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redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

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Discussions > Espresso > blends > redbird espresso...

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Kristi
Senior Member

Joined: 6 Oct 2005
Posts: 2,281
Location: Boston
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Evo w silvia wand
Grinder: Macap M4 mod to d&s-less
Roaster: (Jeff at Redbirdcoffee)

Posted Sat Sep 29, 2012, 10:46am Subject: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

preface: I apparently am not adaptable to commercial espresso. When I have a good double it goes down easily but hits my stomach with pain. My anita (easily the best machine I have owned) easily produced an identical brew with unfortunately identical results, so after a year of non-use i sold it. So I played a bit with my $15 old Goodwill Evo and did not have a problem. I was using year old frozen redbird espresso and it gave me a burnt taste, but not the upset of the ""good"" stuff, but reminded me of redbird of days past. so i ordered 5# from Jeff and discovered a vast difference between the year old mason jar frozen beans, and fresh. full, chocolaty, soft, no matter how I sloppily brew it on my evo. At the rate i am using beans at the moment these will last 3 months. I will definitely be encouraged to use them faster. But now I will be very alert to off tastes or missing tastes as months 2 and 3 come around. The problem is the change comes so slowly that it's hard to notice. Until I did a 1 year change. And this is on a very cheap machine. (never underestimate the power of a Macap!!!) I have no idea why the ""good" stuff upsets my stomach and the cheap machine does not, but i like the buzzz so am not arguing! But I thought this deserved an alert on bean freezing. The beans DO change while they're frozen. Redbird Espresso roast is by far the best bean I have tasted. Cheers!

#--> I recommend Eric Svendson's adapter and thermometer for E61s (also Silvia) : easy surfing! # My photo albums have moved to http://picasaweb.google.com/krislema2

jwoodyu
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Posts: 704
Location: Michigan
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Allex Duetto II
Grinder: Mazzer Major
Roaster: Poppery

Posted Sat Sep 29, 2012, 11:06am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

Kristi Said: The beans DO change while they're frozen Posted September 29, 2012 link Absolutley. I find small freezer bags with as much of the air sucked out as I can helps vs jars. Though it is not as "green".

You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.

ShooterMcGavin
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Feb 2012
Posts: 53
Location: SoCal
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: N.S. Oscar
Grinder: Preciso

Posted Sun Sep 30, 2012, 3:12am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

lol i can't believe you even had year old beans I like to drink a double before I hit the gym, and I find it makes me burp quite a bit about the freezer comment, I tried storing my beans in the freezer with the green bag it comes in, and I still can't help but taste a difference after 1 week which is partially why I'm avoiding a 5lb bag until I figure out a better storage method I'm pulling 2 ounce shots from 18-18.5 grams in 25 seconds from first drip. i'm finding the first couple sips to be nice, but when I get to the bottom, it tastes somewhat sour? or acidic? anyhow, I don't like how the bottom layer tastes so I've been tossing that part into the sink

Daviiid

Kristi
Senior Member

Posted Sun Sep 30, 2012, 9:07am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

I'm trying foodsaver vacuum this time around. Measure into a pint jar and then pour into fs bag and seal. That amount of beans lasts less than a week. I go through them too fast to order by a pound. Jeff's 5# prices are fantastic!!! And the beans are the best. if your beans are fresh I don't know why you're getting scanky. Maybe vary the length of the initial flush from 0 to 5 seconds... I had stopped all espresso for about a year, to test my stomach, but still had 3 pint jars in the freezer. They were good enough for me to tell that my evo wasn't going to hurt my stomach, but when I got the new ones, I realized just how bad the old ones were. The new beans give me a definite "drunk" feeling. YUM!

