# Bean juggling



## Squashy (Jan 2, 2018)

Maybe it's just because I've recently found love for brewed coffee that I'm enjoying it more, but does anyone else find themselves wanting to try new beans all the time? I literally get through half a bag of something and want to order more of something else, it's not that I'm not enjoying the beans (and I do end up finishing the bags), I just have an itch to try more and more tastes, roasts and origins. I feel like I'm some sort of addict trying to find that perfect coffee - last time I had this was with headphones...My wallet didn't fare well


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Yes, I have this very thing. I can also have a drawer full of beans that I think are going to be amazing, then read a comment or advert for such and such a thing and before I know it, I'm adding them to the basket and you can't just buy a single bag, where is the sense in that?


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## Squashy (Jan 2, 2018)

Exactly, especially when you save delivery costs with orders over 'X' amount...before you know it you've got 6 different bags in your basket


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Yes! I'm Mildred and I am a bean addict - and I don't mind admitting it! I can sort of keen myself under control though and will often look at recommendations, read a lot, ask myself if I really need to try them and then either order them or add them to my Favourites folder to return to another day.

Isn't this the same when you submerge yourself in any hobby or interest - you just HAVE to have one more . . . .


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## Squashy (Jan 2, 2018)

Damn, I should of titled this 'Bean Addicts Anonymous'


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## GingerBen (Sep 7, 2017)

Guilty


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## haz_pro (Apr 4, 2013)

Yep, guilty.

It's getting to the stage where I'm considering getting a small under counter freezer as I'm occupying too much space in our main freezer (much to the annoyance of my mrs!)


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## Squashy (Jan 2, 2018)

haz_pro said:


> Yep, guilty.
> 
> It's getting to the stage where I'm considering getting a small under counter freezer as I'm occupying too much space in our main freezer (much to the annoyance of my mrs!)


Oh no don't give me ideas...And by 'small under counter' you mean 6ft chest freezer to fit all the beans in?


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## GingerBen (Sep 7, 2017)

I entirely blame other people...they keep suggesting nice sounding beans to me, oh and social media that's always shoving nice beans in front of me...I have no will power lol


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Same here. I remember when I started, thinking 'I'm going to find a bean and stick to it so I don't waste any dialling in'. I'm still looking! Done DSOL, LSOL, bought stuff from shops I've liked, then along comes a roaster with some crazy 20% off Gesha or something and Boom! I've never frozen coffee before but having just bought a kilo of Rocky Mountain, then my local shop found the last kilo of an ace Nicaraguan natural that I'd enjoyed in the shop and did me a deal on it as they'd changed beans in the shop. Then along comes Long & Short with the above-mentioned Gesha and I had to get in on that, and a couple of bags of another natural I can't wait to try. LSOL is probably coming in a week or so, I am going to be swimming in beans soon! I have put 500g in the freezer and I'm sure I'll get to them soon enough. I'm now at the point where I make myself an Aeropress while waiting for the R58 to warm up. I probably need to watch it a bit!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I have 2 or 3 beans on the go at various points, i only drink brewed also. At the moment i think i have 5 beans all of under 100g each , so that oks.

One of the great things about pour over is the setting your technique down and wasting less " dialling in "

My local roaster sells packs of 125g which are perfect for me, If i have to buy 250g i tend to send on some to mates and we end up swapping beans as a result.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Can't help myself, but need to back off,haha


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

It's a pity that more roasters don't offer 100/125g bags imo. 250g bags are too big for my boredom threshold. I don't drink that much coffee, 2 to 3 cups of brewed per day but I like them to be different.

My solution was to get an Ikawa home roaster and roast 50g batches which gives me 3 brews per batch. I have 3 different beans available at any time. So a 250g bag of greens (typically the smallest amount available) gives me 5 batches each of which I can roast differently.

My green selection is expanding exponentially now though....


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Step21 said:


> It's a pity that more roasters don't offer 100/125g bags imo. 250g bags are too big for my boredom threshold. I don't drink that much coffee, 2 to 3 cups of brewed per day but I like them to be different.
> 
> My solution was to get an Ikawa home roaster and roast 50g batches which gives me 3 brews per batch. I have 3 different beans available at any time. So a 250g bag of greens (typically the smallest amount available) gives me 5 batches each of which I can roast differently.
> 
> My green selection is expanding exponentially now though....


