# Giving HasBean another chance...



## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

I've expressed my personal disappointment with HasBean coffee before, despite their exemplary customer service and enthusiasm, basically because I found the SO beans I had sampled were too acidic and light for my taste and some of their blends simply weird.

Well Rodabod actually sent me a sample of Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira which he assured me was not acidic. He was right, in fact it was very nice indeed. Very smooth, milk chocolately... just slightly too milk chocolately for my taste, but very good nevertheless. I ordered a pack along with a couple of others.

The second bean I tried was Sumatra Takengon Gayon Mountains. I'm a Sumatran fan, and this is a superb coffee. It had all the earthy funkiness I associate with Sumatran but is also very smooth. I'd also say the roast is just right (not over roasted like Union's equivalent). This will remain one of my favourites.

Service from HasBean was, as to be expected, impeccable. I'm glad to be back.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

I'm glad your back on the Has Beans! I find it hard to try any other roaster than Has Bean. They roast and deliver soooo quickly!

I ordered 500g of beans at 3pm last Friday. By 5pm they'd be roasted. They were delivered on Saturday!

They also have such an excellent selection of beans! People's taste in espresso is obviously going to differ and of course some of Steve's roasts won't be suited for espresso but generally I've loved every bean!

The only downside for me is the mountain of has bean bags I now have in my garage. I wish they could be recycled or at least returned and re-used!


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

fatboyslim said:


> The only downside for me is the mountain of has bean bags I now have in my garage. I wish they could be recycled or at least returned and re-used!


Could I suggest you start a thread on the home roasting section of the forum. Has Bean red bags are just the ticket to store freshly home roasted beans. I've got a supply I use but if you have a shedload, I am sure there will be some home roasters who gladly welcome them.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Hey fbs......I will send you a couple of quid to cover p & p if you want to send me some. Pm me mate and lets get it on!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I have 100s of these empty bags!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

RoloD said:


> I've expressed my personal disappointment with HasBean coffee before, despite their exemplary customer service and enthusiasm, basically because I found the SO beans I had sampled were too acidic and light for my taste and some of their blends simply weird.
> 
> Well Rodabod actually sent me a sample of Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira which he assured me was not acidic. He was right, in fact it was very nice indeed. Very smooth, milk chocolately... just slightly too milk chocolately for my taste, but very good nevertheless. I ordered a pack along with a couple of others.
> 
> ...


You should grab a bag of Wote Natural before its gone, Would love to see what you think


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

dfk41 said:


> Hey fbs......I will send you a couple of quid to cover p & p if you want to send me some. Pm me mate and lets get it on!


Let me collect together all the good ones and I'll Pm you later with info.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Thanks fbs.....they might arrive before my 105!


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

garydyke1 said:


> You should grab a bag of Wote Natural before its gone, Would love to see what you think


Yeah, I'd recommend this too. It's on the lighter side of medium, but I think you need this to keep the fruit flavour. It has slight sour acidity, but I find this works well with milk.

Funny thing is Roland, I went through the same phase of going off Hasbean after a few bags which were too sour for me. I now know to read the cupping/roasting notes to get the beans which suit me. I also take the descriptors with a pinch of salt some times, you know, "it tastes like being on holiday in Madagasar while sucking on a lychee and simultaneously snorting a line of sherbet dib-dab" sort of thing.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I'm surprised RoloD, as I think Londinium's roasting style which I know you live is very different from has Beans (both excellent in their own way of course).

Pleased you found some excellent coffee you like though.

I've got a bag of the new sweep stake and a bag of Ethiopian Wote coming which i'm looking forward too.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

rodabod said:


> Yeah, I'd recommend this too. It's on the lighter side of medium, but I think you need this to keep the fruit flavour. *It has slight sour acidity*, but I find this works well with milk.
> 
> Funny thing is Roland, I went through the same phase of going off Hasbean after a few bags which were too sour for me. I now know to read the cupping/roasting notes to get the beans which suit me. I also take the descriptors with a pinch of salt some times, you know, "it tastes like being on holiday in Madagasar while sucking on a lychee and simultaneously snorting a line of sherbet dib-dab" sort of thing.


You can tweek parameters to accentuate or tone down this attribute, there are such a wide range of profiles in this coffee


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## aphelion (Nov 23, 2012)

Wote is very awesome


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

Agreed.

One thing with the Wote also, is that for me, it has a grapefruit/cranberry bitterness in the aftertaste. It's a pleasant bitterness, and not like the bitterness you'd associate with over-extraction.


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

rodabod said:


> Yeah, I'd recommend this too. It's on the lighter side of medium, but I think you need this to keep the fruit flavour. It has slight sour acidity, but I find this works well with milk. Funny thing is Roland, I went through the same phase of going off Hasbean after a few bags which were too sour for me. I now know to read the cupping/roasting notes to get the beans which suit me. I


 Well, I never put milk in coffee - strictly an espresso drinker - so maybe this one is not for me.

