Looking for any recommendation on an easy, forgiving, middle of the road taste wise, Espresso blend for a lever machine. A Millennium La Pav Pro to be specific. Got started back in September and then finally in early December felt like I was making considerable progress, after finding this site, and then suddenly, everything just seemed to fall apart. Leaving me feeling like I'm chasing my tail again.

I feel like maybe I've been jumping around trying to many different coffees and that has at least contributed to some of the inconsistency. I've tried so many, that I've actually lost track of the ones I did and didn't like. That's not good!

So, as the title says, I'm looking for an "easy", "forgiving", blend for a lever machine. My intent is to purchase several small samples, choose the one I like best. Then go at it, with the same coffee, 5 lbs at a time. Until I have a better understanding of all the variables and can demonstrate some predictable consistency.

Or is there some other more productive route I should pursue instead? Maybe ditch the lever, at least temporarily, for a PID'ed DB?

Easy? Forgiving? Comfort shot? Try Redbird espresso blend: http://www.redbirdcoffee.com/redbirdespresso.html

Dave

I've looked into that before but the "Northern Italy", "Full City+" roast, kind of put me off. However, it appears a lot of people like and recommend it, I suppose I should at least give it a try.

Thanks.

I found the roast full city, with no discernible oils until day 11 or so.

I can live with that!

The bulk of it is going right into the freezer anyway, so, shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again.

Most forgiving espresso blends

Try this.

I'd add Burnout from TeAro roasters in Ontario. I also recently picked up a bag of Fantini which I think was heavy on the robusta and thus fairly easy to pull.

Good luck.

Favorite Espresso Blends 2012

WHO SHOULD BUY IT This blend bridges the gap between relatively unchallenging comfort food blends and very difficult SOs. It is a good skill building blend, since there is a choice of good tastes in the extraction space, bit also a few spots to avoid.

I found this pretty easy to work with, even before I added an OPV to my HX.

My favorite forgiving espresso blend (especially when dealing with temp swings) is Ambrosia from Caffe Fresco.

I just started in on a bag of Velton's Bonsai Blend, and I haven't had a bad shot yet. I'm not sure if that's because I just like this particular blend, or if the blend is just forgiving/versatile, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions of it.

I should be able to find one or two I like out of that group.

Thanks everyone.