Red Bird Changes - Page 5

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
kris772
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#41: Post by kris772 »

eyemgh wrote:My thoughts are...try someone else to see what you're missing. Northbound Prana has been excellent. I have Cimmaron Courthouse on the way. Tony's will follow that. My son, and a good friend, all of whom have been red bird only for 10+ years all finally bailed. The quality is no longer acceptable.
Interesting - "red bird" is listed as your favorite coffee. :)

Thought about ordering american beauty but did a quick calc @20g/dose and get ~$1.23 / cup (12oz,340g, 17 doses). That drops to about 0.93 for the RB which is still much more than I had realized. - guess I'm living in lala land...

Drops to 0.58/cup if I get 5lb RB.
or 0.80/ if I get a kilo of Courthouse. <-- edit: this is the one I went with (Courthouse)(Cimarron)

Espresso machines CAN (but don't need to be) like yachts or swimming pools (large holes into which you throw endless money)(in quest of, in this case. good espresso).

This is startling to me - if I were to sink a shot for any reason I would be gently placing a dollar bill in the disposal (I don't actually have a g.d. but you get the idea.). How did I get to this state?
edit: as to sinking shots, since I PIDed the boiler and vastly lowered the (outside of the boiler) temp (224 - ~0.8 on gauge(still plenty of steam for latte-ing)) life has been a lot easier and my fire breathing "Dragon" machine easily and dependably makes good drinkable shots. It is infinitely easier to avoid the extreme bitter or sour that I occasionally got before. (and still talking cost of $400 for the HX (the PID parts I had had on hand from before.) SWEET)
Life is too short for bad espresso! - Thunk-ed, NOT stirred!

DaveB
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#42: Post by DaveB »

eyemgh wrote:I've spent more time with Northbound American Beauty and Prana.

The AB is brighter in general for sure. Mine needs a few more days, as some of that is just gas. I pulled a shot, stirred it like crazy, tasted it and tasted it 5 min later, and it was much more to my liking after sitting. I think in another few days, it'll be very good.

That said, Prana is an instant star. It is easy, low acid, thick mouth feel, rich and unctuous. If you want subtle florals, it ain't it. It is though what most liked about RBE during the Jeff era. It could be that my technique is just improving, but I think Prana is even better than RBE in its prime.
I'm finishing 5 lbs of American Beauty and like it a lot. Curious about Prana. They have listed as "dark roast". Is it noticeably darker than AB? They suggest a temp of 195°, which makes me wonder.
Von meinem iPhone gesendet

eyemgh (original poster)
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#43: Post by eyemgh (original poster) »

kris772 wrote:Interesting - "red bird" is listed as your favorite coffee. :)

Thought about ordering american beauty but did a quick calc @20g/dose and get ~$1.23 / cup (12oz,340g, 17 doses). That drops to about 0.93 for the RB which is still much more than I had realized. - guess I'm living in lala land...

Drops to 0.58/cup if I get 5lb RB.
or 0.80/ if I get a kilo of Courthouse. <-- edit: this is the one I went with (Courthouse)(Cimarron)

Espresso machines CAN (but don't need to be) like yachts or swimming pools (large holes into which you throw endless money)(in quest of, in this case. good espresso).

This is startling to me - if I were to sink a shot for any reason I would be gently placing a dollar bill in the disposal (I don't actually have a g.d. but you get the idea.). How did I get to this state?
edit: as to sinking shots, since I PIDed the boiler and vastly lowered the (outside of the boiler) temp (224 - ~0.8 on gauge(still plenty of steam for latte-ing)) life has been a lot easier and my fire breathing "Dragon" machine easily and dependably makes good drinkable shots. It is infinitely easier to avoid the extreme bitter or sour that I occasionally got before. (and still talking cost of $400 for the HX (the PID parts I had had on hand from before.) SWEET)
True. I did love RBE, and Huehuetenango and Peaberry. They've slipped though, substantially, and I'm not the only one to notice it. I just updated my profile.

As for pricing, Red Bird is now over $60. The ones I listed are under $70. That's effectively the same.

eyemgh (original poster)
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#44: Post by eyemgh (original poster) »

DaveB wrote:I'm finishing 5 lbs of American Beauty and like it a lot. Curious about Prana. They have listed as "dark roast". Is it noticeably darker than AB? They suggest a temp of 195°, which makes me wonder.
They are both medium roasts. AB is a little brighter, third wavey, and Prana is a classic chocolate, nut bomb. Both are nice. I just lean less bright.

kris772
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#45: Post by kris772 replying to eyemgh »

Yeah, we'll see... I just ordered a kg of Courthouse. Then maaaaaby Prana...
Life is too short for bad espresso! - Thunk-ed, NOT stirred!

toolate
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#46: Post by toolate »

American Beauty: anyone care to comment on what day out of the bag it peaks for espresso?

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Jeff
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#47: Post by Jeff »

Moderator's suggestion: Ask questions about and discuss other products in their own threads.

I would imagine someone that has moved to another coffee and is enjoying it might not follow 5 pages of discussion on something they no longer use.

kris772
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#48: Post by kris772 »

That would mean starting a new thread.

Just received a bag of Prana 2 day old, and will not try it until nearer day 7 and probably freeze it then or a day later. Just packed my courthouse into the freezer at the start of day 8.

BUT

If you search for Prana, most (useful) comments are in THIS "Red Bird Changes" thread. probably same for AB but didn't check.

A lot of folks have used AB so if I were you I would quick start a new thread! No NorthBound thread. Should be.


There were a couple of days there for me when the courthouse wasn't ready and the RB wasn't hitting me quite right. Life is always nicer when there are "correctly" aged beans in the freezer just waiting.. :)
Life is too short for bad espresso! - Thunk-ed, NOT stirred!

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spressomon
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#49: Post by spressomon »

cafeIKE wrote:Tony's Classico has been in my rotation for about seven years. Never missed. I'll have to enquire about the Carmelita.
Apart of my last Tony's order about a month ago or so, I decided to try their Carmelita. I just started using it for cappuccinos and its just super tasty. If you don't like big, bold, sweet caramel with toasted nut...then don't order it. :lol:
No Espresso = Depresso

chanty 77
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#50: Post by chanty 77 replying to spressomon »

This sounds promising. What do you think of their Sugar Bee compared to the Carmelita & Classico? Thanks.