The hunt for best Italian roasted coffee beans - Page 41

#401: Post by **jpender** » March 13th, 2023, 11:20 am

F1 wrote:I also just got a bag of Super Crema from Amazon two days ago. What parameters are you using? I tried 18in 27out in 30secs at 197ish. It is good and reminds me of espresso vivace, but I don't think I still got it dialed in. Maybe I need to go more ristretto like 18in 18out.

I'm doing 18:27 in about 40 seconds on a Robot. Boiling water, no preheating, no preinfusion.

I've never had Vivace. But different grinders and machines result in different outputs. Keep dialing.

#402: Post by **another_jim** » March 13th, 2023, 3:31 pm

Some people just use the beans straight out of the freezer and treat the condensation as RDT. I still "decant" the freezer beans into a shlef bag. In the winter, when the air in Chicago apartments is bone dry, I do it right away. In the summer, I let the bag get up to room temperature.

I doubt there's a lot riding on this.

#403: Post by **Spitz.me** » March 13th, 2023, 3:53 pm

For those first exploring, be mindful that regardless of what method you determine to be best the grind settings are very different for beans out of the freezer or "decanted" beans.

So, best to pull out a portion at the right time if you think you'll run out of room temperature beans at your next session.

#404: Post by **Coffee_hound** » March 13th, 2023, 8:38 pm

I bought some Lavazza super Crema beans last year and when I received them they were 22 months before expiration so we're probably not too long off roast. I split the bag into 3 x 330g bags and froze two of them. The first bag I used right away and they were good. The second bag I tried to dose out of the freezer bag but the flavor seemed off. Brew time and ratio were the same so I don't attribute to grinder setting. I was using 14.5 in to 24 out.
The final bag I pulled out thawed and then used and I still don't feel it was as good as the original unfrozen batch. Of course I never had a chance to taste each batch side by side so maybe just some unconscious bias.
To freeze I used ziplock freezer bags and squeezed out all the extra air. The primary bags I combined in a single large freezer bag so they were double bagged. Stored in standard freezer at 2 F. After this experience I have not bothered to freeze any more beans. I just purchased no more than 2 lbs at a time which I can use up in 2-3 weeks.
Did I miss something in my freezing process? From the preceding posts seems this should have worked.

#405: Post by **jpender** » March 13th, 2023, 9:26 pm

I use a cheapo vac sealer just because I have one. I'm not convinced it makes a difference but maybe it does. Who knows. Sometimes my freezer coffee is disappointing. I would be lying if I said I understood it fully. But for the most part what goes in the freezer seems to "keep" pretty well. I've had bags that were opened and just held closed with a rubber band for like a year that were still wonderful. One time I had a really fruity, blueberry natural that was stored like that. I had forgotten it was there, buried under frozen food. When I finally discovered it those beans tasted like they hadn't aged at all. Remarkable. Other times I've had coffee that has seemed to suffer a little in the freezer. It's really hard to know since you can't go back and do side-by-side comparisons. But mostly the freezer has worked well. Pretty much all my coffee lives there.

A bag of Lavazza SC I bought last year had both a best by date and a roast date (manufactured). Two years is the time they allow.

March 13th, 2023, 10:03 pm

I think two years is the time which is compulsory by law, probably for all dried food. I know no food with an expiration date further than two years, if we exclude salt and refined sugar.

Two years is basically not the result of an evaluation by Lavazza, it's only the term which is dictated by law.

#407: Post by **jpender** » March 14th, 2023, 12:11 pm

I'm not surprised. I would imagine that there are a class of foods that last a lot longer than 2 years, wine being an obvious example. I just meant that the "best by" date, if that's all you see, is 2 years from the roast date for this coffee.

Whatever the taste/time profile for Lavazza SC actually is I would nonetheless be quite unhappy to receive a bag that is two years old.

That reminds me:

#408: Post by **Coffee_hound** » March 14th, 2023, 1:41 pm

For my latest coffee order I decide to give Lavazza Gran Riserva a try. I have read many posts regarding Super Crema, Top Class, and Gold Lavazza blends but nothing on this one.
I received a bag from WLL which was 10 months post roast (MFG date).
Initial impression is it is darker roast than Super Crema. I started dialing in using a 14.5g dose and anything pulled longer than 25g out I found very bitter. I have been targeting 20g out and these shots are much better. The body and Crema seem to be a bit lacking. Possibly this is because of the reduced robusta content compared to Super Crema blend. I still don't enjoy these shots straight. They do stand up to milk well and as cappas are ok. Overall I enjoy Super Crema more.
Anyone else tried Gran Riserva? Any feedback on dose and ratio for enjoyable shots?

#409: Post by **Jonk** » March 14th, 2023, 5:30 pm

Coffee_hound wrote:I bought some Lavazza super Crema beans last year and when I received them they were 22 months before expiration so we're probably not too long off roast. I split the bag into 3 x 330g bags and froze two of them. The first bag I used right away and they were good. The second bag I tried to dose out of the freezer bag but the flavor seemed off. Brew time and ratio were the same so I don't attribute to grinder setting. I was using 14.5 in to 24 out.
The final bag I pulled out thawed and then used and I still don't feel it was as good as the original unfrozen batch. Of course I never had a chance to taste each batch side by side so maybe just some unconscious bias.
To freeze I used ziplock freezer bags and squeezed out all the extra air. The primary bags I combined in a single large freezer bag so they were double bagged. Stored in standard freezer at 2 F. After this experience I have not bothered to freeze any more beans. I just purchased no more than 2 lbs at a time which I can use up in 2-3 weeks.
Did I miss something in my freezing process? From the preceding posts seems this should have worked.

My first try freezing beans I had a similar experience. Well, I stored beans in the original bag or ziplock and scooped out frozen beans to use immediately. Tasted musty, really bad.

Since then, spurred by the huge bags Italian brands usually use, I have tried both vacuum-sealing-thawing and grabbing beans directly from a jar in the freezer with a handful bags without running into any obvious issues. I wonder about the discrepancy but I'd say it's worth another try.

#410: Post by **Milligan** » March 16th, 2023, 10:47 am

When I did freeze coffee I used mason jars. They are the only thing other than heat sealed foil lined bags that I trust to not leak or pass particles through. For example, I can bag a coffee in a freezer bag and still smell its aroma so something is getting out and therefore can get in. I usually filled half pint or pint jars to the top with coffee and then sealed them. When I was ready to use them then I'd remove the jar the night before to let it thaw. A half pint would last me about 2-3 days before going for another one. They are reusable too.

I typically only freeze Italian style coffee these days. The reason being I usually get them in kilo size which is way too big to get through. Most 12oz bags I get are either light or medium-light. So I use about half in pour over and by that time they are ready to use for espresso.