What kind of baskets do you guys use for these type espresso? Would VST baskets be no good in this case?

Wally, VST baskets work fine if you've got a good grinder and a right-sized tamper, especially as they've progressively expanded the various capacities of baskets available. FWIW, the VST-friendly tampers I like most are the Kafatek LevTamp and the Barista Hustle Black Tamper, but as VST has become something of a standard, you'll find an amazing variety available with different materials, weights, and handle types.

I run redbird through the stock Breville Dual Boiler double basket. I recently got a EPNW HQ14 ridgeless basket. Last weekend I took the time to play with them a little and figure out which one I like more. Things flow through the Breville basket a bit quicker, I have to loosen the grind to get shots to flow the same with the EPNW basket. So i figure that the redbird in the EPNW basket would extract a little less.

The good news is that Redbird is forgiving as $%*! and I found it no problem to get a good shot out of either basket. In the end I like the one through the BDB's basket better. This could just be because I have developed a taste preference for it through the BDB basket because i have prob pulled 30 lbs of it though those baskets.

I did read on some other threads that it might be helpful to tame the sharpness of redbird by extracting a little more.
Beautiful, rich, and exceedingly bitter espresso

FWIW I do think there is a "sharpness" or "bitterness" in redbird. From what I gather the VST basket has even less resestence than the BDB's basket. I would be really interested to see what redbird through a VST tastes like.

I guess I know what my next espresso experiment is going to cost

lancealot wrote: FWIW I do think there is a "sharpness" or "bitterness" in redbird.

Maybe that is what I was experiencing. An unpleasant astringent aftertaste at the back of the throat. It was bad enough for me to return the batch.

Nah , That's not what I get. Just bitter or sharp on the tongue and not in a strange way, just somewhat pronounced. I def wouldn't say astringent and i would not call it an aftertaste.

F1 wrote:What kind of baskets do you guys use for these type espresso? Would VST baskets be no good in this case?

Josuma sends a recipe sheet with your first order of Malabar. It says to use a standard triple basket for an 18 to 19 gm dose because MG does better with more headspace - so that's what I do. I tried a double basket and found the shots to be a bit thinner in crema and mouthfeel, and they were slightly less rich & complex in taste. They also suggest a slightly higher temp than usual (203-4), which I approximate by using a shorter flush. I like to know what I'm doing, so I tried longer flushes for lower temps and got a brighter taste that was a bit sour to me. I've never used a VST basket, so I don't know how it might affect MG (or anything else) - I need to try them, just to learn.

Before discovering Malabar Gold, I used Redbird daily for about a year and loved it. I overdosed it a bit at about 20 gm (in the same Espressoparts generic triple basket) and thought it was great - a rich, classic espresso with big crema and a choconutcaramel character. I don't like fruit and flowers in my espresso

Another fan of Malabar Gold. I have tried Redbird too. I too find Redbird bit too tame for my taste.
Used 18g Malabar Gold with IMS double basket. I love levers and own/have tried most kinds. I could never get anything remotely closer in mouthful and taste with levers. Despite sustained lever world domination plot, this shot full of crema would keep E61 with me.

Do you freeze your bags of Malabar immediately upon arrival or do you let them reach their optimal age and then freeze? Also, do you tape the one-way valve on the bags when you toss them in the freezer? I'm planning on placing an order soon, but since it takes me quite a while to go through 5 pounds, I want to make sure I know how to preserve the goodness for as long as possible.

Bret wrote:I'm a big fan of Josuma Malabar Gold. It's delicious, consistent, freezes well, ships day of roast. My single bag of RedBird was good, no specific problems, but no (for me) wow factor that had me reordering, or looking forward to it specifically each day. Josuma's Malabar Gold hits all the check boxes for me.

I believe that they list some of their commercial clients on their site, and it might be possible to order one pound from one of those re-sellers (under their own respective branding). There would definitely be a difference in the time-since-roast using that approach, so what you get might not be as fresh.

I prep and seal single doses in advance, and the Malabar Gold does seem to have a wider useful age-range than others -- or maybe the robusta crema camouflages some of the changes. Either way, it works for me. I order five one-pound bags at a time, freeze four, etc. I also time things now so that I am never without a bag, either.

Rob, on all the roasted beans I buy in bulk (e.g., 5 lbs), I use 8 oz Ball jars like these and freeze them. 5 lbs of coffee consumes about 14 of them, and I'll run through the contents of an 8 oz. jar in no more than 3 days. I haven't noticed any significant sensory differences between well-frozen and properly degassed fresh beans (although grinding frozen beans is said to result in a more consistent grind). I'll keep the beans until they have just begun to hit their sweet spot after roast (generally 7 or 8 days) and then freeze them so that they are at that point when they thaw. Really works very well.

Thanks John! Do you vacuum seal the jars or simply pour the beans in, screw on the top and freeze?