# DSOL Feb 2015 - The Baytown Coffee Company



## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

http://www.baytowncoffeecompany.com/

Roasting of our bespoke roast will commence on the 17th with delivery due on the 20th.

All thoughts and comments to be entered on this thread.

May the fun begin!


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## gcogger (May 18, 2013)

Any guest slots this time? Looking at their website, the blends look interesting (although it doesn't look like they do retail sales?).


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Sorry there are no Guest Slots on offer this month.


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## shrubbery (Mar 12, 2014)

I'm really looking forward to sampling this roast - have just received some Rave Monsooned Mallabar to tide me over.


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

Their Boggle Hole blend looks nice and dark so very promising.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

+1 on the above, nice and dark, yum!

John


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

DSOL next offering just dropped through my letter box.

4 X 250 G of Baytown Coffee Co, named Bolts Bootleg, roast date 17th FEB 2015.

Perfect timing and looking forward to these.


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## shrubbery (Mar 12, 2014)

Came home from work to find a post office missed delivery card so I should have it tomorrow - perfect timing


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

Hey guys. How does the DSOL work? Do you have to be invited to join? Is there a minimum commitment? I must admit I am rather partial to the dark "Italian" styles of coffee.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

We have a limited membership in line with what a Roaster can roast in one roasting.

Its a 3 month subscription but currently these 3 months are fully subscribed with 21 members.

If we fall short with members we offer a few guest Slots each month.

We will be asking current members who wish to go forward for May-Jun-Jul around mid-April. Some members may drop out & we then can offer the vacant slots to new members.


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## Richard Penny (Nov 14, 2014)

Mine arrived today too, should be using them in a few days for both espresso and Sowden


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## paul whu (Sep 25, 2014)

Got mine but I'm off to London for the weekend and still got 300g+ of something else on the go. Be a short while until I can steam in.


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## squiggs1982 (Oct 29, 2011)

Mine arrived today, too (much to the displeasure of my wife who was muttering away ?). Looking forward to it but unlikely I'll get to it until Sunday. However, it will be five days post roast, so hopefully nearly ready. I'm excited!


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

Thanks alot Ron. Can I be added to the waiting list? How much does each member get every month (weight and price)????


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Mine arrived also today and stored away for a couple of days. Some lovely smells wafting from the valves...mmmm.

Have Bayton made any recommendation re resting times or we heading for the standard 7-10 days for spro?

Many thanks

John


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

This is good news. I'm almost out of my current stash and when I got in there was the dreaded red card. Now I just need to figure out when I'll be able to get to the post office...

Haven't heard of this roaster before (which was the whole point of me joining in so I can discover new stuff) so I'm looking forward to picking them up and getting started.


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

Mine arrived today too. Nicely packaged, I'm itching to open them up and use some ...


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Hang on! eager beavers.

Just about OK for brewed but don't open them for espresso until Tuesday at the earliest.



> How much does each member get every month (weight and price)????


Circa £60 for 3 months & you get 4 x 250 grams each month in 1 delivery. The idea is to use a bag a week & see how the Beans develop over the month.


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## bignorry (Mar 19, 2013)

Also have a post office trip to do .


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I've 'bean' to the post office. They smell lush! They should be ready to go on the day my last Zee blend bean falls screaming into 65mm of spinning burr, which should be Wed by my calculations. Perfect timing!


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## BaytownCoffee (Feb 22, 2015)

Hello DSOL.

We hope you enjoy the coffee. If you have any questions, give us a shout.


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

BaytownCoffee said:


> Hello DSOL.
> 
> We hope you enjoy the coffee. If you have any questions, give us a shout.


Any tips on resting time and ratios?


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Just filled the hopper of the 65e with lots of dark and shiny loveliness, mmmmm.

Some very dark, some light beans, yum. Filled the hopper this evening in the hope that a little "airing" in the closed hopper overnight will gain me a day (tis either that or some neat "blending robusta", shudder.

Anyway a quick grab shot below for those with patience:

View attachment 12094


Looking forward to these in the morning

John


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

And a slightly better one below:

View attachment 12095


John


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

First attempt this morning 18g in 18g out in 1m30s, clearly need to go a lot coarser,however...gloopy, oh yes but also not an automatic sinker. Massive Cocoa hit and slightly sweet rather than bitter (zenith was just below 5 on dial)

Second attempt: 18g in 18g out in 55s, grinder on 6.2(ish); gloopy yes and after first experience tasted and still cocoa but slightly less sweet (?), very nice though and again not a sinker.

