I've been enjoying BC for many months. However, the latest batch I bought (roasted Aug 22) is very different and very disappointing. Really lacking the signature orange taste. What's the deal? Is it too fresh?

Not sure. I also bought a batch and went around trying it early August and it wasn't as lush tasting as the previous round. It pulled fine at Broadway; but Coffee Studio's lighter touch, or mine at home, didn't cut it. It's gone back to a "let's OD the LM" blend.

ok, so maybe it isn't just me. but for the record, i'm using 199/198 F temp and drawing mostly singles (which someone told me might not be the best application of black cat). with all the positive recs, maybe i will give it another try and stick with doubles in a month or so (perhaps at lower temp).

posted elsewhere, but i've gotten it to a point where i'm now liking black cat quite a bit. it cost me 3 bags though. will say that a big impediment to my espresso capability lies in my unwillingness to potentially waste coffee by trying new combos. basically, i ground finer and dosed lower but wasn't willing to push it as far as i should have because i was blowing through so much coffee... it just "felt" too wasteful and my risk aversion ended up costing me even more coffee in the long run i suppose.

also, i gave up on the standard ridged marzocco double baskets, and the singles as well. going back and forth was not helping. now i'm just using some ridgeless 58mm doubles from espressoparts. they work great, but more importantly, committing to them forces one variable to be no longer variable.

i officially don't like the marzocco ridged. i bought a 56mm tamper and it still can't get past the ridge. if you like to overdose (19-20g), i suppose you're almost guaranteed a level tamp on the marzoccos, but i like using 14-16g better. to me this improves taste despite intel's rec for 18-19g doses on bc.

One lesson I learned from Jim (although he might not even realize he taught me this) is to get a set of variables consistent. IOW, use the same basket at the same grind and vary the dose to change the flow. I've learned alot about dialing in coffee this way.

Don't be afraid to waste beans (as long as it's not uber expensive). Early on I would buy 3-5 lbs of a roast and use most of it dialing in and trying different profiles figuring out what each change did. Now I'm fairly quick although occasionally I get stumped.

i will implement this advice. i'm ready to toss my single/double marzocco baskets in the trash. thanks.

mitch236 wrote:One lesson I learned from Jim (although he might not even realize he taught me this) is to get a set of variables consistent. IOW, use the same basket at the same grind and vary the dose to change the flow. I've learned alot about dialing in coffee this way.

Don't be afraid to waste beans (as long as it's not uber expensive). Early on I would buy 3-5 lbs of a roast and use most of it dialing in and trying different profiles figuring out what each change did. Now I'm fairly quick although occasionally I get stumped.

This batch (roasted Aug 22) peaks late! I pulled the best shots from this batch today, a full 3 weeks after roasting date, and it was lovely, albeit missing the signature orange flavor of previous batches. 18g, 197t, 27s, 33g liquid.