# Beans for a beginner



## gareth689 (Mar 28, 2021)

Hi all, I'm picking up a new Sage oracle tomorrow having spent years with a Delonghi Bean to cup and just wanting better as I just drink espresso and i'm sick of either sour or bitter ones from the standard machine. Can anyone recommend a decent bean that will give a beginner good results with this machine?


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Pardon me, but how much are stumping up for the oracle.


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## 24774 (Mar 8, 2020)

gareth689 said:


> Hi all, I'm picking up a new Sage oracle tomorrow having spent years with a Delonghi Bean to cup and just wanting better as I just drink espresso and i'm sick of either sour or bitter ones from the standard machine. Can anyone recommend a decent bean that will give a beginner good results with this machine?


 I'm a relative newbie, I have a Sage BE and I've found Crown And Canvas First Light very easy to get right and consistently too. So was their Fazenda Zaroca. They're very well priced and even more so if you use the forum discount. (See the discount section). If I can get it right with a BE you should be able to with an Oracle.


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## grumble (Mar 16, 2020)

I've found the Extract coffee blends very easy to get a good cup out of. If you buy a kilo with the WELCOME30 code they are great value too.


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## gareth689 (Mar 28, 2021)

Jony said:


> Pardon me, but how much are stumping up for the oracle.


 Found an unused one that's never been out of the box on Facebook for £700.


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## gareth689 (Mar 28, 2021)

Thanks all, will have a look at these suggestions and get some orders in


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Black Cat - Twilight Blend. Darkish roast, very easy to extract.


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## Tinkstar (Nov 27, 2020)

Going to high jack this if you don't mind.

I would also like suggestions.

Grinder is SJolly. New to this so learning.

Gaggia classic.

I have had 3kgs of blackcat and will run out if I don't order something soon.

I am drinking milk based approx 250ml milk. I use to drink mocha all the time but really like my latte now I'm making them.

What would you suggest as a dark bean? A good learning bean?

I will check out the above too.


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## Emily (Dec 27, 2020)

lake_m said:


> Black Cat - Twilight Blend. Darkish roast, very easy to extract.


 I also got on well with this.

I am interested in this thread too so will be looking out for suggestions. Something that is foolproof with milk. Haven't managed a drinkable milk based drink yet 😂😫


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## 24774 (Mar 8, 2020)

Emily said:


> I am interested in this thread too so will be looking out for suggestions. Something that is foolproof with milk. Haven't managed a drinkable milk based drink yet 😂😫


 Another sponsor, Altitude Coffee (also do a forum discount). Their Captain's Roast is strong coffee, cuts through milk well. If you don't mind the expense, Kiss The Hippo George St Blend is my favourite Americano with milk drink.


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## Like Medium Strong Coffee (Feb 18, 2021)

Emily said:


> I also got on well with this.
> 
> I am interested in this thread too so will be looking out for suggestions. Something that is foolproof with milk. Haven't managed a drinkable milk based drink yet 😂😫


 We have so far tried:

- Chocolate Point and Signature Blend from Blackcat

- Betty and Dr Strangelove from Extract coffee

All of them on Aeropress and Indian filter. In the case of latter, I typically grind 24g or 28g coarse espresso grind with a brew ratio of 1:10 to get 190g or 230g strong coffee on the cup for two. We mix with almost an equal amount of milk. We liked them with milk.


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## Ando (Jan 11, 2021)

My favourite so far has been Dear Green - Brazil. I drink mainly flat whites (odd Americano) and it's just fantastic. 
A couple of the independent coffee shops near me use this for milk drinks which is what led me to it.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Ando said:


> My favourite so far has been Dear Green - Brazil. I drink mainly flat whites (odd Americano) and it's just fantastic.
> A couple of the independent coffee shops near me use this for milk drinks which is what led me to it.


 The Brazilians are generally very forgiving beans, take a wide range of roast levels and taste good.


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## Uriel4953 (Dec 1, 2019)

I started with Rave signature blend and that has kind of stuck as my base coffee. Seemed more of a popular suggestion when I was starting out than maybe it is now, but I've never had a bad batch and it's easy to get really nice brew out of it. Honestly I've been wanting to tour a load of the roasters local to me including Rave but then the pandemic hit and it all went tits up.


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