# Fresh beans advice



## ClaretAnt (Feb 19, 2010)

I've had my Iberital MC2 a week now and quickly got through the Italian blend that came with it, and am now using up a couple of packs of beans I already had that have been kicking around a while, so i guess they're not great.

I don't know if there's anywhere locally that I can get good genuinely fresh roasted beans (I'm in Doncaster - anyone know anywhere nearby?), so I've been looking at the online roasters linked on here.

I've been tempted by the HasBean espresso starter pack. Do you think this is a good way of starting to develop a 'palate' for different bean types (I'm utterly clueless at the moment)?

I guess I'm only likely to use roughly 250g a week, so is five bags too much to buy in one go for it to remain fresh enough?

What's the most economical way of buying decent beans regularly in small quantities?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

The most economical way is to buy a subscription pack (to receive a 250g (sometimes larger) bag per month, topping this up with ad-hoc purchases from other roasters as the crops arrive and meet your taste profile.

You will go through 5 x 250g bags fairly quickly (it's about a months worth of coffee)

Coffee is usually at its best 5-15 days after roasting (varies by region, varietal, roast profile etc)

Try lots of different coffees and don't lock yourself into one roast profile.

Try light roasts, dark roasts, indonesians, sumatrans, brazilians, columbians, single origins and blends and see what you like


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

I'm still developing my palate, but hasbean have some great varieties, to date, I still like the toba sulawesi the most, though I'm looking forward to trying the salvador los amates soon.

I wouldn't say buying beans regularly in small quantities already roasted is the way to go.

If you like your coffee fresh, there really is no substitute imho to roasting it yourself, or at least I found this after going down the route of buying a few bags from hasbean every few weeks.

It all depends on how important having fresh beans is to you.


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

Variety is the spice of live !









I keep trying different beans - in fact I have never had the same beans twice so far. I have ordered online mostly, but one of my local haunts sells Square Mile beans which saves on the P&P.

Your consumption sounds very close to mine, and I buy between 250g and 500g at a time. One of the online sellers is offering 4 x 250g as a special and I was tempted.


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## Monkey_Boy (Feb 26, 2010)

I've been told by a few people to try Clifton Coffee.....that their range it very good...Got a customer bringing in some sample bags next week....can't wait!!


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