DiYeti Senior Member Joined: 1 Jan 2008 Posts: 31 Location: Central Missouri USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID'd via... Grinder: Mazzer Mini and manuals -... Drip: Bodum press Roaster: WestBend Poppery II
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 5:22pm Subject: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
*Noob alert* I've been roasting at home with a Poppery, and have been almost exclusively using SM's Donkey Decaf for my espresso needs (I like sleep). I have used SM's Monkey blend as well, just not lately. It's becoming difficult for me to keep up with my 'needs' as far as roasted on-hand, so I ordered some Black Cat and also Kid O from Intelly.
I cannot believe the difference in the shots!! Whoa! The Donkey tasted OK and had great crema, but the BC is just amazing! My very first shot (maybe too soon but who could wait? roasted 2 days ago) was thick and drippy, and I by golly had TIGER striping!! The flavor was full and rich and complex. I know different blends will taste differently, but I just can't get over HOW different!
Do decaf beans just produce a 'watered down' espresso?
The BC and DD were prepared in the same manner - @ 16 gram in double basket, WDT, flush about 3-4 oz then pull the shot. My 'new' Mazzer Mini gets here tomorrow, so all grinding has been done with a PeDe Mokka manual.
Is there that great a difference in shots from different beans?
Pods??! Capsules??! Aliens are invading through the coffee!! =/
JVBorella Senior Member Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 398 Location: northeastern CT. Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: LaSpaziale S1 Vivaldi 2 Grinder: Macap M4,KA Pro,Zassenhaus... Vac Pot: Press Pots/Finum Filters Drip: Melitta BCM-4c Roaster: Before Long
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 7:08pm Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
I've tried a number of decaf Espresso blends & so far haven't found any that come close to a good caffeinated blend like B/C or La Bella Vita. Also most of the decafs either pour blond or blond very early. I use them in an evening latte or Americano but have yet to taste one I can get excited about.
Not really, but the decaffeination process always hurts the coffee to some extent because it introduces heat and moisture to the green coffee...two things you really don't want to do (Unless you're roasting or brewing) because you're going to lose solubles that make (regular, caffeinated) coffee intense and great. Also, in the history of decaf, a lot of times they would use past crop, or generally lower grade coffees to start, resulting in an even more faded coffee. Swiss Water Process has a nice website that explains their process: www.swisswater.com Glad to hear you're enjoying the coffees, thanks for the kind words about Intelli y'all! Cheers!
DiYeti Senior Member Joined: 1 Jan 2008 Posts: 31 Location: Central Missouri USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID'd via... Grinder: Mazzer Mini and manuals -... Drip: Bodum press Roaster: WestBend Poppery II
Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 3:37pm Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
Thanks for the education!! Actually, thinking back (I've been 'into' home espresso a whoppin' 4 months now), the order from Intelly is the FIRST pro-roasted espresso I've had at home! At this moment, I'm enjoying another shot of BC - and finally have an inkling of the 'god shots' spoken of on the forums. Methinks for now at least, I'll take care of the roasting for my press needs, and let others take care of my espresso! Just absolutely WOW! (As a disclaimer, I did begin the post with "noob alert". Leave it to me Tim, I'll run the gamut!)
Pods??! Capsules??! Aliens are invading through the coffee!! =/
Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 4:55pm Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
Unless your popper has been modified(fan and heating element separated) it's difficult to get a nice roast profile for espresso. They tend to roast too fast and the flavors never really get a chance to develop. farm
Posted Fri Apr 18, 2008, 6:29am Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
I recently roasted SM's Monkey Blend for the first time in my HotTop. Used a profile that gave me a 17 minute roast to reach 25 seconds into a rolling SC. After a four day rest, it was comparable to, but certainly not better than, Black Cat. There are some obvious blend differences that will keep each unique, and I'll continue to intermittently pull BC among my other blends and SO's that I've home roasted.
DiYeti Senior Member Joined: 1 Jan 2008 Posts: 31 Location: Central Missouri USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID'd via... Grinder: Mazzer Mini and manuals -... Drip: Bodum press Roaster: WestBend Poppery II
Posted Fri Apr 18, 2008, 2:59pm Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
And thank you, farm, for that information. I don't recall reading anything about that mod when researching the roasting information. Most things just speak of FC and SC and the variances in between. It makes complete sense that something roasted more slowly would be more flavorful. Ah jeez....I guess this means upgradeitis is about to strike yet another electrickal device in my coffee/espresso set-up. *Sigh*
Pods??! Capsules??! Aliens are invading through the coffee!! =/
DiYeti Senior Member Joined: 1 Jan 2008 Posts: 31 Location: Central Missouri USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID'd via... Grinder: Mazzer Mini and manuals -... Drip: Bodum press Roaster: WestBend Poppery II
Posted Sat Apr 19, 2008, 8:57am Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences
Not quite :) I was unclear.... After heating the machine for 30 + min., I run 4-5 oz through the PF and use this to preheat my cup. It then sits while I grind, WDT and reattach the PF. I don't flush again, just pull the shot. Elapsed time perhaps 2 minutes.
Pods??! Capsules??! Aliens are invading through the coffee!! =/
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