# DSOL March 2015 Climpson and Sons



## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

http://www.climpsonandsons.com/

Supplying a bespoke darker roast to us fortuitous DSOL subscribers this month is Climpson & Sons - regarded as pioneers in the new wave London coffee scene.

All thoughts, comments and observations on this bean to be posted below.

Get your taste buds ready...


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

No guest slots this month?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Be interesting to see how these go down. They should be a good fit in theory....


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## Flaminglip (Feb 2, 2015)

If there are guest slots Id love to try these - I live just round the corner from climpsons and sons, so could just pick them up rather than sending!


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

CamV6 said:


> No guest slots this month?


I'm afraid not. DSOL has become quite popular now!

Maybe start a list of reserves and I'll ask them to roast a little extra...


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> Be interesting to see how these go down. They should be a good fit in theory....


I'm very interested also.

Not generally known for their darker roasts, but they were very happy to take on the challenge!

Wish more roasters were as adventurous...


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Flaminglip said:


> If there are guest slots Id love to try these - I live just round the corner from climpsons and sons, so could just pick them up rather than sending!


...sounds like a plan... I'll put you down on the reserve list.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Reserve List:

1. CamV6

2. Flaminglip


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Milanski said:


> Not generally known for their darker roasts, but they were very happy to take on the challenge!
> 
> Wish more roasters were as adventurous...


I'd have said they were pretty dark, maybe not DSOL dark but darker than most fixie riding bearded hipsters would go for.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> I'd have said they were pretty dark, maybe not DSOL dark but darker than most fixie riding bearded hipsters would go for.


Them fixie riding bearded hipsters don't know what they're missing.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Milanski said:


> Them fixie riding bearded hipsters don't know what they're missing.


Had an amazing shot of a seasonal C&S blend at Pacific Social Club last year - not enough to turn me but it was really good.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> Had an amazing shot of a seasonal C&S blend at Pacific Social Club last year - not enough to turn me but it was really good.


Well at least you tried it, but then you are single-speed, right?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Yep - just a faux hipster :-(


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## Flaminglip (Feb 2, 2015)

Milanski said:


> Reserve List:
> 
> 1. CamV6
> 
> 2. Flaminglip


Awesome, thanks


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

liking the sound of this


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

Milanski said:


> Them fixie riding bearded hipsters don't know what they're missing.


I'm surprised. I'd have put these guys firmly in the medium roast camp. I would recommend them though. I tried a few of their offerings last year and was impressed by every one of them. For me, being consistently good is a sign of a really good roaster.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> I'm surprised. I'd have put these guys firmly in the medium roast camp.


They are doing a bespoke darker roast for us


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

Good. I suspect you're all in for a treat.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Please keep this thread for feedback after the delivery of the Beans.

I can confirm there are no guest slots but we asking them if they can do a second roast after delivery of the March Beans.

We will wait to see how the beans 'go down' & then make another order from a new list which Milanski has started as a 'reserve' list above.

If it happens please note this will be for 4 x 250 grams in one delivery. I will post the cost in good time for this second roast & keep everyone informed.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Been meaning to try some Climpsons (even if these will be darker than normal). Any idea when we'll get them? Baytown almost gone. ..


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## Chockymonster (Jan 21, 2013)

Reserve List:

1. CamV6

2. Flaminglip

3. Chockymonster


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Reserve List:

1. CamV6

2. Flaminglip

3. Chockymonster

4. Rhys


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

> Any idea when we'll get them?


Should be with you circa 20th March, this coming week.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Thanks Ron. I'm about to go past my micro roaster so this helps me decide whether to buy a bag to tide me over or just wait. Thanks for the info.


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

Looking forward to these.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Guess whats just arrived, Thanks Milan and Ron:

View attachment 12741


*Royal mail, signed for 24 service* white jiffy bag, 3 bags across the bottom, 1 on top could be a tight letter box squeeze if left without a signature

Roasted 18th march and some nice smells eminating already.

John


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Just got mine. Luckily have 2/3 days of beans left to finish before I can crack into these...


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## MarkyP (Jan 10, 2013)

Got Mine today... and straight in the freezer with them!

I've just opened my first bag of the Baytown stuff from last month's DSOL.

I really need to drink more coffee!!!


