Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber"

Post by **JohnB** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:58 am

Anyone else try this blend? Just got it in a few days ago & I made the tastiest Capo yet with it yesterday. They describe the taste as:
"Potent, pungent, caramelly, sharp, licorice and excellent for milk drinks."
It definitely leaves a licorice aftertaste that lingers for quite awhile which I enjoyed.

Post by **Niko** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:30 pm

I know a couple of guys who swear by it.
I don't care for the taste much but then again I'm the same guy who doesn't like Black Cat

I think that blend has monsooned coffee in it - probably why I don't like it, the shots look great, trust me...it's just me.

Post by **JohnB** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:48 pm

Yea, I also like the Black Cat but I haven't had the machine long enough to try many others. I've heard that Redline from Metropolis is pretty good. Try that one yet?

Post by **Niko** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:42 pm

No, I haven't tried that one yet.
That's one of the problems of home roasting for me, I stopped buying commercially roasted beans and shame on me. I should be trying new things and that's a good way to stay on top of things.

I've been meaning to try the new Black Cat, I think it'll actually hit the spot for me because of the recent things I've heard about it.

Post by **JohnB** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:58 pm

First time I bought B/C was 12/17/07 so I guess I've only had the new blend from the threads I've read. No idea what the older blend was like.

Post by **cappadoc** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:27 pm

Niko,

You may want to try Greenline, the green version of Redline.
I've had reasonably good success in my Behmor.

Jeff

Post by **hlsheppard** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:03 am

JohnB wrote:Anyone else try this blend? Just got it in a few days ago & I made the tastiest Capo yet with it yesterday. They describe the taste as:
"Potent, pungent, caramelly, sharp, licorice and excellent for milk drinks."
It definitely leaves a licorice aftertaste that lingers for quite awhile which I enjoyed.

Hi John - this blend and the Puro Scuro are (to my taste) fabulous espresso blends. Liquid Amber is S.M.'s answer to Malabar gold. High on the caffeine scale with crazy, persistent crema.

I actually like it better than Malabar Gold when I'm not too lazy to roast my own...

Post by **JohnB** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:29 am

hlsheppard wrote:
Hi John - this blend and the Puro Scuro are (to my taste) fabulous espresso blends. Liquid Amber is S.M.'s answer to Malabar gold. High on the caffeine scale with crazy, persistent crema.

I'm glad you mentioned the high caffeine as I thought I got a much stronger buzz off of one capo then I normally would. It also seems to pour "blonder" then the Black Cat & needs to be ground finer.

Post by **jmcphail** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:32 am

I'm curious, how does Liquid Amber compare to Monkey Blend?

Post by **Niko** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:17 pm

I'd say Monkey Blend is closer to what Black Cat used to be...

_________
++++++ Equipment Used +++++++
La Spaziale Vivaldi S1, La Spaziale Vivaldi II S1, QuickMill Anita, Mazzer Mini E Type B, Technivorm Mocca Master, Isomac Gran Macinino, Behmor 1600, Gene Cafe, too many Bodum presses
++++++ Animals Used +++++++
dwarf rabbit :D

Post by **hlsheppard** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:14 am

JohnB wrote:
hlsheppard wrote:
Hi John - this blend and the Puro Scuro are (to my taste) fabulous espresso blends. Liquid Amber is S.M.'s answer to Malabar gold. High on the caffeine scale with crazy, persistent crema.
I'm glad you mentioned the high caffeine as I thought I got a much stronger buzz off of one capo then I normally would. It also seems to pour "blonder" then the Black Cat & needs to be ground finer.

Yes on both counts! Malabar Gold and Liquid Amber both require me to ratchet up the Mazzer a few clicks. It's also roasted lighter, so (esp. compared to Black Car) it's going to be more blonde.

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:49 pm

Niko wrote:I'd say Monkey Blend is closer to what Black Cat used to be...

_

So is that a good thing? S/M is roasting the Monkey Blend on Monday & I was thinking about picking up a few lbs. Seems that I have read good things about M/B on the forums but I was wondering what you guys think of it.

Post by **Weska** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:51 pm

I think you should try it. But I think that because I think everybody should try everything.

When I tried Monkey Blend, it was with a stove-top popper. Although I felt pretty much in control of that process, it would never gel for me.

You may find that it's your favorite, that is, you may be able to see something that I missed.

Post by **JohnB** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:34 pm

Not a ringing endorsement!! Who's actually tried it in our machines?

Post by **Niko** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:28 am

I have...
and I felt the same way about it as Black Cat. I guess I don't like coffee named after animals, it's kind of creeeeepy

OTOH, I absolutely LOVED the Jacu Bird coffee - and that did come out of the bird

Post by **ronsil** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:28 am

- I've also used Monkey Blend on my new machine but I do prefer SMs Liquid Amber which is a blend I use as a comparison against all other roasts. Really is my favorite 'bought in' coffee & am delighted with the results on the La Spaz Mk2

Post by **RGoldman** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:02 pm

I've roasted and tried the Sm amber, monkey, and classic blends in the VII. Out of the three, I think I like the classic best. The amber is good, but I am just not as fond of epsresso with monsooned beans in it for some reason. The monkey is quite good and seems to have a little more east african influence than the classic blend does.
I just tried a new one this week from coffeebeancoral.com. Ferdalance blend or something like that. It's actually very nice after about 5 days rest. Roasted to FC+
I just picked up some Idido Misty Valley to try in my next home blend as well as 2 centrals to try something new.

Post by **ebprod** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:49 am

What brew temperature is best with Monkey. I've roasted it to 2nd crack and a little beyond (in a Behmor).

Thanks.

-Joe

RGoldman wrote: The monkey is quite good and seems to have a little more east african influence than the classic blend does.

Post by **RGoldman** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:12 pm

I haven't done a lot of experimentation with temps but tend to find most of the beans I use work well at 94c.

Ron

Post by **bluesman13** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:55 pm

I'm assuming these benas are only available green?

Post by **JohnB** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 4:52 pm

bluesman13 wrote:I'm assuming these benas are only available green?

No, if you check this link weekly you will see the 3 weekly specials that they roast every Monday with a detailed description of each if you click on the blend name or scroll down the page.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.roasted.html

Prices are good but there is a $15 minimum order. Last Monday they did the Monkey Blend, this week (2/11) its the Classic Italian blend.

Post by **JohnB** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:05 am

Just a heads up that Liquid Amber is the roasted Espresso special this week at S/M.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.roasted.html

Post by **bluesman13** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:14 pm

John,

thanks so much for the heads up and thinking of me!

Steve

The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber"

Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber"

Re: Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber"

Re: Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber"

Re: Sweet Maria's "Liquid Amber"