Despite their excellent service, there is also a strong element of hype on the HasBean site (ok, call it enthusiastic salesmanship if you like) which I think you have to take with a pinch of salt. And I still think certain iterations of Blake have been absolute disasters.



aaronb said:


> I'm surprised RoloD, as I think Londinium's roasting style which I know you live is very different from has Beans (both excellent in their own way of course).


 I think there is a convergence there. Londinium is roasting lighter and these last two beans I've had from HasBean could easily have been from Londinium(IMHO).

I also suspect the LI itself is changing my approach to coffee - as well as bringing out more flavours in the bean, I'm now much more aware of the flavours that have been destroyed through over roasting.


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

See what the others say about having it as espresso. It's no where near as sour as Square Mile Red Brick or the last couple of bags of Sweet Shop which I had (I love these in milk though).


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

rodabod said:


> See what the others say about having it as espresso. It's no where near as sour as Square Mile Red Brick or the last couple of bags of Sweet Shop which I had (I love these in milk though).


I've ordered some.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Wote will blow you away, even if you dont like it, you cannot fail to admire how unqiue it is.

Espresso - either ristretto'd or slightly under and pulled long...the middle ground can be no-mans land


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## aphelion (Nov 23, 2012)

Just opening the bag blew me away!


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

I enjoy Hasbean's offerings for pour over but not for espresso - don't like citrus notes and acidity in mine. Find roasts like Londinium's ideally suited for my espresso preferences - lots of caramel, chocolate, dried dark fruit (fig) etc. Doesn't get lost in milk based drinks either. Hasbean's speed of delivery is very slick and efficient.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

The cachoeria makes delicious espresso. It's one I can't help but keep coming back to.

Oporapa is lovely too, but gets lost in milk, so not for me.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

I've been working my way through 500g of Bolivia Copacabana! This is all peaches and mangoes and you'll know if you extract it wrong since the sweetness will taste like balls not delicious sunshine fruit.

Highly recommend these beeeeaaans!


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

Haven't tried the Wote yet but just swapped from SUMATRA TAKENGON GAYON MOUNTAINS to SUMATRA RAJA BATAK NATURAL PROCESS and I think I like it even better. This really is dark chocolate - 85% cocoa content dark chocolate - but still very smooth, not quite as funky as the Takengon Gayon. Feel I have not got the best out of it yet, but loving it.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Glad youre enjoying the Has Bean revisit. I too have the Raja Natural (it was for a cupping session to compare with other continents) what recipe are you using, Im struggling to get past the roast and when I do I hit a musty zero-sweetness wall.


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

garydyke1 said:


> I too have the Raja Natural (it was for a cupping session to compare with other continents) what recipe are you using, Im struggling to get past the roast and when I do I hit a musty zero-sweetness wall.


Still experimenting. I think I rather like a certain musty zero-sweetness. Do you mean the musty that Sumatrans generally have? Certainly I like the bitter-chocolate bitterness.


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## Simon73 (Jan 23, 2013)

Just ordered my 1st freshly roasted beans from Hasbean. Had no idea what type if bean to get so went for the starter pack which seems like good value for money. Ordered Wednesday afternoon and arrived on Friday morning. Haven't tried the beans yet but can't fault the service.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

RoloD said:


> Still experimenting. I think I rather like a certain musty zero-sweetness. Do you mean the musty that Sumatrans generally have? Certainly I like the bitter-chocolate bitterness.


Best result was 92c, 17g into 30g in 27 secs. It seems a lower dose and a little more diluted balances the shot out, still a thick mouthfeel. It works well in milks sweetness


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

garydyke1 said:


> Best result was 92c, 17g into 30g in 27 secs. It seems a lower dose and a little more diluted balances the shot out, still a thick mouthfeel. It works well in milks sweetness


 Yes, I just did 15.8g into 28g, 27 secs (Londinium magic lever temperature profile). As I said, I like the bitter chocolate bitterness but would like a bit more complexity, still really enjoying it. Can't decided whether I prefer this or the funkier Takengon Gayon.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I reduced the PID to 91c. 17g into 30g in 26 seconds. Boom , found it. Slight (and i'm nitpicking here) roasty bitterness. I think 90c would be on the money


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

I was thinking about this earlier as I currently have five different Has Bean beans on the go just now. Does anyone else think that the roasts have got a bit darker these days?


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## autopilot (Apr 4, 2013)

rodabod said:


> I was thinking about this earlier as I currently have five different Has Bean beans on the go just now. Does anyone else think that the roasts have got a bit darker these days?


I can't say for sure, only ordered from them once and fairly new to proper espresso at home, but the espresso starter pack is nowhere near as lightly roasted as I was led to believe. But maybe that's just their espresso blends. I really like Has Bean coffee (although I'm not that keen on the Blake - its the closest thing I have come accross to Starbucks at home).


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

rodabod said:


> I was thinking about this earlier as I currently have five different Has Bean beans on the go just now. Does anyone else think that the roasts have got a bit darker these days?


Agreed. The roast information in the cupping notes for each bean would seem to suggest this too, though a quick scan through the archives shows they haven't necessarily changed over the years. Maybe everyone else has got lighter?!

[edit]

Just to add I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing.


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