Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

What coffee are you drinking just now?

Twoday in Bristol.
Much smaller range, but I've had good coffees from there.
The one annoyance is the smallest order is 300g and it won't go through the letter box.
 
I thought I would see what an equal blend of all three coffees was like - with a view to not having "second best" beans that ended up being "emergency" beans ...
First impressions not as good as the blend of 1 and 3 - rather "muddled" and somehow the acidities added up
But since I went for 20 percent more grammes total, the second infusion was easily better than a lot of coffee sold on the high street.
 
I'm down to about 12 days left of the good stuff.
Sadly, since I only drink one cup a day, the nearly 2 weeks' worth of El Salvador beans have been relegated to the "emergency" category.

I would very much like to order some beans from the Bristol's Twoday, - they still have the amazingly chocolatey El Borbollon, and hopefully I would be able to find something to blend with it - who knows that might breathe life into the El Salvador beans ...

.. but it means staying home for up to a week for the post as it won't fit through the letter box ...

Heading for the holiday season, so I suppose I'd better get it done sooner rather than later ...
 
Last edited:
chilango said:
Anybody got any good alternatives to Hasbean?

At similar price point £7 or £8 a bag. Good range of interesting coffees etc etc.

I'm very happy with Hasbean and get the occasional bag from Pact or Tamp Culture but but wonder 8f I'm missing anyone?
Click to expand...

Black Cat Coffee
Foundry Coffee
James Gourmet
Craft House
North Star

All great roasters knocking out consistently good coffee, there are others but the price goes up a bit. Assembly, Extract, Django, Vagabond, Carvetti
 
They're not quite as fancy as the others, but my go-to standard coffee when I can't decide what to get is Union's Gajah Mountain.
 
My beloved Guatemala El Bosque seems to have disappeared of the face of the earth :(

EDIT:-

Perhaps not ...

catalyst.cafe

Guatemala - El Bosque

The Farmer, Uncle Roberto favours Red Bourbon which is regarded as the "King of Varietals". This vibrant single origin coffee is picked from one the oldest farms in the region of Lago de Amatitlan, Antigua, Guatemala. This parcel of land exhibits a particular tolerance to the rust disease for...
catalyst.cafe

:hmm:
 
I've just ordered some mega-chocolate El Bourbollon to stir things up a bit...

100% Red Bourbon El Salvador

El Borbollon is our most popular coffee. Our customers love its versatility and traditional taste. Low acidity, chocolate, walnut notes, great balance and body. Easy one to like.

.....but also a wildcard ... :hmm:

Kerinci Alko Sumatra Indonesia
Big. Dark chocolate, orange marmalade, butterscotch spicy nutmeg, chilli toffee finish. A classic Sumatran. Traditional style.
Dark chocolate, orange marmalade, nutmeg, butterscotch.

------------------------

Hopefully these will arrive on Sunday when the parcel post seems to arrive these days ...

I couldn't spot anything suitable to blend with these - so I'll probably go back to Hasbean for some more of the two I liked before.
Who knows, one or both of these might work with my new "emergency" beans ... :hmm:

I'd better make sure I have enough to cover myself over the hostilities...
Thankfully it's now winter so my stash should keep well with meticulous decanting and storing beside a window or outside....
 
Twoday Bristol's Kerinci Alko Sumatra Indonesia
"Big. Dark chocolate, orange marmalade, butterscotch spicy nutmeg, chilli toffee finish. A classic Sumatran. Traditional style.
Dark chocolate, orange marmalade, nutmeg, butterscotch."

This is definitely "acidic", but not in the tongue-curling sense and I think I actually recognised the claimed (very dark) "marmalade"... definitely a blender, but I'm going to have to try this on its own several more times to get a handle on it.
Second infusion was pure marmalade :)

I somewhat anticipated the taste of this when I smelled the beans compared to the hearty El Borbollon I also just ordered from the same supplier - I got a slightly "funky" vibe - and then when I brewed it there was a decent amount of fresh bean "crema", but more obviously consisting of suspended dust - some of which got through the metal filter .... another "thin" chocolate one like the Hasbean Guatemala El Limon that I've been enjoying blended - so it may fortuitously work very well with the El Borbollon .

