Espresso Enthusiasts

[adrianlondon]

I think I got my espresso desire little kicked again of rediscovering new stuff.
Robusta beans is my new friend ?

So it should be. The issue is that Arabica beans are much harder to grow (less weather tolerant) than Robusta, so it's much easier, cheaper and hence more attractive, to grow bad quality Robusta.

However, in my opinion a decent espresso needs around 20-30% Robusta for the crema, depth of flavour and caffeine hit. But you do need to spend more effort in researching good beans than if just buying Arabica, I guess.

 

[Lioness~]

So it should be. The issue is that Arabica beans are much harder to grow (less weather tolerant) than Robusta, so it's much easier, cheaper and hence more attractive, to grow bad quality Robusta.

However, in my opinion a decent espresso needs around 20-30% Robusta for the crema, depth of flavour and caffeine hit. But you do need to spend more effort in researching good beans than if just buying Arabica, I guess.

I pass the good, bad, decent valuations and your opinion of what I need to do. That is entirely your opinion ?
Good luck with that.
The crema have many variables to be good. Depending on machine, settings, quality of and freshness of various kinds of beans.
Lot of things to play around with, each to their own.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Ordered some coffee (two coffees from El Salvador and one from Ethiopia).

Meanwhile, this morning, I enjoyed a blend of coffee - of my own devising - of coffee from El Salvador and Honduras, served with organic hot milk.

 

[adrianlondon]

I pass the good, bad, decent valuations and your opinion of what I need to do. That is entirely your opinion ?
Good luck with that.
The crema have many variables to be good. Depending on machine, settings, quality of and freshness of various kinds of beans.
Lot of things to play around with, each to their own.

I'm not sure you understood my post. I was agreeing with you, and not telling you to do anything different. It was a post about my thoughts on Robusta.

 

[Lioness~]

I'm not sure you understood my post. I was agreeing with you, and not telling you to do anything different. It was a post about my thoughts on Robusta.

I don't think you got it that I have been roasting my own beans etc etc etc since late 80’s.
Do you really think I haven’t been drinking and grinding a number of various beans during that time? Various of arabica AND of course robusta and heavens know what some strange beans have been called at times.
I don’t need any advices from you,whatsoever! Reread your own post ?
This is the last attention I give to you. Go do your own research.

But you do need to spend more effort in researching good beans than if just buying Arabica, I guess.

Change the way you share experience. Don’t tell people what to! It’s childish and even unmanly.

 

[Madhatter32]

I decided to give Ethiopian coffee a try based on the high praise found in this thread. I found some at the local Whole Foods.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Ah, Monsoon Malabar, fascinating; I will be exceedingly interested to read what you think of it.

I find it has a nice smooth taste with a deep rich earthy flavor....and it goes really really well with a chocolate biscotti. There's a bit of nuttiness in the flavor as well.

It's definitely something that needs to be hot when consumed. It seems to lose its flavor as it cools, so not something to use for making iced coffee.

I've read that it blends well with Ethiopian Sidamo beans, so I may order some Ethiopian beans next time and try blending the two.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I decided to give Ethiopian coffee a try based on the high praise found in this thread. I found some at the local Whole Foods.View attachment 1914217

Enjoy.

Personally, I love Ethiopian coffee, - above all, I love the "clean" and "bright" notes that you will often find with coffee from this region, but this is a personal, and very subjective, preference.

Is the coffee "washed" or "natural"?

 

[Madhatter32]

Enjoy.

Personally, I love Ethiopian coffee, - above all, I love the "clean" and "bright" notes that you will often find with coffee from this region, but this is a personal, and very subjective, preference.

Is the coffee "washed" or "natural"?

Thanks. Not sure if it is washed or natural but, either way, it was indeed enjoyable.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Thanks. Not sure if it is washed or natural but, either way, it was indeed enjoyable.

Very glad that you enjoyed it - I love that 'clean, clear, bright' note that is so characteristic of Ethiopian coffee.

The other thing about Ethiopian coffee is that it is very rare for them to be very darkly roasted.

 

[Mellofello808]

Do any of you subscribe to the monthly mail order services?

Do you like it, do the beans arrive fresh?

My GF id looking to get me a Xmas gift, and I am considering asking for a year of different coffees.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Do any of you subscribe to the monthly mail order services?

Do you like it, do the beans arrive fresh?

My GF id looking to get me a Xmas gift, and I am considering asking for a year of different coffees.

No, as a matter of fact, I don't.

That is primarily because I prefer to have a degree of both control and choice over the coffee I buy, and, if I wish to step outside my coffee comfort zone, I can still do so, but at a time (and whim) of my own choosing.

A (very welcome) coffee delivery arrived today.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Do any of you subscribe to the monthly mail order services?

Do you like it, do the beans arrive fresh?

My GF id looking to get me a Xmas gift, and I am considering asking for a year of different coffees.

I don't have a subscription because I always want to pick and choose different coffee whenever I need more. I do get much of my coffee by mail order. It's easy enough to find quality coffee sellers that don't roast the beans until the coffee is ordered, so what you get is very fresh.

