# Recommend me a bean!



## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Relatively new to fresh coffee but I'm starting to learn what I like and don't like.

I have a few bits and pieces, a gaggia baby, bottomless portafilter, porlex hand grinder and tamper by madebyknock.

I have tried the hasbeen espresso pack from hasbeen and didnt like any of them. Blake was the most likable. I've had revelation and foundation from Union. Foundation was really quite nice, however not classic enough.

I tried the happy donkey Italian beans and I liked them a lot. I definitely like the classic continental espresso with the dark roast and deep flavours. This is why the hasbeen/3rd wave beans dont work for me.

I am after something similar, the happy donkey beans just seem to be lacking a bit in flavour. I've been reading many threads here and am picking up some ideas but I have nothing firm yet. Londinium beans sound interesting but I can't justify the postage cost and i use a 250g bag every 2, maybe 3 weeks.

I am thinking maybe some Drury beans. Would they be to my taste (as described above)? Any particular blends?

Any other suggestions? TIA!


----------



## Big Tony (Dec 18, 2012)

Try these sites

http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/

http://www.monsoonestates.co.uk/

http://www.hands-on-coffee.co.uk/

Maybe worth a try


----------



## Nimble Motionists (Oct 22, 2012)

I love some of squaremile's coffee but if the original poster finds Hasbean too light then they won't like squaremile.


----------



## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Nimble Motionists said:


> I love some of squaremile's coffee but if the original poster finds Hasbean too light then they won't like squaremile.


Agreed, I think I figured out squaremile was similar type of coffee to hasbean.

I will check the other links out, thanks to the poster.

Any other ideas for good Italian type espresso?


----------



## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

Gangstarrrrr said:


> Any other ideas for good Italian type espresso?


 Try Drury. They are very much old school - many would find them far too dark, but they do around 15 different espresso blends. Try their Café Sienna is you like Happy Donkey - richer than HD Classic Italian. They have a shop in Covent Garden if you are in London.

Union Hand-Roasted do have a very wide range which goes from 'Extra Dark' (like Foundation and Revelation) to relatively light roasts but, unlike traditional Italian espresso roasts, they are 100% Arabica. Traditional Italian roasts tend to have between 10% to 20% Robusta which gives a certain kick, body and crema. Robusta is scorned by 'third wave' roasters - it is substantially cheaper and some will tell it you it tastes like burnt rubber. Actually good Robusta doesn't taste anything like burnt rubber and it is an integral part of many traditional blends, but there is a certain amount of snobbery around it.


----------



## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

I've always found Coffee Real to be at the darker side of the bean. If you end up liking their beans you will find their subs the cheapest around.


----------



## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Do Drury roast to order? They don't seem to mention much about their roasting process on the website hence my question.

Steve.


----------



## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

RoloD said:


> Try Drury. They are very much old school - many would find them far too dark, but they do around 15 different espresso blends. Try their Café Sienna is you like Happy Donkey - richer than HD Classic Italian. They have a shop in Covent Garden if you are in London.
> 
> Union Hand-Roasted do have a very wide range which goes from 'Extra Dark' (like Foundation and Revelation) to relatively light roasts but, unlike traditional Italian espresso roasts, they are 100% Arabica. Traditional Italian roasts tend to have between 10% to 20% Robusta which gives a certain kick, body and crema. Robusta is scorned by 'third wave' roasters - it is substantially cheaper and some will tell it you it tastes like burnt rubber. Actually good Robusta doesn't taste anything like burnt rubber and it is an integral part of many traditional blends, but there is a certain amount of snobbery around it.


Thanks for the info, I will get some ordered!

It's a shame what you say about Robusta, I hope it doesn't lead to less production of those type of coffees.

I used to get espressos from Taylor St but just couldn't get to like them. This was before I understood what appears to be a pretty clear distinction between traditional and newer espresso. Thanks to this forum I now understand it much more.


----------



## Chris_on_caffeine (Jul 21, 2012)

Ahem, HEELLOO!









Edit: Hm actually, probably too light for your preference.


----------



## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

Steve_S_T said:


> Do Drury roast to order? They don't seem to mention much about their roasting process on the website hence my question.
> 
> Steve.


No they don't roast to order. They are a large roaster with a high turnover (they supply mainly to cafés and restaurants) so their beans are unlikely to be stale but, unfortunately, they are very much old-school in that they keep their roasting dates and the actual recipe of their blends secret.


----------



## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

RoloD said:


> No they don't roast to order. They are a large roaster with a high turnover (they supply mainly to cafés and restaurants) so their beans are unlikely to be stale but, unfortunately, they are very much old-school in that they keep their roasting dates and the actual recipe of their blends secret.


Thanks Rolo.

Steve.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


----------



## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

RoloD said:


> No they don't roast to order. They are a large roaster with a high turnover (they supply mainly to cafés and restaurants) so their beans are unlikely to be stale but, unfortunately, they are very much old-school in that they keep their roasting dates and the actual recipe of their blends secret.


A shame but I shall order some anyway.

Any other blends/suppliers you can recommend?


----------



## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Gangstarrrrr said:


> A shame but I shall order some anyway.


I think I will too, I'd like to find a dark roast in the Italian/ French style that isn't overpowered by bitterness.

Steve.


----------



## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

If you like a darker blend I would give Londinium a go.

Postage shouldn't be too bad via Royal Mail?


----------



## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Thanks for the Londinium tip Aaron, might give them a go (very drawn to trying their decaff) when I'm feeling a bit more flush. Interesting though that they are planning to lighten their roasts in the next few months.

Steve.


----------



## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I've had a bag of the lighter roast and its nowhere near as light as Has Bean / Square Mile / Smokey Barn etc!

Not for me, but I can appreciate the taste and that it's done well. Plus Reiss is a nice guy with a lot of passion for what he does.

RoloD can probably tell you more about the Londinium offerings and Italian style roasts


----------



## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

aaronb said:


> RoloD can probably tell you more about the Londinium offerings and Italian style roasts


 I wouldn't call Londinium roasts 'Italian style' but they certainly aren't acidic like HB.

There is a huge gulf between the HasBean style and what you might call the Italian* tradition - Londinium are somewhere in between and are geared particularly towards the espresso drinker rather than people who like those various concoctions with milk in them. My personal Londinium favourites were their Sumatran and their Brazil Daterra, neither of which they have in stock at the moment but the Malawi, which is a new addition, is rather good.

Reiss is roasting lighter now he tests everything through the LI. I can sort of understand this as the LI does really bring all the flavours (good and bad) in the bean, but I'm not particularly keen on the Mocha-Java which is the first one he 're-tooled' for the new machine. But it really comes down to personal preference in the end.

*Actually, this is not just Italy, but basically what the rest of Europe also thinks of as 'espresso'. I've just got back from a long weekend in Berlin. The coffee there is pretty good, but all of it is what I would loosely class as 'Italian style' - but done with German efficiency. The 'third wave' approach to coffee is, I believe, in global terms, really weird.


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

it would be worth giving allpress redchurch a go as well. Its definitely a lot darker than hasbean/extract, and has quite a nice intense punch of flavour. Its on the boundary of as dark as i'd ever go!


----------



## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

With the Londonium beans I've noticed they do a subscription of 5 x 250g bags for around 26 inc postage. This can be cancelled after a month so perhaps not a bad way to sample them. Will be doing this after I get through my Drury order.


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

I would reccommend Coffee Bean Shop's fortnightly promotion 4 bags of beans for £15.99 + postage, a good way to try different coffee's at a reasonable price


----------

