Coffee Club? I was surprised.

[Beandrinkin]

Though I don't really visit these cafes, I thought I’d add to the knowledge/experience base with this little post on some great beans you might be surprised to find are quite a fine drink.


I don’t roast, so have to satisfy myself with the local roasters, like ONA or LSR – which are good, and have provided many fine tasting coffees.


Anyway, my mother-in-law usually brings a bag of coffee when she comes for lunch. Over Easter her offering included the Coffee Club Signature Blend coffee, which won Gold in the franchise espresso category of last year’s Golden Bean.



Anyway. I drunk a bit of this, and froze some, and have been getting back into it lately.


I’ve got to say, particularly as espresso – this blend is really full bodied and super creamy.

The other thing I like is how forgiving they are. It seems easier to dial in than some of the other beans I’ve been playing around with, and has a wider sweet spot. All that, and tastes good. I was shocked/impressed/happy.

One minor concern is they don’t include a roast date on the bag. However the beans I received have acted and tasted like the freshest beans I’ve ever bought – so I can only presume these chain stores have such a high turnover that, at least on this occasion, the beans I ended up with were super fresh.

Ok, so these may not be the best, most complex beans you’ll ever consume – however…what they are is tasty.

Those Golden Bean tasters knew what they were scoring when this blend got the nod.

[pyrmontboy200]

I've had similar experiences where good coffee has come from the most unlikely, un-trendy of places. You are very courageous to speak up . Almost as courageous as the posters in the largely pro-Aldi coffee thread a while back.

On the flip side I've had some truly woeful coffees/takeaway beans from some of Sydney's trendier, self proclaimed 'artisan' roasters, ranging from grassy, to face contortingly acidic, then to flat and grainy. One other poor roast that sticks in my memory was from a big Melbourne roaster ( not CS but they use their old logo ) who delivered me a truly ashy Brazil, an ashiness that I could not remove even with the lowest brewing temperatures.

I just try and keep an open mind with coffee as there is so much hype and trend following.

[Beandrinkin]

If such a thing can really exist, the less bs and mystery around coffee the better. To be honest, I almost dismissed these beans, but in the end I simply couldn't ignore the espresso. It tasted like the coffee I'd been trying to make but was often not achieving. Obviously a lot is down to the specific blend, which is giving characteristics I enjoy - but I have to say I wanted to take these into my mate's local cafe roasters to say 'hey guys, copy this.'

[Andy]

Ah, there is less surprise that the Coffee Club coffee was good when you realise that it's now roasted by CS site sponsors Veneziano... I doubt very much it could have won an award previously but Veneziano have really got this blend to high level.

How awesome will it be in the future when we can all grab a coffee anywhere and it's great!

[Beandrinkin]

Ah, there is less surprise that the Coffee Club coffee was good when you realise that it's now roasted by CS site sponsors Veneziano... I doubt very much it could have won an award previously but Veneziano have really got this blend to high level.

How awesome will it be in the future when we can all grab a coffee anywhere and it's great!

Yes that would be a great day.

interesting to hear that's Veneziano.

i was already thinking the C Club beans were reminiscent of some of Veneziano's estate blend I drunk recently. They behaved in a similar way, and had similar flavour profile

now all those patrons of that cafe are enjoying some great beans (provided they are extracting them well)