# Supermarket Beans



## chime101 (Jan 30, 2015)

Any recommended supermarket beans worth a try ?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

They will be stale and far inferior to freshly roasted.


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## wilse (Nov 14, 2013)

I asked pretty much the same a few days ago.

Have just taken delivery of 'Fresh' Beans from Stewarts in Nottingham, so will let you know the difference.

I have been drinking Italian Waitrose beans [green striped bag, French roast [blue stripe is yuk]] occasional Italian Taylors.

I will say I had a bag of M&S Italian and it was very different to Italian roasts above... perhaps fresher? perhaps a very different blending.

It had a nice after taste, quite fruity almost sour... Not sure if that makes sense.

Stewarts are doing 20% off, includes delivery... but be quick.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?20577-Stewarts-Coffee-20-off

Cheers

PS, what's your machine/grinder etc?


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## chime101 (Jan 30, 2015)

thanks - Stewarts, here I come


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

chime101 said:


> Any recommended supermarket beans worth a try ?


In short, no.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/roast-ground-coffee/sainsburys-pure-kenyan-coffee-beans--taste-the-difference-227g


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

jeebsy said:


> http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/roast-ground-coffee/sainsburys-pure-kenyan-coffee-beans--taste-the-difference-227g


Ffs jeebs, we are trying to cultivate an air of pretentious snobbery here!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

There's little I love more than an air of pretentious snobbery but when i sold an old machine i took a bag of them with it to demo (didn't want to waste good beans), and they were actually quite nice. I'd get them again if there was no speciality going.


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## Grimley (Jan 18, 2015)

I bought these as a stop gap last year

http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=7979

Difference was night & day compared with freshly roasted beans. I ended up using them first thing in the morning as a wake me up.


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## gcogger (May 18, 2013)

I've found the Waitrose Monsoon Malabar can be OK if you like a dark roast. The 'use by' date needs to be a year ahead, though (i.e. this month next year) if you want them more or less fresh.


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## wilse (Nov 14, 2013)

Well...

I'm a little lost.

My first order of Stewarts beans arrived, although I haven't opened them yet, as my better half bought me some 'fresh' beans yesterday from Pollards [sheffield].

My initial thought, was one of disappointment. In my opinion not a big improvement from the Waitrose Italian roast beans, Grimley mentions, which have been my normal brew.

I'm willing to believe they may be old... but with Pollards turn-around, I would doubt it... I've tried to call them, before you all ask - to establish a roast date.

I didn't want to have multiple bags on the go, but will open one of Stewarts Italian for comparison.

Whilst I'm talking about Pollards beans, they were their Mississippi Blend, apparently chocolatey and fruity...

Not sure about that, but for some reason, the crema is very foamy and thick, I've never seen this before... any ideas?

w


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

wilse said:


> Well...
> 
> I'm a little lost.
> 
> ...


Ok are they fresh roasted ? Date ? Are they rested from that date ?

How do they taste ?

Crema - could be that they are overly fresh for espresso or there is a ton of robusta in there ( that makes big crema ) or both ...

How are you brewing them ? Whats your recipes ? Amount of Coffee used , water used ( in grams please if you can ) ?

Have you tried to vary the recipe form you usual brew to balance the taste?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

As Boots posts above suggests, dont expect perfection straight away.

Providing you have the basics... Fresh roasted beans, a decent grinder and machine. Its time to start understanding the many variables and honing your shot.


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## wilse (Nov 14, 2013)

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure on date, but will try to find out.

The first one I had, went down the sink, very bitter and extremely strong.

http://www.pollardscoffee.co.uk/mississippi-blend-coffee

The Mississippi blend is a bright and fruity pairing of Central and South American single-origins, plus some of our extremely popular Ethiopian Mocha Djimmah beans.

I used around 18-20g, approximately.

And around 50g out.

I've no more 'supermarket' beans, as I said I would deplete all my supplies when I move to fresh.

**** Just been on the phone, they are 1 or 2 days from roasted. And NO rest.

How are my ratio's, should I be starting with something else?

w


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## wilse (Nov 14, 2013)

Grinder is Cimbali 7/sa - Casadio Theo 64.

Machine is un modified Gaggia Classic 2004.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

50g is likely too much, and certainly a bad starting point.

Begin with a 2:1 ratio, so for 18g in you want 36g out in roughly 25-30s. These are all variables which you should change to hone the flavours in the shot. In general bitterness is over extraction (too slow a shot, or too long) and sourness (sometimes hard to distinguish) is from under extraction. (too quick and too short)


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

wilse said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> Not sure on date, but will try to find out.
> 
> ...


Ok freshness will make your shots a bit more variable and give a big crema

a 2 gram variance in dose is huge in terms of the effect it can have on taste

To help you and us with a recipe , measure and weigh accurately , not around .........even if only for the purpose of demonstrating to yourself the differences 2 grams dose and liquid can make

Your beans will i suspect get better after a few days more rest , but if you want to peserve , then try

18 g dose ( exact ) producing 36 g of epsresso( by weight not volume eyeballed in a glass ) over 25-30 seconds

Taste and report back ....


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Does unmodified classic mean that you have the pressurised basket in there? If so you are fighting a loosing battle.

As everyone else says 18-20 is huge variance, start with 18g in 36g out in 30 secs or so.

They do sound a bit too fresh which will make dialling in harder.


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## wilse (Nov 14, 2013)

There is 'no' plastic duffer in the PF, just the baskets.

I have ESE one, a single and double.

The look identical to these:









Would it be better to leave the beans a week or so?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

If you dont feel like your getting anywhere, then it may be worth waiting to eliminate that variable.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

If they're only 2 days post roast then you will get wild crema. Give them a few more days and they'll settle down I expect. Also 20g is probably overloading the double basket which means your 50g took about a minute to arrive? That will give you very concentrated and over-extracted espresso which will be very bitter. At the risk of repeating other posters I'd agree that you should get some jewellery scales (EBay, £6 from China) and weigh in and out. Try 16, 17 & 18g and you'll notice a big difference. Note that increasing the dose will mean grinding very slightly coarser to get the same shot time of 25-30" (try to tamp consistently).


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

I often wonder how fresh pollards beans are......I cant imagine them just been a 1-2 days old. The last time I went they seemed to stock quite a big quantity of the beans in the shop and I can't imagine it turning that amount over every few days........but if they are only a couple of days old that's always good to know.

There are also a couple of other coffee roasters in sheffield, but there names I can't remember........I'm sure somebody will let you know.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Wuyang said:


> I often wonder how fresh pollards beans are......I cant imagine them just been a 1-2 days old. The last time I went they seemed to stock quite a big quantity of the beans in the shop and I can't imagine it turning that amount over every few days........but if they are only a couple of days old that's always good to know.
> 
> There are also a couple of other coffee roasters in sheffield, but there names I can't remember........I'm sure somebody will let you know.


Foundry Roasters - there beans will be fresh !


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Wuyang said:


> There are also a couple of other coffee roasters in sheffield


Foundry


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