Wish list requests

[gwdcoffee]

A request for more information when listing beans on the wish list.

If there is something you are particularly interested in, you could assist me in responding to you by giving as much information as you can about what you are looking for. In the last few days there have been requests for beans from Vietnam, Java and Columbia with no other details. Are there articles or reviews that triggered your interest? My crystal ball is an OK run-of-the-mill crystal ball but I am starting from scratch when it comes to hunting these things down. It will be less than useful for you if have already done some work and know what you would like to see and then find I have sourced something that comes from the country you have asked about but is not what you were really looking for.

This is the very reason behind the initiative to know more about what we are buying and asking for samples before putting up polls. In the early days of CS people would throw up names, we would ask the suppliers about availability and price and put up polls. They always sold. Sometimes we bought great coffee sometimes we bought duds.

So what were you specifically looking for? Re timing, we are trying to smooth out the peaks by listing just 1 or 2 specialty coffees each month. We have something organised for November and are now looking towards December.

Cheers,

Graeme

[Welch]

Re: Wish list requests

I found this summary of various beans, which may be of interest to some:

http://www.coffeebeancorral.com/matrix.asp?

There is also a description of various regional varieties on Sweet Marias that most of you (more experienced than me) are almost certain aware of.

I would be interest in other useful reference points that members also know of.

Chris

[gwdcoffee]

Re: Wish list requests

Well done Chris. I am aware of the Coffee Bean Corral. Like Sweet Marias it is a very useful site. One of the things you will notice as you research more and further afield is that there are beans and beans. If people have read about something I am keen to know where they read about it and which individual coffee they are talking about so that if we have to chase about for it, we can give suppliers as many clues as possible. There are 100s of coffees on the local supplier lists but when you talk to them they are quite candid in saying that only a relative few of them are really special. These are usually the ones we are after. With a bit of digging we can get access to most of them. Sometimes these specials come and go quickly because there might only be a few bags of gold in a container load of dross. Any information we get that cuts down the research time is going to be useful.

Cheers,

Graeme

[Dimal]

Re: Wish list requests

Hi Graeme,

Just wondering if its possible to add another candidate to the coffee wishlist. I know it already contains some great bean offerings but I have recently had the good fortune to buy a small amount of a bean called "Yemen Mokha - Bani Matar".

I think it is a close relative of the Yemen Ismaili bean that everyone scrambles for but is not quite so rare or expensive. In many ways, I prefer it to the Ismaili as it seems to have a more balanced mouthfeel than that one but still retains a lot of the complexity with strong hints of sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, etc and dried fruit like apricots or peaches, and of course, plenty of rich dark chocolate in the finish and aftertaste.

Anyway, its a bit hard to describe the entire taste profile due to its complexity but thats about as close as my inexperienced palate will take it Im afraid. I thought I might put this one forward as an alternative to the Ismaili bean as Ive noticed a few CS members commenting that they had mixed feelings about it. The Matari is definitely one of the same family as the Ismaili but its differences might be enough to pursuade dissenters that all beans from the Yemen area are not the same and possibly worth a go.

If we were able to get some, I would definitely opt for a 5Kg bag. All the best, and

Cheers,
Mal.