It would be very nice to buy local for a bit 🙂

summatra.png
 
Last edited:
El Borbollon 100% Red Bourbon El Salvador

"El Borbollon is our most popular coffee. Our customers love its versatility and traditional taste. Low acidity, chocolate, walnut notes, great balance and body. Easy one to like. We roast this Bourbon varietal dark for the rich heavy bottom notes of dark chocolate whilst making sure there is just a touch of fruitiness left to offset the heavier tones. This coffee is for those who love a chocolate profile as opposed to a fruity one. "
--------------------------------

When I first tried this back in the spring, I found it to be so almost-cloyingly chocolatey I couldn't cope with it unblended.
Perhaps this is a slightly different batch, or slightly differently roasted. This is still yummy, but this time seems quite well balanced and its full cocoa-y nature didn't become obvious until I got to the sediment - (having come to the Aeropress via the cafetière route, I don't know why I tolerated paper filters for so long )..

Of the 5 different coffees I've had recently, this is probably the one I would most happily be stuck with - though I still reckon there's some magic to be found - last time I blended it with a Brazilian that is not currently available, but which was probably quite like the Sumatran from this order and Hasbean's Guatemala El Limon.

I suspect I will also order some more of Hasbean's Nicaraguan as a contrast to keep my palate in tune over the forthcoming hostility season.

elsalvador.jpg
 
So the poor old El Salvador Finca Argentina Natural Bourbon from Hasbean is still in the "emergency" category :(
It's just a bit too "middling" ...

How much easier things were when all I ever wanted was Guatemala El Bosque washed Red Bourbon - first from TwoDay and then from Hasbean who started buying the entire crop ... I probably ought to order some from Catalyst - though their description is "wrong" and they're expensive - perhaps that's why Hasbean dropped them - the last time I saw them there, they were in their very disappointing "Red blend" ....
 
So today I blended the chocolatey El Salvador and the marmaladey Sumatran 50/50 ...

It seemed to amplify the "thin" chocolate of the Sumatran .. added just a bit more acidity than I like, but not terrible.
The second infusion had a lot of acidity and wasn't terrible - perhaps similar to the filter Starbucks they used to serve at meetings at work... millions of regular coffee drinkers would probably go back for more...

Looks like there are more blends to try in my pursuit of perfection


I think I'm going to get some batteries for my kitchen timer and see if I can't get better extraction in the first infusion.
 
Last edited:
Next blend - the not-so-chocolatey-as-last-time El Salvador El Borbollon, from TwoDay plus the "thin, smoky chocolate" Guatemala El Limon from Hasbean ...

Super frothy this one and if I had to pick one adjective, it would be "refreshing" - though not in the overtly "acidic" way that has made me abandon coffees in the past ... and the profile is still very definitely "chocolate".

Second infusion quite pleasant - similar to yesterday's blend.

This blend has plenty of potential ...
 
Last edited:
Final blend - Hasbean's hearty Nicaraguan, with TwoDay's Marmaladey Sumatran.

Lovely aroma of the fresh grind and very frothy.
Very nice indeed - some might call it "well-balanced" - but definitely leaning towards the chocolate ...
The second infusion is once again very acceptable with the emphasis on dark, smoky notes.

The one thing that seems to disappear with this blend is the specifically marmalade aftertaste of the Sumatran - but there is some sort of nameless dark fruit in there at the end on the second infusion... EDIT:- yes it is still there - but VERY dark marmalade.

I now have probably two coffees and two blends I can live with, so I'm going to have to rotate them for a while before getting in my Hasbean early winter order next week ... who knows I might also try the two "midrange/treble" coffees on their own once in a while.
I think the poor old El Salvador Finca Argentina probably won't get another tasting :(

I suspect I'm going to order the same two coffees again - I can't recall ever being so conflicted before :)
If the TwoDay El Borbollon had been as ridiculously chocolatey as last time, things might have been different.
 
