Thought it could be fun to get a thread going on what beans we’re currently using, maybe with some pertinent details on the brew variables if you feel inclined to share.
This past week I’ve been using Portrait Coffee’s Toni, a medium-roast single-origin from Brazil, roasted in Atlanta. I’ve been really pleased with the taste of my pulls with a 1:2 ratio. Great chocolatey notes, which is what I typically seek.
I mainly drink decaf, I find black and white and George Howell have great decaf beans. George Howell is also one of the few roaster that have all roasts (light, medium, dark) of decaf, and a fancy variety that is more expensive.
For the caffeinated beans I am drinking the future from black and white, definitely my favorite, extremely charismatic.
Oh that’s good to know. I haven’t experimented much with decaf, but I should give it a shot.
I currently have a bag of Origin Meridian. It’s a little darker than my usual picks, but it has excellent body and a very smooth aftertaste. It’s one of the nicest coffees I’ve had recently for a no-nonsense flat white.
Recently had some Thai single origin beans from Càphê Roasters in Philly. They were a really tasty light roast, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had a single origin SE Asian bean before.
Ran out of v60 filters so I’m spro-ing some light roast single origins. Anything tighter than 18:50 and it’s sour. Pretty good tho. Definitely a vibe.
Lately I’ve been really enjoying Black and White’s Elkin Guzman Strawberry Catiope and Hydrangea’s El Paraiso decaf (which is incredibly good if you like fruit-forward coffee and are looking for decaf).
I also have some less funky coffees on hand from Flower Child, but I haven’t been doing those as espresso lately
Those B&W coffees look great. I’m eyeing their Esteban Madrid, and about to go into the rabbit hole of coffee bean processing…
I’ve been getting some great pulls from every catracha coffee I’ve tried so far.
https://www.catrachacoffee.com/coffee
I’ve been starting at 3 psi for the first half second and then cranking it to only 7 psi and cutting off after 36 grams.
Hopefully you mean Bar not psi?
You are correct, 7 bar, not psi.
My go to over the past few months has been camillia coffee roaster’s ethereal blend. I’ve found it pretty forgiving of my evolving techniques and the flavor is great in amercano’s to iced drinks. Rich with plenty of texture. would highly recommend
There’s a local roaster I get beans from, Norfolk Coffee and Tea, his Downtown Blend is great in everything from drip to chemex to espresso. Love it.
My wife really likes Perc Coffee’s (Savannah, GA) Juggernaut blend. Which they self-describe as a “darkish” roast. She ordered a 2lb bag of it that we’ve been working our way through.
I always feel spoiled when I switch off the lighter roasts I normally pull. Juggernaut just pulls so beautifully without having to constantly grind finer every couple of days. Next will be a Tanzanian bean from a local roaster called Eastlick. The tasting notes are “Clementine, Rooibos Tea, Candied Orange Peel” so it should be interesting.