Should taste like freshly-ground Ambrosia blend smells?

[skyryders90]

I've heard various people say that espresso should taste like freshly-ground coffee smells (most recently by malachi over on CG, I think).

This morning while I was making a shot or two, after grinding and dosing, I leaned down and took a nice long whiff of the grounds - there is a decided sour note to them. I wouldn't call it rancid-sour or anything like that, but there is definitely a sour note in there. This is interesting to me as I have been working a lot to improve my technique and consistency, and one of the things I have been fighting is a bit of sourness in the shots that I am struggling to get rid of.

I am using Tony's Ambrosia blend, ~5 days out of roast (might be 6 now), getting TONS of crema, somtimes with bigger bubbles than usual, but that settles out very nice and thick, but still with that slight sourness to it.

Any thoughts?

[malachi]

Does the Ambrosia have Monsooned Malabar in it?

[JonR10]

Does the Ambrosia have Monsooned Malabar in it?

No, it does not (at least that's what TonyS said to me)

[skyryders90]

Does the Ambrosia have Monsooned Malabar in it?

I have absolutely no idea. He doesn't disclose the blend on his website. There are quite a few others on the board that use this blend, maybe someone out there knows. Anyone?

[jrtatl]

I've been drinking a lot of Ambrosia over the last couple of weeks. One of the first things I said to myself when trying it was: "Wow, there must be some MM in here."

Funny how I got it wrong. Oh well. Live and learn.

I have found that this blend is quite temp sensitive. I can get an easily discernable, large range of flavors from this blend. Sour if water too cool. Bitter if water too hot. Several different flavor profiles fall in between.

I really like this blend, and have found it easy to work with once I experimented and set a ceiling and floor for the temp range. My wife had initially found it too bitter. So, I kept lowering the brew temp until I found all the shots to be sour. Then, I crept upward until I found the compromise I like the best.

All that to say: Try raising your brew temp a little.

Good luck!

Jeremy

[mortgageman]

I think you might still be getting a considerable amount of CO2 . I have found ( I think this will be mirrored by other regular Ambrosia users) that Tony's blends require more degassing time than others. I like to wait until a good 7-9 days post roast for best results.

[jrtatl]

I think you might still be getting a considerable amount of CO2 . I have found ( I think this will be mirrored by other regular Ambrosia users) that Tony's blends require more degassing time than others. I like to wait until a good 7-9 days post roast for best results.

Me too. Tony recommends resting a full week, IIRC.

Jeremy

[cannonfodder]

If I had to guess as to the origin of the blend, I would say it contains a bit of Yemen, some Ethiopian, some deep notes from a dry processed Brazil or Sumatran and maybe a touch of New Guinea. In milk I get a bit of coco, some light floral/tropical note with a bit of spice. I do not notice the coco as much in a straight shot.

[JonR10]

If I had to guess as to the origin of the blend, I would say it contains a bit of Yemen, some Ethiopian, some deep notes from a dry processed Brazil or Sumatran and maybe a touch of New Guinea.

Close - very close... (but IIRC no Yemen or PNG)

[CaffeFresco]

I've heard various people say that espresso should taste like freshly-ground coffee smells (most recently by malachi over on CG, I think).

This morning while I was making a shot or two, after grinding and dosing, I leaned down and took a nice long whiff of the grounds - there is a decided sour note to them. I wouldn't call it rancid-sour or anything like that, but there is definitely a sour note in there. This is interesting to me as I have been working a lot to improve my technique and consistency, and one of the things I have been fighting is a bit of sourness in the shots that I am struggling to get rid of.

I am using Tony's Ambrosia blend, ~5 days out of roast (might be 6 now), getting TONS of crema, somtimes with bigger bubbles than usual, but that settles out very nice and thick, but still with that slight sourness to it.

Any thoughts?

Hi Steve and Others.

One of the best tools of the trade is developing your nose. The simple practice of first smelling everything you eat or drink before consuming it will naturally broaden your library of mental notes on aromas & tastes. It's an easy practice and can be done all the time. No one will even notice ya doing it.

About this sour note Steve is experiencing. He and I are currently going through a volley of private e-mails in order to pinpoint the origin of the sour note. As a roaster/blender, my first inclination was to light & short a roast on the Indo component of Ambrosia Espresso Blend (AEB). This particular bean needs a drawn out roast between 1st & 2nd crack while requiring a lot of flame before first. Managing the exothermic energy going into first crack is where all the skill is required in order to achieve the drawn out roast between first & second (the caramelizing period). As I said earlier this was my first inclination to the origin of the sour note, and a fresh-roasted bag of AEB is already en-route to Steve's Espresso Bar in Texas.

He and I also discussed, in detail; the rest/degas period, brew temp., dose, grind size & tamp pressure, and his recent change of espresso grinders. He is also going through a 3 Bagger consisting of AEB, Mocha Harrar Longberry & Daterra Reserve Espresso, which helped us determined the sour note was only coming from the A.E.B. Steve, correct me if I am wrong on that.

What just happened here is the good thing the web is doing for me and coffee/espresso in general. The information shared by Malachi, a seasoned barista, instigated a customer of a relatively young roaster to broaden his espresso experience. Customer noted something odd and posted it, in essence the customer gave me feedback. I value feedback. I think it's a priceless tool, and if you are a customer of mine please feel free to e-mail me with any comments. Fortunately too, Steve is a patient man and spent time with me in trying to pinpoint the problem. He is developing his home-barista skills as well, so it's a win-win situation. At the moment I want to thank Dan, Abe, Chris and others for making H-B possible. Thanks!


Be Well, TonyS