# July Decaf exclusive - Hasbean



## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

As noted before I think I may struggle to get enough roasters on board to get a subscription Decaf exclusive on a monthly basis.

So, I will be going with monthly guest slots only, alternating between decaf (varying roast level) and DSOL.

This month I have secured us an exclusive decaf from Hasbean. It will be roasted medium to medium dark (just to the start of the 2nd crack).

Couple of things to note:

1) Hasbean say it may be challenging espresso wise. Will require super fine grind (they attribute this to decaf process).

2) Direct quote from hasbean:

I think it's a great idea to encourage people to treat their decaf more seriously and to expect good flavour rather than write it off.

It will run the same as other exclusives, blind testing/discussion.

Superb price of £6.50 per 250g, delivered so no excuses for not getting involved!


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Copy/add name to list:

1. Igm45 (500g)


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## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Copy/add name to list:

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

@Rhys one for you?


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

fatboyslim said:


> @Rhys one for you?


More like our lass as she likes the med/darker ones in milk. I've gone off darker roasts and prefer lighter ones.

I've put my name down for 500g as I can freeze one.


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

Great job!









1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)

6. Kennyboy993 (250g)


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## Elcee (Feb 16, 2017)

Would these be suitable for filter brewing?


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Elcee said:


> Would these be suitable for filter brewing?


Just got clarification, definitely, yes


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)

6. Kennyboy993 (250g)

7. working dog (500g)


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

8. Urbanbumpkin 250g (sorry on Tapatalk)


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)

6. Kennyboy993 (250g)

7. working dog (500g)

8. Urbanbumpkin(250g)

9. Hibbsy(250g)


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

@urbanbumpkin how much would like ?


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Hibbsy said:


> @urbanbumpkin how much would like ?


Sorry 250g please


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

No worries, updated with amount


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Any more for any more??


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## Greenblood (Jun 8, 2017)

Go on then, 500g

cheers

stebe


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)

6. Kennyboy993 (250g)

7. working dog (500g)

8. Urbanbumpkin(250g)

9. Hibbsy(250g)

10. Greenblood (500g)


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Going to pm tomorrow to sort payment.

Last chance for people to join the list


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

might be worth extending a little longer if you can, will need a bit of a longer soak to give people a chance to see the thread and sign up, ideally a week if you can manage it.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Phobic said:


> might be worth extending a little longer if you can, will need a bit of a longer soak to give people a chance to see the thread and sign up, ideally a week if you can manage it.


Cheers,

Will e-mail Hasbean tomorrow and see what they say.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

I have spoken with Hasbean, I will be sending out pm's tomorrow so this really is your last chance to get on the list you lot...


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Could I order 500g please


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## knightsfield (Sep 22, 2014)

Could I have 500g please


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

Im in

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)

6. Kennyboy993 (250g)

7. working dog (500g)

8. Urbanbumpkin(250g)

9. Hibbsy(250g)

10. Greenblood (500g)

11. Blackstone (250g)


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

1. Igm45 (500g)

2. Dunk (250g)

3. dfk (500g)

4. Rhys (500g)

5. Phobic (500g)

6. Kennyboy993 (250g)

7. working dog (500g)

8. Urbanbumpkin(250g)

9. Hibbsy(250g)

10. Greenblood (500g)

11. Blackstone (250g)

12. Knightsfield (500g)

13. Yesrow (500g)


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Pm's have gone out this morning. Once ALL payments received I will forward the list onto the roaster.


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

Payment sent, Thanks for sorting. Last decaf from hasbean was good, so looking forward to this.


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## Greenblood (Jun 8, 2017)

Paid, thanks for the time and effort spent on this!

cheers,

steve


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Paid up. Nice one


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Thats all payments received thank you. Makes my life so much easier not having to chase.

Just waiting for address details from a couple of you. I have pm'd those concerned.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

Just to be nosey what's you total weight?


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

fatboyslim said:


> Just to be nosey what's you total weight?


5.25 kilos.

Not quite in the LSOL league but we've all got to start somewhere!!


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

igm45 said:


> 5.25 kilos.
> 
> Not quite in the LSOL league but we've all got to start somewhere!!


It is a very decent place to start. If you were to be less focused on exclusives I'm sure you could keep it going as a monthly thing!

Has bean were a pleasure to deal with for LSOL so I'm sure you'll have no problems.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

fatboyslim said:


> It is a very decent place to start. If you were to be less focused on exclusives I'm sure you could keep it going as a monthly thing!
> 
> Has bean were a pleasure to deal with for LSOL so I'm sure you'll have no problems.


