week before I started using them again so they must have been about the same "age" as yours....especially towards the end. Perhaps that's a factor as well as your improving technique


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

It was 24s


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

ripley said:


> Thats good news Brun,
> 
> Any ideas how long you let the machine run for on that shot? Where do you take the hot water from and finally what did you taste? LOL
> 
> Incidentally, I left the beans I got over a week before I started using them again so they must have been about the same "age" as yours....especially towards the end. Perhaps that's a factor as well as your improving technique


i dont understand what you mean about taking the hot water from ?

taste wise, i finally had flavour, ive made a few with these beans and i swear a few tasted like instant coffee it was rubbish, ive made drinks that had colour but just nothing in them, very strange and hard to describe really, the drinks i made last night had body and flavour, im no good at picking out certain flavours, i can only tell you i enjoyed it, i didnt taste chocolate or anything like that but it was lovely

p.s. i eat dark choc probably 5 days a week, im surprised ive not tasted it in anything yet as most people seem to be able to


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## Danm (Jan 26, 2012)

Brun,

Out of interested, what setting do you have the vario on for your 15g and what volume are you extracting over what time.

Thanks - Dan


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

i had to change the setting when i got the HD naked PF, as i used the basket from that, i know on the macro im one click down from top, and IIRC about 6 down from the top on the micro, but id have to check, i was level with the little LED lights on the micro using the normal gaggia basket, and im putting the VST basket in tomorrow so ill no doubt have to change the grind again

unsure of the volume as the 2 good extractions i did were straight into bigger cups, but both ran for 24s, with 2-3s of blonding


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

brun said:


> p.s. i eat dark choc probably 5 days a week, im surprised ive not tasted it in anything yet as most people seem to be able to


Smell a cold dried puck - does it remind you of chocolate?


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

My dad bit a puck for the fun of it ... needless to say he regretted it!


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

Fao danm


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

keep in mind that setting is with the happy donkey basket, which does seem pretty good actually, but ill be putting my VST basket in tonight so will have to change setting again no doubt


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## Danm (Jan 26, 2012)

thanks - Actually exaact same spot as mine. -

My shots are tasting very sour. Will order a bottomless basket and small set of scales see if i can nail this.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Well, I opened a kilo of this last week. Got through a third of it and have found it nowhere near as good as the first lot I had. I is still consistent, but it has a consistent sour taste to it. No good at all for espresso but can be masked by milk.

My suspicion is the roast didnt go quite right.I chopped a few beans up for a look inside. They are a bit wrinkled on the exterior and looked a bit too light.

I picked up a kilo of Rave coffee's Mocha Java yesterday and it is pouring beautifully. Its dark and spicy.


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## maarten_booij (Jan 28, 2011)

Hmm, that's strange indeed. I got a batch of this coffee in on Friday. Dialled it in today, and man, I love this coffee. I extract about 25ml in 25 sec, use 18 grams and have no sourness at all. Taste absolute fantastic


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## MartinB (May 8, 2011)

My kilo was roasted on the 29th and I have around 100g left. No complaints from me.

Have you contacted Paul at Hands On?


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

No, because there's always the chance it could be me









It was roasted Wednesday before last


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## truecksuk (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi Guys, I got an informative response from Paul from Hands on Roasters

Hi Quasam,

Thanks for your message. I've not looked at the forums for a while as I've just not had the time away from roasting! So it was interesting to read. Here are my observations:

Lusty Glaze espresso is generally pretty forgiving as an espresso (i.e. not too difficult to get good results from). That's probably easy for me to say knowing it so well, but I'm pretty sure most find this to be the case including the cafe's who use it. The most common problem when there is one is usually temperature related - too hot a brew temp. 93 degrees C is best and much above this causes the espresso to not pour very well and lose body. Roasters that go even lighter (e.g. Has Bean) often produce beans that need yet a lower brew temp (e.g. 91 degrees C).

On a domestic machine if you are unable to control the brew temp this can be a limiting factor if it is way too high, so cooling flushes etc. are the best you can do. I always encourage people to invest in a machine that has the ability to adjust brew temp because it is so important.

Another factor to always be aware of is freshness from roasting. Like the coffee we'll send you, it'll probably arrive only having been roasted just a couple of days ago so if used straight away could still be settling down and releasing gas so might need need another day. This is much better than buying stale coffee (usually the case when there is no info on when the coffee you buy was roasted).

Part of the fun is playing around to get everything right, and you'll be rewarded when you do!

Thanks.

Paul

Hands-On Coffee Roasters


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## heliuscc (Sep 11, 2011)

Personally I buy the Black Chough, which has been excellent every time. I buy 3KG a month and the guys at hands on always do me a great deal and get it to me next day.


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