On Saturday, I received two - 2 pound bags from Klatch, WBE and Belle espresso. Today, 6 days post roast I opened (probably too soon) WBE and it was completely undrinkable. I tried 20 grams, then 18 and 16 grams. I tried the recommended water temperature, lower and higher temperature. The coffee tasted bitter and leathery and I couldn't drink it even with milk. Maybe adding lots of sugar.... Hubby said that if I wanted to poison him, there are easier ways.

What am I doing wrong?

TIA,

I tried a bag of WBE because I'm a big fan of their other coffees for drip. I too tried 16, 18, 20g, and various temps. My experience was it was very sour no matter what I did. I spent an entire bag trying to make it drinkable..finally got it somewhat drinkable towards the end. I think the coffee has a tart and fruity profile that perhaps, I'm not skilled enough to extract consistently. I've since moved on to Caffe Lusso GMC and Lionshare which were much easier to dial in and make drinkable shots.

Thanks for the feedback. I always feel so bad when I can't dial in the coffee. It made a passable pour over, but nothing to write home about. I will play around with it today and see what I can get out of it. Worst come to worst, it will be "fed" to my hubby as a pour over. He ads enough milk and sugar to pretty much drink anything.

Been a few years, but... WBC is Klatch's lighter roasted espresso blend, and I remember it as more tart/fruity/sour than bitter/leathery. Got no idea what you're "doing wrong", but here's some general advice for lighter roasts: give it a few more days to open up, grind finer, preinfuse longer, try higher brew temps. And yes, if all else fails, use it for drip. Belle is a classic comfort blend, great for milk drinks, and should be much easier to dial in.

Thanks for the feedback John. The beans didn't look lighter at all. They are actually a bit darker than the Belle espresso. Some almost looked borderline "well done", but not shiny or black. The roast didn't look all that even either...Things must have changed...

I struggled with WBE too. I loved the Belle, but never got the hang of WBE.

Looks like we're not the only ones: Klatch WBC vs. Belle

baristainzmking wrote:Thanks for the feedback John. The beans didn't look lighter at all. They are actually a bit darker than the Belle espresso. Some almost looked borderline "well done", but not shiny or black. The roast didn't look all that even either...Things must have changed...

Coffee is an agricultural product. Both blends and SO's change every year. So do roasting preferences. But I'm surprised to hear that the WBC beans (described as a "medium" roast) look darker than Belle ("medium-dark"), and unevenly roasted. Maybe contact Klatch directly? Occasionally things go wrong with a roast or an order. If so, I'd guess Mike Perry & Co will do their best to make it right.

grind727 wrote:I struggled with WBE too. I loved the Belle, but never got the hang of WBE.

Looks like we're not the only ones: Klatch WBC vs. Belle

Clearly not the only ones!

Klatch House & Worlds Best have been the main coffees I've been buying for the past couple years. I've found the blends to be very consistent & not difficult to pull. I try the Belle once in a while, but it's bit too acidic for my tastes for general use.
I pull fairly close to their printed reco of 20 gr IN 36 gr OUT, 201 deg., 25 sec.
Since I have a 53 mm PF on the Spaziale, i reduce the dose/yield to maintain the same puck thickness. Result is 16-17 gr. IN 28-30 gr OUT @ 201 deg. 25 sec shot time is more fruit forward than when I pull @ 30 sec. I go back& forth because I like it both ways.

I'm a newbie and after reading posts here I bought the WBC and Belle to try. I started with the WBE and glad to hear the sour results I got are common.

I am still finishing the WBC, and have settled upon 9.5g single shot yielding 15g at 25 secs. I like the flavor at this setting and am excited to try the Belle which sounds more promising.