Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

I've got two bags of it to work through. So far I'm a little underwhelmed to be honest :( It's not bad by any means but compared to some I've had it's nothing special either.

This. I ordered 2 bags of this last year & I've had better from Hasbean in the past as well as later on too, I've bought Hasbean Nicaraguan beans from a Coffee shop & found them to be better.
 
I got a DeLongi Treviso this morning for £7 second hand. Going to clean and descale it. Then the experimenting begins.

Never made my own, but the Mrs is Portuguese and isn't fond of our regular coffee.
 
Alright need some suggestions on some beans that I might like. Just bought hasbeans espresso starter back and so far tried jobberwocky and Blake. Not a fan of either. The jobberwocky has got a slight caramel taste to it but a weird after taste. Almost perfumey/ fruity which I dislike. The Blake has a more chocolate flavour but again too much fragrance / fruityness to it. Don't know the term I'm looking for but both have that fragrances aftertaste which I don't like.

I like my coffee on the dark / chocalatey end of the scale. Dislike fruityness, acidity, fragranced. My personal favourite so far is a M&S store one, I think it's their Italian blend n4.

I was hoping buying fresh would be even better, perhaps I just have crap taste and better off with a hot chocolate lol but surely there's something out there for me? Only drink milk based drinks.
 
I'm a bit of a newbie but using a gaggia baby, fine grind that takes about 30 seconds to pour. Not sure what else you can say.

Crap hope all 5 packs are not like that!! Can I roast them more myself?
 
You're better off weighing in>out if it's espresso. 30s is good, but you'd be looking to double the weight of beans in the shot. e.g. 18g of beans to 38-40g espresso in around 30s.

When were they roasted?

No, you can't roast them anymore yourself. Well, you could, but i'd wager you'd just make them much worse.
 
Ordered yesterday delivered this morning so assume roasted yesterday.

I will, got some scales so will weigh. Have just been using two table spoons which nets me a full portafilter with the double basket.

I'm happy with the machine and wand now that I modded it too with the rancilo wand.

Looks like I'm gonna have to get used to it, got 5 packs to go through lol. I didn't know about the darker roasts! Anyhow we go through a pack every two weeks so will try else where in a few months.
 
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Yeah sounds like what you're tasting is the... coffee :p mostly with darker roasts you're just getting the taste of the 'roast' itself. Nout wrong with it, if that's how you prefer it.

If you search for DSOL (darker side of life) and have a look on the coffee forum there'll be loads of suggestions for beans.

Certainly try weighing it, let me know how you get on. I was massively overextracting before I started weighing stuff out.

Did you only buy the two blends from hasbean?
 
I've changed my Aeropress method and am now getting the taste I want.

Before I was only letting it brew for about 1 minute, but now I'm leaving it for nearer 10 minutes and I'm getting a much richer and "full" taste.
I also changed my Porlex grinder from 7 clicks to 6.

Am now using Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Pulped Natural Yellow Bourbon from Hasbean, it's lovely in a flat white using the new method.
 
Does Hasbean still sell that coffee that was described as tasting like Kitkats?


No: It's archived.

They do have 3 similar beans for sale at the mo though, sourced from Brazil with natural processing:

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/america-brazil/


I've changed my Aeropress method and am now getting the taste I want.

Am now using Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Pulped Natural Yellow Bourbon from Hasbean, it's lovely in a flat white using the new method.

Aeropress.... Flat white? Does not compute. Do you mean a coffee with milk?
 
Aeropress.... Flat white? Does not compute. Do you mean a coffee with milk?

Ok, coffee with milk that's been whisked with one of these ;)

Frother2.jpg
 
He might have a steamer :E

Just having my first cup of that Jampit Hit from Coffee Compass... I think they sent me a bag of cinder. Either that or I'm using an old barbecue instead of a mug :/

Sounds delicious. Like the "free bag of dark roast" stuff my friend got when he tried a new place. Mmm, notes of char with a slight hint of burnt paper.
 
3 cups was enough to convince me to throw it away, empty out the grinder and give it the clean of it's life. There's still a wiff of smokiness but that'll pass in time. Gone back to jabberwocky and it's better than I remember it.

I won't be writing off CC, but defo not going dark again.
 
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