So, the first time I ordered Toscano 2006 from CounterCulture a month or so ago (it was superb, BTW) the beans were a golden honey-color, oaken. Just got another bag of Toscano (the 2006 is gone from the name) and now the beans are the color of dark cocoa. What gives? Did I not get Toscano the first time around? Or has the roast profile changed with the name?

Regards
Timo
P.S. No roast date on the bag.

From CCC's Toscano details...

Each year, as new coffee crops arrive, we reformulate Toscano so we are sure to get that special sweetness we prize in this coffee.

A truism of the coffee business is "you must change a blend to keep it the same." In other words, preservation of a flavor profile requires constant revisiting and tinkering. Every time we reformulate Toscano, we change its name, not unlike a vintage year for wine. Hence, Espresso Toscano 2006.

We've recently reformulated the blend to emphasize the sweet chocolate notes that accompany Toscano's classic butter-caramel sweetness. We love chocolate and caramel in this coffee! After many weeks of testing and tasting, we believe we've hit the "sweet spot" with each of these three components with our signature "Espresso Roasting" technique, which stands as a modern-day homage to the slower, wood-fired roasters of traditional Tuscany.

cannonfodder wrote:From CCC's Toscano details...

Each year, as new coffee crops arrive, we reformulate Toscano so we are sure to get that special sweetness we prize in this coffee.

A truism of the coffee business is "you must change a blend to keep it the same." In other words, preservation of a flavor profile requires constant revisiting and tinkering. Every time we reformulate Toscano, we change its name, not unlike a vintage year for wine. Hence, Espresso Toscano 2006.

We've recently reformulated the blend to emphasize the sweet chocolate notes that accompany Toscano's classic butter-caramel sweetness. We love chocolate and caramel in this coffee! After many weeks of testing and tasting, we believe we've hit the "sweet spot" with each of these three components with our signature "Espresso Roasting" technique, which stands as a modern-day homage to the slower, wood-fired roasters of traditional Tuscany.

I suppose CCC are not going to be changing its name each year any more. It not 'Toscano 2007' now but simply 'Toscano'. But names aside, the coffee looks and tastes very different. There is a smokiness that wasn't there last time. Their spectrophotometer may need service.

Regards
Timo

P.S. The Toscano 2006 my wife drank without sugar. The current batch: "I strongly feel the need for sugar. There is a bitter aftertaste."

P.P.S. H-B member malachi wrote in 2005:

malachi wrote:Counter Culture Toscano. To me, this tastes best in short milk drinks where some of the smoke gets toned down a little.
http://www.home-barista.com/coffees/espresso-tasting-notes-t327.html

There was no smokiness in the 2006 that I received. So either I was sent a mislabeled bag last time, or the roast profile for this blend varies considerably. CCC might could change the name to Terzo Portello

But that is the beauty of coffee. Being an agricultural product, it changes year to year. Sometimes for the good, other times for the bad. That is one of the things that make commercial roasting so difficult. Having to constantly change a blend to retain a signature flavor from month to month let alone from crop to crop takes a lot of work. Then there are the 'oops, I roasted it a hair too long' moments.

Don't blink .....seems like it's changed .........again!

I've been sittin' in on Friday morning with the local (RDU) Espresso Geek Squad at the Counter Culture Coffee Espresso Lab so I've sorta seen and tasted some of the changes first-hand over the years. The ol' Toscano 2005 was a "stand-out" as a straight-shot. Wonderful sweet caramel-buttery-scotch notes which peaked ~3 days from the roast date. Everyone was using it...at home, in their coffee shops, in the barista competitions, "everywhere", ....and then not so mysteriously it went away when new lots of beans were migrated into the blend. Toward the end of 2006 and into 2007....it was just a different espresso for me more chocolate and less butter. I would let it cool on the bench, then the sweetness would come forward, but the mouth-feel was reduced as the crema dispersed. Some, like Geoff Corey, have suggested that the peak went so far-out from the roast date that it just wasn't as usable in a commercial setting and I know that he worked with Counter Culture to develop his own blend for his Pheasant Creek Coffee shop. I confess to switching to other blends also because I just wasn't tasting the same product.