Both above were straight espresso.

Third attempt, 18.05g in 29.35 out in 29 seconds (grinder backed off to 6.6) and made into a flat white. Kit kat is the only way can describe this or maybe a tunnocks choccy wafer, still sweet.

Fourth attempt, 18.05 in 28.8 out in 26 seconds ( grinder at 6.7 ish), flat white again ( yes!, am now buzzing...), kit kat or possibly a caramalised biscuit maybe, yum. starting to pick up the faintest taste of something else that suspect will either develop or drop out as grows older, my tastebuds are not good enough to tell if this is hangover roasting flavour still to gas out, beans not smelling gassy however am opening these a little early.

Would say if you like a more chocolate flavour, with a nod to the past, this may be your thing if looking for a lighter roast profile of flavours maybe not, everyone has different tastes, for me this is ticking some good early boxes (enough to tempt me to mail them as per their into thread as their even darker one, boggle hole, intrigues me,hmmmm)

Just my caffeine powered thoughts and hope of help in getting into a grind / extraction area to then finesse.

Right, now to do a lot of work really really quickly!

John


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## BaytownCoffee (Feb 22, 2015)

Hi Blackstone,

5-7 days resting, and 66% or 1:1.5 ratio of water to coffee. Obviously, the ratio is a personal taste think. David, our guru, reckons Bootleg is pretty strong and that 66% should be plenty, but we're interested to hear what you think.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

These are dark roasted beans with just a little oil showing. Exactly as specified within the DSOL scope.

I am enjoying these Beans. Really shine as a breakfast Americano. Been playing with these since early am this morning.

21 grams of hot water into the cup topped with 20 grams of ground coffee delivering 23 grams onto the water. Great with just a little milk.

As an espresso I also kept it short. Rich sweet flavour with no trace of fruit or floral. Very nutty with a dark chocolate background.

So.. 20 grams in with 25 grams out at 93C 2.6 grind on the EK(Irish Dial). Very good aftertaste.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

My 65e emptied itself of zee blend this morning. In went the first of the BBB. Mine looked identical to John's pic unsurprisingly. First go gave 16g at the grind I was on before (4.2ish) in 9.9s so I topped up with an extra 1s. So I'm grinding at the same fineness as works for medium beans at the moment. First shot was 17.8 in, 35.6 out in 30". That's actually shorter than what I normally extract, so having read the above I'm going to tighten up slightly and go for a ristretto next. I'm not great at describing tastes but this was gloopy and bold, big crema (as you'd expect on RD+7d). Taste impressions were like a mouthful of vintage port then a spoon of black treacle, an after dinner choc and a puff on a Cuban cigar. (I have a horrible feeling I'm starting to sound like Jilly Goolden tasting wine and am probably making a fool of myself!)

Right, off to try a shorter shot. I'm gonna be bouncing round the studio today!

Back again. Just about got this dialled in I think. 16>[email protected]". Dark chocolate and hazelnuts, big crema, lovely mouthfeel. That was a straight espresso. Can't drink any more coffee today! Will try with milk tomorrow and look forward to reading how others are getting on.


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## madaetihw (Nov 25, 2014)

My batch has just arrived due to missing the delivery, the smell of the box was absolutely amazing, I can't wait to get stuck into these!


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## paul whu (Sep 25, 2014)

Absolutely delicious. I had to coursen my grind by 4 notches on my mini mazzer before I got this right. I think this is the biggest adjustment I have ever had to make. I am well chuffed to have a kilo of these. My last cup was 17.1g for a 28.4 yield in 34 seconds. The crema was huge and flecked, thick oily (perfect) mouthfeel. Dark chocolate with a subtle sweetness and a lingering aftertaste which is somehow nutty. No bitterness whatsoever.


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## jonners (Apr 26, 2013)

I pretty much agree with what Ron and paul whu have written: Coarser grind needed, and the coffee tastes very good indeed. So far I've just drunk a couple of americanos, which had a deep, rich chocolate/nut taste.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Just finished the first bag, second bag in the hopper ( well, half of it) and tonights flattie tasting more like dark chocolate digestive ( what I remember of them, anyway). Really enjoying these.

Made up a clever dripper at lunchtime 20g in 440 water total for about 5mins inc drawdown. 30second bloom with 30g then all the rest in breaking crust at 1m30 ( am new to this so may be way off mark) and very pleasant, strong, but pleasant; makes a nice long drink.