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

MarkyP said:


> Got Mine today... and straight in the freezer with them!
> 
> I've just opened my first bag of the Baytown stuff from last month's DSOL.
> 
> I really need to drink more coffee!!!


Just got mine also.

Im grinder less ATM so I'm going to have to attempt freezing for the first time ,also got a kilo and half of 7 day old rave beans .

Whats my best way to preserve these beans prior to another grinder arriving.

Thanks Paul


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## MarkyP (Jan 10, 2013)

same way... tape up the valve on the bag and in the freezer...


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

stevogums said:


> Just got mine also.
> 
> Im grinder less ATM so I'm going to have to attempt freezing for the first time ,also got a kilo and half of 7 day old rave beans .
> 
> ...


Hopefully not for long, loner will be on route


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## Richard Penny (Nov 14, 2014)

Mine are here too







Also low on beans so might have to start early next week...


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Mine too. Perfect timing thanks to the heads up from Ronsil. I'm just into a 250g bag of SO PNG which should see me into the middle of next week when these babies are ready to spro. Smells lovely already.


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## squiggs1982 (Oct 29, 2011)

Surprise collection at the post office this morning! Smells nice through the jiffy bag! Well timed as I don't have a huge amount of Baytown left. ?


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## bz99s (May 30, 2012)

I may have missed the original thread and I can't see any mention in the stickies section. How does one join the dsol subscription?

I am presuming from the mention of guest slots there are no spaces anyway but I am curious none the less.

Thanks.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

If you check back in the Forum under Beans, you will find a Thread:

"Darker side of life interest"

In there you will find all the details about DSOL.

We will be starting a new 3 month subscription period in April for May/June/July & all details will be added to that thread at that time.


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## bz99s (May 30, 2012)

Ah OK thanks just looked at it and now subscribed so I don't miss out. Thanks ronsil.


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## jonners (Apr 26, 2013)

Having run out of beans I decided to get going with these. So I made an Americano and it was absolutely delicious, rich and chocolatey, met with wife approval too. Needed a slightly finer grind than the Baytown, and I think I'm going to enjoy these just as much.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Have not opened mine yet, waiting for weekend.

Curious to know, not seen them yet, how dark did these end up on a scale of 1 to 10

Many thanks


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## jonners (Apr 26, 2013)

ronsil said:


> Have not opened mine yet, waiting for weekend.
> 
> Curious to know, not seen them yet, how dark did these end up on a scale of 1 to 10
> 
> Many thanks


Not as dark as the Baytown. Hardly any oil showing. If the Baytown were 8/10 these would be 6/10.


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## bignorry (Mar 19, 2013)

Opened yesterday and once I dialled in I pulled a lovely rich long black. I really enjoy a bean that's good from the start.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I'll be cracking into these tomorrow. Looking forward to it.


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

Had few dabbles today ,albeit using an unknown grinder nothing really distinctive yet flavor wise.

Will try and dial in a bit better tomorrow.

Update

Git these dialed in today 15gs in 30gs out 34 secs.

My usual flat white test and all I can say is super chocolatey taste really smooth beautiful aftertaste not lasting long.

Espresso I'm getting slight bit of spice ? With the chocolate taste.

These beans are good to go for me ,can't see the 500gs I have left lasting the weekend


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## paul whu (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm loving them. Easy to dial in, as someone said earlier a slightly finer grind than the Baytown. I am favouring mine at a 1:1.7 ish ratio in 30 seconds. Getting a large silky crema, loads of dark chocolate with a slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Aftertaste was lingering and luxurious. I could (as with the Baytown) consume this coffee as my "house blend" as it were.

I have made flat whites for my daughter and my friend who have both been massively enthusiastic.

Many thanks for organising these treats!


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Started on these today. IMO Different to last months but in a good way.

Rich, dark velvety chocolate all the way. Sweet so sweet & smooth as espresso. Slightly longer draw.

20g in 34g out at 93C for 38 secs. 2.6 on the EK Irish dial.

Great as a cortado.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Tried these just now on the same setting as my previous beans and extraction took 1m09s (17g in 27g out) but really nice rich, deep chocolates!

Will play about with settings over next few days but great start.

