Canadian Roaster Recommendations - Page 12

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
1canuck2
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#111: Post by 1canuck2 »

I've never ordered a single pound bag from them (or from anywhere tbh). The 6lb variety combo works out to ~$17 a lb, and there's usually a discount code every month to get an additional 5% off and a free 0.5lb bag. I go through 6lbs in 4-5 weeks, so it works out perfectly for me. YMMV

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bcrdukes
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#112: Post by bcrdukes »

mwynne wrote:Has anyone else dug into Rabbit Hole Roasters? I just pulled my first two shots of their Lafu (from Yunnan), both with my Europiccola. First was straight espresso, ground a bit too coarse, but shockingly zero sourness, even some brown sugar notes. Second finer shot channelled some so I salvaged it with a latte - very very mild taste in with the milk, should have used my 6oz mug, not 12oz. Overall quite nice and pleasing - I think they do a darker roast Yunnan as well which I want to try.
Thanks for sharing. Rabbit Hole Roasters often pops up on my Instagram Feed but their overall offerings didn't really make it enticing to buy.

What were you shot parameters on your Europiccola? Would be curious to try on my Ponte Vecchio Export and Olympia Cremina.
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mwynne
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#113: Post by mwynne replying to bcrdukes »

I was buying some mugs from Eight Ounce so I added a bag out of curiosity.

14.5g in, but I don't usually weigh/time my output - I'll do that this weekend though and update. I haven't quite got the grind just right yet (channeling issues that I don't have with other beans), and the beans might be a bit older than ideal (I think roast date is Dec 7).
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bcrdukes
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#114: Post by bcrdukes »

Thanks, Michael.

I saw your post in the other forum (Tips & Techniques.) Did you find that the Rabbit Hole coffee requires a very fine grind?

Over the years, the industry started to favour lighter to mediums roasts, and I tried to follow it, only to be met with disappointment. I'd have to grind so fine to the point where it chokes the machine, so I stopped buying them altogether (that, and I am generally just not a fan of light and medium roasts.)

When pulling shots on espresso roasts that are on the darker side, I get amazing results, so I decided to stick to that, but mind you, they aren't exactly the easiest to find these days. One roaster may claim it is a dark roast, but still having to grind to fine dust to pull a shot. I will pass on those and will likely not buy again.

One of my favourite dark roasts are from Vincent Gentile's Casa Del Caffee in Vancouver, particularly his Espresso Gran Bar roast. Small operation he's run for many many years, catering mainly to the restaurant industry and to very well known restaurants out in Vancouver. They are on the oilier side, but I really love the flavour and the consistency in the shots, even after three weeks from roast date. I will be ordering from him in a few weeks.
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eheffa
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#115: Post by eheffa »

I live in Victoria and probably represent the Philistine crowd; the folks who still like a darker roast for their espresso.
(I'm looking for dark chocolates, almond, vanilla and yes coffee flavours in my cup not remnants of lemon or fruit - sorry.)

I ordered some Phil & Sabastian's Standard Espresso from Calgary (on my son's recommendation) and after tasting all the citrus and floral in the cup sent on the residual beans to him. He is pleased and I remain unenlightened. ;-)

I have been very impressed with the "Italian" roasts I've tried from Roaster Central in Vancouver ( https://roastercentral.ca ) They have quite a few variations based on a Southern Italian style that I find to be excellent. So far, I've tasted their 9 BAR, Meaning of Life and Taormina . They offer free shipping and very reasonable pricing. Both orders I've placed got to me here in VIctoria very promptly. The beans seem to be very fresh with lots of beautiful crema. I plan to order again.

For those who like lighter roasts they have quite a selection of those too and seem to be acting as a broker for a number of other smaller local roasters' offerings.

-evan

mwynne
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#116: Post by mwynne »

Hey Mike,

Yep, that's the Rabbit Hole Lufa. I'm going to give it another go today with a finer grind, but I think I'm just pushing at the limits of my Europiccola. I really like what I'm getting out of the Yunnan beans though, and since they do the same beans in a darker roast, I'm tempted to try that sometime.

