Jshot wrote:Their website has the parameters

Those parameters never really work with my setup. I ended up starting out with 17.5g (Day 8 post roast) & finishing off with 17.8 on the Flying Monkey. 18.4g on Flatlander (day 15). Both 200°. I enjoyed both blends. More of your typical espresso roast--it's a medium roast, but no citrus/fruit. Both smooth & enjoyable. Enjoyable.

I'm not as particular as other about parameters.......I do 18-19g in an E61 HX machine, close to 200F, and pull. 19-20g in a Flair58 at high.

I really like Compass Coffee's Delirium Blend. Comes out at $22/lb. for a 2 lb. bag. I always get chocolate/caramel with this one. You can also find a discount if you search on the forums here.

BuckleyT wrote:Blue Bottle's Hayes Valley has been my daily driver for quite a while now despite the USPS's efforts to come between us.
Been paying $18 for 12 oz (free shipping) but they just announced a $3 price increase. That is a 20% hit, just about.

I need to find a classic Snickers bar style espresso. More complex is good but floral high ends are not appreciated.

This forum is populated by aficionados of Geisha roasts and other limited SO roasts that require a banker's letter of credit to obtain; that is not what I am seeking. The daily should cost a buck fifty per ounce or close, including shipping. I grind on a CompakWBC and use a lever. Some roasts do not like to be lever-extracted and some roasts do best on levers. I would like a lever-friendly roast.

Do not like anything from Red Bird, Nossa Familia, or Lusso. I live in Atlanta, which is a coffee desert since Octane folded. If nothing is forthcoming I will go back to Counter Culture's Number 46, which has gotten a little too dependable (read 'boring').

Thank you for eyeballing this.

I have been working with Malabar Gold, I tried it first because of the number of mentions. It is very deep and chocolately - so much so that a tiny bit of blonding into the cup contributes the perfect amount of compensating tartness to round out the cup - still within parameters.

The first batch is only 1 week old, too young, say some. We shall see.

The roasters suggest a very hot (204-207) F boiler temp to bring out he sweetness. I think that may pertain to a pump machine because, with my massive Bosco grouphead lever machine I am cranked way higher than that. Any cooler and the sour notes that the roasters mention do make their presence known. They also mention that this roast needs to be ground finer than most coffees but I found just the opposite; the parameters required me to tweak the grind a bit coarser than for Blue Bottle's Hayes Valley.

Malabar gold gives out about 10% more volume yield per equivalent dose and more is always better. Although I should make changes one at a time I concurrently changed my water when I changed the roast and dropped Crystal Geyser for rpavlis water initially for reasons of ecology and economy but the taste seems to be better. Oh, and I use the 1/2 strengh rpavlis formula that he preferred for darker roasts.

Other parameters worthy of mention. In order to get the most uniform particulate grind from the Compak, I always both heat up my beans to a certain handfeel in the microwave to cut down on shattering and slowly drop the beans into the grinder feed in order to eliminate outflow jam overgrinding. Not doing both of these things muddies any roast that I have worked with.

Have you tried Perc Coffee? They have expanded into Atlanta over the last few years, originally from Savannah. I have enjoyed their Juggernaut Espresso, and you might be able to try it out from a shop before purchase. https://perccoffee.com/shop/juggernaut

nsuster wrote:I really like Compass Coffee's Delirium Blend. Comes out at $22/lb. for a 2 lb. bag. I always get chocolate/caramel with this one. You can also find a discount if you search on the forums here.

What brew parameters do you suggest I start the dial-in process with? I did not see any suggestions on the website.

BuckleyT wrote:I have been working with Malabar Gold, I tried it first because of the number of mentions. It is very deep and chocolately - so much so that a tiny bit of blonding into the cup contributes the perfect amount of compensating tartness to round out the cup - still within parameters.

The first batch is only 1 week old, too young, say some. We shall see.

The roasters suggest a very hot (204-207) F boiler temp to bring out he sweetness. I think that may pertain to a pump machine because, with my massive Bosco grouphead lever machine I am cranked way higher than that. Any cooler and the sour notes that the roasters mention do make their presence known. They also mention that this roast needs to be ground finer than most coffees but I found just the opposite; the parameters required me to tweak the grind a bit coarser than for Blue Bottle's Hayes Valley.

I find anything under 3 weeks rest for Malabar is no Bueno. YMMV.

As I type this, I am sipping a wonderful latte from Malabar. 14g dose, 24g out, brewed at 205 (PID DB machine). It has been about 6 months since I had it last, but it is always great to come back to. SUPER chocolatey as you mention which is a good thing in my book. I generally do not enjoy acidity.