If anyone has a better clever / v60 / aeropress recipe with these, interested to try them

John


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## BaytownCoffee (Feb 22, 2015)

paul whu said:


> Absolutely delicious. I had to coursen my grind by 4 notches on my mini mazzer before I got this right. I think this is the biggest adjustment I have ever had to make. I am well chuffed to have a kilo of these. My last cup was 17.1g for a 28.4 yield in 34 seconds. The crema was huge and flecked, thick oily (perfect) mouthfeel. Dark chocolate with a subtle sweetness and a lingering aftertaste which is somehow nutty. No bitterness whatsoever.


Thanks Paul. You've made our day : )


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## BaytownCoffee (Feb 22, 2015)

johnealey said:


> Just finished the first bag, second bag in the hopper ( well, half of it) and tonights flattie tasting more like dark chocolate digestive ( what I remember of them, anyway). Really enjoying these.
> 
> Made up a clever dripper at lunchtime 20g in 440 water total for about 5mins inc drawdown. 30second bloom with 30g then all the rest in breaking crust at 1m30 ( am new to this so may be way off mark) and very pleasant, strong, but pleasant; makes a nice long drink.
> 
> ...


Glad (and a little relieved) that you're enjoying it. John.


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

Ok here's my findings:

As per advice filled hopper on my f83e and left settings from Brighton Lanes beans,not a chance on the L1 way too fine a grind. Had to go a surprisingly long way courser to get to any kind of ratio.

Anyway I'm finding myself dosing down a lot with the L1 so I'm doing 14.8 in to 28g out 36 secs and 8 secs pre infuse.

Finding the beans really nice in flat whites but struggling a little to get enough sweetness for me in an espresso.

Think these will get better with age .

Getting deep chocolate hits in the flat whites.

Did shock me how much courser I had to go .


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## Richard Penny (Nov 14, 2014)

Another one having to back off on the grind to avoid choking or an accidental ristretto (which was lovely btw). This morning was 14.5 into 26.5 over 25s, so want to up the dose a bit.

Found it worked better as an Americano than as a flat white so far.

i would agree with all the chocolate/nuts comments. My first shot was very acidic, but that was on Sunday so to be expected really. May give the Sowden a go tomorrow.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Glad you guys are enjoying these beans though they're too dark for my palate, at least for espresso.

Tried this in the French Press today with my usual scientific ratio of massive-heap-of-coarsley-ground-coffee:4 parts water. Much more like it!


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

You can't argue that Baytown haven't fully embraced the specification! Really dark and oily. Great in a flat white with masses of chocolate coming through and lovely as an espresso albeit a pretty strong flavour. I'm hoping these will improve even more with age. I'm finding 18.5g in to 26g out in about 30s works well for me.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Try them as an Americano - they're greeeaaat!!


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## JohnPrime (Nov 2, 2014)

A report from sunny Rochdale:

Nice shiny oily beans, like a little family of beetles.

14g in an 18g VST needing a relatively coarse grind ==> big volume of fluffy grinds. Really big.

Light tamp with 58.35

28g out in 27s as a double espresso

Loads of crema (obvs)

Big chocolate hit with (to my v newb taste) a bit of sherry

Lovely mouthfeel

Aftertaste of posh ice-cream wafer (the browny-beige ones)

And there's another Kg to go, still!

In summary, just about my ideal espresso (favourites so far have been Hasbean's Sumatra Gayo and last year's Tunki from The Roasting Shed -- both had a lovely spicy aftertaste).

I like this stuff. Hipster Yirg? So last year, chuck!


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Been a participant of the DSOL since its inception, drop out to try beans that have caught my eye and I've not had enough consumption to try, as i always had too many beans and BANG! The latest DSOL becomes one. It appears these beans would have been right up my street!

That'll learn me


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

Lovely bold nutty, mint chocolate aftertaste. 15g in, 23g out. 25s total, 8s preinfusion (l1). Topped up with 46g water.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

oddknack said:


> Topped up with 46g water.


Try putting the water into the cup first. Then make your espresso on top of the water.

Seems to make a much smoother finish


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## shrubbery (Mar 12, 2014)

Cracked my first bag open today and immediately choked my Sylvia on three occasions whilst making the grind coarser and coarser on my Mazzer Mini. Eventually ended up on a grind setting of 4 which is way higher than ever before.

Filled the 18g VST and then pulled 27g in 25s + 2s pre infusion.

Stretched the milk and made a small flat white. Jesus wept! It's dark, toasted, chocolatey and strong. Had a fuzzy caffeine head for about half an hour.