Tastes darker than the colour belies but could be down to the long extraction.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

The Baytown wanted a really coarse grind. Then I was on Papua New Guinea rika rika for a week which was a lot finer so my first 3 attempts at dial in were chokers. Found the sweet spot now just finer than Baytown and very nice as a 30" espresso, 18:32. Had a cortado and SWMBO a latte, choc and a hint of nut. Thumbs up from both of us.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Currently not seeing much activity on here on the Climpson Beans.

Maybe everyone is well stocked (over) & not got to them yet?


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

If anyone feels like offloading a bag or two let me know please


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

ronsil said:


> Currently not seeing much activity on here on the Climpson Beans.
> 
> Maybe everyone is well stocked (over) & not got to them yet?


not into mine yet. will be cracking them open on friday and having quite a few over the long weekend.


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## stevogums (May 8, 2013)

Finished them and found them very nice.

Dont really think i got the best out of them ,would of been nice to try them in my old F83e ,albeit said found them a little harder to dial in than baytown but could put that down to grinder.

Lot finer on grind than baytowns.

I stuck to lower dose in the end 14g in 30g out giving me more basket head room got best results that way in both flat whites and espresso.

Nice deep chocolate as before and still nice aftertaste.

Cheers Climpson and Sons.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

+1 on stevogums comment above and seem to be really tricky to dial in. Have held off on commenting whilst trying to find the sweet spot. First shots super long and super gloopy yet very nice (18 in 23 out 55seconds) and chocolately. Since then, am now halfway through the 3rd bag, anything in the 25-30 second range from 18 in and 21 to 35 out has been....ok but not outstanding.

Now, ok is not a bad place to be as ok is pretty high standard in this household. Wife likes it in daily flatties, i like it, guests like it, just not anything I can hang my hat on as being different, if that makes sense.

The only way i can describe this is nice, but then it drops it into a category that has lots of other beans in that wouldn't turn away but also would not go nuts to seek out again Someone else said earlier good as a standard house bean and that probably sums it up so far for me.

Have also tried it as a V60 nice, Cona also nice, aeropress nice, Clever nice (but a bit dry, possibly a little over-extracted), Kalita Kantan and Caffe uno both also nice, you get the idea

As for espresso could equally be me not able to get the best out of it or just not finding the sweet spot (might go back to the gloopy side) but could also be that have been spoilt with other beans recently.

Anyway, back to the third bag.

John


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

I'm getting grape sweetness as long black, am I way off here?


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## paul whu (Sep 25, 2014)

Mine are now all gone. In contrast to others I actually found them easy to dial in which must be just good fortune rather than a sixth sense. It is fair to say that I enjoyed each and every cup from my kilo and would definitely buy these again at £20 delivered.

The rich chocolate flavours, and lingering aftertaste is what I was hoping for when I signed up for DSOL. I have only consumed these as espresso though I have knocked out a few flat whites for friends and family. All have been well received.

Good work by Climpsons is my verdict.


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

I've really enjoyed these so far. Easy to dial in and mega crema. They are darker than the colour indicates, very easy to grind on the HG1 unlike some others we've had in the past. Would definitely consider buying these again. Thanks Milan and Ron once again for organising.


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

I have held back on commenting too. I am almost finished the third bag now and feel like I am just starting to appreciate these beans. My wife has enjoyed them in black Americanos and I am starting to appreciate them in flat whites but they don't really cut through milk enough for my taste. They are still considerably better than my regular beans, so maybe I am just expecting too much after the last batch. Or maybe I need to upgrade my taste-buds!







. Still, really enjoying the chance to try something different so thanks to all involved in putting this DSOL together.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

For those still with some left I followed Stevogums comment above about loading the basket with less, 15g in an 18g VST basket, which did give it a bit more headroom and with 2 shots left of the 4 bags finally had something to be pleased about, deep chocolate flavours in a flattie. Whether this also co-incided with the optimal resting period (seeing Tony's comment above) will never know now and the shots above were on sunday this week.

Every other time I have underdosed a VST basket outside of its +/- 1g tolerance have ended up with sour nastyness so was reluctant to try, however, did work, just a shame it took almost 4 bags for me to find the sweet spot.

