How much of a grind adjustment will these style beans require over a 3rd Wave style blend that's less than a week old? I hate to order a 2lb bag if it's going to require me making huge swings in my already fine-tuned grinder.

Esspresso Zone is a really nice site!!! I'll probably be ordering from them in the future. I usually like to stay with vendors I have experience with (less confidential info spread around, etc.), and venture out when necessary.

SonVolt wrote:How much of a grind adjustment will these style beans require over a 3rd Wave style blend that's less than a week old? I hate to order a 2lb bag if it's going to require me making huge swings in my already fine-tuned grinder.

Not much and maybe none.

SonVolt wrote:How much of a grind adjustment will these style beans require over a 3rd Wave style blend that's less than a week old? I hate to order a 2lb bag if it's going to require me making huge swings in my already fine-tuned grinder.

OldNuc wrote:Not much and maybe none.

Really?? That's not my experience at all. Grind level isn't even in the ballpark. The Italian blends need a super tight grind relative to what you're used to. The adjustment to the grind over time isn't significant, no different then any other coffee really.

SonVolt wrote:This may be a dumb question, but if I wanted to try "Italian Espresso" beans, where would I order them?

An out of the box approach, when served an espresso Id like in an Italian Restaurant, in the past I asked the owner if he would be so kind to show the bean bag and asked him where he get it from. Sometimes even bought a whole bag from him.

EspressoZone (http://www.espressozone.com/kimbo-extra ... ans-2-2-lb) is getting a shipment of Kimbo Extra Cream on November 20th. Their prices are good ($21.39/kg), even when factoring in the additional $4.99 flat rate for shipping. I'm hoping to get Kimbo beans that are only a few months old. We'll see......

Espresso Zone just received a shipment of Kimbo Extra Cream-- you can get a kilo shipped to you for ~$26. My bag, received today (Nov. 21) was roasted in July. Oh--in the year 2015. I think Espresso Zone may offer to cheapest mail-order price on this coffee.
Made great cups today......my first cup using a Breville DB/Vario combo had some burnt rubber flavors, but mellowed with a touch of milk. My next cups used a Strega/Pharos combo, which presented just wonderful cocoa/chocolate flavors and a bit of fruit. (I spritz a bit of Mg, and Ca salts, and then lecithin on my puck before extraction. Still playing with these variables to see if they help/hurt/ or are neutral.)

I love the occasional Italian style espresso (with robusta), but the problem is the 1 kg bag is too large. Initially, it tastes great, but then it seem to decline quickly (e.g. in around 5 days after opening the taste really seems to drop). Does anyone else experience this?

Also, after about 400g I want to go back to nice acid, bright coffee. However, I haven't had much luck storing the remaining 600g. I have tried freezing it in mason jars. Any other storage suggestions?

After reading the reviews I decided to try the 1lb Napoletano.

As soon as I receive my Kg bag of beans, I make aliquots of beans for freezing in small Mason jars--in my hands (and mouth) the freezing seems to work well...