Time for me to order more coffee, and I wanted to see what everybody likes from SM right now. Given that Tom describes the new Treble Response as bright, I'm more than a little scared - I'm pretty sure that if Tom thinks its bright, I'll think it's knife edge.

Also, what do people think about liquid amber? I was toying with the idea of mixing it with treble response to get a mix of notes. Totally blind, obviously.

Any recs?

I liked (but only tried a few shots before my friend took what I had roasted) the DP Panama Carmen "Siete Dias de Bellota" SO. Bold, fruited, heavy chocolate with a little spice and nut. A storm in the area knocked out the power for 7 days mid harvest and damaged a bridge to the processing mill so they dry processed it and it came out very nice. I'm working on some of the SM Guatemala La Maravilla SO now but it's a bit on the bright side.

I like Liquid Amber. It (or a variant of it) is the mainstay for myself and my friends for whom I roast. Pretty potent straight but cuts through milk nicely. If you get some, I'd advise to pull it short or the monsooned component tastes awful.

An all time favorite of mine from Sweet Marias, is the Moka Kadir blend. It is just awesome. Handles different roast levels well too. I used to take it JUST until the first snap of 2C, and then cool it immediately. I also found, for milk drinks, it worked well as a melange.. Half taken to just before 2C(no snaps heard) and half about 10-15 seconds in the 2C, but not really a rolling 2C yet. I did it by accident, I was watching the roast, by apparently my mind was elsewhere, because I let it go further then Intended, but it came out good. Cut through the milk well, and as an espresso, still had the smoothness that I like MK for. Worth a try, for sure.

Ive tried a couple of the Espresso Workshop blends, but not all. The first one, Ophiolite was great, I wasnt crazy about the Aruiferous, but it wasn't terrible either, and i really, really enjoyed the Basaltic Bourbon. I havent tried any past those three, but I do have some Dextral Strike which Ive not roasted yet. If you don't like bright, lighter bodied espresso, then you might not like the workshop blends, but hey, you'll never know if you dont try them.

The Yemen Offerings this year have been awesome. Ive yet to try the Haimi, but I like the Ismali and the Sharisi.. both are great as SO shots, and the Ismali is great in the siphon as well. Listed right above the Yemens, is the Ugandan Bugisu, which Ive found to be pretty darn good as a melange,, Roasted real light, just out of 1C, and the rest roasted JUST into 2C.

And I always grab the Ethiopian offerings that are available when im ordering.. Ive honestly yet to find one I didnt love, both as SO espresso, and Siphon.

And my last suggestion, is the Sumatra Lingtong Dolok Sangul. Currently, they have the Farm Gate offering.. I had the "regular" one, but the flavor descriptions are almost identical. It made for some topnotch siphon coffee. I didnt use it for espresso, though.

I am looking for espresso coffee, that's important. I loved the SM ophiolite, the Dextral Strike it was to the point I sold most of my bag to someone else on here.

The kenyans sound good - I always like Kenyans and Ethiopians. I've mixed them with sumatrans before for what I thought was an interesting combo.

I don't tend to like the central americans, I find them too acid often, but I bet there are ones I'd love.

gyro wrote:I like Liquid Amber. It (or a variant of it) is the mainstay for myself and my friends for whom I roast. Pretty potent straight but cuts through milk nicely. If you get some, I'd advise to pull it short or the monsooned component tastes awful.

I will have to try that one again. I really didn't like it the first time around but I wasn't short pulling it. I got three blends from them recently but am still working through 5 lbs of Monkey at different roasts levels.

Jeff, Glad to hear someone else liked the Basaltic Bourbon. I thought it was fantastic! Maybe if enough people sound off to Tom, he will bring back around again.

I haven't loved espresso monkey so far. May just be that I prefer a different style, I've never been much for northern italian (I seem to remember that's where it was aimed?).

The other thought of course is that I'm roasting it wrong.

What do people tend to think of it?

I personally like it with a FC thru French roast. I have some vienna monkey right now that I short shot 2 doubles this morning, scraped off the crema and made a fantastic soy latte with (ran out of milk). Really was great! Sure wish I could get that latte art down better though.
I think monkey is best with milk drinks and roasted more than the SO's. Tends to get better about 3 days after roasting.

JMO,

OBTW, I really like the Ethiopian I have had. So far I have only had the Blue bottle (roasted) version and I was pulling it with a Pavoni lever. They still want money from me...

What level do you roast it to for espresso?

Jeff

I've been roasting monkey to just into second crack, turning down the temp (to p8 for hottopers) after it starts first crack to extend the time to second.

I think I'm hitting it more or less, just find it a bit bland

Ethiopians for espresso.. I love em'. It really depends on the bean where Im roasting it.. but Ive yet to take one past the very first snaps of 2C and enjoyed it.. I took a few roasts just before a rolling 2C, and most if not all of the fruit was gone.. and since I like ethiopians for their fruit, I didn't enjoy them there. Currently the Idido Misty Valley Ive got, has been very good at a number of roasts.. I really liked it roasted pretty light...1C done, with a little time, but still no thoughts of 2C. It makes one hell of an Americano. Not to mention some of the best Siphon coffee. A little while back, they had some Birbissa, which was one of my favorites for 'spro. Roasted to just before, or barely into 2C, pulled barely as a ristretto.. a bit under 2oz in 30sec. It also did well during my single shot experiments. Try taking one which can hold a darker roast okay, and do a melange with it for milk drinks. Chocolate back drop, but still all the fruit ethiopians are loved for.

the Monkey Blend is a straightforward blend, which works well at a variety of roasts, and straight or in milk. It certainly isnt the best blend ever, but it IS good.. I like it best roasted just before 2C starts, and with about 5 days rest. I try to always have at least a pound of it in my green stash, in case the mood strikes for some good simple shots. I havent had any in a couple months, but Ive two lbs of it green. Try it at Vienna, I personally think that is where it shines for milk drinks. Bittersweet, and able to cut through the milk, but still have the smooth chocolate and almond flavor as well.

Lockman,

Oh I loved the Basaltic.. I only ordered 2lbs of it, and I went through it so fast.. sadly, when I went to order more, they were all out. I got so much berry flavor in the straights shots it was incredible. Straw, Black, Rasp, and BlueBerrys, and with a cremy creme brulee' finish. Drinking the shots reminded me of a Dessert Special I ran at my old restaurant.. Bourbon Brown Sugar Creme Brulee' Parfait... I was told guests hated saying the whole name, but it was a huge hit.
From the plate up:
Assortment of berrys, including Blackberrys, Raspberrys, Blueberrys, very lightly sprinkled with sugar
Then, take a creme(which was made with bourbon), and Brulee it with Turbinado Sugar AND brown Sugar(70/30mix, Raw to Brown)... Then, REMOVE it from the Souffle' dish, and(without breaking it) place it on top of the berrys. Take 1oz ladle of Creme Anglaise, drizzled in the front 180degrees of the plate, and garnish the top with fresh whipcream and mint leaves.

heh hehe.. WAY offtopic.. Yes, the Basaltic Bourbon was an awesome blend.. I really hope they somehow bring it back.. I liked it even more then the Ophiolite, which, IMO, was a great blend.