I am very tempted to get a pump machine so that I can explore a wider range of beans.

Overall, I agree that I prefer (at least at home) a darker/traditional roast, and they're really tough to find around here. I'll keep Casa Del Caffe in mind when I need to restock.
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eheffa
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#117: Post by eheffa »

mwynne wrote:
Overall, I agree that I prefer (at least at home) a darker/traditional roast, and they're really tough to find around here.
Try Roaster Central.

Great selection of darker Italian Style Roasts and pretty quick to get to Victoria. Almost overnight shipping.

-evan

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bcrdukes
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#118: Post by bcrdukes »

Interesting bit about Roaster Central; They are owned/operated by EspressoTec in Vancouver. Originally, they had very few coffees on hand when they did the coffee spin-off, but looks like they've really grown the inventory and options.

I'll give them a shot one day. Thanks for the lead! Too bad nothing out this way in Toronto. I miss the West Coast (aka the Best Coast!) :mrgreen:
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eheffa
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#119: Post by eheffa replying to bcrdukes »

You might try one Ontario roaster I recently ordered from on a whim -> Buy Canada Coffee (Based in Windsor Ontario)

I don't claim to be a true connoisseur but I do like a darker roast with the chocolate / almond nutty tones. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and freshness of their Gold and Silver espresso beans. They were both decent dark southern Italian style roasts IMHO. I haven't tried any of their other offerings but they have quite reasonable prices and might be worth a sampling?

https://buycoffeecanada.com/collections/espresso

-evan

PIXIllate (original poster)
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#120: Post by PIXIllate (original poster) »

Update - Working on the 49th Parallel coffee's that were lost in the mail. They've been in my freezer with the one way valves taped over. Before starting I tried reaching out to 49th to get some more specific brewing parameters than they have on the web site. After a few emails back and forth I got this information from Sasa:

There is so many different equipment on the market and it's hard to get recipe out that's gonna work for every setup. Unfortunately we don't have a flat burr grinder at the moment but 2 very different conicals. Starting ratio is always between 1:2.15 to 1:2.2, except for the darkest roast (Blue Sky). Also, different water makes huge difference in the cup so we always try to share middle ground to get customer in the ballpark and go from there.

I included 2 different grinders below pulled on the same machine, with the same settings just to highlight how much variable is added just with 1 different component in espresso setup.

The latest recipes that've been working the best on Kees Van Der Westen Spirit (with preinfusion chamber, spring on softest setting/softest preinfusion) were following:

20g IMS basket KvdW edition (more similar in performance to VST than other IMS baskets)
Epic Espresso 19.5g in 43-44g out in 30-33 sec Mazzer Kold, 20g in and 44-45g out 24-26 sec Etzinger EtzMax
Old School Espresso 20g in 44-46g out in 32-35sec Mazzer Kold, 20g in 43.5-45g out 26-28sec Etzinger EtzMax
SOE Honduras La Bendicion (Holiday Esp) 20.5g in 44-46g out in 31-33 sec Mazzer Kold, 20g in 44-46g out in 25-27 sec Etzinger EtzMax
SOE Costa Rica Don Mayo 20.5-21g in 42-44g out in 30-32 sec Mazzer Kold, 20g in 43-45g out in 24-26sec Etzinger EtzMax



The first bag I pulled out was the Don Mayo Costa Rician. After trying 20g doses in a 20g VST basket I would have to say the results were not great. I switched back to the 18g VST basket and started working my way down to 19g and 18.5g input doses. I don't feel like I ever really got the best out of this coffee. I'm not sure if it was being too long off of roast or me just not finding the right ratio.

I'm now about half way through the Burundi Gahahe and I'm having more success with this coffee. So far the best shots have have raisins/dates and bitter orange marmalade.

If nothing else I'm learning how to dial in by taste, which I guess is the ultimate skill.

I still have a bag of the Holiday Espresso in the fridge up next but I've already gone back and ordered two more bags from Phil and Sebastian.

I also reached out to Pallet Coffee Roasters to ask about free shipping and brewing parameters. I'd like to try what they're doing.