To be fair , this is exactly what the feedback and DSOL in general is about, the shared collective knowledge to extract the best out of a bean, hasn't put me off in the slightest and looking forward already to the next one (how many days?  )

Enjoy for those that have some left

John


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Interesting. I've dialled mine in for 18>[email protected]" which has produced some lovely shots enjoyed straight no chaser or in a cappo. I do have another bag left so maybe I should try down dosing and a finer grind.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

I've been really enjoying these last few days (espresso only). Reckon they've hit optimal resting time.

17g to 32g at around 35s seems to be the sweetspot for my current grind setting with the Mythos. Silky crema and sweet nutty taste - gone in one gulp!

Still have two bags left as I only really drink 1-2 a day. Really enjoying these...


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

mine are tasting really smooth. a creamy, milky taste. they are good but not really what im looking for. need to have another play with ratios when i have more time


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## oddknack (Apr 8, 2014)

Can anyone identify the sweetness?


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## doolallysquiff (Jul 26, 2014)

Well, I still have penty of these left to get through. I had a really nice flat white with these, today. 18.5>38 in 35s including 5 sec Preinfusion. Milk chocolate. Another DSOL like.


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## bignorry (Mar 19, 2013)

Well I'm into my last bag and don't think I've pulled a bad shot. All were long blacks and a lovely gloopy richness. Scales have given up on me but reckon I'm doing 16g  in an 18 basket and as for grind that's been great . I've come back to this a few times and easily dialled in.


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## shrubbery (Mar 12, 2014)

I'm just in to my third bag now and still feeling a little underwhelmed. I am enjoying the flat whites that I pretty much exclusively drink but I am just not detecting much character to the flavour. It is very smooth and pleasant but just doesn't have that extra special something that I have had from some beans (like last months DSOL had a spades). I am also finding the aftertaste a little nondescript.

I have tried lots of variations in the following range: 18g in to 18-35g out within 25-35s with 2s perfusion in a PID'd Silvia with 18g VST basket. I will try under dosing to 15g as suggested to see if that helps.

I am enjoying the beans and each coffee that I make from them so I don't want to sound too negative or ungrateful as it is always good to try new beans but they just don't hit that sweet spot for me and just don't contain enough of a distinctive flavour palette (either that or my taste buds are not up to the job which is a real possibility!).


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

I just finished my beans. Switched from flat whites to long blacks for the last few and was much happier with the results. Maybe they needed to rest a little longer or maybe the flavours were drowning in milk based drinks - or a bit of both?


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## Richard Penny (Nov 14, 2014)

Definitely found these good in espresso, also enjoyed them from the Sowden. Agree with Tony in that for me they didn't quite cut through the milk.


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## JohnPrime (Nov 2, 2014)

Interesting.

They're much more complicated than the last lot (Baytown -- smacked 'round the back of the head with a cricket bat of Green & Black's -- lovely): subtle, less-dark start, several flavours vying for attention later, then a hint of the spicy aftertaste that I'm looking for.

Well-done, Messrs Climpson.


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## squiggs1982 (Oct 29, 2011)

Wow. Just cracked open the last bag as I had some other beans I wanted to try. Not sure if it was because my new 65e is just getting to a point of being settled or otherwise, but that was pure chocolate in a flat white. Have to say I've enjoyed these more than the Baytown if I'm honest. Seem more 'refined', for want of a better word (and no reflection on the Baytown, which I really enjoyed!). As a bonus, the next batch has arrived this morning!


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

I just cracked open my third bag yesterday and the beans tasted nicer than previously.

I'm consistently finding darker beans tasting really nice around the one month post roast mark.


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## MarkyP (Jan 10, 2013)

Got my first bag out of the freezer yesterday, and cracked into them today.

Not quite found the spot yet but definitely a spicy chocolate taste to them.

As others have found they need a lot of headroom as they'd swell quite a lot when water hits them.

I'm currently running 16.5g in an 18g VST and got 37g out over 31s

Will push the dose down a bit next time.


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## doolallysquiff (Jul 26, 2014)

Did the roaster reveal any info on these beans? I finished these last week and must say that they were very good. It actually got me playing around with all kinds of pre-infusion times and pressures with some good results.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

doolallysquiff said:


> Did the roaster reveal any info on these beans? I finished these last week and must say that they were very good. It actually got me playing around with all kinds of pre-infusion times and pressures with some good results.


Thats the real advantage of having enough (4 x 250s)Beans in each delivery.


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