As a new coffeesnob I am just starting to understand how much difference there is in the taste of different beans. As most of the coffee I have tried so for has been blends I was wondering what single beans you would recomend to try first and what I should be looking for in that bean
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Re: what single beans should I try first
It kind of depends on what you are looking for in your coffee.
Do you drink espresso, ristretto, lattes, capps?
What machine/method are you using?
What beans have you tried?
Were they pre-ground?
Do you know how old they were?
Some beans will have flavours that are subtle and lost in milk.
Also, a beans flavour profile changes depending on how they are roasted.
Sorry for so many questions, but it will help get a better answer for your personal quest.
I sound like an RPG again!
You have the coffee talisman. Answer these questions to receive the brown key and progress to level 2.
Brett.
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Brett to answer your questions
machine Gaggia classic
grinder imat burr grinder (borrowed) saving up
live in Brisbane have a local roaster 5 minutes away so beans are always fresh (2 to 4 days old) have only used their blends sorry not sure what is in them. Shots are coming out in about 20 to 25 seconds with good crema .
coffeegaz
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Gday Coffeegaz,
sorry if it sounds like youre being interrogated, but I think one of the main questions that Brett was asking was, what sort of (espresso based) coffee do you drink?
Beans that taste sensational as an espresso (short black) may lose their flavour when put into a milk drink (cappa, latte, etc) and vice versa.
Again, I apologise if we sound like the Stasi ;D
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Originally posted by coffeegaz link=1187153889/0#4 date=1187169130No problem mainly milk based but am also getting the taste for short blacks havent tried all the types as of yet but cappas are my favorite !!!!!!!!!!
Hi Coffeegaz!
Good SO beans for milk based IMHO are:
Any Ethiopian beans, Harar is very good atm, and Yemen Bani Ismail...the latter is awesome and is my top pick for a milk based coffee! (especially as a Mocha based drink
)
Hope this helps!
-Linda
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Im quite fond of Central American and South America origins in milk based drinks.
Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua etc.
Africa also produce some rippers. The Ugandan Bugisu has been great by itself and blended with other beans.
Were you looking at roasting them yourself? (More bloody questions :
)
Brett.
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Re: what single beans should I try first
thanks for suggestions . havent got around to trying to roast yet , but looking at beanbay I see that you can get a surprise pack small amounts of brown beans what do you think good idea ???
gaz
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Sounds like a good place to start.
Try to make some notes when you taste them all.
Even if your palate is untrained (like mine) make notes that make sense to you. They dont have to make sense to others. If you end up really getting interested in cupping and tasting, there are a number of reference documents around to help you learn the terminology and the refine the process.
Personally, I just keep track of what I like and give it a score out of 10. I sometimes cannot justify the exact reason, but it makes sense to me.
To paraphrase the saying about art (and Monty Burns):
"I dont know much about cupping, but I know what I hate!"
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Central America: Costa Rica Tarrazu, Mexico, Panama
South America: Peru or Bolivian
Africa: Kenya AA, Ugandan Bugisu, Ethiopian Sidamo, Limmu, Yirgacheffe
Subcontinent: Monsooned Malabar/Peaberry, Kaapi Royale Robusta
S.E. Asia: PNG Peaberry, Timor anything, Sumatran Mandheling, Sulawesi Kalosi Toraja
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Id say at least a half litre of water in between each.
Try to keep only to a few each day, else your ability to taste subtle differences will go out the window.
No need to rush into it. Just take small steps.
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Re: what single beans should I try first
Hi Coffeegaz,
Could I suggest that if you are just starting out, you will probably benefit the most from keeping the coffee consistent. If I were to do it again, I would stick with one blend for three months before trying anything else.
If you would like to build up your coffee palate, using a french press to brew single origin coffees is a fantastic way of going about it, just because it removes a lot of the variations in espresso coffee.
If you really do want to experiment with different single origin coffees, perhaps the way to go about it is to cycle through a different SO on a fortnightly basis, so you really get time to get used to it. The sampler pack is probably a great way to work out what you might like to try for a two week period.
Its probably a good idea, as others have mentioned, to start off by tasting the absolute classic coffees. Here are some from bean bay brown:
Sumatran Mandheling: Very heavy in body, earthy.
Colombian Supremo: Sweet, clean, medium to low in body.
Kenya AA: Berry and wine flavours, high in acidity. (You might not like this one as espresso)
Ethiopian Harrar: Sweet, milk chocolate, blueberry, floral notes when selected, roasted and brewed correctly. The dry process technique means that its sometimes a bit of a gamble - for every decent harrar that I have tasted, I have probably tasted more that had bitter, burnt and nasty fermenty flavours.
Monsooned Malabar: Varies quite a bit, depending on roast level. Can be a caramel bombshell, a stinky cheese or a generic dark roast. (You will definitely have an opinion one way or another!)
The only thing that isnt on CS brown at the moment that is pretty important to taste is a dry processed brazil coffee, just because this is the basis of many commercial espresso roasts.
I hope that helps,
Luca
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