# Bean Subscriptions



## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

I've been ordering from Pact for the last couple of months and liking the coffee, but interested in trying out something new from somewhere, maybe Black Cat, Rave, or even Square mile..

Interested to hear people's opinions on the above, suggestions for others and their experiences with these beans and their Sage machines

Cheers!


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## Adam.f (Apr 9, 2020)

What style of coffee do you like?

milk based/espresso/americano?

what tastes do you prefer?

fruity, nutty, spicy, chocolate.

dark or light roasts? If it is a sage with a built in grinder, the grinders don't get on with light roast beans very well.

all the above vendors you mentioned are good, just knowing what you like might help narrow it down abit.


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

Enjoy an espresso but my everyday drink is a flat white/cortado. Enjoy chocolate notes, not such a fan of particularly fruity or acidic notes. Would be interested to try a few more nutty notes.. The fudge blend from Rave caught my eye.

Pact described all the beans I've received to date as their dark espresso blend but also say they don't roast as dark as most places, so I'd say they were a light/medium roast. I'm running the BE's built in grinder and you're right I think I'm probably pushing it's capabilities to the max at the moment!


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## TobyAnscombe (Sep 28, 2014)

Big fan of Hasbean but do have a reasonable amount of change in grind between each subscription.Once you are used to it then its easy to dial in with a shot or two..


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## Drellis (Aug 31, 2018)

I've been impressed with beans from Electric Coffee Company since switching to them earlier this year. Good range of price points for beans and they have a 10% discount on until 15th June 2020. The tasting note descriptions are pretty accurate too.


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## negativesentiment (Jun 3, 2020)

I really rate Origin and they do a few different subscriptions I think. 
Personally never enjoyed Pact coffee, haven't got on with the taste.


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## Griffo (Dec 31, 2017)

Rave have revamped their coffee subscription, it's now an educational coffee subscription. You get different beans every month and different coffee educational pieces and guides every month. Worth trying


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## Techno (Feb 29, 2020)

Lavazza red works well with the sage for me.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

Griffo said:


> Rave have revamped their coffee subscription, it's now an educational coffee subscription. You get different beans every month and different coffee educational pieces and guides every month. Worth trying


 How do you find dealing in each month? And what size/price are the bags?


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

negativesentiment said:


> I really rate Origin and they do a few different subscriptions I think.
> Personally never enjoyed Pact coffee, haven't got on with the taste.


 Any in particular you'd recommend from Origin?


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## negativesentiment (Jun 3, 2020)

MattLeB said:


> Any in particular you'd recommend from Origin?


 Resolute and San Fermin are particularly nice in my opinion.

They have 20% sale on now so could always pick up some to see if you enjoy it before doing a subscription.


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

Was just looking at the Resolute - how dark is the roast? Can't seem to find a description of it..


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## negativesentiment (Jun 3, 2020)

MattLeB said:


> Was just looking at the Resolute - how dark is the roast? Can't seem to find a description of it..


 Medium roast in my opinion.

On the page it has "We create a new and unique profile for each coffee we roast. Although the profiles are different, our approach is always the same, to highlight and accentuate the flavours created at the farm and mill. This means we don't label our coffees as espresso, filter, dark or light roast. All of our coffees are omni-roast, meant to be delicious however you brew. We believe the heart of speciality is keeping the identity and character of every coffee intact and alive, no matter the brew method."

Not hugely informative I would say.


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

negativesentiment said:


> Not hugely informative I would say.


 I would agree! 😂

I'd like to try something darker than I have been drinking as I believe the BE grinder deals a bit better with a darker roast


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

MattLeB said:


> I would agree! 😂
> 
> I'd like to try something darker than I have been drinking as I believe the BE grinder deals a bit better with a darker roast


 See this from time time so ill try and nudge you into a different way of thinking,

Judging a bean by it's outer colour , or asking to tell someone if it is medium or dark really helpful either. A bean can be a colour outside that is not inidcitve of it's development inside.

What is medium exactly ? What is darker than what ? Darker than medium, it's like steak , one man's medium rare is another man's charred.

