# Oracle Touch - Supermarket Beans



## Laudrup1 (Aug 14, 2020)

Yes, yes, I know. Use fresh ones from a proper roasting company!

I will do, they're on order

I just wanted to ask about these kind of things to satisfy my curiosity.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/coffee-beans/sainsburys-fairtrade-colombian-beans--taste-the-difference-227g

https://www.taylorsofharrogate.co.uk/products/praline-especial-brazil-beans/

My machine turned up a couple of days early (and the coffee I'd ordered from Dear Green in Glasgow didn't arrive until today) so I picked up the coffee in the links above just to have something to try out initially.

The Sainsbury ones weren't too bad actually all things considered. Had a decent tasting espresso shot from the bog standard settings on a flat white and the entire bag was used in a day or two between my wife and I.

The Taylors ones though...for love nor money, I can't get a decent shot from them at all. My description of them would be that they're all bitter despite playing about with the grind settings a bit and weighing each dose and aiming for getting a 1:2 ratio.

The pour seems decent on them. I'm getting 40g out in about 30 seconds but the taste really is like licking an ashtray.

Are they just a poor brand of coffee? They looked reaonably upmarket and not a cheap effort. Is it just that they don't work well in the Sage OT?

If it hadn't been for the reasonable taste of the Sanisbury ones, I'd have been really concerned that I was about to waste my money on the Dear Green efforts as I simply didn't know how to operate the machine properly but having studied it enough in the last month through various youtube videos and getting decent weights, timings and decent looking pucks (hard not to in the Touch) I'm pretty sure I'm doing things reasonably well.

I just wonder how bad something can possibly taste that falls within the decent extraction times I'm getting. It's where I'd love to be able to sit down with an expert and see what their take is on what the taste I'm getting is. I know what I like in a coffee but it's hard to explain just how good / bad / indifferent a taste is via text.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

I have tried these (Taylors Praline) in an emergency and had quite passable coffee from them.

One thing I would note is that with my grinder/ settings for most beans I am between 4 -5 , with the Taylors

I was at 6 1/4 considerably coarser. 93 deg. 18 in 36 out as flat white.


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## Laudrup1 (Aug 14, 2020)

Thanks for replying. Half tempted to buy another packet and grind them far coarser just to check if that's the case.

I'm going to have to keep an excel spreadsheet to track all of this, lol.

The grind settings on the Touch differ, I think. They range from 1 - 45.

Standard flat white grind size on the programme is 30.

Having used my Dear Green ones tonight, they were bang on and had a far nicer colour. They had that initial flow that's a mix of medium colours with a darker colour flowing through it like a river. (rather than the almost black initial pour turning into baby tea coloured shots I was getting from the Taylors beans)

I'm still getting to grips with changing recipes and how they work. On the Taylors ones, I had them pulling that 1:2 ratio with 20g in and 40g out in 25 - 30 seconds. If I grind them coarser like you say, do I have to reduce the time so that they still land at 40g? My thinking is that that'll then only be a 20 second or so pull and that they're then underextracted timewise.

It's a bit of a lottery for me at the moment if I'm not just sticking to the standard programmed times.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

There are so many variables , bean type, age, weather= temperature / humidity, tamp pressure.

Programmes cannot accommodate all these variations, even the same models of grinder can / do vary settings.

Use the weigh in weigh out and the 2 : 1 ratio and 25 -30 secs as a GUIDE. Only make one change at a time and note the difference. Use your judgement for adjustments, if the flow is too fast, adjust the grind / tamp pressure. Try to develop a consistent tamp pressure.

What basket are you using ? is it a 20 gram? or are you filling it ?


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## Dalerst (Jan 22, 2020)

I picked us some modern standards from sainsburys, again in desperation whilst waiting for my order from black cat coffee.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/coffee-44/modern-standard-momentum-blend-whole-coffee-beans-227g

In all honesty they weren't to bad, managed to find some that was roasted 2 weeks ago. Got a decent extraction from the 19g in 38g out in 28 seconds.


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## Laudrup1 (Aug 14, 2020)

El carajillo said:


> There are so many variables , bean type, age, weather= temperature / humidity, tamp pressure.
> 
> Programmes cannot accommodate all these variations, even the same models of grinder can / do vary settings.
> 
> ...


 Hey, yes this is the good thing about the Oracle Touch.

The basket is measured, tamped and filled for you and it's generally a consistent puck.

I've been wieghing it and it's always between 20 and 22g and consistently at the lower end of that.

I think the chances are the Taylor's beans just weren't a good batch above and beyond their limitations generally.


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## stingray (Aug 4, 2020)

was there a roasted date on the Taylor pack? Old coffee is stale coffee.


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## Laudrup1 (Aug 14, 2020)

stingray said:


> was there a roasted date on the Taylor pack? Old coffee is stale coffee.


 I didn't notice actually. Never thought to look. I'll check it out next time I'm in the shop to see what the rough dates are.

In the mean time, I've had a couple of Dear Green (local place in Glasgow) ones through the post that have been fresh and fantastic and I'll be using them going forward.


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## LJDUK (Aug 25, 2020)

Gotta say, v impressed with Aldi coffee beans in an emergency


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