Jason, I totally understand how you're feeling. There's only so much of the Italian blends I can handle. At some point you just start craving something that's easily much better. I really liked the Superior Blend, but not nearly as much as I like my "fresh favourites."

what are your "fresh favorites"?

I just ordered https://www.orocaffe.ca/products/whole- ... blend.html

My go to daily drivers are 49th's Old School Espresso and Intelligentsia's Black Cat Classic. I pepper my routine with Propellor's Ace Espresso and random brighter and potentially more interesting espressos. I used to constantly be chasing something new and interesting - those days are done.

the first time I ordered the 49th old school, I loved it. second time I was disappointed, not sure why but it wasnt as good even if I respected the 8 bar requirements, ect. ever had a batch of old school that you didnt like?

time to try again the Old School and thanks for your recommendations!

ps: Ive never tried Black cat as ive never been able to find it in canada for reasonable price. any hints? im in mtl

For wtv reason, I find Old School really has a short sweet spot after roasting... After about 7 days post-roast, it's delicious, but by day 9-10 I find the drop off rather significant.

If you're looking for BlackCat, they usually carry it at Cafe Myriade on Mckay in MTL.

Is it fair to say when grinding these Italian beans, unless you have a very expensive grinder, the required fineness borders on the absolute or near absolute max your grinder can handle (assuming we stay within the 14-15g dosing)?

With my grinder (Compak K3), the difference between a shot being within the desired parameters and too fine that it chokes the grinder is very slight (this after making sure nothing else was askew, technique, channeling, etc).

Do you just try to grind as fine as you can with these types of beans, or do you find yourself upping the dose parameters to accommodate it (e.g. 17-18g) - and if you do, do you find that negatively impacts the taste?

My grinder (OE pharos) doesnt seem to be at its limit. the segafredo needs much finer grind then the caffe motta or Kimbo. not sure why. I dose about 17-18g and really find im able to get to about 30g in 30 seconds of liquid for normal espresso. but I find I constantly prefer the italian blends in the ristretto range.

Ive used to dose at about 15-16g for a long time and only recently (about 2-3 months ago) been using 18g. I read in here that I should go with 18g and adjust the grind accordingly.

EDIT: Confirmed that the Segafredo is much better at 13-14g dose vs 18g. so it seems the Segafredo likes to be grinded finer.

murphythecat87 wrote: is there a good argument that italian blends require finer grinds and smaller dose (15g rather then 18g)?

I don't know if it counts as a "good" argument, but through personal experience I have found that Italian coffees tend to taste better for me at lower doses, around 14g. I don't have a good explanation for it either, other than a couple ideas:
- Italian roasters roast specifically for a 7g single / 14g double; almost every single doser in Italy is calibrated to these amounts. Their roasts are most likely tuned to that dose.
- dosing lower may keep the robusta component from imparting too much harsh bitterness into the cup.

EDIT: I have found I can updose Kimbo to 18, but I have never had that luck with any other Italian blend.

dominico wrote:I don't know if it counts as a "good" argument, but through personal experience I have found that Italian coffees tend to taste better for me at lower doses, around 14g. I don't have a good explanation for it either, other than a couple ideas:
- Italian roasters roast specifically for a 7g single / 14g double; almost every single doser in Italy is calibrated to these amounts. Their roasts are most likely tuned to that dose.
- dosing lower may keep the robusta component from imparting too much harsh bitterness into the cup.

ill be damned. this may be why ever since I went back up to 18g I have been consistently dissapointed with my italian blend.

I have dosed for almost 6 month at about 14/15g for all the italian blends and used to have tons of caramel flavours, but since 2-3 months, Ive decided to stick with 18g. so I think that yes, italien blends need lower dose and finer grinds in ristretto range.

ill report back!

I can say with some confidence that you really need to get these Italian blends "fresh", that is with the longest "best before" date possible. Most have 18 or 24 month "shelf life". If the expiration date is less than 16 months away run for your life.

This comes from 8 years' experience going through a kilo every two weeks, and trying a number of different blends. Some of these have batch numbers that show the roast date, which corroborates the 18 or 24 month best before date. When I get them 1-2 months after roasting, max 4-5 months, they are fine. After that they deteriorate and are not worth buying.

"Fresh" bags stored in the freezer after purchase last a long time, as with any fresh roasts.

When you get a proper bag of Italian espresso it acts properly - thick, crema rich, great aroma of ground beans and espresso. And I mean 100% Arabica here, without and crema-enhancing robusta.

If the coffee is acting "old", i.e. requires a super fine grind, and even then barely pulls a good shot, it's just trash.