Look at a coffee, look at the tasting notes, do you want to try and get a bean that tastes like that ?

Even photos of beans , will be reflective of the lighting , how long it is rested .

Roasters are not all gonna give you a Argtron rating for you to judge a coffee by, nor should they .

https://www.coffeereview.com/agtron-numerology/

It's expensive , wasteful and 99% of people wouldn't understand or use it

The concept of the Jealometer was raised years ago unsuccessfully ( this is old school and only probably only one or two left on here who will get this )


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Jealometer? How far he gets with your hard-earned before being banned you mean?! Luckily I won't be needing that brass dispersion block now, sold the Classic to Glenn years ago... You just triggered a blast from the distant past Martin!


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@MattLeB - I like the Resolute, it's nice and on the more "traditional" side of medium really. Decent as espresso or with milk but plum wasn't too prominent. I found it darker than my taste for v60.

I found the citrusy San Fermin or roast peanut Das Almas nicer for espresso based drinks and pour over. Good enough for me to buy another kilo of each last week.

My wife only drinks coffee with milk and likes the resolute more, so your mileage may vary.


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

Northern_Monkey said:


> @MattLeB - I like the Resolute, it's nice and on the more "traditional" side of medium really. Decent as espresso or with milk but plum wasn't too prominent. I found it darker than my taste for v60.
> 
> I found the citrusy San Fermin or roast peanut Das Almas nicer for espresso based drinks and pour over. Good enough for me to buy a kilo of each last week.
> 
> My wife only drinks coffee with milk and likes the resolute more, so your mileage may vary.


 Very helpful impressions, thanks.

1kg a week.. that's quite an investment! Luckily I'm the only one using the machine at the moment and I'm trying to keep myself to one/two a day.. still find I get through bags of beans more quickly than expected!


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

MattLeB said:


> Very helpful impressions, thanks.
> 
> 1kg a week.. that's quite an investment! Luckily I'm the only one using the machine at the moment and I'm trying to keep myself to one/two a day.. still find I get through bags of beans more quickly than expected!


 I'm always surprised by how little coffee many people drink.....


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Funnily enough Dave, I was having this conversation earlier today with a mate. He's sensitive to caffeine and can't drink more than one of my doubles. I drink maybe 4 x 18g a day. He thought that was excessive until I mentioned you and your 10 a day!!

___
Eat, drink and be merry


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

Interestingly I find my tolerance to caffeine changes, some days I can have two or three doubles with no problem and others it gives me the shakes and a headache.. I try to keep fairly consistent and one in the morning and one in the afternoon suits my body and my wallet just fine!


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@MattLeB - Normally stick one bag in the freezer, with a big airscape to decant the other into a smaller one for the bean I'm using.

Looking like we are drinking about a kilo every 8 days since lockdown:

- Morning 5 x 16.5g doubles

- Afternoon V60 To share - 35g

Glad I'm not paying for work transport costs at the min!

Still less than Dave though, you must be a coffee powered machine with 10 a day... 😉


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## Joe shorrock (Nov 18, 2019)

Northern_Monkey said:


> @MattLeB - Normally stick one bag in the freezer, with a big airscape to decant the other into a smaller one for the bean I'm using.
> 
> Looking like we are drinking about a kilo every 8 days since lockdown:
> 
> ...


 Jesus machine! You have in a morning, 😂😂 what about pm?? Didn't mention that


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@Joe shorrock It's not all me! 😂

I tend to get up really early, have a couple of espressos and make a white coffee for my wife then go for a run. Have breakfast when I get back then make a latte for myself and my wife.

Split a 500ml V60 in the afternoon between us.

It all starts adding up pretty fast, even with no purging beans etc.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Northern_Monkey said:


> @MattLeB - Normally stick one bag in the freezer, with a big airscape to decant the other into a smaller one for the bean I'm using
> 
> Still less than Dave though, you must be a coffee powered machine with 10 a day... 😉


 It seems to have little effect on me....mainly I drink coffee instead of water.  I also really like coffee (it's why I'm here).


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