F1 wrote:I went through four bags total and even the better tasting shots were just blah. I am simply not a fan of this blend. I feel like I gave it every chance and tried everything.

Man, that's brutal. I'm a couple of bags in, and it tastes pretty good with a little milk, but the straight shots are all over the map. I've given up on the 1:1 and am going for a ~1.5:1 (19.5g dose; ~32-35g yield) at ~201. Still really inconsistent, though. Pretty frustrating.

I did make several with milk and they were good, but I drink mostly straight shots. To me milk will always mask a not so great shot. If the shot is excellent straight, then I am set. I did try 1:1 and 1:1.5, but they were just too strong. All I tasted was bitterness. The 1:2 was the most palatable. The metallic taste was more apparent at the 1:2 ratio though. It may have been present at the lower ratios, but the bitterness may mask it. When beans get this hard/complicated to taste good I think it is time to try something else.


For sure try a lower temperature before you try other ratios.

I pulled a shot this morning. Roast date 3/16, purchased locally at Whole Foods in the Bay Area.

1:2 brew ratio
17.5g dose
34.7 beverage out
33 seconds pull time
199f and 9bar at the brew head (calibrated)
17g Strada basket (VST 18g basket
Linea Mini and Monolith Conical

Flavors were as expected, predominantly chocolate and toffee/caramel sweetness. Not much in the way of fruit. No off or odd flavors. Nothing at all unusual in the pull. Naked portafilter showed a nice even extraction with lots of tiger stripes and a nicely centered cone.

I've had better experiences pulling at a more typical 1:1.5 or 1:2 brew ratio (rather than the 1:1 that BB recommends). I particularly like the taste in milk; the chocolatey notes really shine there. And in my experience, it's been a bit better 8-10 days or more off roast.

@nuketopia, I'm in the Bay Area and have purchased Hayes Valley from Whole Foods several times as well. I've been using Crystal Geyser bottled water (La Marzocco's recommendation), but have you given any thought to testing/using the tap water since it comes from Hetch Hetchy?

In my neighborhood, we get ground water and it is extremely hard and has a high chloride level. So I use either Crystal Geyser or now my own formulated brew water (see my thread in tips on using a Soda Stream to formulate calcium bicarbonate).

I can't see pulling this at 1:1 which is very ristretto. It makes a perfectly good, if ordinary, espresso at 1:2 (normale) with good body, sweetness and deep chocolate notes. I'll try it and see, but that ratio seems wrong to me.

nuketopia wrote:In my neighborhood, we get ground water and it is extremely hard and has a high chloride level. So I use either Crystal Geyser or now my own formulated brew water (see my thread in tips on using a Soda Stream to formulate calcium bicarbonate).

I can't see pulling this at 1:1 which is very ristretto. It makes a perfectly good, if ordinary, espresso at 1:2 (normale) with good body, sweetness and deep chocolate notes. I'll try it and see, but that ratio seems wrong to me.

Yeah, me neither, but those are the Blue Bottle recommended parameters--along with a 20g ( ) dose.

Did they publish that somewhere? I just browsed their site and didn't see a recommendation anywhere.

nuketopia wrote:Did they publish that somewhere? I just browsed their site and didn't see a recommendation anywhere.

I have a bag of 17ft Ceiling roasted 03/13 and it came with this card:



nuketopia: if you don't mind me asking, what beans are you enjoying the most right now?

nuketopia wrote:Did they publish that somewhere? I just browsed their site and didn't see a recommendation anywhere.

Yeah, it's on the little card sent with every bag when you subscribe. And if you email them, they'll quote you​ the same parameters.

wpK wrote:I have a bag of 17ft Ceiling roasted 03/13 and it came with this card:

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nuketopia: if you don't mind me asking, what beans are you enjoying the most right now?

Right, but 17ft Ceiling is a very, very different coffee than Hayes Valley!!!!!

I've had 17ft in Mint Plaza many times. They do pull 17ft short, slow and I've seen them dodge the first little bit of the extraction.

Right now -

My recent favorites have been Highwire Espresso "the Core". It is really tasty. The Ritual Roasters Sweet Tooth this month is Rwanda Gihombo and it is really good as well, especially if you pull it just a bit short, has a slight bitter note if you pull it out too long. Like 29g for a 17.5g dose.

I'm pulling Barefoot Kochere Gedeo Espresso (Ethiopia) up until this morning. It is good, but lacks some shine.