I have a theory that even though light roasts are in vogue right now, most still like a darker roast. They just don't want to admit it. Like you, I ran out of beans and bought a bag of Major Dickinsons from the grocery store. Not only was it fresh, but the shots I got from it were good. I would purchase again.

THE OP is STILL HERE. Lurking, somewhat, but still here.
A lot of coffee love, here.
A lot of experience and a lot of care given to technique.
Who is to say how these suggestions will brew on my lever (the answer is in the cup).

Since, as you know but for the record, no two crops are ever the same for a plantation (and since rainfall and temperature are changing very fast in some locations) this thread will become dated someday, perhaps soon, although many roasters seem to be able to achieve a remarkable level of consistency when that is their aim.

It will take me some time to make my way down the list but I plan to stop and linger when one of the suggestions has my longed-for simplicity/complexity ratio.

My favorite time was when I spent two years with one roast, getting to know it and my technique very well. I would still be drinking it except that the barista that designed it (a real -life el exigente) and the roaster that assembled it and gave it life both went out of business.

So it was never my intent to 'play the field'. The coffee that is in my cup is better than the beans that are lost in the mail.

B

sosha wrote:Give Flying Monkey Blend from PTs a shot. I like my espresso sweet also, and find this fits the bill. https://www.ptscoffee.com/collections/b ... y-espresso

Great recommendation. I finished 2# and will definitely order Flying Monkey again. Southpaw was also tasty, though not a flavor profile in line with this post.

Excellent! There's a coffee house near me that has beans from different roasters; I discovered it there. It also makes a dynamite cold brew.

Mat-O-Matic wrote:Great recommendation. I finished 2# and will definitely order Flying Monkey again. Southpaw was also tasty, though not a flavor profile in line with this post.

Will be opening my Flying Monkey 7 or 8 day post roast. Can you recommend how many grams you start with & what temp. you set it at? Thanks.

No one? I have nary a clue since it is a brand new vendor/blend I am trying today. I guess since it is a medium, I will just start (8 days post roast) at 17.5g, temp. 200° & see what tweaking I need to do. It's always a crap shoot on a brand new vendor/blend initially.

The flat out best liquid Snickers Bar flavor in espresso beans I have ever used came from Buena Vista Roasters, Buena Vista CO: Black Canyon blend. It had big flavor notes of peanut butter, milk chocolate & caramel with a thick gloppy body and low acidity; one of my favorite bean blends of all time.

But, the roastery has been sold, bought back and maybe sold again...after I gave up due to QC issues specifically with this blend. I haven't purchased from them in at least 3-years so no clue whether or not Snickers Bar is the defacto flavor profile for their Black Canyon blend.

But, holy WOW, do I have incredible memories of it for years gone by.

Maybe worth trying.

The roaster recommends 1:1.8-1:2.1. They have a caution about acidity and suggest dialing in with milk, which I will not do because milk is gross. (YMMV )
I preferred 1.6-1.8. Has an excessive bitter aftertaste (diner coffee) that can be hard to avoid. Updosing and brewing hot (19g:34g) helps. Americanos are richly caramel with graham, aftertaste is improved.
Grinding fine and updosing meant I used a brief passive pre wetting (spring lever down) then an inevitably longer preinfusion with my lever held near the catch point until the basket evenly beaded. I'm a spring lever newbie and am still learning my machine. It strongly prefers 15.8g shots in the OEM basket so updosing makes me less consistent.

I really like Stone Street Coffee (NYC) Rainforest Espresso, as well as Cafe Integral (also NYC I think) Dulcelinea. Both are medium-dark roast with nice complexity and not too much acidity or floral notes. I think the Stone Street is single origin, but is extremely well rounded, while the Cafe Integral is a mix of washed and natural, I believe. Both sell in 2LB bags for ~$30-35, very reasonable.