tv79 wrote:Confirmed. The Best Before date on the bag I received from Christian yesterday is 5/13/2022.

Just received my order from Amazon.



EDIT

Quite good and sweet. Pulling VST 18/30/36 secs with Londinium V2 profile, 192F-190F over the course of the shot. Had to grind surprisingly fine for a med dark roast.

TomC wrote: 18.5 in/ 37 out at 202. The last shot flowed fairly fast, but I used the pre infusion setting on the Speedster for a bit, just playing around with it. Total shot time was 28 seconds, still very fast when you consider the short pump time. But Im fairly certain it'll tolerate a coarser grind and lower dose too.

Hi Tom

I'm bringing up an older thread because I have the Cartapani Cinquestelle coming tomorrow. I've always wanted to try a true Italian blend and Ive benn unable to roast for a few weeks so my frozen stash is very low.

I will try your parameters to dial in the coffee. I also think I'll take my 15 gm VST basket and go with an Italian dosing and lower temperature. Have you tried that approach?

THANKS!!!!

Was hunting around amazon today and saw the Cinquestelle seller (gaztronomy/Christian) has Cartapani Espresso Casa available too. Sounds like it has more Robusta if that lines up with your preferred flavor profile.

Caffe' Cartapani Espresso Casa, Italian Espresso, Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee, 2.2 Pound Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JQ41SL5/re ... hFbKV6A1TT

Me2 wrote:Just received my order from Amazon.

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EDIT

Quite good and sweet. Pulling VST 18/30/36 secs with Londinium V2 profile, 192F-190F over the course of the shot. Had to grind surprisingly fine for a med dark roast.

I got the same May 13th batch today. I split it into 3 1/2 lb valve bags and froze them. The rest I will work with this week.

I think I'm going to start with my 15 gm VST. I'll go to my 17 gm VST to compare afterwards using Jim's suggested dose and temperature.

Thanks for the tip about grinding really fine. Your temperature is really low. I'll start at 198*.

GC7 wrote:Your temperature is really low. I'll start at 198*.

Hey Geoff, I'm using a Decent 1.3 machine. Temps measured in the puck. There's typically a 3-8F temp difference between the group and puck. If I still had my E61 I'd pull it at 197-198F.

Also, using a lever profile with a temp drop on the back half of the shot.

Hopping between Capps and Lattes, so bigger dose up front.

Thanks. I'll be playing around with it this morning.

I'm excited to play this game too. It's gonna be a jittery August.

This is my initial report on the Cartapani Cinquestelle I received this week. I fondly remember espresso in Rome, Florence and Venice but never considered them more than a pleasant treat in the morning or after lunch, I only had straight espresso in Italy and my much better half had brewed coffee. Cartapani is what I consider a medium roast without a hint of oil. Bottom line is that it is extremely forgiving to pull good shots

I considered all the parameters for extraction that everyone kindly shared in this thread. I decided at least for now that I would go Italian style low dose and only use my 15 gm. VST basket. I feared, rightly so after one day, that the extra caffeine from robusta would have averse effects. Day one I used a fine grind on 15 gm coffee with 9 bar extraction at 198*. 30 gm output in 28 seconds yielded a pleasant chocolate very smooth drink without much body. I tried the same extraction but used the flow control to slow down the last half of the extraction and that was better with more sweetness and body. Same extraction conditions made a very pleasant flat white.

Next day I went up to 202* as recommended by some and I shortened the extraction to 15 gm coffee and 26 gm yield. I used the same declining flow for the second half of the shot (about 28-30 seconds total) This gave best result with a pleasant chocolate distinct nutty flavor. Perhaps the hazelnut-Nutella Jim described. I got kudos from the better half for the flat whites. This a a keeper. I don't think it stands up to my comfort home roasted blends but it will stay in a rotation and my freezer for a nice reminder of Italian espresso.

I had to register because of this thread. I have 4 kilos coming this way (I'm from Finland):

Hausbrandt Caffe Gourmet Espresso
Passalacqua Espresso Harem
Lucaffe Mr. Exclusive Espresso Beans
Danesi espresso coffee Doppio

Will report later

dparrish wrote:Hi,

I'm guessing you're talking about northern Italian coffee? It's not that easy to find coffee in the States blended specifically for espresso (most are too acidic/3rd wave imo). Here's a few I like: Caffe Umbria Gusto Crema, Espresso Vivace Dolce, and Caffe Lusso Gran Miscela Carmo.

Sometimes I crave the southern Italian style roast, and I have yet to find anything that approaches the amazing complexity yet darker roast of Italian blends. I've been enjoying Passalacqua's Miscela Napoli, and Harem is next on the list. There has to be some trick the Italians know in roasting-dark, but still complex tasting with a unique and captivating aroma/taste. And no, those two I just mentioned are 100% arabica.

Thanks for the list of Italian coffees, sounds exactly like what I like.

I bought a bag of Filicori forte around April, and it was delicious. Bought the same coffee again in July and it's headed for the compost pile.

I find myself wondering if the Italian roasters don't add something for the flavor (it's obvious when they've added hazelnut to the coffee, maybe they're adding some kind of Coffee MSG, because that one bag sure was good).