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Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences

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Discussions > Espresso > blends > Black Cat vs....

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DiYeti
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Joined: 1 Jan 2008
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Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 4:22pm 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?

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JVBorella
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Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 6:08pm 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.

John

TimEggers
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Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 6:13am Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences

This is a pretty intense comparison: Home roasted decaf blend VS. Pro roasted regular commercial blend (and a good one at that) I'm not at surprised at what you're seeing. Have you tried comparing home roast decaf to home roast regular? Was it as different? Or even better a pro roast decaf to a pro roast regular? Intelligentsia really know how to treat a bean.

Tim LMWDP #202

JCunningham
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Joined: 7 Dec 2004
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Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 8:40am
Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences

DiYeti Said:

...Do decaf beans just produce a 'watered down' espresso? ...

Posted April 16, 2008 link

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

Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 2:37pm 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!)

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farmroast
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Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 3:55pm 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

Quoddy
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Posted Fri Apr 18, 2008, 5:29am 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.

"There is no such thing as strong coffee, only weak people"

DiYeti
Senior Member

Posted Fri Apr 18, 2008, 1:59pm 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

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JR
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Posted Fri Apr 18, 2008, 5:48pm Subject: Re: Black Cat vs. SM's Donkey Decaf - night and day differences

DiYeti Said: ...flush about 3-4 oz then pull the shot... Posted April 16, 2008 link What's that for? A cooling flush for a Gaggia? Jack

www.rogers6.com www.IsuzuPup.com

DiYeti
Senior Member

Posted Sat Apr 19, 2008, 7:57am 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!! =/ Gaggia Owners: JOIN us here... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gaggia/

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