onlythat Senior Member Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Posts: 35 Location: Chicago Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Quickmill Alexia w/PID Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Tue Oct 18, 2011, 1:02pm Subject: Re: Looking for a new espresso... your favorite?
Since I havent posted in ohhhhh.... like two years-- I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Whole Foods Bel Canto espresso. Wait... can i finish? :)
Lately I've been drinking the usual suspects-- Redline, Black Cat, Hairbender etc. but in the in-betweens when I'm almost out of these beans or they start getting too far post-roast, I started drinking the Bel Canto (it's the lighter of the two roasts they have-- the other one looks like motor oil).
A few weeks ago when I brought home a pound for the first time while waiting for another bag of Black Cat to arrive cause i had to have SOMEthing in house (!) , I tried the bel canto only a day or two post-roast and thought 'damn- this has some potential!' But it cant be-- it's whole foods coffee!! Day 5 or 6 PR (PR= post-roast. You like it? You can use it:) it was rich, lots of crema, chocolatey and with a bit of rum flavor (I think one other poster somewhere wrote that he got rum raisin from this blend). Plus-- it doesnt seem too finicky but may prefer lower temps like 198 or 199.
Anyway, I went from buying this WF Bel Canto as a mere stopgap to actually thinking I might prefer it certain days to some of the big boys! So, after searching threads on it on the interwebs (mostly to see whether i was crazy), it seems that people think that Bel canto can be awesome, but the quality of WF coffee in general, including bel Canto espresso, is quite variable from store to store-- so it may be my Whole Foods is pretty diligent about doing things like not pouring newly roasted beans on top of old ones (yes- people say they do this at WF) etc. Your mileage may vary and all that. In any case, I'm really impressed with this Bel canto stuff. You outta try some-- even if you just use it as a go-to between pounds of Bonsai or something. What's next-- Shop Rite coffee?? Maxwell House single origin? Maybe!!
Posted Wed Oct 19, 2011, 6:54pm Subject: Re: Looking for a new espresso... your favorite?
onlythat Said:
. . . I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Whole Foods Bel Canto espresso. Wait... can i finish? :)
Lately I've been drinking the usual suspects-- Redline, Black Cat, Hairbender etc. but in the in-betweens when I'm almost out of these beans or they start getting too far post-roast, I started drinking the Bel Canto (it's the lighter of the two roasts they have-- the other one looks like motor oil).
A few weeks ago when I brought home a pound for the first time while waiting for another bag of Black Cat to arrive cause i had to have SOMEthing in house (!) , I tried the bel canto only a day or two post-roast and thought 'damn- this has some potential!' But it cant be-- it's whole foods coffee!! Day 5 or 6 PR (PR= post-roast. You like it? You can use it:) it was rich, lots of crema, chocolatey and with a bit of rum flavor (I think one other poster somewhere wrote that he got rum raisin from this blend). Plus-- it doesnt seem too finicky but may prefer lower temps like 198 or 199.
Anyway, I went from buying this WF Bel Canto as a mere stopgap to actually thinking I might prefer it certain days to some of the big boys! So, after searching threads on it on the interwebs (mostly to see whether i was crazy), it seems that people think that Bel canto can be awesome, but the quality of WF coffee in general, including bel Canto espresso, is quite variable from store to store-- so it may be my Whole Foods is pretty diligent about doing things like not pouring newly roasted beans on top of old ones (yes- people say they do this at WF) etc. Your mileage may vary and all that. In any case, I'm really impressed with this Bel canto stuff. You outta try some-- even if you just use it as a go-to between pounds of Bonsai or something. What's next-- Shop Rite coffee?? Maxwell House single origin? Maybe!!
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