I read on CoffeeGeek that Black Cat has changed recently. I'll be starting off a pound tonight (it should be about 3-4 days out of the roaster at this point) and I'm wondering if anyone has some extraction parameters they'd like to share that have been working well. Unless told otherwise, I'll probably start with 21g and as ristretto as the lever will let me go (which, in the past few weeks, has been about 2oz - not as ristretto as I could go with a pump) and see where I can go from there.

Anyways - any suggestions?

Being a fan of the previous B/C I wasn't impressed with the new version no matter what I tried. That said I got my "best" shots using 18g at 94C. 21g would probably be even better but I don't have a triple basket yet. That will be my next project.

Hi all,

With some of the more recent formulation(s), we've found that 198 F is a good starting temp. We use 21 g in a triple or 18 g in a double basket and aim for 1.75 oz in about 26 seconds.

If your shots are tasting sour at all, raise temp .5 F until it goes away....astringent/dry/harsh flavors can be countered by lowering if you are above 198.

We just got a new brazil that is in the Cat now called "Ipanema". Yes, said like "the girl from". This has GREAT body and milk chocolate, which brings back the old-style cat that I and many others are very fond of, but still has the light citrus that has been so prevalent in recent iterations.

Matt, any idea if this coffee would have made it into my bag? I think it shipped on Tuesday.

I tried pulling two shots this evening. The first came out at about 1oz and looked a bit overextracted, but the second was closer to 2oz and had nice color (didn't get to taste it though, it was for someone else). The first one tasted good, but i'll keep working at it tomorrow morning. I've got my boiler clicking off at 1.2bar, flushing a full lever stroke after the last stroke of the water dance ends.

Something I forgot to mention in my posts above: THANK YOU very much for the help (especially coming straight from Intelligentsia's Matt in the post above).

EDIT: Something I forgot to mention in this post: I was using about 21g in an 18g Synesso basket.

ThaRiddla wrote:Hi all,

[snipped]

We just got a new brazil that is in the Cat now called "Ipanema". Yes, said like "the girl from". This has GREAT body and milk chocolate, which brings back the old-style cat that I and many others are very fond of, but still has the light citrus that has been so prevalent in recent iterations.

Matt...a friend from Chi-town (regular customer of yours) brought me some recently roasted (22nd) BC...as another poster asked, would the new Brazil be part of the new BC?
OT...BTW, the Kid-O, as always is wonderful...even 8 days old.

aindfan wrote:I read on CoffeeGeek that Black Cat has changed recently.

Anyone who is a fan of brand-named blends (I include myself), should keep in mind that coffee is agricultural and that all blends change frequently as crops and sources change. I asked Jerry Baldwin once about the famous Peet's blends, and he said they changed about four times a year. Named blends are more of an idea and a target than a fixed product.

Marshall wrote:Anyone who is a fan of brand-named blends (I include myself), should keep in mind that coffee is agricultural and that all blends change frequently as crops and sources change. I asked Jerry Baldwin once about the famous Peet's blends, and he said they changed about four times a year. Named blends are more of an idea and a target than a fixed product.

No, no and no. Frankly, i've been bemused by the reports of major blend changes (in terms of taste) when the name stays the same. IMHO, the whole idea of a "NAME" blend is that it is totally consistent over time, regardless of changes in crops and sourcing. Any idiot can get a blend right once in a lifetime, but to turn out the same taste year after year takes skill, and lots of it. You only have to see the cupping panels major Italian roasters use to ensure absolute consistency in their blends to realise it's a serious business.

There is no way Alan's Blend (my flagship, now a full adult at 23 years old) varies, it still tastes the same as it did in 1985. Of course, some of the beans are different, their roast level varies over the course of a year, and crop changes will probably mean that about half the component beans will be sourced somewhere else next year. The taste remains the same. A roaster who can't do that should simply declare their product as a new blend (call it "Black Kitten" or something) rather than allowing it to be sold under the same name. After all, the most important link in the supply chain, the customer, might just decide that if it's going to change all the time, they can't be bothered.


Alan

I've always enjoyed the Black Cat shots served to me at Intelly's LA shop (have not been to the one in Chicago) but have not gotten consistent results at home on my E-61 Isomac (at least not results that appealed to me the way the shots in their shop did).

I picked up two bags of BC regular and one of decaf weekend before last when in LA and have been very very happy with the latest iteration of this blend. I'm doing about 17 grams in a double basket and haven't measured temps but it's always after a full 5 oz cooling flush. Lots of deep chocolatey notes in a machiatto or a short cappa and deep full fruity notes as a straight shot - does not have the higher floral notes or acidity that some have mentioned from the previous incarnation but this blend is very much aligned with my personal tastes.

I also picked up a pound of Kid O and consider it to be "not bad" but not very distinctive and not interesting enough to prompt the desire to get more in the future.

Alan Frew wrote:No, no and no. Frankly, i've been bemused by the reports of major blend changes (in terms of taste) when the name stays the same. IMHO, the whole idea of a "NAME" blend is that it is totally consistent over time, regardless of changes in crops and sourcing. Any idiot can get a blend right once in a lifetime, but to turn out the same taste year after year takes skill, and lots of it. You only have to see the cupping panels major Italian roasters use to ensure absolute consistency in their blends to realise it's a serious business.

Fair enough, Alan. I should have clarified that it is the specific contents of blends that changes constantly. When I quoted Jerry Baldwin, I did not mean to imply that Peet's flagship Major Dickason blend has a different flavor profile every three months. Many roasters put enormous effort into maintaining blend consistency.

It is my observation, though, that the blends of smaller roasters are more likely to have obvious changes, either because they do not have as easy an access to consistent green sources or because they are more willing to vary the product when they get excited about a new source.