Comments on Favorite Espressos 2020 - Page 11

#101: Post by **Jeff** » July 24th, 2020, 3:29 pm

Pulled "C" this morning and getting classic "comfort" espresso out of a DE1+, "default" profile, 18 g into VST 18 and 30-31 g out in a total of ~25 seconds.

Raising the temperature from 88°C to 89°C removed the hint of bitterness of the first two shots of the morning. Brings back good memories of espresso of years past when "creamy" and "chocolatey" were the objectives. Given its temperature behavior and flavor profile, I'm tempted to dig out a pre-VST basket and see what it produces. The color and texture of the crema hints at robusta, without the off notes that robusta often brings in the cup.

I've got a good guess as to the specific coffee here and am glad I've gotten to try something I normally wouldn't order. It's already a very approachable comfort coffee. It is one that won't make acquaintances wonder why you have all this coffee gear and can't make a decent latte, nor your friends wonder why you bought beans that were indistinguishable from chain mediocrity.

July 24th, 2020, 3:45 pm

Jeff wrote:Pulled "C" this morning and getting classic "comfort" espresso out of a DE1+, "default" profile, 18 g into VST 18 and 30-31 g out in a total of ~25 seconds.

Jeff, do you prefer C over A. Others have suggested C has Robusta in it, and I haven't tried coffee with robusta in a long time? In your mind what makes it "comfort"? Any thoughts on which of these you would prefer in an Affogoto?

#103: Post by **yakster** » July 24th, 2020, 3:53 pm

CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote:Jeff, do you prefer C over A. Others have suggested C has Robusta in it, and I haven't tried coffee with robusta in a long time?

I'll answer, even though I'm not Jeff. I'm preferring A over C so far, but I've tasted A more than C so this may change. I'm getting more chocolate flavor and complexity from A, and some pleasant bitterness. I don't notice anything in C that leads me to think it has Robusta in it.

CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote:Any thoughts on which of these you would prefer in an Affagoto?

Oh, Affogato, what a good idea. I'm not a milk drinker so I've been pulling straight shots, but I think trying the coffees as an Affogato would be interesting and I'm guessing I'd prefer A for this.

July 24th, 2020, 4:13 pm

yakster wrote: Oh, Affogato, what a good idea.

Chris,

When your wife is a pastry chef, it was kinda the first idea

But we don't have vanilla in the house right now. Not fair with Phish Food.

The two of us can't get over the roastiness of A. Do you have a thoughts why C seem to require a more coarse grind?

#105: Post by **jpreiser** » July 24th, 2020, 4:25 pm

First attempt at B this morning with 18g in at the same grind setting as yesterday resulted in a choked shot. I'm pretty sure this was puck prep technique because I opted to swirl the grinds in the basket rather than using my usual thin bamboo skewer WDT maneuver before tap, level, tamp.

I ground coarser and lowered the amount to 16.5 with the swirl action but this ended up fast with loads of channeling. The straight espresso was OK and was fairly pleasant in a 5oz cappuccino.

Back to my WDT prep method. At least I'm getting better at my latte art.

#106: Post by **yakster** » July 24th, 2020, 4:31 pm

CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote:Chris,

When you wife is a pastry chef, it was kinda the first idea But we don't have vanilla in the house right now. Not fair with Phish Food.

The two of us can't get over the roastiness of A. Do you have a thoughts why C seem to require a more coarse grind?

I'm hoping that there's still some low carb vanilla ice cream left to try this with. I think A will be the most polarizing coffee of the set, I'm rather enjoying it.

I coarsened the grind for C when I increased the dose from ~16.5 to 18 grams to get the grind in the ballpark for a lever shot. There's a certain amount of flexibility with the lever to adjust the pull to work which is one of the reasons that I can be so relaxed about my espresso prep with minimal dialing in. When I pulled shots with the same dose for A and C I used the same grind.

#107: Post by **lancealot** » July 24th, 2020, 6:05 pm

Sample A
This looks like a few different beans roasted separately and then put together in a blend. I received it on Monday and immediately dialed it in. Over the next 2 days it behave a little oddly, like it had not rested enough and it was still off-gassing. On Wednesday it calmed down.

Monday. Starting at 200 degrees and 18-36, 30 seconds. This was a welcome change from the lightish-medium roast Colombian Ethiopian blend I had been pulling. Warm, roasty, chocolate, nuts. Bitter but whatever, I had been getting tired of that Colombian+Ethiopian businass and this was decidedly different. In a latte it was like being a teenager again. 1994 coffee shop baby!