Looking forward to my next one.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Yes Row said:


> Been a participant of the DSOL since its inception, drop out to try beans that have caught my eye and I've not had enough consumption to try, as i always had too many beans and BANG! The latest DSOL becomes one. It appears these beans would have been right up my street!
> 
> That'll learn me


Might be worth a visit to their webite or look for their introduction thread as happy to sell in 1kg minimum to forum members ( they normally wholesale apart from local markets). Enjoyed these so much exchanged mails with Jacob and ended up ordering 1kg of Boggle hole which was roasted tuesday and arrived wednesday, currently lurking in my coffee cupboard attempting to make me open them early ( they are daaaaaark).

Anyway, so as not to hijack this thread will post up on the beans thread when open the Boggle hole.

Back to this thread, Bolt bootleg really nice as an aeropress (17g water at 92, 30g water for 20 second bloom then make up to 140g press down over 20 seconds at 1minute) and yet to try a recipe passed in by MrBoots for a v60.

John


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

Opened my first bag Saturday and into my second bag already. I'm loving these beans, and enjoying delicious rich, caramel flavours, with a hint of toffee. Cuts through milk really well and makes a delicious flat white. This is coffee just how I like it! Many thanks for the chance to try these excellent beans.


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

These have developed into a great bean for my taste. Chocolately Bakewell tart. Really enjoying them


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

In milk, 14g in, 27g out, 34s. Bitter sweet chocolate, walnuts, and finish like bitter gourd (I think!). Nice big body


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## bignorry (Mar 19, 2013)

When I hit these right they are lovely .only had long blacks. Strange thing I've noticed is easier to get a good shot when a new bag is opened than after they have been in storage jar for couple of days.


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## paul whu (Sep 25, 2014)

All my beans have now gone. My big regret is that I can't get any more. If I had to have just one "house coffee", this one would tick all of the boxes. I found it really easy to get a level of consistency and once dialled in didn't balls up a single shot. Compliments to the roaster!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Sounds like these beans have been a big hit.

Thank you to all who setup and manage the DSOL


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## lor (Feb 19, 2015)

The amazing feedback made me extremely curious... is it possible to get hold of some Boggle Hole? And/or Bolts? If anybody would like to share some (even a small amount), I'd be very happy to pay for beans and postage


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Baytown have said they are happy to roast & supply a minimum of 1 kilo to Forum members.

They will be posting the 'make-up' of the Blend this coming week.


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## doolallysquiff (Jul 26, 2014)

I can only re-iterate what others have said on this thread. It took a few goes to coarsen the grind but when I got it right they were and still are a delight. So far, these would be my choice for milk based drinks. A lovey chocholate taste that cuts through the milk. Thanks to all who organise and subscribe.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Yes you can buy direct from Baytown by mailing them ( either search back through this thread for one of my previous comments or search the introductions thread for details) however it is in Kilo bags as they normally only wholesale by post. If you are in the Robin Hood bay area of North Yorks you may find the at a local market selling smaller quantities or believe if you read their facebook page there is a link to someone selling by post in samller quantities. By buying direct you do get freshest e.g. mailed them on Monday, roasted Tuesday and delivered Wednesday via Royal Mail, 1 Kilo of Boggle Hole (which i will start a seprate thread on, in Beans section, when open tomorrow)

Hope of help adn sort of hoping that the Bolt bootleg which is this months DSOl is not massivelt removed from either their Bolt or Boggle Hole.

John


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

And a very big thank you to the organisers as well for their time and enhusiasm as well as finding us cracking beans!

John


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## Richard Penny (Nov 14, 2014)

Thanks to Baytown, Milanski and Ronsil for a great start to my DSOL journey. Will be into the last bag early next week, still think they are improving. Upset with myself that I used some in the Sowden, perhaps others would provide feedback if they tried these beans with brewed?

The Sowden is my work coffee, and as such doesn't get the care and attention that the espresso gets. Compared to how marvellous they were for americano, they were a bit disappointing in the Sowden (equally, could be poor prep). Am I correct in thinking that a lighter roast would be better for brewed? If so, I will keep the DSOL beans away from work.


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Enjoying these a lot, very easy to work with and easy to grind too!!


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

Ditto all above.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Just totted up & it looks like we have 18 out of 21 Members reporting positive feedback for these Baytown Beans.

No negative feedback recorded.

Thats the highest favourable result we've had since DarkerSOL started.

Looking forward to Joseph at Baytown posting the make up of the Blend.

Congrats Baytown.