They have been great so far I don't forsee any issues.

Next months roaster lined up so I will see how it develops.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mine arrived this morning, keep an eye out for that postie


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

just got mine, thanks @igm45


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Just turned up

Thanks for organising


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I've just got home to find mine waiting in the porch. Thanks for organising this.


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

Mine have arrived too. Thanks for sorting.


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## Greenblood (Jun 8, 2017)

Cool! mine will have been redirected by the postie, so should get it here in France in about 5 days.

cheers

steve


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## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Mine arrived too. Excited to try it.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Me too - nice one img


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Spro time..

It grinds quite fine, more of a LSOL grind.. First attempt was OK'ish.. but got me grinding finer still. Being a decaf it will need a finer grind anyway.

Anyways, second attempt and got 35.5g out of 15g input on the La Pav. First thing that hit me was a massive hit of red berries. Almost Ribena strength, giving way to some acidity. I had the impression that this dacaf might be on the darker side but it's far from it to my taste. Considering I've dived straight in as an espresso instead of a brew, they've not needed much resting.

Wondering what a weeks resting will bring. Will definitely syphon these as well.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Rhys said:


> Spro time..
> 
> It grinds quite fine, more of a LSOL grind.. First attempt was OK'ish.. but got me grinding finer still. Being a decaf it will need a finer grind anyway.
> 
> ...


Oh you've whet my appetite now. They are in deep storage degassing, thought it'd be far too early.

May try sooner than first anticipated after this.


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Received and many thanks for organising this. I will get brewing at the weekend


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

igm45 said:


> Oh you've whet my appetite now. They are in deep storage degassing, thought it'd be far too early.
> 
> May try sooner than first anticipated after this.


Well, I was trying HasBeans LSOL as I've been hitting those. Was looking at my several bags of decaf I have (Union, Coaltown etc.) and thought I'd just jump straight into these.

The smell in the bag as soon as I opened them made me want to try them as well. Was quite intrigued.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Anyone yet to receive this?


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## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

Just tried mine as a espresso and piccolo. Really good, lovely fruitiness in the espresso and caramel in the piccolo. Goes really well with the milk!

From the comment above I ground finer than the normal bean I was using but way over extracted. Ended up using the same settings as I did for my five elephant this morning.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Dunk said:


> Just tried mine as a espresso and piccolo. Really good, lovely fruitiness in the espresso and caramel in the piccolo. Goes really well with the milk!
> 
> From the comment above I ground finer than the normal bean I was using but way over extracted. Ended up using the same settings as I did for my five elephant this morning.


How did you know it was over extracted dunk? I think I experienced the same though wanted to learn from other on the signs/tastes


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

kennyboy993 said:


> How did you know it was over extracted dunk? I think I experienced the same though wanted to learn from other on the signs/tastes


Focus on the taste. That's all that counts. Without a recipe it's hard to tell if the guy has over or under extracted it. Just grinding fine doesn't tell you about the potential extraction.

You could be grinding really fine and putting 18g into 20g it's unlikely that would be over extracted.. It mat taste strong an bitter though..or strong and sour. Adjust based in This. Make sense?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Focus on the taste. That's all that counts. Without a recipe it's hard to tell if the guy has over or under extracted it. Just grinding fine doesn't tell you about the potential extraction.
> 
> You could be grinding really fine and putting 18g into 20g it's unlikely that would be over extracted.. It mat taste strong an bitter though..or strong and sour. Adjust based in This. Make sense?


Makes sense.

Though i simply want to understand how dunk identified this - there's learning in that too.


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## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

kennyboy993 said:


> How did you know it was over extracted dunk? I think I experienced the same though wanted to learn from other on the signs/tastes


Only because it took 40 seconds and all I got out was 5g is espresso!


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Dunk said:


> Only because it took 40 seconds and all I got out was 5g is espresso!


Ha ha fair play - pretty obvious one then


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## Dunk (Mar 26, 2015)

kennyboy993 said:


> Ha ha fair play - pretty obvious one then


The second tasted balanced. About 18g in 36g out in around 27 seconds. Ish.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Is it ready for spro then guys? Don't need to rest longer?


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

igm45 said:


> Is it ready for spro then guys? Don't need to rest longer?


Try it yourself and report back









I'm grinding quite fine and getting double the output. I can slacken it slightly and get a pour before I pull, then I'm getting around 36g out of 15g.


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Just tried these beans as a V60. Very easy drinking. Hints of fruit - trying to be more specific but struggling


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

kennyboy993 said:


> How did you know it was over extracted dunk? I think I experienced the same though wanted to learn from other on the signs/tastes


How you getting on with it now mate?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Not opened them yet buddy - got so much other stuff knocking around.

