# Not great experience from my fresh bought rave beans



## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Right I'm going to get slated for this, but here goes......

I've tried fresh roasted beans from Rave, my last batch was Italian, fudge and their decaf. I rested the beans for a week before trying, but every cup had a not so great background taste. Now I'm no great expert on sourness, bitterness and all the other tastes that you can get from a good cup of coffee, but I was so dissapointed.

It was made in the Gaggia Classic and ground with the eureka mignon......I generally weigh at either 16/17g and aim for around 25 - 30 sec.

This isn't an attempt to pull the beans down. Now the thing that baffles me is the taylors shop bought beans didn't have a nasty after taste, and my mom just bought me...dare I say it, some really strong starbucks ones....which are almost tar like in their smell, but after a bit of fiddling with the grinder ended up producing a not too bad drink.

Am I somebody who just has a challenged pallet? I was really disappointed with my rave beans having this awful background taste. Is it possible I could have got a bad batch......does this happen?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

So we don't assume , you have a grinder ?

Sound like you were weighing in ( to 0.1g )

What weight of espresso did you get out

How did that taste ? Let's say for clarity for the Italian job blend only

Did you adjust it if it's was bitter or sour and if so how ?

Are you consistently temp surfing ?

What is it about the coffee your makimg from the Starbucks blend that you like? What was its weight in and out ?

What drink are you making ? Americano , espresso only , latte are you adding sugar ,,syrup


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

Try them again after 12 days rest


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

To be honest Wuyang, its probably an extraction issue.

All of the Rave beans you mention are stable blends that sit right in the middle of general taste preferences. What I mean by that is they are not blends designed to challenge your palate. They don't need a longer rest.

First port of call, slow down the extraction by grinding finer and make sure you are not under-extracting by getting too big a cup of espresso.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Wuyang said:


> Is it possible I could have got a bad batch......does this happen?


Possible, but unlikely given you say you tried two of Rave's offerings and found 'a not so great background taste'. Would be helpful to have a description of what you are getting, taste-wise. How much are you extracting from your dose of 16/17grms?


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

The other beans you mention are probably really old which would mean there is less about them to go wrong. I've had shots of Illy made for me on a classic and it's almost impossible to make them taste bad.

Since the Rave beans are fresh then there will be more chemicals that can make them taste bad (as well as good). It could also be low temp on the classic, there are some threads in the relevant section that detail how to get a few extra degrees in the brew boiler by using the steam switch.


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## truegrace (Jan 29, 2014)

Have you tried fresh beans from other roasters and not had the same aftertaste?

With my limited experience of supermarket beans I have never had much taste at all, let alone an aftertaste of anything so could just be fresh beans?

I have probably had 10kg of beans this year from rave (at least!) and never had a bad bean (although stuggled a bit getting a decent extraction with doyo, but got there is the end!)


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Right, thank you for all your replies.

I drink lattes....and like them hot......and like them Medium/ strong, not so weak to get lost in the milk....if that makes sense.

I grind with a mignon eureka.

I weigh within 0.1g, generally 16 gram and usually adjust the grind to achieve the measured shot.

I steam the milk before pulling the shot.

Then let some water through the shower head, before pulling the shot.

I try to be consistent with the tamp.

The pressure of the machine has not been adjusted and is standard.

All the beans were used over a 3 week period.

I have never weighed....I've heard it mentioned before....will this help and how would I go about it?

I wouldn't say I have a great pallet, but the taste wasn't bitter or sour, just not nice after taste....but consistently the same ..quite distinct....like a background taste.

I have only really had fresh beans from rave apart from the Foundary sheffield. Ones I had from rave before didnt seem to have this taste.......or I would have questioned it.

Thanks for your advice


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

If you're steaming before you pull a shot on the classic then my above statement stands but that water could be too hot. You should possibly search for temperature surfing and gaggia classic if you are not already doing this. It's quite a faff on the classic but it's certainly possible to get it right.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I'd also recommend pulling the shot first and steaming afterwards with the Classic.

There's a few variations of temp surfing with the Classic.

I used to use the simpler version of this, pull approx 1-1.5 oz from the group. Then wait for the light to go back on (I think) and as soon as it does pull the shot.

I'm sure there's a guide on here somewhere. Here is one...

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17586


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Oh yes and I had the identical set up and thought I was pulling ok shots till I got a naked PF and weighed output. Turned out I was doing all wrong.

The first good well distributed ball park shot was massively better than anything I'd been doing before.


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## truegrace (Jan 29, 2014)

Would def weigh your output rather than just pull for 25-30 seconds, something along the lines of x 1.6 worked for me give or take. Might make no difference but could change everything!


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## PeterF (Aug 25, 2014)

Yes if you steam before pulling your shot, the water will be too hot and scald the coffee. I had a Gaggia for 9 years until recently & I always pulled the shot first & got excellent results.


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks....I will give it a go.......I need to get some more rave beans and let them rest.

The only reason I've got into the habit of steaming first is I've notice I seem to get a much better whirl going in the milk....trying to create latte art....which I'm terrible at.

So just to check the finished weight of the shot should be..... weight of beans x 1.6, so basically 16g x 1.6?

Worth getting a naked PFILTER? (may have to be a Christmas present)

thanks for the advice


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Yes correct so a 16g dose should be approx 25.5g shot weight. It won't look that much in a cup if you're used to pulling 2oz shots by volume.

See what it tastes like and correct from there tightening or coarsening the grind.


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks, much appreciated...it gives me something to work from.


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## RazorliteX (Mar 2, 2014)

To be fair I've never had much luck with the Rave fudge either on R.Silvia with PID - seems to be a slight sour background. All of the other beans I get from Rave are absolutely fine with their own distinct but very tasty tastes.

Tried all sorts from 15 to 18g and temperatures from 95 degrees to 105 degrees - same thing, slightly sour.


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Hi, just checking am I aiming for x 1.6g over 25 sec?

cheers


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Wuyang said:


> Hi, just checking am I aiming for x 1.6g over 25 sec?
> 
> cheers


Anywhere between 25-30 secs. 25 secs is a good starting point with Rave


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Cheers......I'm going to have to put another order in and take it from there. Might be a couple of weeks before I put my order in, but I'll update with results when the time comes.


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