# A days exploration...



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Right today started badly, gathered together my usual collection of coffee kit for work, Aeropress etc. grabbed beans from the cupboard and headed off only to find I had picked up my spare bag of rave signature blend I had been using as throw away beans for grinder dialling etc. faced with a choice between these, nasty vending coffee or instant I thought it would be fun to try anyway and see what can be done documenting my failure (or success) as I go! So:

Beans: rave signature two weeks from roasting (and were frozen then to save for grinder set up) defrosted yesterday.

First cup:

13.8g beans 230g of water at 90degrees inverted Aeropress with 2x washed filters. Quick drip of water and 10 sec bloom stir steep for 1:15 and 30sec plunge. Grind is on my DeVe vintage we will call it setting 0.

In the cup:

smells like toasted nuts in a bad way taste definite over extracted not a lot taste wise other than bitter burnt flavours as it cooked these faded and the merest hint of citrus started to show and it became more palatable.

next I will reduce the brew time and try again.

Comments welcome (and yes it's all less than ideal but good for a bit of fun)


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Well cup two... All the same except steep time reduced to 1min.

In the cup:

still smells toasty but less pronounced more cocoa/choc aromas. Initially much better more balanced with some nuts and a hint of fruit coming through as well as an underlying burnt toast taste. As it cools it's loosing the balance and edging to sour although the toasty flavour is persisting, which is odd think I will drop the brew time again to see what happens but next real move will probably be a drop in temp.


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

odd to hear your opinion (preconceived or otherwise) of what you should use Rave Signature for.

Rave take their coffee pretty seriously and are one of my preferred roasters. I use signature as my go-to for every day espresso and that's really what its designed for, espresso and milk based drinks. That said, I've enjoyed it as a straight espresso too!


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Don't get me wrong I know what Rave should be used for, this bag was past it's best espresso wise so I froze it to use as a initial set up bean for the new grinder, in the knowledge that seasoning the burrs calibrating etc was going to get through some beans. Sadly my bleary eyed state this morning saw me grab this bag rather than the Clifton coffee El Beneficio I intended for the Aeropress. So yep wrong bean, wrong method, wrong age and so on, all that said its an opportunity to do something I wouldn't normally, probably learn something and have some fun in the process and document it here for fun. I wouldn't recommend anyone follow my choice for today but the outcomes of today's playing might offer both me and others a valuable learning experience.


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

You'd be amazed how long the signature can endure under espresso use.

I've used it up to 3-4 weeks with decent results. By end of week 4 it's starting to show its age, but still very drinkable. As long as its kept sealed up when not being used.


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Sorry just re-read yours and my posts. I wasn't clear on the whole Rave/throw away bean comment. Rave signature are not a throw away bean and are also one of my regular choices. The actual beans in question here were left overs from a large order which have passed their best (by a long way.. Zero creama, faded taste and so on) for espresso making. So rather than bin them I froze them to use later for grinder set up etc. Hope that clears it up!The Rave beans definitely last longer than many others that said they really were well past it (roast date on the bag is now 2 months past) although I can't remember when I froze them I do know I was finding them less and less enjoyable and I had some idols and giants and Clifton coffee coming on to useable dates. I was never going to use them all so the left over Raves have been sacrificed to the mignon gods and the unexpected god of Aeropress...

Cup number 3 is about to commence...


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Slight change to my original plan on cup three..

Temp dropped to 85 everything else the same (steep time may have gone slightly awry as I got interrupted)

In the cup:

Aroma is now almost pure cocoa powder. Tiniest hint of nutty toast under it. Flavour wise I am now getting an initial balanced but bland hit that's hinting at fruit but not really there followed by a bitter cocoa powder flavour. Not as unpleasant as it sounds and an improvement again over the last cups. As it cooled things became less pronounced which tamed the bitter but the sweetness wasn't there to help. Actually this one is drinkable but not great. I'll try some more variables and see what happens!


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Ok so final cup of the day.. All the same again except went for a 45sec total brew time including plunge...

In the cup:

getting some real fruit aromas through now but still mostly cocoa powder.. The toast taste sadly remains but has been joined by a bit more nut.. Hazelnut? And a smidge more fruit maybe verging on candied peel?? It started better while still hot but again quickly faded into not great blandness. Not so sure it was an improvement on the last cup which in comparison seemed more balanced.

If I were going again(I'm not I'm home again with my proper beans!) I would move back to the last regime and tweak a different variable, probably grind.

well what did I learn, if I put my mind to it I can stay consistent and analyse flavours then adjust... Whether I'm adjusting correctly remains to be seen! Mostly I had a bit of fun changing parameters and was surprised how close I came to making a palatable cup given how many things were wrong!

I am about to start a bag of beans I got in a charity sale tomorrow so may be tempted to record my findings again.. It certainly helps focus my mind on getting the best!


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Hi Joe,

Interesting & enjoyable to read...you've gone cooler & shorter, where next?


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

Where next... Mostly looking what I'm doing in the mornings! Don't think I'll continue along this route but am opening a new coffee in the morning so will give you a run down!

put of interest what would you have done with the tastes above?


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I don't know, I don't touch my inverted (fill inverted, fit cap, flip & swirl to wash grinds off the plunger, steep right way up) Aeropress for thirty minutes, nor brew as cool (water 30seconds off boil or 97C).

But the thing is, like the Clever Dripper, with short steeps you get mix of "steep" & "drip/plunge", I tend to try and push extraction more firmly into one method over the other. In honesty, your extractions could have been anywhere, or even a mix, but I think we tend to panic about any 'bitter/burned/roasty' flavours and always assume we have gone too far, it's not always the case.


----------



## Joe the fish (Feb 12, 2014)

That's actually a really helpful post. Never considered that and it makes such sense. Can't manage 30min steeps at work but I will give one a go tomorrow... Any hints


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I like to steep at work, just because it's not so input/time dependent - get it going, wander off, get stuck on the phone etc.,....worst thing that can happen is your coffee is on the cooler side (but 30mins in the AP is usualy OK & hot, steeping right way up after the inverted fill makes the plunger a decent lid/insulator, preheat the cup before plunge).

I use a shade less coffee (12.5-12.7g) but see how you go, coffee in 1st then water gives a bigger, thicker body. Water in 1st (say 2/3, then coffee, then top up) gives a lighter body.


----------

