Green Bean Suggestions Please

[MattyRay]

Hi,

I'm after some suggestions for green beans please, as I'm very green myself when it comes to coffee :-)

I recently acquired a 12 year old La Pavoni Millennium Professional and an OE Lido 2 grinder. I've been loving the hands on approach to coffee and am looking to try roasting my own beans. I have a bread maker which I'm looking to modify and use with a heat gun. To date, I have been using (ahem!) supermarket bought beans.

I would be looking for beans that will be used mainly with milk drinks (cappuccino/latte), and that have a fairly mild character, words like "sweet" and "chocolate" come to mind. I anticipate a learning curve so an ultra expensive bean is probably not the way to go.

Any suggestions on type of bean to look for will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Matt

[kwantfm]

Mild, sweet and chocolatey for me all point to South American beans, in particular the great blender Brazilians and Colombian.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Oy! Not all Africans are out of the picture. The Rwanda Nyungwe A has quite a cocoa hit, can be sweetish and goes very well as a flat white. And if you end out buying 2 or more diff beans, goes well in a blend with Sth American/Centrals.

[MattyRay]

Thank you for the replies.

There is a roaster I pass on my way to and from work that has Brazil Santos - how would this be to start with?

Cheers,

Matt.

[kwantfm]

That will work just fine as a starting point

[Andy]

...just don't expect too much from a Santos... I'm yet to find one that blew my socks off and most tasting notes reflect "essence of cardboard". One of the most generic and boring beans you could find but it shouldn't be offensive

We typically recommend the Peru Ceja for new roasters, it works through a range of roast depths and is an easy one to learn with but as mentioned by Barry O above, something like the Rwanda Nyungwe will take your roasting to another level.

Remember, the cocoa and sweetness you desire can be found in most beans with the right roast depth. Take lots of notes during your roasting an you will soon find a style that suits your tastes perfectly (which should always be the real motivation to home roast).

[LeroyC]

My recommendations would be similar to those above. Brazilians are great for blend bases and go well with milk, but they can be a bit more difficult to roast as most of them are a bit softer. Andy's Peruvian might be better. I'd also recommend a Colombian. Something fairly standard like a Colombian Supremo is good. It's fairly easy to roast as it likes a good bit of heat as do most of the Central American origins. The only other one worth considering could be a Sumatran. They tend to be earthy rather than sweet, but can definitely be chocolatey. Taken just to the start of 2nd crack brings out the cocoa goodness. Blend it with a Latin American of some sort at about 20-30% for a really nice espresso based milk drink.

[Dimal]

Some general information for you about Colombian Coffees....

Doesn't apply to specific Estate Coffees as some of these can be outstanding and not typical Colombian Coffee by any comparison...

Mal.

[LeroyC]

Some general information for you about Colombian Coffees....

Doesn't apply to specific Estate Coffees as some of these can be outstanding and not typical Colombian Coffee by any comparison...

Mal.

Interesting read Mal. All stuff I knew in a general sense, but explained with more detail. Coffeereview is great resource, but I've only just started digging.

[MattyRay]

Thank you all for the suggestions :-)

...just don't expect too much from a Santos... I'm yet to find one that blew my socks off and most tasting notes reflect "essence of cardboard". One of the most generic and boring beans you could find but it shouldn't be offensive

We typically recommend the Peru Ceja for new roasters, it works through a range of roast depths and is an easy one to learn with but as mentioned by Barry O above, something like the Rwanda Nyungwe will take your roasting to another level.

Remember, the cocoa and sweetness you desire can be found in most beans with the right roast depth. Take lots of notes during your roasting an you will soon find a style that suits your tastes perfectly (which should always be the real motivation to home roast).

Andy, regarding Beanbay,is it possible to pay via credit card, or only on a Paypal account?

Thanks,

Matt

[Andy]

EFT (Internet banking transfer) payments are fee-free, you can pay with a credit card via PayPal (even without a PayPal account) but their fees are added to the purchase price ($0.50 plus 2.4%).
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/beanbay-ba...ean-sales.html

[MattyRay]

Thanks Andy :-)

[MattyRay]

Order placed for Peru Ceja, looking forward to having a go at roasting :-)

[Dimal]

Wise choice and a lovely bean.
Pretty sure you will love it once you find your sweet spot...

Mal.

[MattyRay]

As a bit of a coincidence, I was just speaking to my sister interstate who has 20-30kg of green beans of various varieties she is willing to donate, I just have to arrange shipping :-) She is a keen coffee afficionado but has more than she will roast herself.

Fun times ahead!