Saka Caffè in the States

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
airmoses83
Supporter ♡
Posts: 170
Joined: 6 years ago

#1: Post by airmoses83 »

Has anyone seen this coffee for sale in the States? I'm looking for a true neopolitan blend

http://sakacaffe.it/shop/bar/classic-ba ... grani-1kg/

User avatar
IamOiman
Team HB
Posts: 2164
Joined: 6 years ago

#2: Post by IamOiman »

I am going through my last bag of Classic Bar but I buy directly from them in batches. Usually what I do is allow others to buy from me and keep the rest for myself until I need to place another order. If you really want to try some now I have Tafuri Positano, Crema Bar, and Gran Bar on me. Are you certain you want Classic Bar or would you mind trying another one if interested?
-Ryan
Using a spice grinder violates the Geneva Convention
LMWDP #612

airmoses83 (original poster)
Supporter ♡
Posts: 170
Joined: 6 years ago

#3: Post by airmoses83 (original poster) »

Ryan

Right now I primarily use Caffe Vicere Mokabar. After a year with it tho I feel as I am no closer to the short shots of syrupy espresso I get when in Naples. I have read elsewhere that the Classic would be a first place to start.

What roast do you recommend being closest to a espresso in Naples?

User avatar
IamOiman
Team HB
Posts: 2164
Joined: 6 years ago

#4: Post by IamOiman »

It's subjective I would say, but there is a general and broad view of what a neapolitan espresso is. To quote myself from Espresso Napoletano and Thoughts with an emphasis on the roast definition:
I will start with the definition. What is a Neapolitan Roast? I consider it to be a darker roast to American and even Northern Italy standards that uses an Arabica and Robusta mix to create flavor notes that dominate with caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and nuts. The percentages can range from as low as 10% arabica 90% robusta to some roasts that use only arabica mixes. My personal favorite roast uses a 60% arabica and 40% robusta miscela from a relatively small roasting company employing 5 people total. Mono origin coffee is known, and specialty roasted for clients, but the majority of the population does not drink them.The body of the shot is meant to be almost very thick if not syrupy with a pleasant aftertaste with a mirror taste to the shot that is meant to last 15-30 minutes if properly extracted. This thicker body stems from the robusta bean, which does produce more crema than arabica and also has a higher caffeine content. Robusta is seen as a cheaper, lower quality bean than the arabica bean, but I believe it has merit to complement the arabica in the many 'miscele' seen and created by the torrefazioni in Campania.
It has been over a year since I have used a roast not originating from Saka, but what I can say is that my favorite bars in the Naples metro use Caffè Moreno Espresso Bar, Caffè Toraldo Linea Rossa, and Passalacqua. The biggest wall you will run into is obtaining roasts with a reasonable date past the roasting date. This is partially why I stick with Saka as I consistently get my batches within 2-3 weeks including the time it takes to get shipped to me. My last batch took only 43 hours to get from Italy to my doorstep.

I have tried all four main roasts made by Saka (Gran Bar, Classic Bar, Espresso Bar, Crema Bar), and I find my prefences to be torwards Gran or Crema Bar. I do like the other two, and perhaps it's just what I want to drink at the moment. You cannot go wrong with any of them honestly and they all remain within that 'neapolitan espresso' category, it's just some differences on main flavor notes.
-Ryan
Using a spice grinder violates the Geneva Convention
LMWDP #612

airmoses83 (original poster)
Supporter ♡
Posts: 170
Joined: 6 years ago

#5: Post by airmoses83 (original poster) »

I would be interested in the Gran I think. Which gives the most syrupy thick short shot?

airmoses83 (original poster)
Supporter ♡
Posts: 170
Joined: 6 years ago

#6: Post by airmoses83 (original poster) »

IamOiman wrote:It's subjective I would say, but there is a general and broad view of what a neapolitan espresso is. To quote myself from Espresso Napoletano and Thoughts with an emphasis on the roast definition:



It has been over a year since I have used a roast not originating from Saka, but what I can say is that my favorite bars in the Naples metro use Caffè Moreno Espresso Bar, Caffè Toraldo Linea Rossa, and Passalacqua. The biggest wall you will run into is obtaining roasts with a reasonable date past the roasting date. This is partially why I stick with Saka as I consistently get my batches within 2-3 weeks including the time it takes to get shipped to me. My last batch took only 43 hours to get from Italy to my doorstep.

I have tried all four main roasts made by Saka (Gran Bar, Classic Bar, Espresso Bar, Crema Bar), and I find my prefences to be torwards Gran or Crema Bar. I do like the other two, and perhaps it's just what I want to drink at the moment. You cannot go wrong with any of them honestly and they all remain within that 'neapolitan espresso' category, it's just some differences on main flavor notes.
Also how many grams in the basket and grams in the cup do you do?

User avatar
IamOiman
Team HB
Posts: 2164
Joined: 6 years ago

#7: Post by IamOiman »

13-14g for a double, 8g for a single

I go for a 2:1 ratio usually
-Ryan
Using a spice grinder violates the Geneva Convention
LMWDP #612

airmoses83 (original poster)
Supporter ♡
Posts: 170
Joined: 6 years ago

#8: Post by airmoses83 (original poster) »

Ryan next time you order let me know I would like to try a few bags. I'm just outside of NYC

User avatar
civ
Posts: 1148
Joined: 17 years ago

#9: Post by civ »

Hello:
IamOiman wrote: 13-14g for a double, 8g for a single
There you go !
I knew there had to be someone else here that pulled 14g doubles. 8^7

Cheers,

CIV

User avatar
IamOiman
Team HB
Posts: 2164
Joined: 6 years ago

#10: Post by IamOiman »

Just dm me if I forget after a while, I anticipate I will place an order in 4-5 months as I got a pretty large supply on me since I ordered recently.
civ wrote: I knew there had to be someone else here that pulled 14g doubles. 8^7
My baskets literally cannot hold more and I stick with the traditional dose and extraction.
-Ryan
Using a spice grinder violates the Geneva Convention
LMWDP #612

Post Reply