Favorite Single Origin Espressos

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:32 am

Currently pulling shots from Terroir's Konga Co-Op No. Italian Style Yirgacheffe. Highly recommended!! 91*C/15-15.5g seems to work really well. http://www.terroircoffee.com/store/more ... hp?gid=221

What else is worth trying??

Post by **woodchuck** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:55 pm

A couple of other SO's that I have got from CCC that I really enjoyed this year were the Idido Misty Valley and the Biloya. I think they are all out for the year but you can probably find some from similar lots at one of the other roasters.

Cheers

Ian

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:05 pm

Not many single origin Espresso fans I take it. Where's Niko??

PBL · Post by **PBL** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:02 pm

I am probably a little too inclined to buying blends from my preferred local roasters. I do think it is time to go back to some caf

Post by **JohnB** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:54 am

I got some of the fabled Kona direct from one of the growers last year (Peaberry, Estate Select, ect) & I have to say I don't see what all the fuss is about. It was a nice cup of coffee but nothing really special to justify the price. I didn't have my machine at that time but I can't imagine it as an espresso as its pretty mild.

Of course some people might not think the Yirgacheffe would be good as an Espresso but it is probably the tastiest Espresso I've had in ages. Ran out Monday & I've been missing it ever since. I'll be ordering some more from Terroir shortly!!

You never know what is going to work as an Espresso. Just for the heck of it I tried the CCC French Roast Kenya & it turned out to be a chocolate delight. Turned an 8oz latte into milk chocolate.

Post by **Richard** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:28 pm

JohnB wrote:. . . the Yirgacheffe . . . is probably the tastiest Espresso I've had in ages.

I'm right with you on that particular coffee, John. I keep coming back to it time after time. I have a bag in the freezer at the moment.

I haven't had it, though, since installing the PI board, so that should be interesting -- and not necessarily in the way some might think. The Terroir Brazil, northern Italian, dosed at 14oz, which I think highly of, is assuredly not improved in either consistency or balance of flavor by preinfusing the cake.

Post by **Niko** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 11:42 pm

After having some Jacaranda last year, everything else literally tastes like rabbit droppings compared to it

I picked up 20lbs from Sweet Maria's, liked it so much I bought another 20lbs and told Chas about it - he loved it too and then I bought another 25lbs from the Coffee Bean Corral and the rest is history. Yirgacheff is like a nice mellow cardboard after a shot of this stuff, I occasionally go back to some blends only to come to my senses once in a while - for a real slap in the face I get a pound of Hairbender to spice things up (Arrrr!).
I'm doing cartwheels because I recently scored another 60lbs of Jacaranda

I'm back, John.

Jacaranda anyone?....

michael · Post by **michael** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:28 am

does anyone sell the Jacaranda beans roasted

chas · Post by **chas** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:43 am

Niko, I am remembering that it was Brazilian Fazenda not Jacaranda??? However, I am ready to give Jacaranda a try but I can't find it in stock anywhere. Do you have a line on a current supply source?

Post by **Niko** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:36 pm

It is called that exactly, Chas.
The complete name is Brazil Fazenda Jacaranda and nobody has it stock, It's been discovered that all other coffee sucks and nobody else can have any because of the greedy buyers out there. I guess you can call me one

but I had to go through some trouble in scoring some this year. I think some people at the top of the food chain finally caught on how good this bean is blending as a base - it's a mortal sin to mix this stuff unless you have some garbage beans to get rid of. I'll take Jacaranda over any blend 7 days a week. I doubt we'll be seeing this bean available to the public again but we can hope for next season. I'm guessing somewhere between May and end of July '09 for it to appear again.

