The hunt for best Italian roasted coffee beans - Page 37

#361: Post by **superr** » November 4th, 2022, 1:50 pm

naimnut wrote:Several questions -
- Next question - does anyone have a solid recommendation for a high quality traditional Italian style espresso roasted locally in the Portland, Oregon area? There are too many local roasters to try them all, and most of them tend to roast in the 3rd wave style.
Thanks, in advance, for any information anyone cares to share.
Markus

I live here in Portland aswell and there are some options for Italian style espresso around here. Spella is pretty solid, locally roasted and done in true Italian style. Their main store is still temporarily closed and their shop in the Pearl closed aswell when Cooperativa closed down. That's unfortunate because they were pretty much the only place that offered espresso done in manual lever machines. You can still buy their beans at select retailers though. Here's their website: https://www.spellacaffe.com. Another option would be Caffe Umbria, specifically the Gusto Crema blend. Not available in kilo bags but can be found on sale at Whole Foods every couple weeks or pick up in store on Fridays and get a free drink of choice.

#362: Post by **Jonk** » November 5th, 2022, 10:15 am

Phillycheese wrote:I then bought some Filicori Espresso blend and Delicato to further the adventure- on that bag was the Italian Certificato from the Italian Institute. These beans were very good, satisfying but subtle and elusive as well.

It's funny this from the first post in this thread

I've tried several of the other recommendations but for me Filicori has what I'm looking for in Italian espresso. Easy to work with and so smooth. Not very complex, but in return there's nothing off-putting either in the mix. I'm drinking the 'delicato' right now and can understand if it's too subtle for some, but especially straight I think it's quite enjoyable. The cheaper 100% arabica with a yellow label cut through milk better though.

#363: Post by **Spitz.me** » November 5th, 2022, 10:26 am

jpender wrote:15 days is just a meme. There are light roasts that people won't even touch until they are older. The Italian coffee I just got delivered yesterday is 9 months old. I *hope* it's still good!

There are U.S. roasters that have been mentioned in this thread. It's debatable as to how well they line up with Italian roasters, hence the desire for the stuff from Italy. It's like beer from Belgium compared to Belgian-style beers made in the U.S. Do they taste the same? Not very often in my experience. They can be good but they're different. This is likely true with coffee as well, at least as a generality.

It's an excuse to travel, a reason to travel, a joy, to discover tastes, sounds, and sights that are not replicable at home. And if you can't go there maybe you can pay to get it imported. It's funny, the coffee I've been drinking this past year, imported all the way from Italy, is less expensive -- even including shipping -- than my local roaster three miles away. And it isn't because of a difference in quality.

This is a great take.

It's funny to see the perpetuation of dogma even when reality indicates otherwise can also be true - and is often true. When a coffee can taste great months to a year or more post roast, how can you continue to state that coffee of the same ilk within 2 weeks of roast is objectively still better?

The "Malabars", "red birds" and "sakas" of the world aren't better or different because and only because you can have them within 2 weeks post roast. Period.

#364: Post by **slybarman** » November 5th, 2022, 10:53 am

i find that the darker the roast and the higher the robusta content, the more rest they need post roast to off gas and the longer the shelf life. YMMV and every rule has exceptions, yada yada.

#365: Post by **jpender** » November 5th, 2022, 11:01 am

Spitz.me wrote:The "Malabars", "red birds" and "sakas" of the world aren't better or different because and only because you can have them within 2 weeks post roast. Period.

I recently bought a kilo of Lavazza Super Crema. It's roast date is in February so it's over eight months post-roast. I also have some Saka Crema Bar that I received 11 days post-roast. It's been in the freezer for the last month or so.

While I eventually grew to like the last half of the kilo of Lavazza SC that I bought earlier this year I didn't have any Saka at that time to compare with. So now I'm going to compare them. I know that there is a huge difference in the amount of crema. But what about taste? My expectation is that I will prefer the Saka blend. That's my preconceived notion. But I'm prepared to be wrong. They look so different in the cup but I think I can still concoct blind comparisons.

#366: Post by **slybarman** » November 5th, 2022, 12:13 pm

i find the body falls off much faster than the flavor does.

#367: Post by **Milligan** » November 5th, 2022, 12:15 pm

FWIW, Cantina Coffee makes it rather easy to try older beans versus the new shipments. He breaks out the older shipments into cheaper items in the web store. There could be batch variations.

#368: Post by **Spitz.me** » November 5th, 2022, 12:47 pm

slybarman wrote:i find that the darker the roast and the higher the robusta content, the more rest they need post roast to off gas and the longer the shelf life. YMMV and every rule has exceptions, yada yada.

Right and even if you feel that there is a time from roast that is optimal, I don't imagine it's under 2 weeks for these blends anyway. Probably closer to 2 months.

My experience is that the body of the staler beans isn't necessarily light, it's just not as creamy with the additional Crema. So this is a relative experience. Some might read this and think the espresso is light with little viscosity.

#369: Post by **jpender** » November 5th, 2022, 1:11 pm

Milligan wrote:FWIW, Cantina Coffee makes it rather easy to try older beans versus the new shipments. He breaks out the older shipments into cheaper items in the web store. There could be batch variations.

I've actually thought about doing that. Or buying a couple of 250g bags from the same roast batch, freezing one and leaving the other out for a couple of months. But I've only thought about it.

At some age I think everybody would agree the coffee is too old. But what is that? Would you be okay with a bag roasted in 2018?

November 6th, 2022, 12:39 am

I've tried some Italian style roasts from roasters here in the US and most really pale in comparison. The only coffee that I think can hold its own is Blue Bottle Hayes Valley. Most lack the body I'm after when it comes to the Italian roasts but HV had it all for me.