Gonna open them tomorrow though - looking forward to it


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

kennyboy993 said:


> Not opened them yet buddy - got so much other stuff knocking around.
> 
> Gonna open them tomorrow though - looking forward to it


I won't be back from work till late tomorrow so it'll be my first try too. First decaff since I got into speciality too


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Just tried first spro.

Had my mignon set for average grind for decaf bean and it was a gusher.

18g in, 54 out in 25 seconds so my lovely clean mechanika got a good splashing too :-(

Anyway it tastes fine - getting lots of berries.

Will tighten grind right up for next one and go from there


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Had another one, tightened right up.

18 in, 36 out 33 seconds. Nice pour.

Caramel has come out, fruit calmed now a lot. Very nice - so nice I had it as americano.


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

1st stab at this, CCD, loads of red berries - more towards red current.

this is the kinda of decaf I've been looking for!

Fruit, fruit, fruit, brillant!

going to try it as a filter but very interested in what this will be like as a spro


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Righto,

My turn, opened packet, immediately struck by the aroma, it has a woody, almost chemical smell to it. Neither appealing nor unpleasant just quite unique.

Visually the beans look even in size, good equal roast. Appear quite dark however Hasbean said this is due to decaf process.

Ground to my usual LSOL level, 17.95g in basket. Ok extraction, a bit of a double tail but nothing major. 32.8 g out in 33 seconds.

Struck by the light crema, I suppose due to the darker appearance I subconsciously expected DSOL behaviour.

First taste, no bitterness, nice acidity that despite threatening to, never once tipped into sourness.

Taste more towards LSOL offerings. Lovely, lovely balance to it. Not getting as much fruit as others suggest but the acidity and hints of tang are a bit apple like I suppose.

Not getting any caramels or chocolate flavours, just a lovely balanced cup that you have to search the flavours out, opposed to some blends where they hit you in the face.

These flavours are just from my first cup so subject to change of course, initial impressions are good.

No way inferior to caffeine alternatives.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

No way inferior to caffeine alternatives - I'll second that!


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

I'm gonna increase yield to 1:2.5 in the morning to see if I get more of the caramel. If not I enjoyed the one I had today and will try in milk.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I've been hand grinding this on the Lido3 on 2. Really nice red berry and choc. 18g=>38g 43 secs.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Phobic said:


> 1st stab at this, CCD, loads of red berries - more towards red current.
> 
> this is the kinda of decaf I've been looking for!
> 
> ...


I think this has to be the nicest decaf I've tried (not that I've had many). Most I've tried are more nutty, but this is bold fruit.


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

we drink a lot of decaf, only so much caf you can handle in a day. We got so bored of the standard nutty choc decaf that I refuse to buy it any more, they're all clones of each other and very boring.

currently we have workshop and square mile decaf, both of which are excellent, worth a try.

this Hasbean is amazing, just had a Spro, again loads of red berries, not getting any caramel. it's the 1st shot so need to dial it in.

wouldn't guess it was decaf, it's a little lighter/thinner on the palette than caf maybe which might be a give away if you notice it,but loads of flavor

Pretty impressed with this.

will there be any more that we can buy? I feel like stocking the freezer with it already.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Just checked through my email correspondence.

Indeed you will be able to:

"What we could do, is give you an exclusive first look at our next one before it goes on general release"


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

@dfk41 have you given this a go? I'm conscious you only get on with DSOL. Wondering how you are finding this?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

igm45 said:


> @dfk41 have you given this a go? I'm conscious you only get on with DSOL. Wondering how you are finding this?


Not yet.......funnily enough, the last three beans I have ordered have been medium at best, and the two I have drunk I have enjoyed. I have another 4 days worth to drink before I get into the hasbean stuff and am looking forward to it. I have noticed the lighter stuff is far easier to grind, taking less time to grind and faster drier pucks which is always welcome. I think as long as the bean is not acidic then perhaps it does not matter so much


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> Not yet.......funnily enough, the last three beans I have ordered have been medium at best, and the two I have drunk I have enjoyed. I have another 4 days worth to drink before I get into the hasbean stuff and am looking forward to it. I have noticed the lighter stuff is far easier to grind, taking less time to grind and faster drier pucks which is always welcome. I think as long as the bean is not acidic then perhaps it does not matter so much


Cheers,

I will be interested to hear how you get on. I didn't fine the acidity levels to be overbearing, I know @kennyboy993 isn't a fan of acidic brews either so he may be able to forewarn or give you a heads up.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm using the Lido3 to grind with so not great for small increments for espresso.

