On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 3:22 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> > I use to brew Dolce and Vita on a regular basis. After the price > increase on these beans a while back at WLL, I switched to Intelli > Black Cat. Great espresso, but not the best in my opinion. I am in > love with Counter Culture Coffee's Espresso Aficionado. With my Silvia, Black Cat was my preferred blend because its more forgiving of a wider range of temperatures than most and the Siliva wasn't the most stable machine out there, even with a PID. Since I've had the Brewtus, I've mostly switched to Vivace - dolce for shots and vita for milk drinks. I've never tried any of the CCC blends, but I'll have to give them a try. I also like Dolce at a temp setting of 96. Black Cat at 93-94. Any advice on a good starting point for Aficianado? Oh, in terms of prices, if you order direct from the source (which is the only way to go for freshness): Aficianado - $15.26 / lb ($11.45 for 12 oz) Black Cat - $14.00 / lb Dolce/Vita - $13.00 / lb I guess you save 10% on the Aficionado if you get their subscription, so that would bring it down to a bit less than Black Cat but still more than the Vivace blends. I find that both Black Cat and Dolce/Vita get to me within 2 days of the roast, even though I'm on the east coast (Intelligencia ships UPS ground, Vivace uses Priority Mail) so I get all of them plenty fresh with just enough time shipping for de-gassing. I'd imagine CCC would be as quick, shipping from North Carolina. I usually buy about ten pounds at a time and freeze all but the current half pound I'm working on. I know home roasting is the best way to go for those who are really into it. I'm not. I figure I'm almost as good as the best baristas in terms of my coffee brewing (maybe not in terms of latte art, but that's another whole kettle of fish), but I seriously doubt I could beat the top roasters for getting the perfect blend. And the time and hassle involved just doesn't appeal to me. For those who like it, however, more power to you. -Ray --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
