# Do you use Monmouth coffee beans?



## Jugglestruck

Hi, I'm new here.......

For about six years I have been buying the organic espresso beans from The Monmouth Coffeee company. From time to time I try other blends but I keep coming back to Monmouth.

Does anybody else here use these beans and what do you think?


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## MikeHag

Overpriced


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## Jugglestruck

But they're so nice!

Can you recommend a suitable alternative please, bearing in mind I do like organic. Many thanks.


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## MikeHag

I haven't tried them but you could give these a go:

http://www.jamesgourmetcoffee.com/product.php/48/caffe-naturelle

I would be interested to learn more about organic coffees. I read something recently about natural biodiverse growing environments producing better coffee than highly fertilized farms, but with the organic issue it's difficult to tell truth from marketing spin.


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## CoffeeMagic

It's hardly 'marketing spin' - it's certification.


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## Fran

I sometimes buy Monmouth beans. I'm drinking some of their Tingnanga right now (£29/kg), which is an OK price considering you don't pay postage (as you can only buy direct from their shops). I'm not that thrilled with it TBH. Can't seem to get the brew recipe on the money.

I'm also frustrated by the filter coffee they serve - sometimes it's great, but on Saturday at Borough it was very poor. I guess this is very difficult to avoid, when you have a queue out the door and are trying to do lots of pourovers to meet demand.


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## MikeHag

CoffeeMagic said:


> It's hardly 'marketing spin' - it's certification.


Oh I don't question the certificate, I just wonder whether organic products really do taste better. That's where the marketing plays a big part. You seem to know about it, Ron. Could you please explain why organic coffees are better?


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## Jugglestruck

I have heard that quite a lot of coffee production is organic but the growers have never got this certified so it can not be labelled as such. The same applies to wine being vegan - a great deal is vegan (alot isn't) but it is just not on the label.

I have tried to eat organic food for about thirty years now, hence my choice of coffee bean. It is not exclusive (I have just signed up for the Square mile espresso service for six months) but I just like the idea of chemical residue free coffee.

I haven't tried the Tingnanga so I can't comment on that.


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## Jugglestruck

Mike, you posted just before me! In my experience organic products do taste better. Taste is obviously open to individual intertpretation but all my fruit/veg is organic and I do think it tastes better for it.

My main reason for the organic choice is the use of chemicals. I watch what my neighbours pour on their veg patches and I just don't want to eat the produce, no matter how safe the contents of the tin are deemed to be - let alone what the excessive use of chemicals has done to our wildlife.

I do not have the experience to say whether organic coffee tastes better but I do know I just prefer drinking it. I also like the idea of supporting the organic growers, a bit like supporting a charity I guess and it really doesn't bother me paying that premium price.


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## hackneybeanlover

Jugglestruck said:


> Hi, I'm new here.......
> 
> For about six years I have been buying the organic espresso beans from The Monmouth Coffeee company. From time to time I try other blends but I keep coming back to Monmouth.
> 
> Does anybody else here use these beans and what do you think?


My parents started buying coffee from Monmouth when it first opened in the late 70's and I started going there when I left home in the early 90's. I've tried plenty of others, living where I do in Hackney we now have coffee shops coming out of our ear's. Most recently I tried some Climpson's beans but they didn't have the punch the current beans I have from Monmouth have (Brazilian organic).

As for price: A neighbour drinks Climpson's and we reckon Monmouth single estate beans are slightly cheaper.


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## rodabod

I been drinking the Espresso Blend which is generally great, and today received a bag of Brasilian Fazenda Serra do Bone which for me was peanutty, chocolatey, but still light. Also received a bag of Kenyan Tinganga Estate which was fuller tasting with maybe a more earthy/tobacco-like aroma. Fantastic.

The roasts seem very suitable for espresso; I'm not getting any sourness, but it's not burnt to a crisp either.


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