Coffee Appreciation

Thanks to Rod I am now a Hasbean convert.

I just read the above post and thought wtf? And then promptly reassessed and realised its exactly the kind of nerdiness that appeals to me.

So what do people suggest as a dark roast from Hasbean, suitable for espresso based coffees?

Has Bean.. Order Friday. Arrive Monday.. Ready for brew Tuesday??

Prancer try the blends (Jailbreak especially). They are designed for espresso rather than the SO coffees.

This^ plus try the Blake blend if you like an Italian style deep earthy espresso without any brightness.

@ dj - they do a Monsooned Malabar, which is typically roasted a little darker, I think. I'm sure you've mentioned liking that before.

I've been thinking about making up an espresso blend (will have to be pre-roasted beans) using MM and another, as a simple 50/50 mix. Can't decide whether to stick with another Asian (Sumatra, probably), or try it with a South American :S

Coffee crawl this saturday? http://www.lfgss.com/thread65503.html

This is fkn yum

I had a brilliant coffee at the pop up shop on farringdon road courtesy of sushigeezer today

highly recommended!

^what's it called?

Am wondering on folks preferences, Single Origin or Blend, and why?

[could equally post in the Whisky thread I know]

Whichever I can
1) get
2) like the taste of

Same as the single malt vs. blended whisky thing. People will assume single's are better because that's what's supposed to happen, right?

^what's it called?

Its called 'pop up cafe' I think, 60 farringdon road, where the boris bikes are

are they open every day? might have a little wander up there lunchtime

http://www.cosycoffeeshops.co.uk/10-best-coffee-shops-in-the-wo.html

Enjoying the Blake espresso blend from hasbean. 3 days post-roast and it's a smooth earthy cup with quite a long breadpudding/fruitcake finish.

Also experimenting with the Monsooned Malabar. The aroma is massively like these…

…and quite a lot of milk chocolate comes through in the finish. It seemed to lack something, so I blended it with the Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Bourbon Pulped Natural 2011 I had left, and the bright caramel toffee notes improve things, to my tastes.

The world of espresso is very moreish :/

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRS41-7MTSs"]YouTube
- ‪Super Hans on Crack‬‏[/ame]

More reasons to drink coffee (for the men)

"We observed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal prostate cancer. The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee."

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/05/17/jnci.djr151

^ read that too. 6 cups a day minimum, de-caf is ok though

Where could I get my Gaggia Factory 106 serviced?

The steam wand now constantly dribbles steam, so it looks like it needs a new set of gaskets/seals.

On your worktop?

http://www.partsguru.com/user/Gaggia%20Achille%20G105-106%20Exploded%20diagram%20ER0108Rev02%5B1%5D.pdf

I'm sat in Reading station right now waiting for a meeting, thought I'd try a 'flat white' as prepared by Costa. It tastes like smoking.

And it cost be two pounds bloody forty!!! £2.40!!!!!!!!!

Coffee and smoking - match made in heaven. Would prefer to keep the two separate though.

Had two new coffees delivered on Friday afternoon and threw them straight in the roaster, I took home a sample of each - Kenya tinganga AA and Brasil Serra Do Salinas which I'm particularly excited about being a natural process (sundried) coffee which can mean bold ripe heavy fruit and rich chocolate.

I actually woke up at 6.45am on saturday excited about trying these coffees, I've definitely found my vocation. They were way too fresh to get a proper idea but I've tried them today and although the Kenya needs some tweaking to get the fruit up, the Brasil is awesome - chocolate, strawberries, peach and a hint of banana / booze which is a classic trait of a super ripe natural. Happy Sunday.

any chance of 250g of the Brazilian :-)

I'm sat in Reading station right now waiting for a meeting, thought I'd try a 'flat white' as prepared by Costa. It tastes like smoking.

One of the worst coffees I've ever had the displeasure of drinking was a 'flat white' from the Costa at Doncaster station...I see a pattern emerging, and it's certainly not a rosetta...

^^ It's not been approved for sale yet but it should be on Monday. Will hopefully be on the counter from Tuesday.