#--> I recommend Eric Svendson's adapter and thermometer for E61s (also Silvia) : easy surfing! # My photo albums have moved to http://picasaweb.google.com/krislema2

Kristi
Senior Member

Posted Tue Oct 2, 2012, 12:29pm Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

Okay, so I'm sitting here feeling almost drunk after my second latte, and wondering about life - of a Redbird bean. They were roasted on Mon, shipped Mon eve, received Wed afternoon, and frozen immediately. I did notice that Jeff's spiffy new bags looked snug packed, and I am guessing in nitrogen, and had not expanded in shipping. A pint lasts me about 4 days, so I already had the next foodsaver bag out for a couple of days (my bad) but noticed it was still a vacuum. No air, or out-gas-ing of beans, yet SO fragrant when opened, and fantastic when brewed. So I am dwelling on Jeff's magic emporium whose beans don't out-gas and lose all their flavor. Okay, gotta go do errands!

#--> I recommend Eric Svendson's adapter and thermometer for E61s (also Silvia) : easy surfing! # My photo albums have moved to http://picasaweb.google.com/krislema2

mthedude
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Posts: 313
Location: VA
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Nuova Simonelli Oscar
Grinder: La Spaziale Junior
Vac Pot: n/a
Drip: Cuisinart Grind & Brew
Roaster: n/a

Posted Thu Nov 1, 2012, 10:06am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

my guess (and it IS a guess) is that the 1 year freezing kind of denatured the beans or otherwise mellowed whatever is upsetting your stomach in the fresh beans...it may be a product of bean roasting that your stomach doesn't agree with. Are you drinking the Red Bird straight or in milk of any kind? For me, I had an experience last year where I suddenly became lactose intollerant for about 6 months. As a Cappa fan, it really sucked trying to use coconut or almond milk in my drinks. But suddenly I was "cured" one day. I couldn't eat cheese, milk, yogurt...anything without feeling like utter garbage for the rest of the day. But now I'm fine...it's weird. I have had friends who don't drink espresso simply because it doesn't agree w/their stomach so I think there must be something to that.

Kristi
Senior Member

Posted Thu Nov 1, 2012, 10:33am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

I was milk intolerant for about a year - yeah, it's no fun finding an alternative. I always latte what I drink. - fuzzy milk!!! LOL (Silvia wand mod on this Evo) The year in a mason jar certainly killed those beans. But i think it's the temp at which they're brewed that sets up the kill-the-stomach scenario. With the Gaggia, there's no way in hell that I'm going to get a constant pull or a certain temp pull. For some reason these off and sliding temps suit my stomach, though occasionally I do get one that reminds me of my stomach. This morning's was soft and smooth and a bit of chocolate and nice coffee. But if I'm out and about the machines are set to 199 or near that and my stomach can't take it. i did try with Anita and Eric's nose probe to raise the temp, but that machine is so darned flat on its profile that I failed to find a solution. Beautiful machine. If my stomach ever straightens itself out I'd get another Anita or an Andreja - I like the vertical boiler best of all the machines I've had. I tried this batch frozen in foodsaver bags hoping that it will remove a lot of the air that's left in a Mason jar. But I'm using them a lot faster, so they'll taste better anyway. it's a fantastic bean/roast - extremely forgiving.

#--> I recommend Eric Svendson's adapter and thermometer for E61s (also Silvia) : easy surfing! # My photo albums have moved to http://picasaweb.google.com/krislema2

kafegeek
Senior Member

Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Czech republic
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: delonghi

Posted Fri Nov 2, 2012, 7:54am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

I'm using foodsaver vacuum bags as well, works perfectly, even if you have year old beans..

Kristi
Senior Member

Posted Fri Nov 2, 2012, 9:08am Subject: Re: redbird espresso YUM and why to be careful of freezing beans.

kafegeek Said: I'm using foodsaver vacuum bags as well, works perfectly, even if you have year old beans.. Posted November 2, 2012 link Ha! so you've tried it with old beans! Good to know! But hopefully I don't get to prove that out... I think it will be every 2 months, here. lordy those beans are good!!!

#--> I recommend Eric Svendson's adapter and thermometer for E61s (also Silvia) : easy surfing! # My photo albums have moved to http://picasaweb.google.com/krislema2

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