This morning with the "Espresso Geek Squad" we were able to taste the most recent tweak to Toscano. Apparently a new Brazil and a new Sumatra in the mix. The batch was 3-days rested and clearly peak with just a little bit of bubbliness at the end of the pull. I pulled 3 very short, dense, consistent, doubles on Counter Culture Coffee's WBC LM machine and the results were fabulous. .....as close as I've tasted in memory to the old Toscano 2005....nice and sweet and buttery with a caramelly-choco' finish that leaves you wanting just one more. Nice job Tim! Word is that there may be additional improvements due to a new Brazil "ipanema" blend in the mix soon.

...can't wait to get some in my hopper at home.


The "voodoo-chemistry" of blending and roasting and brewing and tasting that give rise to these multitude of flavors staggers my mind.....keeps me curious....keeps me excited.

Sometime....try tasting a 6-year vertical of some good Bordeaux....same producer, same grapes, same label, different years ......they will not taste the same!


I would echo cannonfodder's comment that it "is the beauty of coffee" .....we simply can't control all of God's variables.
Rejoice in the surprises we are given.

cannonfodder wrote:But that is the beauty of coffee. Being an agricultural product, it changes year to year. Sometimes for the good, other times for the bad. That is one of the things that make commercial roasting so difficult. Having to constantly change a blend to retain a signature flavor from month to month let alone from crop to crop takes a lot of work. Then there are the 'oops, I roasted it a hair too long' moments.

My romantic self agrees with you, Dave, but my classical self steps back and wonders. I would not expect a roast to go from golden oak to deep mahogany after reading Peter Giuliano's remarks about CCC's use of spectrophotometry in their QC operations -- assuming that wasn't tongue-in-cheek -- it certainly sounded plausible to me after reading Illy on quality. So I assumed the darker, much smokier roast was intentional, not an oops! moment (or perhaps that I got a mislabeled bag last time). The current Toscano has moved much closer to Black Cat or Caffe D'Arte Firenze. Today's Toscano is sweeter than Black Cat and Firenze, and it has more lively flavors and aromatics. But its smoky finish is a bit rough to my palate.
Regards
Timo

beta14ok wrote:Don't blink .....seems like it's changed .........again!

...

This morning with the "Espresso Geek Squad" we were able to taste the most recent tweak to Toscano. Apparently a new Brazil and a new Sumatra in the mix. The batch was 3-days rested and clearly peak with just a little bit of bubbliness at the end of the pull. I pulled 3 very short, dense, consistent, doubles on Counter Culture Coffee's WBC LM machine and the results were fabulous. .....as close as I've tasted in memory to the old Toscano 2005....nice and sweet and buttery with a caramelly-choco' finish that leaves you wanting just one more. Nice job Tim! Word is that there may be additional improvements due to a new Brazil "ipanema" blend in the mix soon.

I would have to resurrect malachi's opinion about the Toscano 2005, and apply it to the 2007: its smokiness is a bit harsh in the finish to my palate, and to my wife's; she will take it with sugar now when she was happy to drink the 2006 without it. And it is not because the Toscano '07 is not sweet or delicious; it is sweet and delicious, with good clarity and delightful aromatics, but an edgy finish. The Toscano of a month or so ago had the suavity of Caffe DArte's Firenze, only lighter.

Regards
Timo

Timo-

Have you tried calling CCC to see if you got a new or old blend? I'm not sure if they track that sort of thing, but I'm gonna guess they keep lot information or at least I hope so based on their size.

Hello all,

I love this discussion. Just for clarification my name is Tim Hill and I am one of the roasters for Counter Culture Coffee, and while it pains me to see some of the comments, I consider this valuable feedback. Furthermore, I encourage anyone who has any questions or comments to email me (tim@counterculturecoffee.com) and I will be more than happy to talk coffee. Once again, everyone here is great. Keep up the great discussion.

Hey Nanofish,

It might be fun if you could give us an accounting of the major changes to Toscano blend since the "infamous" Toscano 2005. I'm guessing that there have been at least 3 major changes, with the most recent being in the past week-or-so. I've tasted a lot of Toscano varients, some with hefty helping of fruit bombs (harrar and-the-like) beans. I know that most of those never saw production, but it might be interesting to this gang if you could map the time scale of the changes and your perception of the tasting notes at each change. I didn't get any of the "smokiness" or "edgyness" in the batch I drank this morning.....significantly better than a batch I sampled a couple of weeks ago. Also, it could be interesting to know what temp your WBC LM is operating.

Regards,
dmm