Tuesday. First shot went into a latte. Usually my first shot goes fast (stale coffee in the chute) but this one took a long time 36 seconds with yesterdays dial-in. Latte was good again, standard no frills. I adjusted the grind and pulled a few shots, trying to get rid of the bitter. 18:36, 200 degrees from 36 seconds down to 22 seconds. Still bitter and with some kinda, "funk." Someone else used this word in a review and it is apt. I can't place the taste but there is some kinda funk here. I don't know if I like it, but the funk and roast is kinda signature for this blend. Robusta??? Overall the coffee didn't change much with the fairly large range of grinds I tried today. There were differences, but all shots were acceptable and with the same kinds of flavors. If you like the flavors, then you have a coffee with a fairly forgiving dial-in range.

Wednesday I tried a few ristrettos to see if I could chase the bitter away. 18:30 25 sec. and 30 sec. still @ 200. No dice. Ristretto was not the move. If I had enough time or coffee left for a salami shot, I could maybe learn what I need to know to really nail this but I did not have enough of either.

Thursday, lets try 198 degrees. Back to 18:36, 26 and 30 seconds. So far I found the 198 shots most interesting. Confirmed 198 with Friday's shots too.

Hard to describe flavors in this coffee. Tastes like, coffee. No acidity. Def roasty flavors, hard to call them bitter though. I have had some bitter coffees lately and this bitterness is not pronounced as some I have had. Chocolate, nutty but not pea-nutty, roasty, subtle funkiness. I hesitate to use the word sweet when I describe coffee, this one is def. not sweet and I will give the roaster the benefit of the doubt and say that I don't think that is what they were going for. Again, reminds me of what I think was the height of my teenage coffee world in the 90's. Goes well with milk.

I have a basic, fundamental mistrust of anyone who says they are tasting berries or fruit in this.

Jk, but really. No fruit for me not even with a basic declining pressure profile.

No chance to explore pressure profiles in any depth though. Not enough coffee.

#108: Post by **MNate** » July 24th, 2020, 6:10 pm

I've enjoyed this experience trying coffees together, especially in our current environment where gatherings aren't possible. It's helpful to hear what some of done to dial in the espresso too. I look forward to our own experts weighing in and hope I can learn more about what I'm tasting or what makes these good.

For our house, we've enjoyed A on the whole better. In part "ease of dialing in" is rightly a big factor and it seems a "roasty" espresso is easier to get right and cuts through milk well - all good things for a comfort blend. It feels like a darker roast than I would otherwise want, maybe sacrificing roasty for other flavors. It had some good spice scents, I guess too. Things to keep in mind as I start roasting. If you can't get sweet or a particular flavor (let alone a succession of flavors) at least get roasty right.

C was similar, just not quite as good in any regard. Not bad though. My wife would gladly take A or C and - even though she has a more refined palate than I do - she always likes an espresso that reminds her of Red Bird - our starter bean.

But personally I like B the best, despite my difficulty in getting it right. It was easy to be too sour or laking in any flavor. But I like mild with just a little milk. The roast level is more what I look for (though perhaps it just leads to challenges all around?) I look forward to hearing more hints about how to dial it in as well as, "If you liked B best, you should try this other espresso" or "... should roast such and such a way."

(And I do like and have recommended a few of the espressos that were in the voting and I'm wondering if these are one or two of them, but hoping not because I think I liked the other ones better than these...)

#109: Post by **Jeff** » July 24th, 2020, 6:17 pm

I can't comment on "A" as I haven't tried it yet. I'm only good for a couple shots a day. "C" is comfort for me in the style of the 90s or early 00s, smooth, accessible coffee flavors, can be pulled without bitterness. Like good coffee ice cream without the milk and sugar. It's a coffee I'll probably stock for those days when I just can't get a medium- or light-roast SO dialed in and "need" a reliable shot [Edit: without having to dial it in].

#110: Post by **yakster** » July 24th, 2020, 7:22 pm

I went after coffee B this afternoon with a full preheat on the Robot (preheating the basket and portafilter and pulling a shot of hot water with my pressurized basket to warm up the piston) and this changed the flavor of this blend dramatically. The coffee is also further from roast date which may have some additional effect on the flavor.

I dosed 16.1 grams and pulled a 27.1 gram shot, instead of being a fruit forward blend at the lower temperature there was a lot more chocolate notes this time, with some fruit sweetness and some nice bitterness. It has a good aftertaste and I really enjoy this coffee pulled hotter. Right now A & B are close to each other with B trying to pull ahead and coffee C bringing up the rear.