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

Thanks to Ronsil, Milanski, and Baytown, for some tasty coffee!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Just half way through my best ever cup of this as a cappuccino. Pure chocolate. I was initially unsure about joining dsol as I'm more of a medium bloke but curiosity and adventurousness got the better of me and I'm glad it did.


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## EJ-Guano (Oct 26, 2014)

Hey Gavin here, I design all the Baytown packaging, amazing feedback, David did an amazing job on the Beans as always.

Thought I'd chime in on the blend, it's&#8230;

Bootleg Bolts

Brazil Fine Cup 17/18 dark

Brazil Fine Cup 17/18 very dark

Colombia Supremo very dark

Costa Rica La Pastora medium


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## EJ-Guano (Oct 26, 2014)

Just to say if anyone wanted to order any of our coffee you can email HQ on [email protected]

They will send you a PayPal invoice for the Coffee.

Once paid they will send out your beans.

Coffee is available in 1kg bags and is £18 plus £6.02 p&p


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## squiggs1982 (Oct 29, 2011)

ronsil said:


> Just totted up & it looks like we have 18 out of 21 Members reporting positive feedback for these Baytown Beans.
> 
> No negative feedback recorded.
> 
> ...


Add me to that tally. have particularly been enjoying as a flat white. thanks for arranging and thanks to Baytown!


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## BaytownCoffee (Feb 22, 2015)

Thanks for all the great feedback. It's been really good fun to be a part of DSOL for a few weeks.

Further to Gavin's notes, David, our roaster, put together these for you.

"Bootleg Bolts is a gutsy version of The Bolts, our main espresso blend.

The original blend is 50% Brazil Santos dark, 12.5% Brazil Santos very dark, 12.5% Colombia very dark, 25% Costa Rica medium.

Bootleg version is 40% Brazil Santos dark, 20% Brazil Santos very dark, 20% Colombia very dark and 20% Costa Rica medium.

The idea was to boost the amount of very dark roast to add that smoky, strong flavour to stand up to a lot of milk but without losing the base of the Brazil dark roast and only marginally cutting back on the Costa Rica which gives that sweet top note.

Needles to say, there was a little bit of trial and error before settling on these proportions took place."

Thanks again,

Joseph


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

Great. I'd be interested to hear what your reference tastes notes were


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Would the bootleg blend be available again in the future? (possibly might have a fair bit of interest in this one)

John


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

johnealey said:


> Would the bootleg blend be available again in the future?


Check back on Post 64 for details on dealing direct with Baytown.

As a DSOL group we may possibly consider a re-run later in the year.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi Ronsil

Funnily enough currently half way through a kilo of Boggle hole so already ordered from them 

Would be very interested to re visit Bolts bootleg hence the ask for this specific blends availabilty in the future (please feel free to take this as me signing up for re visit should this occur.)

This really is ticking all the boxes in our household, wheras the boggle hole is differently very dark and suspect the regular Bolt might just dip under our ideal, but to be fair, am yet to try straight Bolt.

John


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## MarkyP (Jan 10, 2013)

I'm always late to the party but having just cracked into these this week I was really disappointed...

My 'normal' extractions are based on 17g in to about 40g out over around 25 seconds... When I've tried this with the Baytown beans I've ended up with a bitter mess!

Opened my second bag this morning and thinking that I must be doing something wrong, I decided to push a little shorter.... I kept the grinder where it was (2.6 on old dial) and just pulled the shot at 28g....

Wow!

That's all I can say... Just terrific. Smooth, sweet, balanced. These are really good beans!

I'm kinda ashamed to admit that I've wasted a bag of these but we're always learning!


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Well that looks like a 'full house' of positive feedback & that's a first.


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

MarkyP said:


> I'm always late to the party but having just cracked into these this week I was really disappointed...
> 
> My 'normal' extractions are based on 17g in to about 40g out over around 25 seconds... When I've tried this with the Baytown beans I've ended up with a bitter mess!
> 
> ...


good to know that they are still good after a month of "resting"


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

Had a coffee today, still plenty of flavour


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## shrubbery (Mar 12, 2014)

Having spent most of the last month working away from home I am still happily working through these beans and I genuinely think that they have got even better over time. Extreme chocolate notes and incredibly smooth. Great bean.


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## BaytownCoffee (Feb 22, 2015)

Just want to say thank you to the DSOL community for the opportunity to share with you what we do. It's been amazing to hear what you think of The Bolts. We've only been trading since June 2014, and while we love our coffee and business is going well (touch wood) you guys have given us a huge confidence boost.

Thanks again. We wish you all well.


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