chanty 77 wrote:Anyone recommend a Medium to medium-dark roast that is chocolate, nuts, caramel, blueberries, cherries. Has to "punch" through milk drinks. Thanks.

Have you tried Red Rooster's Old Crow Cuppa Joe? It's got wonderful chocolate and cherry notes that really come through the milk. I also found it to be fairly forgiving and easy to dial in.

Regarding the high acidity you're getting with your Gaggia, what's your warm-up and shot routine like? I've seen a lot of advice out there on temp management and surfing that I think often results in brewing with temperatures that are too low. Perhaps you know your Gaggia really well already, so feel free to disregard this.

In my case, I turn on my machine and immediately flush 3oz of water out of boiler to replace the water that was in the boiler from the previous day. I then let the machine and pf pre-heat for at least 15 minutes. For most medium roasts, I almost never flush the machine before pulling a shot because I don't want to mess with the water temp in the small boiler. Simply for repeatability, when brewing medium or medium-dark roasts, I always pull my shot right after the ready light comes back on. If I am brewing something on the medium-light side, I might switch the steam on for 5 seconds after the ready light comes back on and pull the shot 2-3 secs after switching the steam off. YMMV, but this has worked fairly well for me in reproducing good shots for blends I've tried at cafes and keeping the acidity/sourness in check.

Good luck in your search!

Quirquincho wrote:Have you tried Red Rooster's Old Crow Cuppa Joe? It's got wonderful chocolate and cherry notes that really come through the milk. I also found it to be fairly forgiving and easy to dial in.

Regarding the high acidity you're getting with your Gaggia, what's your warm-up and shot routine like? I've seen a lot of advice out there on temp management and surfing that I think often results in brewing with temperatures that are too low. Perhaps you know your Gaggia really well already, so feel free to disregard this.

In my case, I turn on my machine and immediately flush 3oz of water out of boiler to replace the water that was in the boiler from the previous day. I then let the machine and pf pre-heat for at least 15 minutes. For most medium roasts, I almost never flush the machine before pulling a shot. Simply for repeatability, when brewing medium or medium-dark roasts, I always pull my shot right after the ready light comes back on because I don't want to mess with the water temp in the small boiler. If I am brewing something on the medium-light side, I might switch the steam on for 5 seconds after the ready light comes back on and pull the shot 2-3 secs after switching the steam off. YMMV, but this has worked fairly well for me in reproducing good shots for blends I've tried at cafes and keeping the acidity/sourness in check.

Good luck in your search!

Hi & thanks so much for that! I turn my Gaggia Classic on & let it heat for anywhere from 20 minutes to 25 minutes. I then flush water out of boiler briefly. Then if the ready light has been on a while before I"m ready to put my portafilter in & start the shot--I wait til the light goes off, then when it goes back on--I start the shot. I have done the styrofoam cup/thermometer test & it has come out at 198°.

chanty 77 wrote:Anyone recommend a Medium to medium-dark roast that is chocolate, nuts, caramel, blueberries, cherries. Has to "punch" through milk drinks. Thanks.

My recommendation would be the following:
Cat and Cloud's The Answer
Black and White's The Natural
Captain and Stoker's The Captain
Verve's Sermon
And one I tried just today: Trail Coffee Roasters Switchback

They are all in the same vein. I'd say The Answer is probably
your best bet though!

Thanks!

Had the last amount of Verve Sermon as a shot today @ 203F,19g in 32g out 27s with 7s preinfusion Strada Basket. 18 days post roast, I got chocolate, lemon, floral notes, and a slight astringency on the tongue. It was an enjoyable straight shot, but I was hoping for a blueberry sendoff for this coffee. I managed to get blueberry in milk, but I wonder if that's the combination of the milk with the lemon acidity to produce that flavor note. Off to find another coffee, maybe one that was mentioned in this thread.

Thanks--I'll put this on my "to try" list