Recommend me a coffee bean

fleet

Just coming to the end of a kilo bag of Lavazza Rossa that has been thoroughly uninspiring.

I rather liked the Lidl French and Pact Espresso blend ground coffees, but would like to use the grinder so this one needs to be beans.

I'm looking for a real strong, nutty, chocolatey, "goooood moooorning Vietnam" flavour that I can taste though milk of a latte... and I don't mind spending a bit more for that.

Anyone got a recommendation?

PPC

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/el-salvador-finca-santa-petrona-washed-red-bourbon give this a try

Gran Hermano

You should notice a big difference if you try some freshly roasted and grind on demand if you've been sticking to supermarket pre-ground.

Try one of these
http://bailiescoffee.com/categoriesList/357/our-espresso-blends.aspx

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/starter-packs/products/the-new-espresso-starter-pack

fleet

Thanks guys, I hadn't considered hasbean.

I'm a fan of starter packs, so I'm off to order that right now :-)

vibe666

My favorite pre-ground mainstream brand is the Bob Roberts New York blend.

Good and strong and has a nice flavour if you're stuck and can't get good beans in a hurry and can be got in pretty much every supermarket.

There are some other types in the same range, but the NY one is the only one that floats my boat.

brokenarms

What is the best bang for you buck coffee with regards beans and delivery price. I find the delivery charge for most internet suppliers a bit restricting.

I have recently tried the Bewleys beans from tesco and found them to be well below average with an almost salty taste.


Lavazza Rossa was also not great and now have the Robert Roberts beans in the grinder now which is nice.

The tin of Illy from Tesco was the best from the shelf, but at over 7 euro for 250g it is 2 euro more expensive that the next cheapest.

To be honest the Pact coffee and the coffeeangle beans where in a different league for taste.

Glebee

I used to use Has Bean most of the time but the ygot expensive when the delivery charge went up.

Mostly use

Badger & Dodo: About and Coffee Mojo | The Art of Roasting Coffee

for my freshly roasted beans these days

fleet

I was about the buy from Pact when I saw ponaire.ie

Anyone used them?

I've ordered their:
Rich Sumatra Blend
Indian Blend
Connoisseur Blend
Decaf Blend

All of which have some stars from "Great Taste Awards" whoever they are. I see the the UK sellers also quote the same stars too.

Gran Hermano

A subscription from Bailies works out at under 7 euro per 250g bag.

If you like coffee angel's coffee it is worth considering - plus it is far superior to what's in supermarkets.
http://bailiescoffee.com/categoriesList/388/weekly-subscription.aspx

fleet

Glebee wrote: »

I used to use Has Bean most of the time but the ygot expensive when the delivery charge went up.

Mostly use

Badger & Dodo: About and Coffee Mojo | The Art of Roasting Coffee

for my freshly roasted beans these days

I like free postage. How's the coffee?

Glebee

fleet wrote: »

I like free postage. How's the coffee?

Im no great expert but find them both equally nice..

elmolesto

fleet wrote: »

I was about the buy from Pact when I saw ponaire.ie

Anyone used them?

I've ordered their:
Rich Sumatra Blend
Indian Blend
Connoisseur Blend
Decaf Blend

All of which have some stars from "Great Taste Awards" whoever they are. I see the the UK sellers also quote the same stars too.

+1 for Ponaire

I have been buying my coffee from them for the past 3 years, best coffee in the country imo.

They import green beans from all over the world and roast them to perfection.

I highly recommend them.

Jezek

elmolesto wrote: »

+1 for Ponaire

I have been buying my coffee from them for the past 3 years, best coffee in the country imo.

They import green beans from all over the world and roast them to perfection.

I highly recommend them.

Really? their website is not that inspiring. Large Fair Trade badges, no single origins, etc, etc. Why do you prefer them over other roasters ? If they are that good I might give them a try as well.

fleet

I'm still a rookie coffee snob, but I've found many single origin beans to be lacking in one or more qualities. Blended coffee has given me consistently better results.

Heck... I even like a little robusta thrown in for the extra ooomph!

fleet

PS - the Ponaire stuff came yesterday (really fast turnaround considering the bank holiday).

I've not yet tried it as I'm finishing old stock.

I'll report back, naturally.

Jezek

fleet wrote: »

I'm still a rookie coffee snob, but I've found many single origin beans to be lacking in one or more qualities. Blended coffee has given me consistently better results.

Heck... I even like a little robusta thrown in for the extra ooomph!

oomph ? Are you making espresso and you mean for crema? or for the bit of extra caffeine?

fleet

I drink both espresso and lattes.

My machine produces impressive crema from pretty much anything despite it's price.

For the latte I find many 100% arabicas are simply drowned out by the milk, even in a smaller "flat white" style glass cup.
There are of course exceptions.

I like a little bitterness in my espresso too, so long as its short lived and the oily, caramel taste is all that's left.

brokenarms

Gran Hermano wrote: »

A subscription from Bailies works out at under 7 euro per 250g bag.

If you like coffee angel's coffee it is worth considering - plus it is far superior to what's in supermarkets.
http://bailiescoffee.com/categoriesList/388/weekly-subscription.aspx

Thanks for the advise.

Got a 6 week, 6 bag subscription for 36 pound all in. Thats 1 pound for delivery to ROI from Belfast! Cant complain with that.

Plenty of time to make my mind up.

fleet

Tried the Ponaire Indian Blend today..............best damn espresso I ever tasted.

I'm really pleased!

Their ground decaf is far too coarse a grind though, can I feed this through my burr grinder again??

TireeTerror

Have you tried Greenbean in Dundalk? They do all their own roasting inhouse up there. Ive been buying Cafe Supremo from them for the last 5 or 6 months, in fact I went up today and bought another 1KG bag and decided to treat myself and buy 6 of their large cappuccino mugs and saucers. I love their coffee, wouldnt touch anything else now.

donnacha

TireeTerror wrote: »

Have you tried Greenbean in Dundalk?

They certainly think a lot of themselves: Greenbean Coffee Roasters is one of the best speciality coffee roasters in the world.

Doesn't read like they roast to order - and they also appear to only sell blends. Mind you I'm sure its still streets ahead of anything you'd buy in a supermarket etc.