Suggest a bean

shape_shifter

I thought that we should have a thread where people could put descriptions of beans, or ask for alternatives for beans they like and other more knowledgeable  people could give them answers  ;D

Yes I know research will turn up 'some' answers, what I have found, is that the description often doesn't tell you anything about how the bean tastes, just things like 'good body'.



I have a just a general one to start off with.

Now that I have found places like Bean Green and MyCuppa that sell by the one kilogram bags I would like to buy a few different types.  I am getting the Bourbon from MyCuppa so that is answered.

What beans can people suggest from Bean Green that they have found outstanding and why, remembering this point, nothing like Monsoon Malabar please

UNM

As another relative noob to home roasting, that makes sense to me. Yeah, I also like the ability to buy 1kg lots - still exploring different regions, processing styles etc. so it is good to get a bit of variety. With low coffee consumption in our house it takes a while to get through 2.5kg. Not sure if the bourbon is the same crop, but I had some yellow bourbon in my CS starter pack and found it pleasant, smooth and chocolatey, but not very complex - felt it needed a bit of a lift somehow. Surely you would want to know if any beans are like the MM so you can put them on the 'avoid' list? I am still undecided about MM, will probably try blending with it in due course as I do find it intriguing flavour wise.

Koffee_Kosmo

Buying in 1 KG lots can give you more varieties to try And if you dont like a particular type then its not at a great expense Whats left over can be blended Barazi through the Koffee Kosmo site sells green beans in 1KG lots And on my recommendation they are packed in resealable one way valve Mylar bags This is so a home roaster has the best after roast (brown bean) coffee storage KK

RichardM

I actually really like MM, so that really makes my opinion about beans definitely significantly different to the OP. My opinion about africans is also polar opposite to that of AngerManagement's, so one person's goldmine could be another person's **** in a cup. I personally am of the opinion of learning your geography, and buy a lot of all beans you can get your hands on, and decide your likes and dislikes. Generally you can blend out almost any bean that you dislike and get wonderful results (I, for example don't like most central's, as I find them bland (Bolivian that Mycuppa sells excluded), however I find they are a great base bean (even though I generally drink SO's).

shape_shifter

Mmmm that sort of didn't go the way I had hoped it did... My question wasn't specific, it doesn't matter what we do and don't like, besides the MM, I'm always open to trying new tastes. All I wanted to know was what people really really really liked and why Although my question wasn't specific, yes the idea of the thread IS that people can say 'oh I like Ghimbi, what else is out there that is similar to it?' :D

Koffee_Kosmo

I like South & Central Americans, Some Africans, PNG, Sumatrans I do tend to roast more of the Central & South Americans I like to roast for cocoa, chocolate & caramel flavours in milk coffee But hey thats just me For espresso I like something drinkable and delicate roasted to almost first crack KK   Edit The above line should read to almost second crack Oooops  ??? KK

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1307175242:

Not even to FIRST crack... So what do they end up like in the cup  ???

Oooops that should have been written a just short of second crack It would be a very grassy taste if I pulled the roast prior to 1st crack However I believe there is such a thing classed as green coffee roasted to yellow stage Never tried it KK

borat123

I 'm a big fan of ethiopian beans (yirgacheffe, sidamo, ghimbi, harrar),  and haven't come across a bad dry process yet.  The yemeni beans are excellent too. Sometimes the smallest bean size give amazing results. I've found I also like a bit of 'funkiness' such as Monsoon malabar and in some of the indo beans, I like a big earthy hit too.