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What coffee are you drinking just now?

mrs quoad said:
I discovered square mile do monthly 1kg red brick subscriptions for £25, so signed up for that.

So I expect that'll be literally all I drink for the next year or two.

I don't really trust any mainstream / artisan roasters except Square. I've tried many others; they're either far more expensive (is it The Assembly? I think it is). Or fucking dire, or insensitively roast (ie too dark / bitter for my liking. The Barn, I'm looking at you. (And hasbean, if I'm honest. Stopped really enjoying Steve's beans a year or three back.))
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I finally scrimped enough to get the bean to cup machine I'd been wanting, and the first thing I did was buy a bag of Red Brick to toss in it. (ESAM 4200, fwiw)

I'm obviously going to have to tweak grind and extraction a bit, since it's not quite as nice as Kaffeine make it, but I'm pretty damned pleased. Plus it means that it's simple enough for Mrs.Chz to use first thing in the morning when the brain cells aren't functioning yet, so the Tassimo and its wasteful pods can be dispatched elsewhere.
 
mrs quoad said:
They must have been impressively fucking awful.
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Had probably sipped some before but knew I didn't like it. I can remember when those cups were. Once ages 20 and a double expresso about 5 years ago that was so strong I nearly had an anxiety attack.

If someone stirred my tea with a spoon that's been used to stir coffee first I can taste the coffee and can't drink the tea.

However, I absolutely love the smell of fresh ground coffee.
 
I don't think I've ever met someone who didn't think that coffee at least smelled nice. They've been trying to reproduce it in labs since forever, but the major parts of the smell are just too volatile to bottle. Even freshly-ground coffee smells of very little the next day.

Think I've just about nailed how Kaffeine do their flat whites with the Red Brick. They pull it very short. It's a very... uh, "sweet" (insomuch as coffee can be sweet) blend when it's risretto. Which wouldn't be a good choice black, but is utterly fantastic with milk.
 
Chz said:
Think I've just about nailed how Kaffeine do their flat whites with the Red Brick. They pull it very short. It's a very... uh, "sweet" (insomuch as coffee can be sweet) blend when it's risretto. Which wouldn't be a good choice black, but is utterly fantastic with milk.
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Having been working at home w a sick cat, I've polished up my lever machine and totally ballsed up the grind this morning. (Coarseness was fine. Just ground for a bigger basket, and so ended up w/ four shots instead of 3).

They were a bit lungo, iykwim. But fine lungo instead of "OMG WATER IS PISSING EVRTYWHERE MY PUCK HAS BLATED CRAXKED" lungo. Have tightened it up a bit, may well win a semi-accidental ristretto or three tomorrow morning.

IMG_8632.JPG
 
Been a while since I had anything from HasBean so I went for one of their dependable starter packs. Look at the names, though. I'm wondering if I haven't just bought some exotic strains of weed:

There are 4 * 250g packs included:

  • Sunset
  • Black Hole
  • White Dwarf
 
Hasbean delivery arrived today. ''Bolivia Vincent Paye Washed Caturra'' is bloody lovely if you haven't tried it. I normally pour scorn on their descriptions but there is a sort of fruit/toffee taste to this. Really good stuff.
 
Tried Hasbean's ''Sunset'' blend for the first time today. Very nice.

  • 50% El Salvador Finca Argentina Washed Bourbon
  • 25% El Salvador Finca La Fany Washed Bourbon
  • 25% Kenya Kiriga Estate AB Washed
Not quite as in yer face as the Bolivian one and nicer for it imo. Have taken it to work for when I'm flagging mid-afternoon.
 
Christ almighty, square mile.

I love your coffee. I buy from no one else. I deliberately seek out square mile coffee shops in unknown cities, as a hallmark of knowing excellence.

But... what hast thou become?

Hoxton mini press? :/

Ouch.


IMG_0801.jpg
 
Literal LOL. :)

I actually don't care for the new season's Red Brick blend. I mean, it's nice, but it's not as nice as the summer blend was.

I tried one from Climpton the other day. Now, normally I ignore the tasting notes on coffee the same as I do with red wine. I don't smell or taste any of those things. But fuck me if it didn't smell and taste of blueberries and white chocolate, just as they promised. I'm still not sure it's a good thing.
 
