I do buy direct from CCC, but when I bought Vivace beans, I did it through WLL. Not sure if it is the same today, but at the time, WLL simply sent the order on to Viviace, and Vivace shipped the beans after roast directly to the consumer (not WLL), so freshness was not an issue. When the bean price went up on WLL coupled with extra shipping, as the standard shipping never made it to me in 2 days, I decided to make a switch.
This is when I switched to Black Cat. I was still somewhat new to the game and read an article about practicing on the same bean/blend for a year (always using fresh roasted) to work on getting better at pulling shots. I must say for me, it worked. I remember my first Black Cat I pulled thinking that I had this espresso thing down. Today, I would dump that shot. I got turned on to CCC after reading an article in Barista Magazine about a cafe out here in PA that was holding a barista jam. The article talked about CCC as the cafe supplier, so I gave it at try, ordering one Toscano and one Afic. I was hooked. Since then, Barista Mag featured Lem (CCC barista/blender) on a cover issue a couple copies back and after reading the story, I was even more impressed with their coffee culture down in NC. Lastly, being on the east coast, it makes for easier transit. Would love to continue to try new beans at some point - would also like to start home roasting next year. In regards to freezing, do you notice any drop in flavor over time? I know this has been debated many times on other coffee boards, but curious if you have noticed anything? For me, double subscription and knowing fresh beans are always on the way is the way to go (for someone that does not yet home roast)... Cheers! On Oct 1, 7:16 am, "Ray Sachs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