There are some tricks to this bean, I've experienced. Some of the people I've spoken with about it regard it as a good base for blending and don't care all that much for it. After roasting about 4,000lbs of it

I think I finally got the flavors I want out of it so I've been drinking this bean most of the time for the last year and a half.
It wasn't a very good shot out of the iRoast2, the Gene Cafe was too bright as well but the Hottop is the ticket. The Behmor would work if you can stall the roast but it's kind of a pain for repeatability.

michael wrote:does anyone sell the Jacaranda beans roasted

Blue Bottle does sell it roasted, though.

michael · Post by **michael** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:18 pm

didnt see it at the blue bottle website

what about the fazenda cachoiera from ecco cafe

Post by **Niko** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:27 pm

I've tried almost every Brazil out there, some are better than others but I've never run into a smoother bean than this.

Hmm, Blue Bottle must be out of it or something. Wait a while and you'll see it surface somewhere because a whole lot of green went up for a sale a couple months back. Maybe it's already in some blends we're drinking

Post by **JohnB** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:18 pm

Niko wrote: I'm back, John.

Jacaranda anyone?....

Glad to see it, you've been missed!

Post by **Niko** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:32 pm

thanks

Post by **Mario** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:12 pm

From Paradise Roasters I am simply mad for "Nicaragua CoE Matagalpa - La Gloria / Limoncillo." Ask them to roast for espresso. It is fantastic. Their Esmeralda is pretty good roasted for espresso but I actually prefer the Nicaragua in the small cup. Also RMiguel used to have his own site with some really high end coffees that were superb but I tried to go to it recently and its has disappeared.

Post by **Niko** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:16 pm

I'm not surprised that his site disappeared, with this economic crisis and those really high prices people were probably not very interested in spending hundreds of US dollars on a bean splurge. His advertising was kind of funny though...."coffee so good that you have to be invited to buy it

my coffee is good too, but you don't need an invite to drink it for free

Post by **JohnB** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:20 pm

Mario wrote:From Paradise Roasters I am simply mad for "Nicaragua CoE Matagalpa - La Gloria / Limoncillo." Ask them to roast for espresso. It is fantastic. Their Esmeralda is pretty good roasted for espresso but I actually prefer the Nicaragua in the small cup. Also RMiguel used to have his own site with some really high end coffees that were superb but I tried to go to it recently and its has disappeared.

Was that the site where you basically had to be "invited" to buy the coffee? Someone put up a parody site that ruffled a few feathers. http://rodlazar.com/RodLazar.htm

Post by **Niko** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:26 pm

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 5:43 pm

How about a S/O Espresso that requires 21-28 days of aging before its drinkable??

Scroll through this CG thread & read
the last post from Roasterjack of Great Northern Roasting Co.
http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/general/386619

Sounded too interesting to resist so I ordered a bag today. By the time it gets here it will be 18-19 days past roast so I won't have to wait too long to see what its like.

Post by **Mario** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:05 am

Just discovered that RMiguel's site is back up. Apparently he has moved his operations to Hawaii. I just ordered a Hawaiian blend called Pele that I've tried in the past and found to be superior to Kona. I also got some Nectar which is a geisha varietel from Panama ( again I prefer it to Esmeralda). I get these roasted especially for espresso. I know the whole "snob" marketing approach turned some people off but I found it amusing. I am in communications so I get what he's doing and all I really care about is that I get some of the most interesting SOs I've ever tasted. Do I pay a premium? Absolutely. But I also get individualized service with Miguel roasting each batch to my tastes. Since I do not roast on my own this is as close as I can come to it.

Post by **Niko** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:56 pm

JohnB wrote:How about a S/O Espresso that requires 21-28 days of aging before its drinkable??

dAng! You ain't kidding about

The Jacaranda doesn't get amazing until after a week for me, very drinkable until "whenever" since it never gets more than 2 weeks old around me. I had an accident in the freezer with it once, forgot the suck the air out of the canister before placing it in and

...it was one of the most amazing series of shots I've had. Not sure why but I'm sure I couldn't repeat it. It's kinda like Chas' Behmor-on-fire trick (can only do it once).

