This was brewed with a local roast near me called Reunion coffee roasters. The roast was Bullet Espresso, a medium-dark espresso roast. It was allright, nothing mind blowing.
Recently I discovered Burukudu, which is also a local roaster located within walking distance of my condo. I bought a bag of their 42 “Pete’s perfect” espresso blend… it’s gassing off right now (just shy of a week old), but dang, the aroma is mind blowing!! Can’t wait to crack open the bag next week and brew something yummy! According to the shop keeper, this guy Pete learned the recipe for this blend from his father. And it’s a family secret that’s passed on from generation to generation.
Bullet was OK, nothing special. I think their biggest issue is that they are more of a “mainstream” roaster, i.e. their beans are not really fresh… and they only have a best before date.
I cracked open my bag of 42 today, roasted on Jan 3, 2024, so done degassing. Wow. It tasted OK with a standard Breville basket, but then I tried it with the IMS Big Bang basket… mind blown! Such a beautiful aroma! I feel like I need to tweak the recipe a bit more, but so far it’s one of the tastiest espressos I’ve had. Taste profile is reminiscent of “classical” Italian espresso, but with the aroma and taste notes (caramel/chocolate) of lighter roasts. I’m loving it so far!
That sounds amazing (the 42)! Italian roast and Italian espresso is what got me into espressos, and I love them deeply. I’ve since move all over the world, in terms of coffees, and I’ve generally settled on medium and medium/light roasts, instead of the darker Italian. Nevertheless, I still find myself going back to Italian roasts every so often. Actually, I just roasted an Italian roast today, and I can’t wait to try it once it degasses enough. In your opinion, is the 42 worth the $20?
It’s a pretty standard price in Toronto for a bag this size. If you’re local, you may be able to get a better deal if you visit the store in person. It’s a very nice lounge with 80-90s music (on vinyl!) and a friendly vibe.
It’s definitely not expensive, and is very reasonable for decent to good roasts. I didn’t mean to sound as though I was implying it was excessively priced (I wasn’t implying that). Sorry about that. I only meant to ask if it was worth the price for the quality. For example, sbux, to me, isn’t worth the price tag (even though it’s not expensive), because I don’t like their coffee. That sort of thing. The vibe sounds amazing!
Oh, I think it’s worth the price, as long as you manage expectations of what you’re buying. This is by no means a fancy/experimental light/medium roast (like deMello, another Toronto-area roaster) with lots of complex notes and flavours… the “42” is definitely a classic Italian base with a good aroma to it. It’s a post-roast blend, and it seems to me like at least 2, maybe 3 different roasts. 2/3 dark, with 1/3 medium/light beans, just based off casual observation.
Ooh! I love those types of blends, they’re so interesting! I did multi-roast blends, and they were some of the most interesting roasts I’ve ever done. It just takes so much longer to roast, since I have to basically roast several singles to make the blend. When it gets warmer, I plan on making more of them. I started saving up for the 42, and I will add deMello Roasters to the list, too. They seem very good, too. Any specific roast that you would recommend?
I like fruity notes, but not acidic notes. They usually come hand in hand, though, so I take what I can get haha I’ll add that to the list. I do tend to like Ethiopian coffees. Thanks!
I tasted the Italian roast today, and it was amazing. It’s not 100% degassed, yet, which is to be expected for a darker roast 3 days out. I’ll wait a couple more days before I try again.
Nothing yet this weekend, only dissapointing aeropress presses(not too bad just tired of it). I ordered a Flair pro 2 but it will not be delivered until Monday. Keep reloading the track and trace but still stuck somewhere in a warehouse frustratingly close by…
I just finished an aeropress. It wasn’t disappointing, but not the best. It was preground sedamo I received for Christmas. Bummed that it was preground, but I do like sedamo. As for the Flair tracking, I would be doing the exact same thing you’re doing with the constant refreshes. I would even be tempted to call the shipping company and ask if them if I can just pick it up at their warehouse. I hope it gets to you soon and that it’s more than everything you ever hoped it would be!
I thought about that, but I fear my espresso grinder would get clogged or overly dirty. It’s a pain to disassemble and clean. I’ve been using it for pour over and aeropress, and it’s good enough for being free to me.
Add comment