Paradise Roasters beans aren't shiny

[BelAirSteve]

Just received my espresso sampler from Paradise Roasters. I am a newbie and have only used the beans purchased in my local shop, roasted by a local roaster that supplies some of the smaller shops in my area. I am curious about one thing. The espresso tastes great so far...I have only tried one of the three...but the beans do not have that shiny, oily look to them. Does that mean anything, one way or another?

[harris]

".but the beans do not have that shiny, oily look to them"

I know, isn't it great

It only means that they don't take their roasts too far into the 2nd crack.
Often referred to as a Northern Italian or even a Central Italian roast.

Enjoy, them some great beans ..........

[HB]

If you let them "age" for a couple weeks sealed in the bag, they'll be shiny. Isn't truly fresh coffee great?

[BelAirSteve]

I first got into this whole "espresso thing" at Christmas. If you told me then that I would be able to tell a difference between beans, I probably would have called you crazy. At this point I have tried 2 of the 3 blends from Paradise...the northern italian and central italian blends. They clearly taste different. From what I understand, the roast level affects the taste, but I am fascinated by the whole thing. The beans I was using before were locally purchased from a roaster in the area that supplies the town coffee shop. They are good beans, and I used them to work my way up the learning curve. Now I am eagerly anticipating trying some of the other roasters mentioned on this and other sites. I'll keep you posted on my findings.

My wife asked me just this morning, "When you got your espresso machine, did you think you would enjoy it this much?" I wasn't exactly sure how to answer, because when I find a new hobby, I usually jump in the deep end right away, but there is so much to this. It is a never ending quest. The thing that most surprised me the most was how much my wife is enjoying it. She has NEVER been a coffee drinker, but she has at least one latte every day. I practice my art on her! Oh...that's another thing. Having only experienced *$ cappuccino/latte previously, I thought I had to buy a mocha to have a drink that tastes like chocolate. Not long after I started experimenting with my Solis SL-70, I found that a latte made with great espresso and properly steamed milk and a tiny bit of sugar tastes like chocolate all on its own. Simply amazing. And the Paradise Roasters blend I used yesterday added a hint of a nutty flavor to that. No syrups required here!

[keno]

If you told me then that I would be able to tell a difference between beans, I probably would have called you crazy. At this point I have tried 2 of the 3 blends from Paradise...the northern italian and central italian blends. They clearly taste different. From what I understand, the roast level affects the taste, but I am fascinated by the whole thing.

It's much easier to discern the varietal characteristics of the beans when they are not over roasted. Sounds like your local roaster may be roasting too dark. Incidentally, I've heard it said that Starbucks roasts their coffees quite dark because it makes it much easier to ensure a uniform (but not better) tasting product no matter what type of beans they are sourcing. In other words, it's the McDonaldization of coffee.

The next step after you get to sample some good roasts would be to take up home roasting. HB has an excellent new forum on that topic should you ever decide to go that route.

Cheers,
Ken