Hi all,

After a couple years of falling back on Redbird's very forgiving house espresso blend, I bought a pound of Blue Jaguar to try with my more recent, upgraded setup (2016 Alexia Evo and Eureka Zenith). It's 7 days post-roast; I'm dosing at 17.5 grams and brewing at 199, and the shots taste full-on Italian - woody, heavily-roasted, no sweetness to speak of. I've got the grind coarser than any other bean I've pulled before. Are there any Blue Jaguar fans out there who might share recommendations for dosing/brewing specs?

I have a fresh pound of Jag I have been enjoying since the first week of January. My parameters are similar to yours: 18g in, 32g-36g out, 198 deg F. No pre-infusion. The main requirement after this is a very good distribution for even extraction. When I get even extraction, the shot is as good as any I have tasted. Plenty sweet, very balanced, and nice long finish. I'm not getting any acidity.

This is interesting.
First thought was that you don't specify the weight of the final shot and how long that shot is taking.

Second thought, I've pulled a lot of RBE and I didn't remember doing anything different for Blue Jag Espresso (BJE). But...

The interesting thing happened when I took a look at my notes from the last time I had BJE.
My parameters for RBE:
198 degres, 18:30 in 28-30 sec.*

For BJE:
198 degres, 18:28 in 22-23 sec.*
*no pre-infusion, just the natural vibe pump ramp up

I was ripping the BJE fast and stopping short. I don't have tasting notes but, from those parameters, it seems like I was trying to control some "end of extraction" flavors. The flavors you are describing that you don't like, might have been the same flavors I was trying to get rid of too.

Good luck out there.

Working on my 1st bag of Blue Jaguar as well. Usually get the Red Bird espresso. Having the same issue as you. Quite a bit coarser than usual and having a tough time dialing it in. Last shot was bit too harsh.

I haven't had it in a while, but I used to love Sweet Blue straight or I'd blend it 50/50 with their Wote Konga (which they don't have now). I really preferred it over Blue Jaguar which I just never cared for. I always felt like I was fighting ashiness with the BJE.

lancealot wrote:For BJE:
198 degres, 18:28 in 22-23 sec.*
*no pre-infusion, just the natural vibe pump ramp up

Wow, that IS fast and short. Sorry to forget weight, but I started by pulling 18g shots because I use a VST basket and they get temperamental about weight. The shots were coming out WAY too slow, and leatheriness dominated the taste. In the last few days I've played around with 17.2 - 17.5, with better results.

I've been lowering the temperature on my PID degree by degree, last shot I pulled for my lady was 198 degrees for a 17.4 gram dose, which I stopped at 26 grams in the cup after about 40 seconds. A long shot, I know, but man, I've got the grind so bloody coarse already, I kinda worry about loosening it up even more.

jfrescki wrote:I haven't had it in a while, but I used to love Sweet Blue straight or I'd blend it 50/50 with their Wote Konga (which they don't have now). I really preferred it over Blue Jaguar which I just never cared for. I always felt like I was fighting ashiness with the BJE.

Yes. I started off with their house espresso, because my dinky first machine - Gaggia Classic - dealt with it well. Ashiness or that leathery Italian bite continues to appear in these BJE shots. A lower dose in the PF mellows things out, but I'm missing the more pleasant notes that so many people describe online.

A personnel question. I never had any interactions with Jeff, apparently the (initial?) owner of Redbird, but do I understand that he's gone now? Where did he go, and has that affected their product?

The flavors you are describing that you do not like are the result of too much extraction. Coarsen your grind. I would also ditch the VST baskets. They flow fast, allowing you to grind finer and extract more from the coffee. Great for light roasts. BJE is medium and in your case VST is probably adding to the problem.
40 second shot? Go for 25-30. Do one with a regular basket and one with the VST.

Ganymede wrote: A personnel question. I never had any interactions with Jeff, apparently the (initial?) owner of Redbird, but do I understand that he's gone now? Where did he go, and has that affected their product?

Jeff Pentel sold Redbird to its current owners a few years back. His blend recipes and roasting protocols were included in the sale -- and he personally trained them -- so most/all of us were unable to detect any material differences in their products after the transition. It's been several months since I've brewed up any of their beans, though, so would be unaware of any very recent changes.

Would concur with other suggestions to try different baskets in addition to varying grind/dose. Made a difference when I used a pump machine.

Their RedBird Espresso blend tasted almost exactly like my Colombian Huila (single origin) that I get from KoffeeKult.

Caramel, Black Cherry, Lots of crema.