# Bean choices - help me out.



## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

I'm getting a bit bored with bean choices/the coffee in my cup.

I always did a medium dark roast and pretty much always got monsooned malabar and roasted to 2nd crack. 
But recently I've been branching out but I'm not overly impressed by my efforts!

I was after something slightly brighter in the cup with milk, maybe a touch of citrus. 
I also love that caramel flavour you can get with a lighter roast in milk.

I've tried Guatemalan which I really like for the caramel. But found a Costa Rican bean was just lacking in flavour.

So I am after suggestions, preferably on the not too expensive side. I usually buy from rave or coffee compass and I don't want to part with more that maybe £10 a kilo until I know whether it's any good! 
i bought the 3 for £22 from CC and enjoyed the Guatemalan but the CR and Nicaragua Pacamara have so far been disappointing.

I was going to try an Ethiopian Sidamo maybe, or Kenyan pea berry.

I'm also after something I can roast medium towards dark that has some real nutty flavours. Maybe a Columbian Excelso?

Any suggestions would be appreciated


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Ideally you need to source speciality grade coffees. Colombian Excelso is the cheapest commodity grade Colombian there is and unlikely to provide anything good when roasted lighter.


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

A budget of £10/kg +post for a single kilo is going to rather limit your choices. It would not buy a Kenyan pea berry. At 30/60kg units they start at around £9/kg.

The Kenyan and Ethiopian coffees will give you the desired 'hint of citrus'.

£10/kg +post may just get you a Sidamo . Try Lalico either via eBay or their webpage .

This link may help you get the notes you are seeking. ( due recognition to davecuk ).

https://creator.zoho.com/davec_coffeetime/coffeetime-shared-roasting-log/#Page:Coffee_roasting_reports1


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Thanks. 
I don't live far from Pennines Tea and coffee so can get those from there for around £10 a kilo

Would this be a good place to head?


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

If Pennine will sell to callers, then yes. I used them via mail order a few years ago and unless you bought enough to qualify for free postage, they were expensive.

I note that their Kenyan pea berry (Zawadi) is a blend from several factories and therefore many farms. I suspect it is a DR Wakefield import and is £11.25p via www and £12.50p via telephone. So it may be worth checking what the price will be.

Zawadi is the Swahili word for gift. It is also the name of an organisation that funds co op projects in Kenya.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

TomHughes said:


> Thanks.
> I don't live far from Pennines Tea and coffee so can get those from there for around £10 a kilo
> 
> Would this be a good place to head?


 *Im not talking about Pennine or anyone in particular here*

To help give you some form of reference. Buying green coffee at wholesale and selling it for a markup of 2 to 3x is not unusual (or unreasonable) as they have to buy the coffee ,pay delivery, bag it up into kilos, label it, store it and then P&P on top of all that.

So if they order enough postage can be down to 30-40p per Kg (cos coffee is heavy), if they buy in at £3.30, they will sell out at £7-10 per kg, sometimes more!

I won't bother roasting coffee of that price and usually pay from 7-10 per Kg wholesale, sometimes more for speciality grade. It costs me much more to have shipped because I buy smaller quantities and can be up to £1 per kg on cost.

If you want decent greens to give the lighter roast, they need to be speciality grade and at retail you are more likely to be paying £16-£30 per Kg.

Hope that helps


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Thanks Dave. 
I guess that is the problem with small batch home roasting. 
getting decent level coffee at a decent price is tough. 
I would only ever by max 4kg at a time.

Im not really after something that light as I just don't think it agrees with my palate. 
Just wanted something with a few more flavours in than the standard chocolate


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

For home roasting the point is to buy a good coffee, no point roasting cheap coffee, you can buy that on line. I agree when you buy only small amounts it's really expensive. It's why I roast share with a few people, it allows me to buy in larger quantities and have 4 or 5 coffees on the go. If I didn't roast share, I couldn't do that.

Usually about this point in time some wag suggests why don't home roasters get together and form a "greens club", tried that, been there got the T shirt and also got burned as well. So if your next thought is why don't people get together...don't bother


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Usually about this point in time some wag suggests why don't home roasters get together and form a "greens club", tried that, been there got the T shirt and also got burned as well. So if your next thought is why don't people get together...don't bother


 I and a FEW others started a small syndicate. (And I am not a 'wives and girlfriends'!)

We have been going for two years. I am the dogsbody and I do it on a not for profit basis. Perhaps I/we have been lucky in attracting like minded and honest folks! I think the key is keeping it small so the organiser is not over exposed.

Anther plus is that WE have a huge selection of speciality grade coffees to pick from as WE are currently using three importers with more in the wings. Admittedly I do have the advantage of having a large coffee warehouse nearby which cuts out some of the initial transport charges. In fact, as I can usually fit the 'coffee run' in with other jobs, I do not charge the others for the collection from the warehouse or delivery to a nearby member. Postage is done at cost and I/we look for the best deal in the usual way.

I used capitals for WE as everyone has the opportunity to pick coffees. I suppose if there is a rule, if a person picks a coffee, although WE all chip in and take some to help out and keep things going, but the picker may be expected to take the lions share. So far, it has only happened once when someone has had to take 30kg of a 60kg lot.

If you are buying speciality grade coffee from reputable importers, the chances of something terrible is small. It's more a case of "I like that, but I like this one more"!

Before you kick the idea into touch, why not see if there is any interest local to you? Then you can assess the benefits, costs and work involved accordingly. You could look at Small Batch Roasting as a start. Then if it is working cut costs further by going to the importers.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

DavecUK said:


> For home roasting the point is to buy a good coffee, no point roasting cheap coffee, you can buy that on line. I agree when you buy only small amounts it's really expensive. It's why I roast share with a few people, it allows me to buy in larger quantities and have 4 or 5 coffees on the go. If I didn't roast share, I couldn't do that.
> 
> Usually about this point in time some wag suggests why don't home roasters get together and form a "greens club", tried that, been there got the T shirt and also got burned as well. So if your next thought is why don't people get together...don't bother


 For me the is/was purely to save money and in part to produce the roast I wanted. 
For instance the price of 1KG greens from Rave is the same as 500g of their roasted. Even with a 15-20% loss on weight I am still winning.

I don't have much of a sophisticated palate, I don't really drink espresso and never have coffee without cream or milk. 
I generally despise light light roasts, they taste of grass to me. I can handle light-medium in milk.

All I'm after is coffee with a bit of character through milk, some nutty flavours and maybe a different one with some floral/berry notes.

I also roast in my DIY roaster, which is pretty crude. So I doubt I could get the best out of anything decent.


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