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Permalink Reply by Shadow on November 12, 2010 at 12:51pm

IMO there are no stupid questions in life. If you want to know what other people think you simply ask away as you have. For espresso...

When I place an order with our roaster I pick the beans up the day roasting has been done. I always try to give my espresso roast(s) at least 4-5 days to mature a bit, otherwise the taste can be a bit harsh. Then the beans will be fantastic from day 5-12 or so. Then it starts to fade somewhat, but is still quite good to the 2.5 week point from the roast date, if it lasts that long. I wouldn't really consider using anything older than this unless deep freezing had been done 1-2 days after roasting was complete.

There is no "good blend" that I can name. Maybe some that actually do their own roasting can chime in here. Best thing to do is work with that local roaster until you get something you, your partner and your customers like then stick with that. We all have different tastes, sense of smell, etc. and preferences in coffee is all over the place with everybody that consumes it.

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Permalink Reply by Marmeláda on November 12, 2010 at 1:42pm

Why to be afraid of Origin coffees? Or when you absolutely, positively got to serve every customer in the room a blend ("Pulp Fiction" quote here!), you could try to buy a kilo of this, a kilo of that, and maybe a kilo of another one, and mix them yourself in different proportions until you are satisfied. Just make sure you buy fresh beans (2-3 days after roasting) and use them in two weeks time.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on November 12, 2010 at 3:31pm

Shadow,
Related to Michail question. When you receive your espresso beans, how are they stored for that " 4-5 days to mature a bit" Paper? Foil? What kind of container are they in?
Thanks Shadow,
Joseph



Shadow said:

IMO there are no stupid questions in life. If you want to know what other people think you simply ask away as you have. For espresso...

When I place an order with our roaster I pick the beans up the day roasting has been done. I always try to give my espresso roast(s) at least 4-5 days to mature a bit, otherwise the taste can be a bit harsh. Then the beans will be fantastic from day 5-12 or so. Then it starts to fade somewhat, but is still quite good to the 2.5 week point from the roast date, if it lasts that long. I wouldn't really consider using anything older than this unless deep freezing had been done 1-2 days after roasting was complete.

There is no "good blend" that I can name. Maybe some that actually do their own roasting can chime in here. Best thing to do is work with that local roaster until you get something you, your partner and your customers like then stick with that. We all have different tastes, sense of smell, etc. and preferences in coffee is all over the place with everybody that consumes it.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on November 13, 2010 at 5:41am

You've made a good step in finding a local roaster. Totally agree with Shadow also, this is a good question, and totally appropriate here.

Unfortunately, there's little commonality in blend naming from roaster to roaster. This makes it hard for us to give you the name of a blend to try. However, if you call a roaster and ask for a classic blend for espresso, you should get one.

Blending for espresso is tricky - you need to have a solid grasp of what makes an espresso good and which coffees can get you there. Not saying that you shouldn't try it, but don't be discouraged if it takes a bit of work to get good results. Here is a good quick read on creating an espresso blend.

Have you tasted your local roaster's espresso blend yet? Considering that it is currently available, this should be your baseline to taste your blend against. Or maybe it will surprise you and be better than you expect. Like Shadow said, use you and your partner's tastes as your guide.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by David Lanning on November 13, 2010 at 7:41am

Brady,

Nice link to the "basics of blending" article.

As a new roaster, that is very informative!

Thanks for passing it along.




Brady said:

You've made a good step in finding a local roaster. Totally agree with Shadow also, this is a good question, and totally appropriate here.

Unfortunately, there's little commonality in blend naming from roaster to roaster. This makes it hard for us to give you the name of a blend to try. However, if you call a roaster and ask for a classic blend for espresso, you should get one.

Blending for espresso is tricky - you need to have a solid grasp of what makes an espresso good and which coffees can get you there. Not saying that you shouldn't try it, but don't be discouraged if it takes a bit of work to get good results. Here is a good quick read on creating an espresso blend.

Have you tasted your local roaster's espresso blend yet? Considering that it is currently available, this should be your baseline to taste your blend against. Or maybe it will surprise you and be better than you expect. Like Shadow said, use you and your partner's tastes as your guide.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on November 13, 2010 at 7:55am

Joseph, all beans we receive are packaged in sealed foil lined bags with one-way valves similar to the bags pictured in this link...

http://www.coffeebags.net.au/products_kraftbags.php

Once the 5 lb. bag is opened I keep unused beans in these bags, closed tightly with a rubber band, then placed into a large ZipLoc bag with all air squeezed out. Will also add that I pour only what I think is needed into the grinder hopper and anything unused at the end of the day is poured back into the 5 lb. bag to help maintain freshness. If I leave anything in the hopper for the next morning my extractions start getting a bit thin/watery and lose some flavor components. It might seem as if pouring unused beans from the hopper back into the storage bag might "taint" what is already in the bag, but all seems to work fine. At the end of the day I also use what beans are in the throat of the hopper for the last extraction, whether it be for a customer or for myself. I then brush out the grinder throat and use those grounds as well so it's clean and ready to go the next morning. All of these steps minimize waste/staleness.

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Permalink Reply by Oscar Nyman on November 13, 2010 at 3:54pm

Buy a kilo of the blend from the local roaster and try? I am sure it can't be that much worse than Ionia Gran Crema? ;-) 50% robusta, overroasted, that is hardcore Sicily stuff. Going from such a high Robusta % to pure Arabica will probably lead to slightly more demanding task for your baristas so try it out before you do the switch. Going from 50% Robusta coffee to single origin Arabica is probably a too big step for you and your customers.

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Permalink Reply by Michail Golokolosenko on November 16, 2010 at 11:47pm

Dear all,

Thanks a lot for your help and advice... Brady thanks for great link to blend basics, very informative...
I already ordered a samples of freshly roasted espresso blends (it turned out there are 4 of them) from local roaster... I will try them and probably start with one of them changing something later if necessary.

Thanks again...

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