Last edited:
I'm drinking Co-op instant because I finished the bag I got on my new Hasbean subscription yesterday :mad: the delivery should be coming in the post today but I'm suffering caffeine withdrawal now.

However the last lot, Thailand Doi Pangkhon Natural, was sweet and toffee-ish (though well-balanced with it) and slightly fruity. Not too dark, very pleasant. Worked best as a double Aeropress shot for me. I don't think I've had Thai coffee before but will look out for others.
 
Last edited:
FridgeMagnet said:
However the last lot, Thailand Doi Pangkhon Natural, was sweet and toffee-ish (though well-balanced with it) and slightly fruity. Not too dark, very pleasant. Worked best as a double Aeropress shot for me. I don't think I've had Thai coffee before but will look out for others.
Click to expand...
I seem to recall I liked the Thai last year :hmm:


After quite a few days of shuffling coffees and blends, I decided that nice though the Hasbean Nicaraguan is - especially in a blend, there's a slightly "savoury" edge that means it loses against the TwoDay (Bristol) El Salvador El Borbollon which is very nice on its own.
Blending it with the Sumatran I bought at the same time changes its character massively, but it's not unwelcome - makes it super-refreshing - I may try less of it in the blend if only to use it up...
So I reckon I'm going to order 500g more of the El Borbollon to supply me into the new year, and will probably stick with that for the foreseeable future - it will be good to support a local company.
https://twodaycoffee.co.uk/shop/products/el-borbollon/
 
Last edited:
No more posts from me for a bit ...
I've found a local coffee that I like.
In the past I drank the same coffee for months and years on end...

coffeearrives.jpg
 
Been riding myself over with some Pact house blend which is a consistently good everyday drinker.

But am now on Hasbean's Christmas Blend which is fantastic! Strawberry yoghurt they say and I see what they mean. in a good way.
 
We bought a fancy expresso machine on black Friday and it's revolutionised our coffee drinking! Sooo much better after a few years with a pod machine.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20201231_093812.jpg
    IMG_20201231_093812.jpg
    278.1 KB · Views: 5
I really must try espresso one day - though in practice I really like the half-strength coffee I make with my aeropress
 
Probably going to get ripped for this , but lidl have bellarom 1.2kg beans for £6.99
bellarom-espresso-xxl-12kg.jpg
I normally drink lavazza rossa at around £10 per kg or lavazza crema aroma at £12... but bellla does it for me , if you like the red , you will probably like this

I am a man of simple needs
 
I need to reorder and though I feel drawn towards continuing to support my local roaster, Hasbean finally have back in stock the coffee I drank for several years :)
So I'm bound to at least try a bag to see if it's (still) as good as I thought it was back then ...

www.hasbean.co.uk

Guatemala El Bosque Washed Bourbon

This coffee is a washed Bourbon grown by the Flores family at El Bosque in Amatitlán, Villa Canales, Guatemala. It has tasting notes of Lotus biscuit, chocolate, roasted hazelnut, caramel and red apple. Hasbean - specialty coffee freshly roasted in Staffordshire.
www.hasbean.co.uk www.hasbean.co.uk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

story
Coffee making accessories for the coffee wanker in your life
2 3 4
Replies
104
Views
3K
Happy Tree
Happy Tree
Hollis
Ludicrously small coffee cups
Replies
26
Views
531
littlebabyjesus
littlebabyjesus
danny la rouge
Coffee brewing devices ancient and modern
2 3 4 5
Replies
149
Views
3K
Chilli.s
Chilli.s
I
Chicks hatching now
2
Replies
42
Views
1K
iona
I
isvicthere?
is it possible to repair a dolce gusto coffee maker?
Replies
23
Views
495
Saul Goodman
Saul Goodman
Back
Top Bottom