It's hard to roast 125g on demand, the local is in alot of ways quite old school, its retail shop has big canisters that hold retail beans to choose from.

If your roasting to order and probably mostly for espresso it's a different ball game. It's interesting to see how a retail shop gets the locals in ordering more often than not for a french press .


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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

I'm a bit of a traveller - speak 3 languages, went to an international school and have lived in different countries. So I'm a sucker for finding out about other countries, watch Al Jazeera a lot etc. Yes - I do watch those YT videos about bean growing in Uganda, Columbia etc. and make notes about coffee origins.... I try to discipline myself to only having three 250g bags on the go at any time, but I may be on a slippery slope...


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> It's hard to roast 125g on demand, .


Thats true but most online roasters are just bagging big batches into 250g bags or whatever. Quite often they will roast expensive beans like Gesha into smaller bags. I presume either they don't see a market for smaller bags in general or it is less profitable (more bags therefore less profit)


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Step21 said:


> Thats true but most online roasters are just bagging big batches into 250g bags or whatever. Quite often they will roast expensive beans like Gesha into smaller bags. I presume either they don't see a market for smaller bags in general or it is less profitable (more bags therefore less profit)


Blame the espresso drinkers


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Squashy said:


> Damn, I should of titled this 'Bean Addicts Anonymous'


Better than running out.


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## Rakesh (Jun 3, 2017)

I also have this problem, more recently now since i've been drinking more brewed coffee, i'm always looking at new roasters and beans and as a result I have a dedicated area of the freezer filled with 50g and 100g vac sealed bags of various coffees from various roasters. Most beans average around £7-£9 per 250g bag so I find it hard not buy new beans when visiting a new coffee shop.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Rakesh said:


> I also have this problem, more recently now since i've been drinking more brewed coffee, i'm always looking at new roasters and beans and as a result I have a dedicated area of the freezer filled with 50g and 100g vac sealed bags of various coffees from various roasters. Most beans average around £7-£9 per 250g bag so I find it hard not buy new beans when visiting a new coffee shop.


Buy and split bags with Squashy


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## Rakesh (Jun 3, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Buy and split bags with Squashy


Good idea, PM sent @Squashy


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## Jez H (Apr 4, 2015)

I don't suppose anybody has a list of roasters who offer smaller bag sizes? I know union do 200's, but 150's would be ideal.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Long and Short do 200g but their Gesha was 150g. I'll be putting the Ato through as espresso and brewing the Gesha.


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## Jez H (Apr 4, 2015)

hotmetal said:


> Long and Short do 200g but their Gesha was 150g. I'll be putting the Ato through as espresso and brewing the Gesha.


The Ato is tremendous!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Jez H said:


> The Ato is tremendous!


Cheers, I'm looking forward to it. How did you brew yours? If espresso, can you give me the "ins and outs" please?


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## Jez H (Apr 4, 2015)

hotmetal said:


> Cheers, I'm looking forward to it. How did you brew yours? If espresso, can you give me the "ins and outs" please?


Sorry, Aeropress!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I'll bung some through mine too then. Cheers


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## Squashy (Jan 2, 2018)

Jez H said:


> I don't suppose anybody has a list of roasters who offer smaller bag sizes? I know union do 200's, but 150's would be ideal.


I only recently found these earlier whilst browsing local roasters - I've never ordered from them and they don't have a huge range of coffee but I'll try them at some point, they offer 125g bags though which is nice - https://47degreescoffee.com/

EDIT: Also, on the note of smaller bags, I ordered these from Horsham Roasters yesterday https://www.horshamcoffeeroaster.co.uk/collections/all-coffee/products/tasting-selection - pretty hyped to try all the bags


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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

Does anybody, out of curiosity or design, mix coffees together when they have several bags on the go? I mixed some CC Sumatran with some Columbian Sugarcane and it was surprisingly good.


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## Dumnorix (Dec 29, 2017)

I'm more addicted to searching for beans rather than actually buying them. Better on the pocket, but not so good on the time front- I can easily spend a couple of hours surfing the web looking at everything on offer. Having said which, I currently have beans from 3 different roasters on the go...


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