Here's tonight's double

.....

: This shot ran for almost 40 seconds.; DSC_0128.jpg (79.18 KiB) Viewed 44658 times

: I thought the pump was going to burst.; DSC_0130.jpg (70 KiB) Viewed 44658 times

Post by **JohnB** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:47 am

I just started playing with it yesterday at 21 days. Trying different temps & p/i lengths. Today I'm going to try smaller (13-14g) doses & see how it compares to the 18-18g doses.

Post by **Niko** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 3:52 pm

So it takes that stuff 21-28 days before it's drinkable, eh?
I bet John was one of those kids that opened X-Mas presents before their time

(at least I did

)

So what's the verdict, John?

Is that stuff drinkable yet?

Post by **JohnB** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 4:03 pm

Niko wrote:So it takes that stuff 21-28 days before it's drinkable, eh?
I bet John was one of those kids that opened X-Mas presents before their time
(at least I did )

So what's the verdict, John?
Is that stuff drinkable yet?

It was drinkable on day 18 when I received it! Couldn't resist checking it out so I pulled two shots before I put it aside to age. It did improve by day 21 but I'm still working on my favorite dose/temp/ect. Blew off the Espresso experimentation this morning & brewed some up in a press pot. It was very tasty & the sweet after taste lingers for hours!!.

Post by **Niko** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 4:32 pm

So that stuff is pretty good as press coffee too huh?
I had some of my favorite single farm as french press, it's pretty damn good, nothing dazzling but very smoooooth.
So what's the differences in flavor between the 18 days and the 21st days for you?
I'm guessing more body developed.
What's the creme like?

Post by **JohnB** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:10 am

Niko wrote:So that stuff is pretty good as press coffee too huh?
I had some of my favorite single farm as french press, it's pretty damn good, nothing dazzling but very smoooooth.
So what's the differences in flavor between the 18 days and the 21st days for you?
I'm guessing more body developed.
What's the creme like?

My wife & I enjoyed it in the press; as you say it wasn't dazzling but it was pretty good. I'm getting some incredible shots today (day 24)! Dosing at 16g w/4 sec p/i on some REALLY long, drippy, thick shots. Lots of blueberry up front with a cocoa/chocolate background. This stuff is VERY fussy about grind & tamp, the flavors can be amazing but there is also a dark baking chocolate flavor that can come forward if things don't go well.

Initial crema/creme is 80% of shot & settles out to this after 50-60 seconds:

Post by **Niko** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:38 am

Holy crap!
Now that's a shot

I was wondering if you can coax a blueberry note out that thing but you already answered that question. I knew there was some Hararr in there somewhere

It was a good year for them.

Post by **JohnB** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:54 pm

Niko wrote: I was wondering if you can coax a blueberry note out that thing but you already answered that question. I knew there was some Hararr in there somewhere

In a Mexican Natural??

Post by **Niko** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:52 pm

JohnB wrote:
Niko wrote: I was wondering if you can coax a blueberry note out that thing but you already answered that question. I knew there was some Hararr in there somewhere
In a Mexican Natural??

I guess it would help if I re-read the post

...hence the thread "Single Origin"

Sorry, I was mesmerized by the pic you uploaded and the words blueberry - I also go into a Harrar tizzy when I smell blueberries in the supermarket.

Post by **JohnB** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:18 am

This sounds interesting: http://www.ptscoffee.com/store/product_ ... =4&s=57054 Ever try it?

Post by **Niko** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:39 pm

Hmm, that does sound interesting.
I like the part "Varietals: Several, mixed, not yet defined".
Makes for a nice surprise in the cup, I'd say.