18g =>37g in 61 secs (I got scare). I thought it was about 2.5 on the dial but realistically more like 1.9.

Really nice anyway fruits and a chocolate waffle taste, probably just the roasts taste coming through with such a long shot even at low pressure. Really pleasing all the same.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

OK, I have had 4 cups of this and am struggling slightly. I cannot get any fruit out of it at all, though that maybe down to my peculiar tastebuds of course. Dont get me wrong.......there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I am surprised as it is a very similar roast level to some RAve decaf I have just finished yet I have had to tighten up the grind to the point it is taking 1,25 seconds longer for 15.5 gms


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> OK, I have had 4 cups of this and am struggling slightly. I cannot get any fruit out of it at all, though that maybe down to my peculiar tastebuds of course. Dont get me wrong.......there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
> 
> I am surprised as it is a very similar roast level to some RAve decaf I have just finished yet I have had to tighten up the grind to the point it is taking 1,25 seconds longer for 15.5 gms


What flavours are you getting?

I wasn't getting overtly fruity tastes but since then I have slackened the grind ever so slightly and been getting lovely sweet fruitiness.

I'm in the dark re: origin and tasting notes atm. Hasbean will be giving me the big reveal soon.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

due another cuppa in an hour. I will either loosen up a bit or try another brew method. I am useless at describing taste. I can say no bitterness or acidity, but I could not identify anyone flavour. It was not what I was expecting. The overall taste was nearer a bean roasted far darker


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

dfk41 said:


> OK, I have had 4 cups of this and am struggling slightly. I cannot get any fruit out of it at all, though that maybe down to my peculiar tastebuds of course. Dont get me wrong.......there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
> 
> I am surprised as it is a very similar roast level to some RAve decaf I have just finished yet I have had to tighten up the grind to the point it is taking 1,25 seconds longer for 15.5 gms


You do have to go really fine. What are you dosing? What's the output? How long is it taking?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Dosing 15.5, output 25 gm over 25 seconds. My standard lever shot


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

dfk41 said:


> Dosing 15.5, output 25 gm over 25 seconds. My standard lever shot


Try 32-36g output to see if it tastes any better.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Right, lets get those guesses in then


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

I found 1:2 over 30seconds worked best for me. Grind was significantly finer, taking 2 seconds longer than normal to grind 16g


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Colombian


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Guatamalan


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

I need to go an try it again, the wife's been guzzling it all week!


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Phobic said:


> I need to go an try it again, the wife's been guzzling it all week!


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

I'll show her this post and you can explain it to her when you meet her face to face in a few weeks!


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

^ this

Is a lesson to those newbies on the forum.

If, after a couple of drinks, around midnight, you think:

"I will take a quick look at the forum, oh goodness, im hilarious.."

Don't. Post.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

I'm finding this so smooth and balanced in espresso - one of the smoothest single origin decafs I've tried


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

No messing there @dfk41 spot on.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

It's from Colombia. Decaffeination is, as with our other Colombian Decafs, done at a plant in Colombia where they use a sugar cane byproduct for the process.

Over the last couple of years, we've bought a couple of large lots from co-operatives in Colombia for Decaf-ing - the minimum run size for the process is 4,200kg of green coffee (which would be about 3,400kg after roasting). We've been really impressed by the quality of flavour you get from this process in comparison to the Swiss Water and CO2 methods. By taking control of the lots we want processing, we've been able to chose coffees that tasted good to begin with rather than being stuck with someone else's selection. The downside is that we've not been building on relationships with farmers, because we had to look for big lots.

Last year, we decided to begin doing something different. We have a long standing relationship with a farmer called Pedro Claros. His farm - La Chorrera - is one that we not only buy from each year, but which we cup each lot of pickings from and feed that back to him as a score. The better the picked coffee tastes, the higher the premium he gets for it. La Chorrera had reached a point last year where it was producing a good volume and the consistency was super good - enough so that they were able to build up the 4,200kg we would need for a Decaf-ing run.*

This has a downside - we've only been able to keep a small amount of the farm's production aside as caffeinated - but we think it's worth it to be able to offer a Decaf which has provenance and quality and which we can keep building on in years to come.

So you've had the first taste of Colombia La Chorrera Decaf! I hope everyone has enjoyed it.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Well played @dfk41


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## Elcee (Feb 16, 2017)

Seems to be available on Hasbean's website to buy now: https://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/colombia-finca-la-chorrera-washed-caturra-sc-decaf


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