Sienna Coffee Club Experience

[vinessence]

I have a new Silvia and am still developing my snobiness - for now I do not have the time to roast my own beans. I recently ordered ROMA coffee from the Sienna Coffee Club (they gave me membership after I bought the Silvia from them). I got 1kg of coffee delivered for $30 virtually the day after ordering online. While the coffee tastes fine, I am not happy with its freshness / lack of any great smell or the amount of crema (I would love to get half the cup as crema like some people are quoting).

Is above par for the course with commercially roasted beans ? Is there somewhere better I could be ordering my coffee online from - especially to get beans that maximise crema ?


PS: I have experimented with grinding and have that aspect optimised.

[rice]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

At home, I dont feel that one needs to use a specific bean such as robusta or Arabica (monsooned coffees, sumatran) to improve the stability, texture & volume of the crema. Espesso is usually consumed very quickly at home, and usually doesnt hang about waiting to be slugged.
I find grinding JUST before brewing to be one of the best ways to improve the productionn of crema.


Which state are you located?
An ideal scenario would be...
- Find a local roaster, someone who stamps the bag with a roast date is a keeper. But yeah, fresh roasts kickass.
- Buy 250g at a time (once gluttony and addiction settle in youll have to bump this up)
- Consume in 5-8 days
- repeat

If in the regional areas, mail order is the way. But ~500g at a time.

[TC]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

At home, I dont feel that one needs to use a specific bean such as robusta or Arabica (monsooned coffees, sumatran) to improve the stability, texture & volume of the crema. Espesso is usually consumed very quickly at home, and usually doesnt hang about waiting to be slugged.
I find grinding JUST before brewing to be one of the best ways to improve the productionn of crema.


Which state are you located?
An ideal scenario would be...
- Find a local roaster, someone who stamps the bag with a roast date is a keeper. But yeah, fresh roasts kickass.
- Buy 250g at a time (once gluttony and addiction settle in youll have to bump this up)
- Consume in 5-8 days
- repeat

If in the regional areas, mail order is the way. But ~500g at a time.

Sumatran has a place in pretty much every blend I do...You cant go past it for body

[rice]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

Oh no, not trying to denigrate the Mandelings et al, but was trying to say that (as a homey barista) it isnt vital to add a specific bean/varietal to oomph up the blend. Fresh beans and grinds, should give more than enough crema. If consumed quickly.

[COFFEECHASER]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

A number of site sponsors sell fresh roasted coffee. Depending on what state you are in. I havent bought any coffee online, I know Veneziano definately sell coffee and you can order it online. If you are in Sydney you could check out Di Bartoli. There are certainly more sponsors you could check out.
What state are you in?

[vinessence]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

I am new and didnt click to the site sponsors selling coffee - for what its worth I live in Adelaide.


Thanks for the replies and email.

[rice]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

Adelaide... not a sponsor, but If I were in your shoes Id run and grab some Rio.

<joke> Actually grab some and post me half

[lucinda]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

Vinessence - I am in Adelaide and I can recommend a few places for you to get good beans

The Perfect Cup - Central Market, they have just been taken over by new management and are very good and helpful.

Kappys & Wright - Flinders street, they roast and blend their own beans.

Rio - situated in Norwood, though you can buy their beans etc at Central Market.

There are a few other places about, what part of Adelaide are you in? I can let you know of other great coffee too. Pm me if you dont want to give away your location.

[COFFEECHASER]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

I am new and didnt click to the site sponsors selling coffee

Would be an easy connection to miss. Might be worth your while to browse through each of the sponsors and see what else you can get yourself. Pullman Tampers are very popular, and rightly so (is in Adelaide as well). All the sponsors are great though and make sure you let them know you are a coffee snob. I am sure they look after their "ordinary" customers as well.
You will find plenty of tips around for the Silvia on this site as well, quite a popular machine.

[robodoc]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

I have a new Silvia and am still developing my snobiness - for now I do not have the time to roast my own beans. I recently ordered ROMA coffee from the Sienna Coffee Club (they gave me membership after I bought the Silvia from them). I got 1kg of coffee delivered for $30 virtually the day after ordering online. While the coffee tastes fine, I am not happy with its freshness / lack of any great smell or the amount of crema (I would love to get half the cup as crema like some people are quoting).

Is above par for the course with commercially roasted beans ? Is there somewhere better I could be ordering my coffee online from - especially to get beans that maximise crema ?

PS: I have experimented with grinding and have that aspect optimised.

Hi "Vinnie",

I just got a Silvia as well a few weeks ago, and finally got a proper grinder to go along with it last week and it has made all the difference in the world. What sort of grinder are you using? Based on the excellent advice of the friendly folks here, I got an Iberital Challenge for a very reasonable price and have never looked back.

I bought some cheapo coffee for $20/kilo just to practice with and have managed to get quite a lot of crema. I pulled some ristrettos yesterday and they were just about pure crema, very nice, even if the flavour isnt what it should be due to the beans used. The thing is, the beans are freshly roasted, and I reckon thats what counts. Also, I grind the beans literally seconds before I use them, and from what everyone here says I think that is really crucial.

So if you have freshly roasted beans and a decent grinder, you should be able to get good crema. Getting better beans will "just" improve the flavour. I have a long way to go before I can call myself a true snob, but hopefully I havent said anything misleading. I expect to be corrected in about 25-30 seconds if I have...

HTH,
Julio

[robodoc]

Re: Sienna Coffee Club Experience

P.S. Also make sure that you have allowed time for the entire machine to warm up sufficiently, and to run a blank shot to warm up the portafilter just before putting the grinds into it. I see from another thread you are already making sure your cups are warm.