Post by **Jack Rabbit Slim** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:21 am

Afer many thoughtful suggestions from the members of this board, I have tried the following
Ecco Daterra Reserve
Sun Dried Yellow Bourbon
Terroir Deterra Calabria
Black Cat

Other than the Black Cat I have had pretty good results with the others. We are currently shooting the Terroir and I have found it to be the most suited to my whimsical taste. I am finding that I am quickly getting away from the milk based drinks and enjoying the straight espresso. I am looking forward to trying some other Terroir selections as they are quite close by and shipment was received fairly rapidly. I went to the Atomic website last week and it was down.

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:48 am

Atomic's website is back up but they managed to run out of their most popular espresso blend & won't have more for several weeks!! Sounds like somebody screwed up.

Post by **Niko** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:58 pm

Thought I'd mention one of my other favorite single farm coffees.
I've been roasting a "Panama Boquete" from the Lerida Estate.
It makes for a very voluptuous shot with a nice balsamic vinegary tone. It starts off thick and syrupy but you have to be quick on the draw to cut the shot off just as it blondes, otherwise it quickly turns into a cup of battery acid

Really nice stuff!
It's on my list of "Armageddon" coffees - one of the last shots I'd like before the end of the world happens

Ooh, almost forgot to mention this stuff is roasted a smidgeon darker than others otherwise it brings up the battery acid flavors

I'd say about 10-15 seconds into an active 2nd, the bean surface is nice and smooth just before oil drops start to appear. The profile for this bean is about 30 seconds longer on a Hottop, I can bust out the notes if anyone is roasting this bean to share with any other Hottop owners.

John, you need a Hottop damnit!

chas · Post by **chas** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 3:35 pm

Niko, You had me at "voluptuous, thick, syrupy, buttery blondes" but you lost me at "vinegary battery acid"!

Post by **JohnB** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:37 pm

Niko wrote:Thought I'd mention one of my other favorite single farm coffees.
I've been roasting a "Panama Boquete" from the Lerida Estate.
It makes for a very voluptuous shot with a nice balsamic vinegary tone. It starts off thick and syrupy but you have to be quick on the draw to cut the shot off just as it blondes, otherwise it quickly turns into a cup of battery acid
Really nice stuff!
It's on my list of "Armageddon" coffees - one of the last shots I'd like before the end of the world happens

John, you need a Hottop damnit!

H'mm, Balsamic Vinegar & battery acid. Who could resist? Tell us about the good flavors. As far as the Hottop goes I am considering it but just got the SJ so a little time must pass before I seriously start talking about it. I did mention it "in passing" to my wife after I read your post but the facial expression wasn't encouraging so I'll wait until after the holidays before bring it up again. I remember last winter when I first mentioned getting a dog. Not good! But a few months later I was looking at different breeds on line & in May we picked up an English Springer. The Hottop will be mine!

What is this beauty??

Post by **Niko** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:43 pm

Smart asses

...you only get battery acid if you over-extract it!

JohnB wrote:The Hottop will be mine!

I'm rooting for you!

Post by **peter** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:13 pm

SM's has this Panama back in stock, with a 5lb. limit. Last year's was in my top three favorite shots in my short espresso career.

Panama DP, Siete Dias de Bellota

And this DP El Salvador is right close behind it.

El Salvador Manzano Dry-Proces

Post by **JohnB** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 10:09 am

I just picked up 5lbs of the Manzano DP along with some nice Kenyas. As far as a recent favorite single origin espresso the Aged Ethiopian Sidamo Korate from Barrington is at the top of my list.

Post by **BobUSN** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:05 pm

Pretty much every SOE from Caffé Pronto has been great to my palate. (Their roaster, Andy Sprenger, won the Brewer's Cup this year.) Currently enjoying Santa Rosa Department Guatemala Ixpaco...but I'm afraid they may be out!

It may be best to call them if you don't see anything to your fancy on the website.

http://www.caffepronto.com/

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:25 pm

Haven't roasted any of the Manzano yet but I've been pulling shots from some of last summer's Amaro Gayo that I roasted Monday. Still needs to age another day or two but I have been getting some intense dark chocolate which gets sweeter everyday.