I'm quite a novice to making coffee at home, but use a stove top and a cafetiere. Some of the Aldi coffees seem pretty good. Does it get that much better if you spend four times the price on it from a site like Hasbeans?
 
Been a while since I had anything from HasBean so
Just gone for another starter pack:
  • Red Blend: Red Rum (Mars Bar, white grape, satsuma, brown sugar)
  • Black Blend: Black Beauty (dried fruit, brown sugar, fruit cake, almond, chocolate)
  • White Blend: Shadowfax (redcurrant, lime, dark chocolate, green apple)
  • Nicaragua Finca Limoncillo Pulped Natural Ethiosar (green apple, caramel, apple juice, dark chocolate)
Never had any of these and they do sound good. 'Shadowfax' though. They've branched out from 'describing their coffee like weed' into 'characters from Lord Of The Rings' now. A fully prog concept coffee served in a wizard's hat will be next.
 
UnderAnOpenSky said:
I'm quite a novice to making coffee at home, but use a stove top and a cafetiere. Some of the Aldi coffees seem pretty good. Does it get that much better if you spend four times the price on it from a site like Hasbeans?
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Sometimes. My usual stuff is the two-for-a-fiver stuff the Coop is doing. Nearly always nice and sometimes really very good. 'Colombian Supremo' is a good one (from Lidl I think) from a cheap supermarket.

Hasbean is usually more exotic - again always good. However when it's really good, it's REALLY good, some of the best I've had in this country.

I buy it as a treat every now and then. I don't think the extra cost is worth it all the time iyswim.
 
Voley said:
Sometimes. My usual stuff is the two-for-a-fiver stuff the Coop is doing. Nearly always nice and sometimes really very good. 'Colombian Supremo' is a good one (from Lidl I think) from a cheap supermarket.

Hasbean is usually more exotic - again always good. However when it's really good, it's REALLY good, some of the best I've had in this country.

I buy it as a treat every now and then. I don't think the extra cost is worth it all the time iyswim.
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Since I posted that I've started grinding my one beans. Just some Taylors I bought from Amazon at the same time as the grinder, but it's still nice. What's intresting I find is that I'm getting a better cup on the stove top just using the generic ground stuff then I was, I think as my technique has improved.

At some point I will try some Hasbeans or Yellow Bourbon ones and see the difference.
 
When I was given a hand grinder for Christmas I tried several from my local independent roaster. All very nice.
However, I keep going back to Waitrose Monsooned Malabar as I had already tried grounds before and they were good. Freshly ground is amazing. So smoky, bold and rich. /amateur
 
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So me mate brought this back from Vietnam for me as a pressie. I can't read the packet so i can only go on his word. He says its a robusta - which I've generally considered cheap and oily, though sometimes just what you fancy.

This stuff however is pretty banging and I really look forward to every cup. Smells and tastes of chocolate (and a bit nutty). Does anyone read Vietnamese? If so does it say this stuff is cut with nutella? It does clog up the filters though and it takes a while to do a filter cone with it
 

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nogojones said:
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So me mate brought this back from Vietnam for me as a pressie. I can't read the packet so i can only go on his word. He says its a robusta - which I've generally considered cheap and oily, though sometimes just what you fancy.

This stuff however is pretty banging and I really look forward to every cup. Smells and tastes of chocolate (and a bit nutty). Does anyone read Vietnamese? If so does it say this stuff is cut with nutella? It does clog up the filters though and it takes a while to do a filter cone with it
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I don't read Vietnamese but I can do google ;)

We have a speciality for fans of Vietnamese coffee – an original, native, by chocolate aromatised coffee, exactly how you can taste it during your visit in Vietnam.
Che Phin 4 is a mixture of Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa and Catimor. Strong, dark, aromatic. One of the favourites of Vietnamese cafés.
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Dunno what "chocolate aromatised" means.

From here if you need more supplies:

Trung Nguyen CHE PHIN 4
 
The coffee you get in Vietnam takes your head off. Served in a mini-cafetiere. I have a very fond memory of sitting in my guesthouse that was built over the Mekhong drinking rocket fuel coffee and watching the world go by on the river. Table covered in gecko shit, just recovering from a nasty illness and couldn't have cared less.
 
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