I know I've seen subscriptions that will select and send a different coffee each month, and I suspect that there are some that follow the same routine of roasting just before they send out their coffee.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoyed a coffee from Honduras this morning.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sipping a blend (of my own devising) of two different coffees from El Salvador, with organic (full fat) hot milk, and a dash of organic, double cream.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoyed a coffee from Honduras with organic hot milk.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A blend of two different coffees from El Salvador with organic hot milk.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A blend of three different types of coffee from El Salvador, with organic hot milk.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Coffee from El Salvador (a blend of two coffees) with a dash of organic, double cream.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

I "grew up with" PNG Coffee. Not surprising as I was living there at the time.

The Highlands coffee is special in that the soil is volcanic (lots of volcanoes along the central cordillera 15,000 years ago) but is well-washed by the constant rains. There is little to no sulphur in the soil, which means that garlic grown there doesn't give you "garlic breath". Doesn't keep vampires away, either.
This affects the coffee as well, producing a light, bright, lightly acid coffee.

Most of the coffee goes to the main market at Goroka, and is blended from all the plantations and small holdings. So, if you see "Goroka" coffee, it is not single-origin, it is a blend of many hundreds of small origins. If you see coffee that says something like Bena-bena, that is a true, single-origin coffee.

Sadly, it is hard to get PNG coffee now, as most of it ends up in blends, along with Java, Sumatra and others. Actually, they don't even say Java or Sumatra any more, they just say Indonesia. So who knows what you are getting.

It's what sold me on an Aldi Coffee Pod machine. A friend made a cup of coffee with a PNG Coffee Pod, and I was so impressed, I bought a machine. The only coffee that is close to the PNG coffee pods now is the Peruvian pods.

Now, all I have to do is find a local supplier of single-origin PNG coffee beans to go with my espresso machine.

After Independence in 1975, a lot of coffee growers handed their plantations over to local land owners and moved do Australia. Many of them have set up plantations in the hinterland of Northern NSW (inland of a place called Byron Bay, if you've heard of it...). Sadly the soil here is millions of years old, unlike the young soils of the PNG Highlands and the Australian grown coffee is nothing like the PNG coffee.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I "grew up with" PNG Coffee. Not surprising as I was living there at the time.

The Highlands coffee is special in that the soil is volcanic (lots of volcanoes along the central cordillera 15,000 years ago) but is well-washed by the constant rains. There is little to no sulphur in the soil, which means that garlic grown there doesn't give you "garlic breath". Doesn't keep vampires away, either.
This affects the coffee as well, producing a light, bright, lightly acid coffee.

Most of the coffee goes to the main market at Goroka, and is blended from all the plantations and small holdings. So, if you see "Goroka" coffee, it is not single-origin, it is a blend of many hundreds of small origins. If you see coffee that says something like Bena-bena, that is a true, single-origin coffee.

Sadly, it is hard to get PNG coffee now, as most of it ends up in blends, along with Java, Sumatra and others. Actually, they don't even say Java or Sumatra any more, they just say Indonesia. So who knows what you are getting.

It's what sold me on an Aldi Coffee Pod machine. A friend made a cup of coffee with a PNG Coffee Pod, and I was so impressed, I bought a machine. The only coffee that is close to the PNG coffee pods now is the Peruvian pods.

Now, all I have to do is find a local supplier of single-origin PNG coffee beans to go with my espresso machine.

After Independence in 1975, a lot of coffee growers handed their plantations over to local land owners and moved do Australia. Many of them have set up plantations in the hinterland of Northern NSW (inland of a place called Byron Bay, if you've heard of it...). Sadly the soil here is millions of years old, unlike the young soils of the PNG Highlands and the Australian grown coffee is nothing like the PNG coffee.

Fascinating post; thanks for sharing.

 

[squawk7000]

I’ve finally got round to trying beans from Indonesia. Interesting, lots of flavour but not as bold as I feared. It’ll grow on me.

the roasters description:
Indonesia - Pegasing
Flavour profile - Blackcurrant, Mango and Plum with a spicy Tamarind body.
Process - Anaerobic Natural
Varietal - Gayo 1, Tim Tim
Location - Panta Musara, Pegasing, Aceh Tengah

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

I acquired an Aeropress the other day. They have been going for $70+ in Aus., and I got a 'portable' set for $30.
I am still learning how to use it properly, but it is simple, flexible, and makes better coffee than anything else I have tried.

Also waiting on Aldi to stock some of their Peruvian beans.

 

[AVBeatMan]

I acquired an Aeropress the other day. They have been going for $70+ in Aus., and I got a 'portable' set for $30.
I am still learning how to use it properly, but it is simple, flexible, and makes better coffee than anything else I have tried.

Also waiting on Aldi to stock some of their Peruvian beans.

I know there’s a couple of different methods in using the Aeropress but which one are you using? Also, are you measuring the amount of coffee you use and what size grind? I’ve struggled in the past with my Aeropress it I know everyone raves about them so am interested in giving it another go. Any tips? Thanks.

 

[AVBeatMan]

I acquired an Aeropress the other day. They have been going for $70+ in Aus., and I got a 'portable' set for $30.
I am still learning how to use it properly, but it is simple, flexible, and makes better coffee than anything else I have tried.

Also waiting on Aldi to stock some of their Peruvian beans.

I’ve struggled in the past with my Aeropress so am interested in which method you’re using? I know there are a couple of ways you can use the device. Also, are you measuring the amount of coffee you use and what about the grind? Any tips? It always gets great reviews so I’m interested I giving it another go.