Spitz.me wrote:
I found some bags roasted 11/13/13 of Extra Cream. Also, $5 off so I got a bag for $9.99 and bought 2.

15$/ bag is a great price, 10$/bag ! I can't find Kimbo for less than 20$/bag locally.

salvatore wrote: I feel the most enjoyable shots have been pulled tight. After dinner I had a small single that was exceptional. Brandy and dark chocolate.
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I'm going to try a full out or near full ristretto next time. This mornings shots were 15.5g yielding 21-24 and the ash retreated behind sweetness, but i realized the robustaness I couldn't quite id before was probably lurking ashtray.

I took some more Kimbo Extra Cream out of the freezer over the weekend. It has been frozen in 100g portions since January 24th. I pulled four 16g shots, with a range of 22g to 32g out. I still taste no difference from when I first opened the bag.

However, I still feel the need to use a small amount of sugar or agave syrup.

I have the Superior blend sitting on a counter in a mason jar. It's been out for about a week now. This is after it was sitting in the freezer for over a week. It does not pull differently now compared to when I first pulled it out, nor has the flavour profile changed much.

Same here. I haven't even opened the Superior Blend yet. It's still sitting in the 1k bag. I'm not too worried, it was only roasted in November

I'm finally sick of Italian blends. Had an amazing couple of shots a new cafe, Boxcar Social, and the bland and uninspiring Italian blends have just hit a wall for me. I can see how they work as an everyday driver, but it is hard to do if you want flavour, and lots of it.

Late to the party here, but anyway...got some of the Kimbo Superior Blend. 18 grams in the Pharos, pulled in an Elektra double basket on my pre-mil Pavoni EP. Impressive crema especially considering the roast date of 11/10/13. As an Americano with just a bit of milk, this was very chocolate-y. I've fallen out of the habit of milk drinks over the past year, but this blend works so well in milk that I might have to dust off my frothing pitchers.

I think I'll just add this to the rotation, primarily on my levers that tend to run hotter groups (Pavoni, Faemina, Brunella) and keep other coffees in the mix on the Caravel and pour overs.

My bag of Extra Cream arrived today. This being a very different coffee from what I'm used to, it took 4 shots to dial in. To maintain Italian tradition, I dosed 14g (in a 15g VST basket) and pulled a 28g Normale in about 25-28 seconds. Incredible amounts of crema.

The third shot tasted pretty good but was a little over extracted, so I lowered the temp to 200F (down from the 203F I was using to experiment with slow preinfusion for light-roasted beans.) The 4th shot definitely improved, but after reading the posts here I'm going to try 195F tomorrow. I think that'll get rid of the slightly bitter finish and the distinct but not offensive Robusta rubber.

My understanding is that the Robusta is responsible for the prodigious amount of crema. Does anyone know why? I would guess that the Robusta beans are releasing a lot more CO2 than the Arabica beans. Does Robusta outgas more slowly after roast?

The final shot reminded me very much of espressos I had all over France and Spain (I've not been to Italy yet.) Very roasty, but in a good way. As I found in Europe, lots of sugar is a must and it totally transforms the cup into a delightful coffee confection. Tomorrow I'll try a cappa and a latte.

Like everyone else, I'm amazed this coffee can taste so good when roasted so long ago. I'm also surprised that I like such a dark roast. That's definitely not the case with any domestically-produced dark roast I've tried. As Jim says, the Italians really know what they're doing with this genre of coffee.

It occurs to me that the substantial amount of crema interferes with extraction, so you don't get the bitter and ashy flavors typical with domestically-produced dark roasted beans consisting of 100% Arabica. The effect is probably similar to massive updosing. Perhaps the Italians realized long ago it's a lot cheaper to mix in inexpensive Robusta beans and keep the doses low.

I won't be converting from 3rd-wave coffees anytime soon, but this is a good one to have in the freezer for the occasional change of pace.