I wouldn't really put any Italian blend in a VST basket, they force you to grind too fine. I use a "standard double" or an IMS basket when Im pulling Italian blends.

I've been digging Italian coffee in my Espresso Parts HQ14 ridgeless. I didn't mind stock but I prefer the ridgeless. When I tried using my VST baskets, I experienced exactly what you report. Way to fine, near choke levels on my grinder, for the low doses that these Italian blends prefer.

dominico wrote:I wouldn't really put any Italian blend in a VST basket, they force you to grind too fine. I use a "standard double" or an IMS basket when Im pulling Italian blends.

Ya - I had a feeling about that. But it's the only 15g basket I have, so I try to make do. The only other basket I have is the Breville, which only seems to be happy in the 18-20g range.

I found 2.2lb bags of Kimbo Superior and Lavaza Super Crema for $9.25 each in an Italian market last night! Both have roast dates from Nov. last year. I really hope they are good, man that is cheap!

Ok I tried the Kimbo Superior this morning. I took quite a bit of trial and error, I had to really crank down the grinder compared to where it was for the Redbird, and I ended up using a 15.5g dose for a double. Its still not perfect, still pours a little slow so I will reduce the dose some. I pulled first at 92c and it was a bit sour so went up to 93c. The there is a LOT of thick crema that does not disappear, and the taste is pretty darn good. I will keep messing with it and I am guessing I will really like it.

Edit: Both the Kimbo and the Lavazza smelled very good when I opened the bags, I was very surprised at that. They both have a bit of oil on the beans, something I have not used for espresso before but I am encouraged by my bumbling attempts with the Kimbo this morning.

2nd Edit: I played around a bit more and just did 14g in and 23g out in about 34secs or so. It tasted very good, nice and chocolatey, but weaker then I am use to with the redbird. I think I need to lower the pressure a bit on my mini Vivaldi, its hitting a bit over 10 bar every time and I think its a bit too much.

Anyone try Lavazza Pienaroma?

Very delicious first shot. 16g in and 24 out using an old Skool standard double basket. Very surprising and happy to see no robusta in the blend.

EDChris wrote:Have any of you guys tried Maromas? One of our suppliers is suggesting we carry it (Orphea, Platinea, Arabea), but the majority of the coffee we sell we select and roast locally. The only imports we sell currently are Kimbo and Lavazza, which sees a lot of demand/has a high satisfaction rate.

Quoting myself. We got the Maromas Orphea and it sold out in two weeks, and people are already asking for more. Maybe check it out if you want a relatively inoffensive blend to get people into espresso, but still flavourful.

I had tried Kimbo Superior before but didn't have a deep freezer, so after day 2-3 the coffee was so bland it bordered on undrinkable.

Now equipped with a deep freezer I'm trying Lavazza Super Crema and am blown away. I'd say it's far less of a balancing act between the tobacco and chocolate notes versus the Kimbo, where I now consistently get a nice blend of both with almond.

Pulling 14g in 22-24g out and really pleased with it. It's a nice break from the lighter 3rd wave roasts where the margin of error is much more narrow.

dominico wrote:I wouldn't really put any Italian blend in a VST basket, they force you to grind too fine. I use a "standard double" or an IMS basket when Im pulling Italian blends.

For some reason, I just always assumed this was true but never tried using my VSTs with italian blend coffee... lesson learned. Gotta try things before judging!

I've begun pulling Lavazza Super Crema through my 18g VST... 18g in 30g out. It's a delicisious chocolate bomb and I wouldn't even consider going back to my standard 14g basket.

why do the 49th parallel gets really bad after a couple of weeks? even when properly stored in freezer?

I love the first 2 weeks of the Old School, but it cannot be preserved long enough and with time, it honestly becomes undrinkable. I wont buy more

the Oro was great, but after going back to the Kimbo superior, I will stick with Kimbo as its truly my favorite italian blend right now.

I will try danessi gold and lavazza super crema again and absolutely try the lavazza pienaroma!

I also do not like using VST basket with italien blends.